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Pokusevski 12pts 13reb Highlights ⚫ Poku DoubleDouble vs Bulls ⚪ – YouTube

For the first time in the Thunder era I didn’t watch one minute of the live action of a Thunder game. So for that reason instead of finding the highlights of tonight’s game on video …I’m just calling it in putting this video of a preseason game on my blog instead.

It’s so disheartening…with Cade Cunningham virtually in Sam Presti’s lap…the GM who traded James Harden for Jeremy Lamb and Alex Abrines and then allowed Kevin Durant to walk is going to let the Houston Rockets or Minnesota Timberwolves lose their way to the rights for Cade. It’s just so f–king Oklahoma.

Dallas didn’t help that’s for certain as on the second night of a back to back they sat both Luka and Porzingus on the same night. I wonder if Mark Cuban is colluding with the Rockets for some sort of quid pro quo.

Poku fresh from his reign of dominance in the G League had a decent night with a 14 pt, 8 rb, 3 assist night in thirty minutes of action.. He was +4, 4-11 shooting the basketball, 2-6 shooting the three, and 4-4 from the line. So good for Poku. Eat your fruit and veggies, buddy.

I watched the last Big 12 quarterfinal with Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns edging Chris Beard’s Texas Tech Red Raiders by a 67-66 count. Just a great day of Big 12 Tournament action. I’m somewhat whipped and frazzled from all the hoops. All four games were won by the Vegas favorite and were competitive single digit games. Pretty much the games were a microcosm of the regular season I would say.

Go Cade!

The School of Rock plays Gimme Shelter with Special guest star Orianthi – YouTuT

I need a song like this after the hosing OU took in the final four minutes from the Jayhawk friendly zebras.

Austin Reaves…don’t feel bad, buddy…Bill Russell, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Lebron wouldn’t win a game played anywhere withing thirty miles of the Lawrence campus either.

Billy did beat the Jayhawks once in the Big 8 Tournament at Kemper with the Skeeter Henry group in a blowout so one-sided that even the locale refs couldn’t screw OU.

You’re not going to win close games at either Phog Allen Field House or in Kansas City unless it’s a blowout. The whistles never go the way of the visitor in close games played within thirty miles of the Phog.

Anyway…proud of the OU players for fighting back froma 23 point deficit to within three points late in the game. That’s something to build on going into March Madness which thankfully is going to be played in Indiana instead of Kansas.

Go Cade!

I’ve got a little angst after those two no calls on Austin. I need a second song by the girls.

Ride ‘Em Cowboys (Oklahoma State Fight Song) – YouTube

What an exciting game which had a little bit of everything attached to it to the very end.

O State survived itself and West Virginia to escape with a hard fought 72-69 win to advance to the Big 12 semi-finals against the winner of the Baylor-K State game.

Mike Boynton’s club was pretty much horrible the first twenty-five minutes, but pulled it together enough to overcome a second half double digit deficit against the Mountaineers.

This is what I mean about Mike Boynton and his ball club…they embrace the same dogged mental toughness Boynton had as a point guard at South Carolina.

Next guy up. Forget the last turnover and make a play. Make a sequence of them. And that’s what happened in this game as the Cowboys went on a second half 16-3 spurt which was just enough for the Cowboys to claim their sixth straight win with Cade in the lineup coming down the stretch of the goal acheiving portion of the season.

This was O State’s eighth win of the year over a Top 25 ranked team. O State and Iowa lead the nation in that regard.

I’ll write this on my blog…if O State beats Baylor tomorrow in the semis…I think they get a second regional seed in the same bracket with Gonzaga.

If they win the tournament—the committee has to think about placing two Big 12 teams as No. 1 regional seeds because the way a team finishes is a significant consideration with the committee.

We’ll see.

Great way to start to start the Big 12 quarterfinals.

It’s offical for me…as we head into March Madness both the men and the women have pushed my blog’s storyline into new levels of interest tierdom wise for me at least.

The Thunder to me right now are just a notch above professional wrestling in that none of us from game to game know which games they’re honestly trying to win and which ones they’re trying to lose. If you want the Sunshine Pump–Rainbows and Butterflies takes then the Daily Thunder is your blog. I can’t believe we have to go through thirty-six more of these ‘games’.

But I will say this—the Thunder players are playing hard and conducting themselves as professionals. I just wouldn’t pay $5 dollars to see it in person and pay for parking. It’s not real competition…it’s like professional wrestling this season. Evidently Adam Silver agrees in that the league added the playoff play in games to try and deter league wide tanking.

My tiers right now go… 1 Cade and O State men, 2 OU men, 3 March Madness as a whole, 4 NHL, O State and OU women, and 6 OKC Thunder’s developmental franchise which drafts good players and then locates them around the NBA in both the Eastern and Western conferences.

I don’t watch enough women’s college basketball to write about it on my blog with knowledgable comfort…but I do watch some here and there on Fox Regional every now and again.

Above is Jim Littell the O State head coach of the women’s team. He won the Big 12 Coach of the Year honor this week. His team went 17-7 overall and was 13-5 in league play. Coach Littell succeeded Kurt Budke who was killed in the second tragic O State plane crash several years ago. Congrats to Coach Littell and his young women for their excellent season.

In Norman–Sheri Coale’s team finished strong to get to 11-11 and are on the bubble heading into Kansas City where they will have to play O State for a third time this season in a post season version of Bedlam. I would think the Sooners need a win.

Tomorrow night at 8:30 pm it’s Bedlam III for the women and it won’t be tough for me to bump the Thunder for a good womens’ tournament game.

Good luck to both teams.

Virtual Boomer Sooner – YouTube

Austin Reaves took control in the last four minutes scoring the ball from the field and the free throw line to lead No. 24 OU past Iowa State by a score of 79-73.

Austin led all scorers with 21 points. EJ Harkless played excellent. Devion Harmon was okay, but will need to be better if the Sooners hope to be beat Kansas tomorrow evening in a 5:30pm quarterfinal.

OU’s bench got solid play from Kur Kuath, Jalen Hill, and Olandis Williams. The bench was much better. Brady Manek is basically an offensive situational player and was okay for what he can do.

Moj Gibson for the second straight game only scored three points. That has to change. The Sooners need Gibson in doubles figures making at least three three point shots a game.

Just a tremedous slate of four quarterfinal games tomorrow in Kansas City.

O State plays West Virginia in the 10:30 am game and the Sooners play Kansas in the 5:30pm. Texas tangles with Texas Tech in the late game while Baylor takes on a Kansas State team which has been playing much better down the stretch.

The 15-21 Oklahoma City Thuner host the Dallas Mavericks in a game which you would think the Thunder need to lose. But then again who knows what the Thunder are doing right now with their season.

Clearly…the Thunder are the third tier story basketball-wise this week. Heck…I might even put Sherri Coales’ Lady Sooners ahead of the Thunder this week as the girls could play their way into March Madness with a win or two in the Big 12 Tournament.

OU all-time is 2-1 versus Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament and the Jayhawks will be without their best player tomorrow due to Covid protocol. I would say Moj and Devion have to bring their A games for the Sooners to advance.

Austin Reaves game winning shot vs TCU – YouTube

It’s not OU Senior Night…so I can write this now.

When OU was at 14-5 and winners of eight of nine the formula was simple….play dogged defense for forty minutes and put the ball in Austin Reaves’ hands the last six minutes of the game.

Since 14-5 the Sooners have lost four straight close games and the defense hasn’t been what it needs to be for the Sooners to win some post season games in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.

Defense is a team deal. Lon Kruger’s team as a team has to get their collective energy back on the defensive end of the floor. They have to get better defensive rebounding as well and start winning the fifty-fifty loose balls again. EJ Harkless has to be an elite defender.

Devion Harmon…step up. You’re a helluva player. Start playing like it again.

Moj Gibson…shoot the damn ball.

In a word OU needs to start playing with a chip on their shoulder again with something to prove. They need to get something from the center position as well whether it be Kuath Kur or Brady Manek.

It wouldn’t hurt for Jalen Hill, Olandis Williams and Victor Iwuakor to give the Sooners quality bench minutes like they were doing at 14-5 either. It’s a team deal, guys.

But most of all Lon Kruger needs Austin Reaves to once again be clutch in the game’s final six minutes and make free throws and make every offensive possession count.

Austin Reaves isn’t Cade Cunningham, but he’s a damn good basketball player who made First Team All-Big 12 and in my estimation at 6’5″ could be somewhat like what Ty Jerome from Virginia is showing for the Oklahoma City Thunder as of late. Ty Jerome btw was a key piece in that Virginia national championship team of two seasons ago when we last had a basketball national champion.

OU should be rested…they’re still in the Top 25 because of their brutal strength of schedule and they still have a shot at being a No. 4 seed in March Madness if they can get their game sharp again in Kansas City and play well.

Nothing is easy in the Big 12. OU better be ready to play Iowa State tonight at 8:30pm because this is Iowa State’s season tonight at the Sprint Center in a play-in game on Night One of the Big 12 Tournament.

I’m excited to see all of the Big 12 teams in this year’s tourney. It should be a great tournament.

Coach Kruger…hope you don’t mind.

(3) Jake Owen – Made For You (Official Music Video) – YouTube

This isn’t part of the Lindsey Graham-Donald Trump Love Song Collection.

Instead…it’s dedicated to my son Chris, my awesome daughter-in-law Elaine, and their two wonderful children Little Robert and Aubrey.

I always think of them when I hear this song…because they were literally made for one another and that’s pretty cool.

Cade Cunningham won both the Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman Year of the Year on Monday. Jared Butler from Baylor who will be an NBA first round pick came in a respectable second place in the voting.

OU’s Austin Reeves made the Big 12’s First team.

I would expect Cade to later on become the National Player of the Year as well.

Cade could join an elite club in winning Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same year if he wins NPOTY. That club is one currently… as in Kevin Durant from his lone collegiate season at Texas in 2007-08. The year I went and watched Kevin play at both Norman and Stillwater.

I actually think Cade is more ready to play in the NBA as a rookie than Kevin Durant was because of three factors… 1 his body is NBA ready, 2 he’s much more emotionally mature than Kevin, and 3 he has a more complete game from a defensive standpoint and is a player who can help you win on a night when he doesn’t go off scoring the ball.

Look at the highlights above and forget the 40 points. Cade made every key defensive play his teammmates needed from him at clutch moments in a game which turned his team’s season around at the goal acheiving portion of the season.

There are games when he’s not highlight reel spectacular, but his game is what I would describe as portable in that he can morph his game as to what his teammates are giving Mike Boynton in that particular game. He can fit multiple needs depending on the game.

Hopefully, the NCAA gets it’s act together and gives O State clearance to play in March Madness.

Cade Cunningham, it’s been a pleasure to cover you on my little blog this Big 12 basketball season especially since we didn’t have relevant NBA hoops in Oklahoma City. Hope you guys make a Danny Manning & The Miracles type of run. Go see if you can grab that One Shining Moment, know what I mean.

Good luck, buddy.

(3) Andrew Cuomo, Donald Trump & Dave Chappelle REACT to Meghan & Harry Interview – YouTube

I had no interest in watching the NBA All-Star Game. None. Instead –I watched the Megan Markle — Oprah interview. I can’t believe it took two full hours to show this interview, but it did. Too much hype.

It was very depressing in that it appears even in some corners of the Royal Family there are people even more racist than Trump and the Quanon idiots who follow him.

It was just very sad to watch, but at the same time more interesting than the NBA All-Star Game. So…I watched the show and then followed it by watching the Stanley Tucci Discovering Italy series.

Stanley T inspired me so much I cooked my first ever Chicken Parmesan meal totally on my own tonight.

My wife was completely impressed. This is what not being able to go inside an Italian restaurant in over a year will do to you.

Earlier in the day– Jim Traber just out of the blue on his radio show made some ridiculous out of the blue claim Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player ever….which is total bullshit. Wayne Gretzky is the greatest scorer in the history of hockey who couldn’t fight or check. Wayne Gretzky was a three skill hockey player, not a five skill hockey player like Bobby Orr or Gordie Howe.

I wonder if Traber is reading my blog? He should be if he isn’t —it would broaden his knowledge base.

Anyway…it’s my hope here on the blog this week I don’t write anything about the Oklahoma City Thunder until either Friday or Saturday.

Have a nice warm, sunny Tuesday.

(3) awesome & amazing Bobby Orr highlights – YouTube

(1) Mike Conley “Man of the Year” Mix – YouTube

I’m happy to see Mike Conley finally get a chance to play in an All-Star Game as he was named as replacement player for the upcoming game.

He’s had a nice season so far and is one of the primary reasons the Utah Jazz at the break have the best overall record in the NBA. I’m not picking the Jazz to beat the Lakers when it matters…but from what we’ve seen so far it’s conceivable they could get to the Western Conference Finals given the fact both the Clippers and the Nuggets aren’t as good as they were a year ago.

There’s a great deal of history with Mike Conley and the Oklahoma City Thunder over the years.

Conley was the Grizz point guard on those Memphis teams which had epic battles with Kevin Durant’s Thunder teams when OKC made it to four Western Conference championhips and to that one NBA Finals in 2012.

There was Tony Allen from Eddie Sutton’s last great O State team who went toe to toe with Durant in all of those meetings.

There was the fact that Mike Conley from Ohio State was the fourth player taken in the same 2007 NBA draft in which the Portland Trailblazers selected another Buckeye…Greg Oden over Kevin Durant as the first player taken in that draft class. Another Buckeye from that team Dacquan Cook would later become a bench piece for the 2012 Thunder team which made the Finals.

Even more interesting than that was the fact Mike Conley Sr. became the agent for all three of these Ohio State players.

I know some Thunder fans are bummed SGA didn’t get this spot on the All-Star team, but in reality they shouldn’t be mad at all. Because for over the duration of his NBA career there were times when Conley was on teams which pushed Durant’s teams to the limit every time they played each other… and now in his later NBA years he’s part of making the Utah Jazz the most relevant team in the West so far this season minus LeBron James.

If ever a guy deserved an All-Star game appearance it’s Mike Conley.

(1) Mike Conley “XO TOUR LIFE” Mix ᴴᴰ – YouTube