It’s a little past the midway mark of summer break, and the new additions to the OSU men’s basketball family are settling into their new home.
The Cowboys are in full swing with their summer routine, which consists of lifting weights in the mornings, going to class and working at Cowboy basketball camps during the day and playing pickup games in the evening.
Despite the fact that it’s off-season and these are just pickup games, freshman forward/center Ibrahima Thomas said, “We’re still just trying to play hard against good competition.”
Big 12 play will be a new experience for the seven players who make up OSU’s recruiting class, one of the best in the conference. There are rumors of the grinding, hard-nosed style of play.
“I have two friends playing at Baylor, so I have heard that [the Big 12] is a hard league,” Thomas said. “If you’re playing basketball in college, that’s what you look for: good competition. That kind of competition makes you better.”
Those are not the only rumors going around. New Cowboys have heard of, but not experienced, the Gallagher-Iba atmosphere.
“I heard it’s pretty loud, like one of the loudest gyms in the nation. It was pretty loud when I came for the basketball bash,” freshman guard James Anderson said.
Anderson was a McDonald’s All-American and a four-star recruit according to rivals.com.
As a senior in Junction City, Ark., Anderson averaged 38 points and 11 rebounds per game and was a state champion in the high jump.
“[Anderson] has just got so much versatility and so much talent,” Coach Sean Sutton said. “He can score from all over the place. He’s a great shooter, but he can also drive the ball.”
Sutton said newcomers Anthony Brown, forward, and Martavius Adams, forward/center, could immediately contribute as impact players.
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