OSU basketball coach Brad Underwood's transition helped by Phil Forte, Leyton Hammonds
by John Helsley Published: May 3, 2016
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Missouri's Wes Clark (15) gets past Oklahoma State's Leyton Hammonds (23) and Phil Forte III (13) for a shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
STILLWATER — Brad Underwood's early impressions of an inherited Oklahoma State roster have been limited.
Still, what the new Cowboys coach has seen, he's liked, especially from seniors-to-be Phil Forte and Leyton Hammonds.
“I'm ecstatic about Leyton Hammonds and Phil Forte from a leadership standpoint,” Underwood said. “Those are two guys who have tremendous leadership capabilities.”
It's on Underwood and his coaching staff to change the culture of the Cowboys, but it's good to have help. And in Forte and Hammonds, two sharp veterans respected throughout the locker room, Underwood has two major assets in pressing what will be the new company line.
“Those guys have been fabulous,” Underwood said.
Forte and Hammonds are invested, too, since both chose to return, rather than head elsewhere as graduate transfers, with each scheduled to earn degrees this weekend. They'd have been valued pieces on the open transfer market, yet they've bought in to the new coaching staff and the hope something more exists for them at OSU.
“You would definitely want to finish what you started,” Forte said when Underwood was hired. “Just to be able to stay here and be able to go out the right way. And to do it with guys I'm really comfortable with, on and off the court.
“Before I leave here, I want to not only say I won (an NCAA Tournament) game, we made a run.”
Coaches and players have spent little time on the floor together, per NCAA rules. When they have worked together, the emphasis has been heavy on fundamentals: ball-handling, dribbling, shooting.
Off the floor, the focus is on getting stronger, much stronger, with basketball strength and conditioning specialist Jake Manzelmann in charge of an enhanced workout plan.
“The weight room has been one of the biggest areas of emphasis,” Underwood said. “The players have attacked it.”
That goes for point guard Jawun Evans, who's still recovering from shoulder surgery, yet is making progress with his range of motion, and his strength.
“He's been working like crazy in the weight room,” Underwood said. “Mitchell Solomon and Jeffrey Carroll, those guys have made huge strides in the weight room. I've been really impressed.”
Underwood is reviewing OSU's games from a year ago in an attempt to see how these Cowboys play under pressure, although he said he's not trying to draw too many conclusions ahead of his own evaluations still to come.
There remains a possibility to add players to the mix, with Omer Yurtseven of Turkey a primary target as an uncommitted international standout. Yet Underwood finds value in what he's already got, along with four incoming freshmen.
“We inherited a roster, with the guys who have signed, that makes it just about filling in a piece or two,” he said. “It's different from some scenarios where you've got to fill in with six or seven guys. So our approach to recruiting has been maybe a little different, thinking maybe more long-term than immediate.”
And from an immediate standpoint projecting forward, Underwood seems pleased.
The Cowboys finished just 12-20 a year ago overall, 3-15 in the Big 12. Still, Forte missed all but three games with an elbow injury and Evans – the Big 12 Freshman of the Year – missed the last half of the conference schedule with his bum shoulder.
With that guard tandem returning, along with Hammonds, Solomon, Carroll and others – including the newcomers – to a league that loses a high number of seniors, there's optimism for a quick turnaround.
“This is a good group of guys,” Underwood said. “And they've just bought in hook, line and sinker to what we've been doing. That's been comforting to me.
“Helping them try to understand what we're doing is always a challenge for an 18- to 22-year old, because it's change, it's different. But these guys have been very receptive to us. They've bought in. And in turn, we're starting to develop trust and loyalty and all those things we have to have to win a game in December, January, February and March.”
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Missouri's Wes Clark (15) gets past Oklahoma State's Leyton Hammonds (23) and Phil Forte III (13) for a shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
STILLWATER — Brad Underwood's early impressions of an inherited Oklahoma State roster have been limited.
Still, what the new Cowboys coach has seen, he's liked, especially from seniors-to-be Phil Forte and Leyton Hammonds.
“I'm ecstatic about Leyton Hammonds and Phil Forte from a leadership standpoint,” Underwood said. “Those are two guys who have tremendous leadership capabilities.”
It's on Underwood and his coaching staff to change the culture of the Cowboys, but it's good to have help. And in Forte and Hammonds, two sharp veterans respected throughout the locker room, Underwood has two major assets in pressing what will be the new company line.
“Those guys have been fabulous,” Underwood said.
Forte and Hammonds are invested, too, since both chose to return, rather than head elsewhere as graduate transfers, with each scheduled to earn degrees this weekend. They'd have been valued pieces on the open transfer market, yet they've bought in to the new coaching staff and the hope something more exists for them at OSU.
“You would definitely want to finish what you started,” Forte said when Underwood was hired. “Just to be able to stay here and be able to go out the right way. And to do it with guys I'm really comfortable with, on and off the court.
“Before I leave here, I want to not only say I won (an NCAA Tournament) game, we made a run.”
Coaches and players have spent little time on the floor together, per NCAA rules. When they have worked together, the emphasis has been heavy on fundamentals: ball-handling, dribbling, shooting.
Off the floor, the focus is on getting stronger, much stronger, with basketball strength and conditioning specialist Jake Manzelmann in charge of an enhanced workout plan.
“The weight room has been one of the biggest areas of emphasis,” Underwood said. “The players have attacked it.”
That goes for point guard Jawun Evans, who's still recovering from shoulder surgery, yet is making progress with his range of motion, and his strength.
“He's been working like crazy in the weight room,” Underwood said. “Mitchell Solomon and Jeffrey Carroll, those guys have made huge strides in the weight room. I've been really impressed.”
Underwood is reviewing OSU's games from a year ago in an attempt to see how these Cowboys play under pressure, although he said he's not trying to draw too many conclusions ahead of his own evaluations still to come.
There remains a possibility to add players to the mix, with Omer Yurtseven of Turkey a primary target as an uncommitted international standout. Yet Underwood finds value in what he's already got, along with four incoming freshmen.
“We inherited a roster, with the guys who have signed, that makes it just about filling in a piece or two,” he said. “It's different from some scenarios where you've got to fill in with six or seven guys. So our approach to recruiting has been maybe a little different, thinking maybe more long-term than immediate.”
And from an immediate standpoint projecting forward, Underwood seems pleased.
The Cowboys finished just 12-20 a year ago overall, 3-15 in the Big 12. Still, Forte missed all but three games with an elbow injury and Evans – the Big 12 Freshman of the Year – missed the last half of the conference schedule with his bum shoulder.
With that guard tandem returning, along with Hammonds, Solomon, Carroll and others – including the newcomers – to a league that loses a high number of seniors, there's optimism for a quick turnaround.
“This is a good group of guys,” Underwood said. “And they've just bought in hook, line and sinker to what we've been doing. That's been comforting to me.
“Helping them try to understand what we're doing is always a challenge for an 18- to 22-year old, because it's change, it's different. But these guys have been very receptive to us. They've bought in. And in turn, we're starting to develop trust and loyalty and all those things we have to have to win a game in December, January, February and March.”
