Oklahoma Basketball: A Legacy of Excellence
Oklahoma's basketball history is rich and diverse, encompassing achievements at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. From the early days of six-on-six girls' basketball to the modern era of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the state has made significant contributions to the sport.
Early Development and High School Basketball
Basketball's arrival in Oklahoma coincided with the opening of Indian Territory to non-Indians and its subsequent evolution into statehood. Following its invention by Dr. James Naismith in 1891, the game rapidly gained popularity. The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University, OSU) established their men's squads in 1907, while the OSU women's team began in 1973, followed by OU's women a year later.
Oklahoma boasts a long-standing tradition in girls' high school basketball. An unofficial championship emerged in 1919, with a sanctioned championship following in 1924. Notably, before 1971, only nine other states offered girls' championship competitions. Bertha Teague, a pioneering figure in women's coaching, began her illustrious career in Byng, Oklahoma, in 1927, amassing 1,157 wins and eight state championships.
Oklahoma high schools uniquely played six-on-six basketball for an extended period. In 1987, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association granted teams the option of choosing between five-on-five and six-on-six formats. However, after the 1995 season, all high schools transitioned to the five-on-five game. The six-on-six format involved three players attempting to score on one goal while the other three defended the opposite goal, with players restricted from crossing the half-court line. While these rules may seem archaic, they evolved several times after 1919.
Initially, girls' basketball featured three courts or zones, with defenders advancing the ball to centers in the middle court, who then passed to forwards for scoring attempts. Dribbling was limited, and players were prohibited from touching opponents or blocking shots. In 1939, the rules changed to two courts, and in 1951, both boys and girls could use the same rules within those courts. Charles Heatly, during his forty years as a coach and administrator at Lindsay, elevated the high school girls' basketball tradition, leading teams to the state tournament fourteen times, securing two championships, establishing the state's first girls' basketball camp (one of the earliest nationally), and founding the state's All-State game.
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In smaller towns where fielding a high school football team was not feasible, basketball and baseball became prominent. Both small-town and inner-city schools have nurtured future NBA stars and exceptional basketball teams. Oklahoma crowned its first state champion in basketball in 1918, marking the state's inaugural championship in any sport. While the top three state career-points leaders-Ty Harman (Maud, 3,639 points by 1989), Keiton Page (Pawnee, 3,709 by 2008), and Rotnei Clark (Verdigris, 3,758 by 2008)-hailed from small towns, the most renowned state players, Wayman Tisdale (Tulsa Washington, 1982) and Mark Price (Enid, 1982), emerged from cities. The 1982 class, featuring Tisdale, Price, Anthony Bowie (Tulsa East Central), and Steve Hale (Jenks), is considered one of the greatest in state history.
The Price family stands out as one of Oklahoma basketball's "first families." Denny Price scored forty-two points in the finals to lead Norman High to the 1956 state championship, later starring for the University of Oklahoma and the Phillips 66ers. He eventually became the head coach at Phillips University and was chosen as a co-head coach for the Oklahoma Storm, a United States Basketball League team, in its inaugural 2000 season. His sons, Mark, Matt, and Brent, also excelled in high school basketball and played college ball, with Mark and Brent reaching the NBA. Denny passed away in December 2000 while playing basketball with his sons.
Segregation and Historically Black Colleges
Until the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) decision, Oklahoma's public school systems, like those in much of the nation, were segregated. Basketball became exceptionally popular in small towns with Black populations and segregated schools. The historically All-Black towns of Taft and Boley continued to win state championships even after integration, with Taft securing the Class C championship for three consecutive years (1960-62).
Many of these Black players attended Langston, Oklahoma’s African American college, playing for Zip Gayles, who coached athletic programs there for thirty-five years (1930-65). In 1946, Gayles, with 571 career wins, coached Marques Haynes, the twins Lance and Lawrence Cudjoe, and Frank Luster to an upset victory over the Harlem Globetrotters in Oklahoma City. Haynes and the Cudjoes subsequently joined the Globetrotters. Hubert "Geese" Ausbie, a Crescent native, also became a Harlem standout. Lawrence Cudjoe dedicated twenty-six years to coaching Oklahoma basketball at Pawnee Lincoln and Oklahoma City Douglass high schools, as well as at Langston.
An analysis of the geographical distribution of Oklahoma’s early- to mid-twentieth-century high school state championships reveals that teams from the central, northern, and western parts of the state won more titles. Southern Oklahoma’s rural character may have contributed to this pattern. Other possible factors include coaching, economics, or cultural interests within these regions. Following the end of segregated competition in 1955, Okmulgee, Muskogee, Seminole, and Okfuskee counties, which had larger African American populations than the rest of the state, began to secure championships.
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Division I College Basketball
When discussing Division I college basketball in Oklahoma, the name Henry Iba immediately comes to mind. He served as the coach at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University, OSU) for thirty-six years. His teams, anchored by Missouri native Bob Kurland and an all-Oklahoman cast, won national championships in 1945 and 1946. Iba also coached two gold-medal-winning Olympic basketball teams (1964 and 1968) and a silver-medal winner (1972). Renowned for his strong defense, he cultivated a network of disciples who coached Oklahoma high school basketball for decades.
At the University of Oklahoma (OU), Bruce Drake was another innovator. His "Drake shuffle" involved a series of picks designed to create open mid-range jump shots. Through an article in the Saturday Evening Post, he contributed to the outlawing of goaltending. After playing on the undefeated 1928 OU basketball team that won the Missouri Valley Conference and the first Big Six title the following year, Drake coached the 1939 Oklahoma team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) first Final Four, where they lost to Oregon in the semifinals, and to the final game of the 1947 tournament, where they lost to Holy Cross. In 1988, under the guidance of coach Billy Tubbs and led by Mookie Blaylock, Harvey Grant, and Stacey King, OU competed for the national championship but lost to Danny Manning and the Kansas Jayhawks. Overall, OU has secured 21 conference championships, made 33 appearances in the NCAA tournament, and reached the Final Four 5 times.
Other Division I teams have also achieved success. OSU has won its conference title nineteen times. Bryant "Big Country" Reeves and Randy Rutherford led an Eddie Sutton-coached Oklahoma State University team to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in 1995, marking the first time since 1951. OSU has returned to the NCAA Final Four five more times. After Nolan Richardson’s team won the National Invitational Tournament in 1981, the University of Tulsa has advanced to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen three times and to the Elite Eight in 2000. Several former Tulsa coaches have gone on to have distinguished careers in college basketball. Richardson built powerhouses at Arkansas, Tubby Smith coached at Kentucky, and Bill Self became the coach of a Final Four team at Illinois. Self played at Oklahoma State and served as an OSU assistant before becoming the head coach at Oral Roberts University, the state’s only other NCAA Division I school at the end of the twentieth century, and then moving to Tulsa. Oral Roberts University began playing NCAA basketball in 1965 and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in 1974.
The All-College Basketball Classic, sponsored by the Oklahoma City newspaper, the Daily Oklahoman, was the nation’s oldest holiday basketball tournament, starting in 1935. Many great players, including Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Pete Maravich, and Karl Malone, participated in the tournament, which was discontinued after 2016.
University of Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in intercollegiate men's basketball. The program competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Sooners play their home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has won 14 conference championships, 7 conference tournaments. The team has participated in five Final Fours and holds the record for most NCAA tournament wins without a championship. As of the 2022 season, they are tied for 12th all-time in NCAA tournament appearances. In addition to their tournament successes, the program has produced 33 All-Americans including Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King, Harvey Grant, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor, Hollis Price, Buddy Hield, and Blake Griffin, 9 first-round draft picks, including one No. 1 overall pick in Blake Griffin.
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The Sooners enjoyed moderate success on the court during this era, posting just 16 losing records in their first 72 seasons. They were led by 9 different coaches during this period, beginning with Bennie Owen (who also coached the football team) and ending with Dave Bliss in 1980. The Sooners participated in the very first Final Four in 1939.
The program gained national prominence under Billy Tubbs when he took over in 1981. Star players Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, and Stacey King guided the Sooners to several deep runs in the NCAA tournament. Tubbs resigned on April 10, 1994, indicating that "he did not feel appreciated enough working at a football school" (he later reconciled with the administration and enjoyed a healthy relationship with the school up until his death from leukemia in 2020). Tubbs' base salary at Oklahoma in his final season was $107,000 annually. Tubbs' record at OU was 333-132 (0.716) overall, 126-70 (0.643) conference, with 10 NCAA tournament appearances, one Final Four appearance, and one National Title Game appearance.
Kelvin Sampson became the 11th head coach at the University of Oklahoma on April 25, 1994. Sampson was named national coach of the year in 1995 (his first year at OU) by the Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers Association, and Basketball Weekly after guiding the Sooners to 23-9 overall and 15-0 home marks. It was the second-best overall record posted by a first-year coach in Big 8 history. Sampson possesses the highest winning percentage in Oklahoma history (.719). He guided OU to nine consecutive 20-win seasons. He averaged 24.4 wins over those nine campaigns. He directed the Sooners to postseason tournament berths in each of his 12 seasons (11 NCAA tournaments), with a Sweet 16 showing in 1999, a Final Four appearance in 2002, and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. His teams also played in the Big 12 Tournament title game on five occasions during the 10 seasons he coached in the Big 12. In 2001, 2002, and 2003 the Sooners won that tournament. Sampson finished with a Big 12 Tournament record of 17-7. Standouts Eduardo Nájera and Hollis Price helped the Sooners maintain a streak of 25 straight postseason appearances, the longest in the nation. Sampson's record at OU was 279-109 (0.719) overall, 128-60 (0.681) conference, with 11 NCAA tournament Appearances, including one Final Four appearance. In the Big 12, Sampson had 3 Conference tournament Titles and 1 Conference regular season Title. During his final season at OU, Sampson's salary was approximately $900,000 annually, not including bonuses.
During Sampson's tenure, Oklahoma was placed under a three-year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits.
On April 11, 2006, Jeff Capel was named the 12th head basketball coach at Oklahoma, succeeding Kelvin Sampson. Though the Sooner Nation as a whole greeted Capel's hiring with optimism, one notable downside of the coaching change emerged-Sampson's departure caused three of the players who had signed with OU (once considered a top-five recruiting class) to rethink each's decision to attend OU. Scottie Reynolds went on to Villanova, and Damion James to Texas. In his first year, after going 8-4 in non-conference games, with losses to Memphis, Purdue, Villanova, and Alabama, the Sooners started 6-3 in conference play, before losing their final 7 conference games. In his second year, after signing McDonald's All-American Forward Blake Griffin, the Sooners finished 21-10 during the regular season (9-7 in Big 12 play) earning them a No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, where they won one game before losing to Texas in the semi-finals. They received a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they defeated St. Joseph's in the first round before losing to No. 3 seed Louisville in the second round, finishing the season at 23-12, an improvement of 7 wins over the previous season.
Player of the Year Candidate Blake Griffin announced he would be returning for his sophomore season, forgoing a possible lottery-pick status in the NBA draft. The team experienced one of the best starts in school history at 25-1, until Griffin was sidelined with a concussion during the first half of the OU-Texas game on February 21, 2009. The Sooners went on to lose consecutive games for the first time all season, to Texas by 5 in Austin and Kansas by 9 in Norman. Without their star player, the Sooners fell short. Griffin returned to the lineup on February 28, 2009, and the Sooners returned to their winning ways defeating Texas Tech by 15 in Lubbock on 2/28/09, before losing on the road to Missouri, who was undefeated at home, and finishing the regular season by sweeping in-state rival Oklahoma State, who had won 7 of their previous 8 games. Capel's Sooners were granted a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament, and easily beat No. However, after hitting nine three-pointers during the previous game with Syracuse, the Sooner guards went 0/15 from beyond the arc during the first 35 minutes of their Elite 8 game against North Carolina, before finishing 2-19 in the game. This ultimately led to their demise by the Tar Heels on March 29, losing 60-72. Unanimous All-American Forward and Player of the Year Blake Griffin finished the tournament with 114 points and 60 rebounds, becoming the first player to accomplish such a feat in over 40 years. Griffin, who gave up his final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft, and was the #1 pick. The Sooners finished Capel's third season at 34-2, the school's first 30+ win season since 2002, and 2th overall.
Even with the loss of starters Austin Johnson, Taylor Griffin, and Blake Griffin, the Sooners had two incoming McDonald's All-American recruits in point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin and center Keith "Tiny" Gallon. Paired with returning McDonald's All-American guard Willie Warren, guard Tony Crocker, and former reserve forward Ryan Wright, the Sooners had a chance to post yet another successful season and were poised make another deep run into the NCAA tournament. Despite high hopes and a preseason ranking of No. 16, Jeff Capel and his Sooners proved to be one of the most overrated teams in the 2009-2010 season. After a mediocre 13-9 start, their season slipped away as they lost their last nine games of the season, including a first-round loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament, leaving them with a 13-18 record to cap off the season. Capel's record at OU was 83-69 (0.546) overall, 33-43 (0.463) in conference (with 13 total wins and 4 conference wins having been vacated), with 2 NCAA tournament Appearances, and one Elite Eight appearance. Capel finished 2010-11 with a 14-18 record and a loss to the Texas Longhorns in the 2011 Big 12 Tournament.
Lon Kruger was hired by OU to replace Jeff Capel as head coach prior to the 2011-12 season. Kruger had previously coached at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, and UNLV. The 2012-13 season yielded a surprising 20-12 (11-7 Big 12, 4th) finish and resulted in the program's first NCAA tournament bid since Blake Griffin led the school to the Elite 8 in 2009. The 2013-14 season continued this trend of improvement, as the Sooners finished 23-10 overall (12-6 Big 12, 2nd). 4 of the 5 starters from the 2013-14 team returned for the 2014-15 season. Guard Buddy Hield was Big 12 player of the year as OU made it to the Big 12 tournament semifinals before Iowa State bounced them out. In the 2015-2016 season, Oklahoma finished 24-6 in the regular season, and despite losing to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament's second round, received a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma easily beat Cal State Bakersfield in the first round but struggled to finish off VCU in the second round despite an early 21-7 lead. Oklahoma then went on to defeat Texas A&M 77-63 to advance to the west regional final where the Sooners defeated top-seed Oregon 80-68 to advance to the Final Four. Their Final Four opponent was Villanova, also a number two seed who upset Big 12 rival and number one seed Kansas to reach the Final Four. Lon Kruger is the first coach in history to take 5 different schools to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Sooners have appeared in the NCAA tournament 34 times. Their combined record is 42-33. The Sooners have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) eight times.
Women's College Basketball
Oklahoma women’s basketball arrived on college campuses later but experienced rapid growth over half a century. The OU women have won the NCAA conference thirteen times and reached three Final Fours under the leadership of legendary coach Sherri Coale, who dedicated twenty-five years (1996-2021) to the Sooners. OSU’s women have secured three NCAA conference championships and have participated in sixteen NCAA tournaments. Small-college ball has also flourished. The Southern Nazarene women’s team won six NAIA national championships from 1989 to 2003, including four consecutive titles in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. The Oklahoma City University women won the NAIA crown in 1999, 2000, and 2001. The Women’s National Basketball Association has drafted a total of fifteen OU players, including Crystal Robinson, Keitha Dickerson, Courtney Paris, and Danielle Robinson. OSU has sent six women to the NBA, including Andrea Riley and Toni Young. Other Oklahomans have competed at many nationally prominent colleges.
Small-College Men's Basketball
Small-college men’s basketball in Oklahoma has been consistently excellent. NAIA and NCAA Division II schools, primarily using Oklahoma talent, have consistently achieved winning records. Oklahoma City University men's basketball has also maintained a high standard. Abe Lemons coached OCU basketball for twenty-five years (1955-73, 1983-90), accumulating 599 career wins (including his time at the University of Texas and Pan-American University). OCU transitioned from NCAA I basketball to NAIA when Lemons began his second stint, but the school won four NAIA National Championships in the 1990s, developing rivalries with Oklahoma Christian College (now Oklahoma Christian University) and Oklahoma Baptist University. Oklahoma Christian won national NAIA championships in 2007 and 2008. Paul Hansen, an assistant to Lemons for eighteen years, coached at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) for five years after serving as head coach at OCU (1973-79) and at OSU (1979-86). He led USAO to the district play-offs twice and to the conference semifinals in 1990. Since then, USAO has won five conference titles and has made five appearances in the NAIA Tournament, winning the national championship in 2002 under Brisco McPherson’s coaching. Oklahoma’s small-college tradition boasts an excellent reputation, and other colleges, as well as junior colleges not specifically mentioned, have all had competitive teams and numerous championships.
Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Early Professional Basketball
Before the NBA offered enormous salaries to basketball players, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sanctioned teams fielded by companies such as Phillips Petroleum. The Phillips 66ers were an AAU dynasty, winning six straight national amateur championships (1943-48) and eight overall. Phillips Petroleum, founded in 1917, organized its first basketball team in 1921. Its first star was Paul Endacott, who was named the AAU player of the year for Kansas University in 1923. The 66ers attracted top talent, and in 1946, former Oklahoma A&M (OSU) star Bob Kurland joined the team. The Olympic team was coached by 66ers coach Bud Browning. The 66ers era concluded in 1968 as professional basketball’s popularity surged. Four former 66ers have served as Phillips Petroleum board chairs, and the team served as an advertising asset for over forty years. Various women’s AAU programs, such as the Presbyterian College Cardinals (Durant) and the Tulsa Business School Stenos, won five straight titles in the 1930s.
In 1988, the Fast Breakers, Tulsa’s first professional basketball team, played its inaugural season and won the Continental Basketball League (CBA) championship. In 1990, the Oklahoma City Cavalry joined Tulsa in the CBA, a developmental association for the NBA. The Fast Breakers left Tulsa in 1992, and the Cavalry encountered financial difficulties and departed Oklahoma City in 1997 after winning the championship. The Enid Storm joined the United States Basketball League in 2000 and was the state’s only professional basketball team at the end of the twentieth century.
NBA in Oklahoma City: The Thunder Era
NBA basketball arrived in Oklahoma in 2005, when Oklahoma City temporarily hosted the New Orleans Hornets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The team remained in Oklahoma City for two seasons (2005-06, 2006-07). In 2006, Clayton I. Bennett, an Oklahoma City business entrepreneur, formed an investors group that acquired the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics. He negotiated a team relocation and brought “the Sonics,” renamed the “Oklahoma City Thunder,” to the Sooner State for the 2008-09 season. The Sonics had played thirty-eight seasons in the NBA (1968-2008), reaching the league finals three times (1978, 1979, 1996) and winning the NBA championship in 1979.
The Thunder compiled twelve winning seasons during their first sixteen years in Oklahoma City (2008-09 through 2023-24). They made the playoffs eleven times, advancing to the Western Conference finals in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2012, they progressed to the league finals but lost to the Miami Heat.
P. J. (Peter John) Carlesimo coached the Thunder during their transitional first two seasons, followed by Scott Brooks (NBA Coach of the Year, 2009-10), Billy Donovan, and Mark Daigneault (NBA Coach of the Year, 2023-24). Notable players include Kevin Durant (NBA Most Valuable Player, 2013-14), Russell Westbrook (NBA Most Valuable Player, 2016-17), James Harden, Paul George, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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