Oklahoma
Four-Star Center Prospect Details Relationship With Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State’s basketball program is starting from scratch. After seven seasons under Mike Boynton’s leadership, the program needed a fresh voice in the locker room. Boynton was an incredible recruiter, but he was unable to find results on the court to show for it.
Cue the Steve Lutz hiring, which was an incredible get for Oklahoma State. With three years of head coaching experience, Lutz has yet to fail to reach the NCAA Tournament.
The Cowboys used to be a perennial tournament team, and reaching that level again is a priority for the program. While Boynton’s recruiting ability will be missed, Lutz has the ability to swiftly rebuild programs and make the NCAA Tournament — which leaves the program in good hands.
Watching the program’s ability to land solid recruiting and transfer portal classes following the head coaching move is something to keep an eye on. Lutz could soon be in the mix for a solid four-star center from the DFW.
Jaden Toombs, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound center from Dallas, TX, could be a strong target for the Cowboys for the 2025 recruiting class. He recently updated On3’s Jamie Shaw in his recruitment, confirming he wants to take a visit to Stillwater.
“I’m talking with schools like LSU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State about possible visits,” Toombs said.
The Cowboys are going to have the opportunity to gain an edge on Toombs’ recruitment, but they’re not going to be able to use on-court success as a selling point.
“I would like to commit before the year is over,” Toombs said. “Hopefully before the November signing period.
Lutz will be able to fill out his roster and have a future outlook of the program, but no history with the program to his name. Fortunately, a few key principles within the Lutz-led program are what Toombs is looking for.
“I want to go a school that will play hard and let me be me. Development will be big for me too. I would like to go to a place where I can go and use my full skill set while also being able to play really hard,” Toombs said.
The Cowboys — playing in the Big 12 — have a big opportunity for development and improvement while competing at the highest level of college basketball. Oklahoma State could spark a relationship with Toombs now and use offseason workouts to try and convince the four-star center that Stillwater is the place to be.
“I just met them, they got a new staff, so we are just building our relationship,” Toombs said of Oklahoma State. “So, I want to get out there. They like how hard that I play and the motor I play with. They like for their bigs to have a skill set, and they said that is what they like about my game.”
Watching how Lutz navigates this new era, coaching in the Big 1interesting2 with a program in need of a turnaround will be intersting, and it’ll start with recruiting after Lutz fills out his current roster.
READ MORE: Could the Cowboys Have a Midseason Quarterback Change?
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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