The Oklahoma Sooners, from my alma mater, had a miserable season last year by the standards of the University of Oklahoma, an 8-5 record. And yet my home state just dominated the NFL draft. Not only was OU quarterback Sam Bradford, who sat out most of last season because of injury, the number one pick.
Six players from the state of Oklahoma were chosen in the first round. The most players from Oklahoma colleges previously chosen in the first round was four — in 1976 and 1970. The number 3 and the number 4 were also Sooners. So three of top four picks were from OU. If we throw in Oklahoma State University, a Cowboy was number 6. So four of the top ten picks were from Oklahoma schools. One other Sooner and one other Cowboy were also taken in the first round.
In addition to Bradford, the state players who have been drafted are:
— OU’s Gerald McCoy (defensive tackle), taken No. 3 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Click to read more.
— OU’s Trent Williams (offensive tackle), taken fourth by the Washington Redskins. Click to read more.
— OSU’s Russell Okung (offensive tackle), taken sixth by the Seattle Seahawks. Click to read more.
— OU’s Jermaine Gresham (tight end), taken at No. 21 by the Cincinnati Bengals. Click to read more.
— OSU’s Dez Bryant (receiver), taken 24th by the Dallas Cowboys. Click to read more.
via Tulsa World: OU’s Bradford taken No. 1 in NFL draft.
In addition to this good showing, Oklahoma’s first professional sports team–no, we won’t count the Sooners in their scandal years–made the NBA playoffs and the first professional playoff game was played on Oklahoma soil. That would be the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not only that, the Thunder, in its second year of existence, had its coach Scott Brooks named coach of the year and Kevin Durant won the league’s scoring title. In its first year of existence, last year, the Thunder only won 23 games, and here they are in the playoffs against the champion Los Angeles Lakers. Here is a nice description of Durant playing Kobe Bryant in the team’s first home playoff victory:
In a move that could have been perceived as naive, daring or dumb, Kevin Durant asked for a fourth-quarter challenge on Thursday that most would rather avoid. At the urging of Oklahoma City assistant coach Ron Adams, Durant signaled to teammate James Harden to make a switch on defense.
Durant wanted to — no, needed to — guard Kobe Bryant during those final 12 minutes in which Bryant has established his reputation as the best closer in the game.
The move startled Bryant, who isn’t used to having his shots contested by a 6-foot-9 forward with seemingly never-ending, elastic arms. Durant helped force Bryant into missing eight of his 10 field goals in the fourth quarter. He blocked one of Bryant’s shots and saved the ball to preserve a four-point lead, then posted up Bryant, spun around him and nailed a baseline runner in a scintillating sequence that secured the Thunder’s 101-96 win over the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.
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