Point guard Byron Eaton was the second-leading scorer for the Cowboys last year, averaging 11.5 points. Eaton said it was difficult to wait 15 days to find out who his next coach would be, but he said Travis Ford make a good first impression with talk of a fast-paced style of play.
When Cowboy coach Travis Ford introduced himself to his new team, he wasn’t expecting the initial reaction he received.
The first question was from sophomore Obi Muonelo, “Were you in ‘The Sixth Man’?”
Ford played Danny O’Grady in the 1997 basketball movie, his only film appearance, and said even after 12 years of coaching, that role seems to follow him.
“I can’t seem to escape that,” Ford said. “My hair was a little bit different color; it was almost a shade of Oklahoma State.”
Once everyone got past his acting career though, Ford said he was excited to tell the players about his coaching style.
Ford’s style calls for up-tempo play on both ends of the court.
“I like to be very aggressive,” Ford said. “My style of basketball, we led the nation in possessions. People say we play very up tempo, but I like to say it’s very aggressive.
“We’re going to put a lot of pressure on people on both ends of the court. We want to run other people into the ground.”
Ford said his style of play is difficult but rewarding.
“I told them they’re going to have to be in the best shape they’ve ever been to play this; it’s going to be extremely hard,” he said. “But, there’s a big but to that, it’s a lot of fun. It’s an incredible amount of fun to play this way.”
Guards Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris, both going into their senior season, said the Cowboys can adapt to the new style.
“We got a lot of shooters on the team,” Eaton said. “I think the biggest thing that’s gonna help us is defense, picking teams up a lot earlier and doing a lot more in transition.”
Harris said the Cowboys’ talents will lend easily to the upbeat tempo.
“We got a lot of athletic, long players, a lot of big guards,” Harris said. “You let them get out and run, it’s gonna really benefit everybody.”
Ford agreed, based on what he’s heard about the players.
“I have not gotten to watch the tape, but I’ve studied stats, I’ve talked to a lot of different coaches, and they all seem to think that this team could fit that style,” Ford said. “I’m anxious to get these guys on the court and get started.”
Ford discussed the athletic attributes he looked for in a player and said the ability to shoot well was at the top.
“You can teach them a lot of things; it’s tough to teach guys to shoot,” he said. “You can make the players play defense and teach them defense, but if you can get someone who can score the basketball and shoot it, I think you have an incredible asset.”
Eaton said it will be difficult at first to start playing for someone new in his final year, but Harris said the change won’t be hard.
“I think it’d be easier, not harder,” Harris said. “I’ve been to the NIT my first three years being here; why not change? It’s my last go-round.”
Harris said the first thing that struck him about Ford was his commanding personality.
“I can tell everybody was just keyed in on him,” Harris said. “I remember when I first got here under Eddie Sutton: whenever he talked, people just listened.
“When [Ford] was talking, I could just tell that my teammates were really interested and really focused on what he had to say.”
Although the Cowboys were interested in what he had to say about coaching, they weren’t quite willing to give his acting a glowing review.
“It’s OK,” Eaton said. “I think I do a better acting job on the court than he does.”
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