Distractions could hinder Cowboys

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Before the season even started, Cowboys coach Travis Ford assigned one key element to his team?s success:

?No outside distractions.?

Uh, oh.


The distractions are piling up for Ford and his squad.

The coming week might prove critical in forecasting this Oklahoma State basketball season.

And it has nothing to do with Tuesday night?s game against Stanford, but instead how the Cowboys cope with issues facing them and their months ahead.

Already, point guard Fred Gulley ? the team?s best perimeter defender ? has been lost for the season to a shoulder injury that will require surgery as early as this week.

Forward Matt Pilgrim, who was dealing with his own shoulder woes, went down at the end of Saturday night?s win over Alabama with a knee injury. It isn?t believed to be serious, yet adds potential delay in the progress of a player who missed most of the preseason under suspension.

The injuries, however, are but minor irritants when compared to what may come next.

News that two so-far-unnamed players are suspects in a sexual assault investigation hangs over the program as the Cowboys roll toward the end of non-conference play and the rugged Big 12 schedule that awaits.

Where the investigation leads threatens to deliver the kind of distraction that can doom this season. There are whispers that the two players are key figures, so the impact could be mighty ? on the floor and off.

The Cowboys, at 10-1, appear to be a solid squad with decent upside and legit NCAA Tournament aspirations, if maintained intact. Yet there?s little room for error, or subtractions, as it?s a team constituted by its parts, not built around a star capable of heaving everyone on his shoulders, the way James Anderson did so many times a year ago.

So the coming days will be telling.

How will Pilgrim?s knee feel? Who among the guards ? Markel Brown? Reger Dowell? ? will ease the burden of Gulley?s loss?

And how will the district attorney perceive the information presented by the Stillwater police? Do arrests and charges follow?

Ford said Saturday night that he couldn?t comment on the situation, with the legal ramifications still unknown. But it was clear that the past few days had been wearing on him.

And it may only get worse.

 

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Ray Penn becoming a more complete point guard
Oklahoma State sophomore Ray Penn had a career-high seven assists in the Cowboys' win over Alabama in the All-College Classic. Penn is shouldering the load at point guard with Fred Gulley out for the season.


? Ray Penn's favorite stat from Saturday night's win over Alabama wasn't his 12 points or his two 3-pointers or the season-high 36 minutes he put in, although he enjoyed all of it.

Penn focused instead on his seven assists, a season-best mark that matched his career high and signaled a step in maturity for the Oklahoma State sophomore point guard.

?I loved it,? Penn said, ?because it made me feel like, ?OK, I'm finally understanding where my guys are.'

?Scoring, that's a plus, but being able to be a playmaker is what it's about.?

Penn came to the Cowboys as a premium prep scorer, having posted 21 games of 20 points or more as a senior, including four in the 30s at Houston's Fort Bend Travis High. His role changed the minute he stepped on the floor at OSU, although his own changing into the role has taken some time.

First, he was derailed by injury, with a stress fracture ending his freshman season after 19 games. Then he fell behind Fred Gulley at the point this season, although the two were essentially in a job share.

Now a twist of fate has changed everything, with Gulley requiring season-ending shoulder surgery. That thrusts Penn not only into the starting job, but also into accepting full responsibility and playing time.

And it continues tonight, with Stanford visiting Gallagher-Iba Arena as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Tip time is 8 p.m.

?I know what Fred's going through,? Penn said. ?Any time someone tells you that your season's over, it hurts, knowing what you went through to prepare for the season. I pray for him, because it's a difficult situation.

?And he was a valuable asset to the team as well.?

Penn's value is now amplified.

Before, Penn and Gulley offered different parts to the whole position; Penn as an offensive option, Gulley as the defensive stopper on the perimeter.

Now it's all on Penn.

?A big load goes on Ray,? said guard and captain Keiton Page.

Penn said he welcomes the chance to prove that he's more than a scorer, even more than a playmaker ? a complete point man.

?The one thing is I'll have to prepare for a little bit more, just because Fred's not there,? Penn said. ?A lot of times when it's time to get a breather, I'm not going to have it.

?But I'm embracing it all, taking it as an opportunity.?

Penn admits to feeling out his place a year ago, when he was a freshman starter on an otherwise experienced team.

?Last year, having James Anderson and Obi Muonelo, and still Keiton Page and Marshall Moses, my role was different,? Penn said. ?I was a scorer coming to college, but you have to recognize the type of personnel you have around you. James Anderson had to have the ball. Obi Muonelo, we had to get him in the flow.

?Last year, your eyes are kind of wide open because it's all new to you. This year, as coach Ford says, once you're a sophomore, you're a senior in his system.?

Ford knows it. And needs it.

The Cowboys are now suddenly thin at the guard spot. Page can and will play some at the point, but is needed more as a scorer. Freshman Markel Brown's development will receive a shove and sophomore Reger Dowell could also find more minutes.

But it's Penn's profile that gets the major boost. And Ford has already crafted a checklist of areas where Penn must improve.

?Consistency. Continue to run our basketball team,? Ford said. ?Be a leader on the court. Have a positive influence on all his teammates by his body language, his actions. Continue to just grasp the role that a point guard needs to be.

?He's got the talent to be a great player, it's just getting better with that talent.?