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John Holcomb Breaks Down The Coaching Shakeups In Oklahoma High School Football

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John Holcomb Breaks Down The Coaching Shakeups In Oklahoma High School Football


In a flurry of recent moves, several prominent Oklahoma high school football programs have seen significant changes in their coaching staffs.

Graham Leaves Owasso

One of the most notable changes involves the swap of head coaches between Owasso and Union. Antonio Graham, who had been the head coach at Owasso for just one year, is now taking over the reins at Union.

Graham previously served as an assistant under Bill Blankenship at Union and Owasso, before Blankenship stepped away last year to allow Graham to become the Owasso head coach.

Why Did Antonio Graham Leave For Union?

As for the situation involving Owasso and Union, new Redhawks head coach Antonio Graham chose to take over at Union for a variety of reasons. 

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Graham and his family continue to live in the school district, in fact just down the road from former Union head coach Kirk Fridrich, and Graham’s wife has been an administrator at a Union elementary school for a while. Graham played at Union, winning a state championship under Bill Blankenship in 2005.

  1. Union Head Football Coach Kirk Fridrich Resigns From Position

Blankenship retired from Owasso last year, welcoming Graham as the new head coach of the Rams. Now Blankenship returns to the Owasso sidelines as head coach, helping stabilize a program that went undefeated in the regular season, losing by one point to Bixby in the 6A-1 title game.

Blankenship Returns to Owasso

Now, Blankenship, a coaching icon with six state championships to his name, is returning to Owasso after a year of retirement.

Holcomb says that Blankenship’s return is about making sure you have your staff members and keeping momentum in the program in place, drawing a parallel to the stability often sought in college football programs.

  1. Owasso Rehires Bill Blankenship As Head Coach Following Graham’s Resignation

Jenks Sees New Leadership

Another significant change occurred at Jenks, where Adam Gaylor is taking over as head coach, replacing Keith Riggs. Riggs had a successful tenure at Jenks, following in the footsteps of the legendary Allan Trimble. Gaylor, who previously served as Jenks’ defensive coordinator, is now tasked with maintaining the program’s high standards.

  1. New Jenks Head Coach Adam Gaylor Introduces Himself

Broken Arrow Hires Travis Hill

The coaching carousel also reached Broken Arrow, as the program has hired Travis Hill as its new head coach. Hill comes from Muskogee, where he led the team to a state championship last year and came within a missed field goal of another title. Holcomb said Hill’s previous success and ability to unify the team will be crucial for Broken Arrow, which is the largest high school in the state and carries high expectations.

With these coaching changes coinciding with some of the most exciting playoff and championship finishes in recent memory, the upcoming high school football season in Oklahoma promises to be filled with intrigue and anticipation.

  1. Broken Arrow Announces Travis Hill As Next Head Football Coach





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Oklahoma

How to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma basketball: Free live stream

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How to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma basketball: Free live stream


NORMAN, Okla. — The Red River Rivalry transitions to the hardwood when Oklahoma hosts Texas today, Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 10 p.m. Eastern on the SEC Network.

Several streaming services will broadcast the game live, and you can watch on Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and Sling (promotional offers).

Both teams enter this game still looking for their first win in the SEC, holding 0-3 conference records. Oklahoma held the No. 17 spot in the AP Top 25 poll last week, but dropped out of the Top 25 after back-to-back losses to No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 23 Georgia.

Overall, the Sooners are 13-3, while the Longhorns are 11-5. Both teams also enter the first of two games against each other this season on three-game losing streaks. We’ll see which team can start to turn their fortune tonight.

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Here’s more details on how you can watch:

  • What: NCAA men’s basketball: Oklahoma vs. Texas
  • When: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025
  • Time: 10 p.m. Eastern
  • Where: Lloyd Noble Center | Norman, Okla.
  • Channel: SEC Network
  • Best Streaming Options: Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial), Sling (promotional offers)

Channel finder if you have cable: You can access the channel by using the channel finders online: Verizon Fios, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV and Dish.



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Oklahoma City Turnover Disparity has Cemented its West-Leading Position

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Oklahoma City Turnover Disparity has Cemented its West-Leading Position


Since a historic season for Oklahoma City a year ago, this team has fortified itself on several fronts just under 40 games into the 2024-25 season.

From rounding out its defense with veteran Alex Caruso, bringing on Isaiah Hartenstein to provide some rebounding padding to letting the young guns grow and blossom into their game, the Thunder has many strengths.Another massive strength of theirs this season has given them many opportunities to come back from deficits and come out on top in tight games.

There are two ways to create more opportunities for shots on the basket outside of solid team defense. The first—rebounding. Without staying afloat on the defensive boards, that is a recipe for disaster and hands the opponent easy shots on goal after the rebound and deflates a defense if it’s repeated. The second—generating turnovers.

That is what Oklahoma CIty is excelling at this season. Their rebounding troubles a year ago eventually seeped in to its playoff performance and was a large part in its ultimate exit against the Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder is still in the bottom half of the league in rebounds per game this season, but that’s a massive improvement from its bottom-four placement a year ago.

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With that improved, the Thunder already gain an upper hand. But coupled with how often this team generates turnovers defensively along with greatly limiting its own turnovers has landed them in the top five of field goals attempted per game.

Through 39 games, Oklahoma City has tallied just 474 turnovers to place second in the NBA in that category. Inversely, the Thunder comfortably lead the league in steals with 451 on the season, or 11.6 per game. Naturally, Oklahoma City leads the league in both points off turnovers and opponent points off turnovers.

It’s a game-changer to have this success in taking care of the ball while also the whole team acting as a ball hound. If the Thunder sustains this, it’s difficult to see anyone in the Western Conference besting them as of now.

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.



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Oklahoma State’s bid for massive comeback from first half deficit at BYU runs out of gas

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Oklahoma State’s bid for massive comeback from first half deficit at BYU runs out of gas


PROVO, Utah — Trevin Knell scored 13 of his 18 points before halftime and reserve Dallin Hall scored 14 points and BYU ended its three-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State 85-69 on Tuesday night.

Richie Saunders scored 12 points and Egor Denim and Keba Keita each scored 10 points for the Cougars (11-5, 2-3 Big 12).

Jamyron Keller and Bryce Thompson scored 15 points apiece and Abou Ousmane 13 for Oklahoma State (9-7, 1-4).

The Cougars built a 17-6 lead and never trailed. BYU went on an offensive onslaught and outscored the Cowboys 25-9 in a 10-minute span and led 42-15 after Dawson Baker made two free throws with 3:23 before halftime. BYU went to the break shooting 15 for 25 and led 46-26.

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But after an 8-of-31 (25.8%) shooting performance in the first half, Oklahoma State started on a blistering 22-5 run in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half and drew within 51-48 on 8-for-10 shooting with Keller going 3 for 3 from 3-point range.

BYU regrouped and went on an 11-2 run for a 62-50 lead with 10:28 left and stayed ahead by double digits for the remainder.

Oklahoma State hosts Colorado on Saturday. BYU will make the 45-minute drive north on Interstate 15 to face Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

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Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.



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