Oklahoma State Cowboys 2010-2011 Season Recap

2010-2011 Record: 20-14

Big 12 Conference Record (Standing) 6-10 (9^th)

Our Preseason Predictions:

Evan: 9th in the Big 12

Matt: 9th in the Big 12

Season MVP: Marshall Moses (Senior)

Maybe some people might think Keiton Page for this spot but Moses led the team in both scoring and rebounding while providing a presence in the post for the Cowboys. For the season he averaged 14.1 points per game and 7.3 rebounds while shooting a solid 55.7% from the floor.  It was a very strong finish for the undersized post player who always found a way to score and rebound efficiently while going against taller opponents. Oklahoma State will miss the work that Moses put in on a nightly basis next season.

Season Recap:

Needless to say it was a tough season for Oklahoma State and not just for things on the court. In early February starting forward Darrell Williams was arrested and charged with rape and he was obviously suspended from the team. The arrest and suspension came just after Williams had been named the Big 12's rookie of the week for his performance against Oklahoma in the Cowboys 81-75 victory. Following the Williams drama, Oklahoma State lost four consecutive conference games, three of which were on the road. The fourth game was a heartbreaker at home to Texas A&M when it looked like the Cowboys were going to win but the Aggies found a way to pull out the 67-66 victory. Those four straight losses knocked the Cowboys down to 4-9 in conference play and essentially ended any hopes of making the NCAA Tournament. In addition to Williams, PG Ray Penn was also suspended from the team and his career at Oklahoma State is over. Even with the off court issues the Cowboys managed to take Kansas to the limit in the Big 12 Tournaments second round as they lost 63-62 to the Jayhawks in a game in which the Cowboys led by as many as eight points. The Cowboys concluded the year in the NIT where they won their opening contest before bowing out in the 2nd round. On the individual players front for the season it was a mostly disappointing and frustrating year. Keiton Page struggled with his three point shot for much of the season as he finished only slightly above 30% for the year and Matt Pilgrim was mostly non-existent as he only averaged 5.4 points a game. Another player who more was maybe expected out of was Markel Brown who came in with a high school rep for scoring but in his first season in Stillwater he only could muster 6.4 ppg and his three point field goal percentage was a dreadful 26.2%. Not all was negative though as the aforementioned Moses had a solid season and newcomer J.P. Olukemi had a strong first season averaging double figures in points at 11.1 ppg. Multiple times Olukemi scored 20+ points in games but at other times he scored only in the single digits so Travis Ford will be looking for more consistency from him next year.

2011-2012 Outlook:

First off for next season is the fact that Oklahoma State welcomes in 5 star SF recruit LeBryan Nash who by most all scouting services is a Top Five recruit nationally. The Cowboys will place a large amount of pressure on him to provide a presence in the post and score points in transition. More help may come from a freshman as Travis Ford has also inked California PG Cesar Guerrero who averaged 28 points per game last year and he oh by the way won the High School 3 point shooting contest at this years Final Four. A few key cogs will also be returning to pair with the freshman in Page, Olukemi, Brown and also guard Roger Dowell who finished the year strong with two double digit scoring performances in the NIT. The addition of Nash alone makes the Cowboys a dangerous team next year and if Guerrero can take some pressure off Page that would really open the offense up for the Cowboys. One potential problem area for the Cowboys is they appear to be woefully thin on size in the post next season as 6'10" Jarred Shaw is the only player on the roster who is listed as taller than 6'8" and he averaged 1.2 points per game last year while collecting a few DNP's along the way.

See our schedule for Season Recaps after the Jump.

Tuesday, April 5    Baylor Season Recap
Wednesday, April 6    Colorado Season Recap   
Friday, April 8    Iowa State Season Recap   
Friday, April 8    Kansas Season Recap   
Monday, April 11    K-State Season Recap   
Tuesday, April 12    Mizzou Season Recap   
Wednesday, April 13    Nebraska Season Recap   
Thursday, April 14    Oklahoma Season Recap   
Friday, April 15    Oklahoma State Season Recap   
Monday, April 18    Texas Tech Season Recap   
Tuesday, April 19    Texas A&M Season Recap   
Wednesday, April 20    Texas Season Recap