Tramel's ScissorTales: Is Jacie Hoyt turning Oklahoma State basketball into a Big 12 power?

OSU’s women’s basketball never has won a Big 12 championship. Regular season or tournament.

The Cowgirls won the 1991 Big Eight title; they won the 1990 and 1991 Big Eight Tournaments. That was more than 30 years ago.

But as OSU prepares to play Miami at 1 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA Tournament at Bloomington, Indiana, the outlook for Cowgirl basketball is bright.

How bright? OSU could be positioned to become a force in Big 12 women’s basketball.

“Absolutely,” said OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg. “And that is the goal. That’s the goal for every one of our sports. That’s why I was confident, with the right leader, Cowgirl basketball could be in that same position, competing for championships every year.”

That right leader, Jacie Hoyt, hired last April, coached the Cowgirls to a surprising 21-11 record and the 8-seed in the Greenville-2 Regional.

More:Oklahoma State vs. Miami women's basketball: What to know about Cowgirls' NCAA Tournament foe

The Friday ScissorTales salute the latest record set by Oklahoma City University softball coach Phil McSpadden and rank the greatest rookie seasons in Thunder history. But we start with OSU’s women’s basketball team.

Hoyt’s arrival comes at a confluence of major changes. First, Kim Mulkey, who coached Baylor for 21 years and to three NCAA championships, left two years ago for Louisiana State.

And after next season, OU and Texas leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners and Longhorns were co-champions of the Big 12 this season.

Baylor remains a force in the league. Iowa State under Bill Fennelly annually produces quality teams. Incoming member Brigham Young has a solid women’s basketball tradition.

But the Cowgirls could crowd their way into the conversation. And Hoyt’s success in Year 1 is fueling rampant optimism.

"I was confident that she was the right choice for us for all the reasons that everybody’s been able to see,” Weiberg said. “The job she did at UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City), to have the kind of success she had, I felt confident that if she could figure that out there, she certainly could figure it out here.”

UMKC, of the Summit League, is a program with meager resources. The Kangaroos play their games in a student recreational facility.

More:How Jacie Hoyt's lost opportunity 18 years ago set her on a path to be OSU's head coach

But Hoyt’s UMKC won the 2020 Summit League and was headed to the NCAA Tournament, until the pandemic forced a cancellation of the season.

Hoyt’s final UMKC team went 23-9 and drew Weiberg’s interest. Hoyt secured a variety of quality players in the transfer portal, put them with a few holdovers, and OSU had a breakout season.

“It was time for a revival, and we definitely understand that,” said point guard Naomie Alnatas, who followed Hoyt from UMKC.

Fennelly is 65 and won’t coach forever. Baylor has fallen off some under new coach Nicki Collen. It’s not crazy to see the Cowgirls as a potential Big 12 powerhouse.

“What she’s accomplished already in year one shows that yes, we’re going to be positioned to be able to do that,” Weiberg said.

“I think she’s exceeded even all my expectations. How quickly she’s been able to turn it around. She’s quick to give her staff a lot of credit for helping put this all together. She deserves a ton of credit for A) putting that staff together, and B) she’s a big part of putting this team together and coaching it the way she has.”

Success in this NCAA Tournament would help launch that campaign. But either way, the future of OSU women’s basketball looks bright in the new-look Big 12.

More:That botched play in the WCWS hurt, but now, OSU coach Kenny Gajewski 'wouldn't change it'

The List: Top Thunder rookies

During preparation for the Thunder Buddies podcast Friday, host Michael Martin asked me about Santa Clara Williams and his status among rookies in Thunder history.

So I decided to answer the question with some research. Here’s what I found. The 10 best rookies in Thunder – not including the Seattle SuperSonic years – history.

1. Santa Clara Williams: There’s just too much here to land anywhere else. Traditional stats are solid: 13.6 points a game, second only behind Russell Westbrook among OKC rookies; 4.4 rebounds; 3.2 assists; 52.1% shooting. Solid defense; 1.4 steals per game. Santa Clara’s advanced stats carry the day. In player efficiency rating (PER), Santa Clara ranks No. 1 among rookies in Thunder history, 15.5. The total package in a 6-foot-6 frame that allows Santa Clara to play anywhere from power forward to point guard. 

2. Serge Ibaka: A 2009-10 rookie on the Thunder’s breakout team that 50 games, up from 23 the year before. Ibaka averaged just 6.3 points a game, but that’s mostly because Scotty Brooks and not much of anyone else realized Ibaka’s potential. But Ibaka was an immediate defensive force. He averaged 1.3 blocked shots per game in just 18.1 minutes. Ibaka’s defense was a major reason why the Thunder reached 50 wins. His PER of 15.2 is second-best ever among Thunder rookies.

3. Russell Westbrook: The rookie Westbrook, 2008-09, was the veteran Westbrook, only less attitude. Westbrook averaged 15.3 points a game, which remains a Thunder rookie record. His PER (15.2) is just a hair behind Santa Clara and Ibaka. Westbrook’s 5.3 assists remain a career low, but so did his 3.3 turnovers per game, and he was averaging 32.5 minutes, which also is a Thunder rookie record.

4. James Harden: Harden averaged just 9.9 points a game as a 2009-10 rookie, but remember two things. Shots weren’t distributed equitably in the Kevin Durant/Westbrook days, and the Thunder (and the entire NBA) scored signficantly less than now, 13 years later – 16.5 points per game less. Harden made just 40.3% of his rookie shots, but 37.5% of his rookie 3-pointers. And his playmaking wasn’t yet apparent, since Harden was not the defacto backup point guard he became in his later Thunder years.

5. Josh Giddey: Giddey is the No. 3 rookie scorer in Thunder history, 12.5 points a game, and scoring is near the bottom of Giddey’s attributes. Giddey averaged 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season, huge numbers for anyone, much less a 19-year-old rookie.

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6. Steven Adams: In 2013-14, the Thunder wasn’t invested heavily in player development. The Thunder was trying to win and win big. So Adams, a 7-foot New Zealand project when he showed up out of Pittsburgh U., played just 14.8 minutes a game as a rookie. Ousmane Dieng has averaged more minutes as a 2022-23 Thunder rookie. But the Thunder got to the Western Conference semifinals against the Clippers and the West finals against the Spurs, and Brooks realized Adams’ value. Adams’ minutes per game went up to 21.5 and 22.6, respectively.

7. Eric Maynor: We sometimes forget how valuable was Maynor as a 2009-10 rookie. The Thunder was 13-13 when it traded for Maynor in late Decmeber. OKC went 37-19 the rest of the way and pushed the defending champ Lakers in a memorable six-game series. Maynor’s PER of 11.6 was the eighth-best among Thunder rookies. Maynor averaged just 4.5 points a game but had a tremendous assist/turnover ratio of 3.4/1.0.

8. Cameron Payne: Payne is considered somewhat of a bust, the 14^th overall pick in the 2015 draft who never caught root in OKC. He was traded in his second Thunder season. But as a rookie, Payne played solid. He didn’t play a lot; Billy Donovan wasn’t keen on young players, either. But Payne averaged 1.9 assists and 0.8 turnovers per game, a good ratio, and while he averaged just 5.0 points, his shooting was OK, 32.4% from 3-point range. Payne’s PER was 12.9.

9. Arkansas Williams: It’s not correct to say that Arkansas is overshadowed by his twin, Santa Clara Williams. Sharing the same name (Arkansas Jaylin, Santa Clara Jalen) has turned them into NBA curiosities. But either way, Arkansas is having a fine rookie season: 25 starts at center, 38 games, a 41.3% (!) 3-point shooter, a solid rebounder and a charge-taking phenom. Williams might eventually be undersized as a center, but the Thunder is finding out, while also developing a player who has shown potential. His PER of 11.2 equals Adams’ rookie PER.

10. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: Surprised? You shouldn’t be. JRE as a rookie is not the JRE you see now. This JRE has been injured and surpassed on the depth chart, by Arkansas Williams. But Robinson-Earl as a rookie made 36 starts, played 49 games, averaged 7.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 35.2% from deep. The JRE story is instructive. His future with the Thunder seemed rather bright. Then Arkansas Williams showed up. You never know.

More:Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams make NCAA Tournament picks. Check their brackets.

OCU's Phil McSpadden jumps Arizona's Mike Candrea

Phil McSpadden didn’t know the record was within reach until he arrived at Mid-America Christian’s softball park last week.

The 35-year Oklahoma City University coach bumped into OCU booster Hub Worrell at the park. Worrell said he had come to see McSpadden break the all-time record for college softball coaching victories, all levels. Junior college, small college, major college.

McSpadden felt a little sheepish. He would be breaking Mike Candrea’s record.

McSpadden’s Stars indeed swept Mid-America Christian, raising his career record to 1,860-404. Candrea, who coached Arizona to eight NCAA championships, won 1,859 games at UofA and Central Arizona Junior College.

“I’m just telling the real life feeling, not trying to be overly dramatic, extra humble,” McSpadden said. “I feel guility. If you’ve been in softball, Candrea is the pinnacle.

“He’s the one that should always have that record. Candrea will always be the king. He always has been, always will be, considered the greatest.”

McSpadden doesn’t know how to say it delicately, but Candrea was a pioneer for male softball coaches.

“When I first got into this — I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a chauvinst — guys would talk about, ‘there’s a job open here,’” McSpadden said. “Next question, ‘do you think they’d hire a male?’”

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The giants in the early days of NCAA softball were female coaches. Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist at UCLA. Margie Wright at Fresno State.

But along came Candrea to break the mold. His first Women’s College World Series title was in 1991, and his Wildcats won eight in a 17-year span.

“When I first got into this, at the D-I level, I think there were only four or five male coaches,” McSpadden said. “Almost immediately, because he was so successful, he seemed to break the barrier of women accepting you in the sport.

“It’s generally accepted he’s the one that was allowed to be a part of the gang, especially at the top. Guys (before) would sit at the back of the room at a convention. Didn’t seem to be a lot of (male/female) hobknobbing in recruiting at ballparks.

“Candrea seemed like he was the one that showed athletic directors they might go this route, because he’s the one winning all the games.”

OCU had a male coach, Jay Miller, when it was in NCAA Division I. But when the university dropped to NAIA in 1985, Miller took the Missouri job. And OCU hired McSpadden out of Ponca City High School.

Eleven NAIA national titles (including 2022) and 1,860 victories later, McSpadden still is coaching.

McSpadden said he’s not sure how much longer he’ll coach. He figured last season would be his final year. But he doesn’t fish, doesn’t hunt, doesn’t really have any hobbies.

“I realized, I didn’t what I’m supposed to do now,” McSpadden, 67, said. Softball “gives me a purpose, gives me some structure, and I don’t have a bad job. So I don’t have a plan.”

Other than keep winning softball games.

“I’m pefectly perfectly fine, being a small-time coach,” McSpadden said. “Matter of fact, I didn’t even know there was a record to be broken.”

More:Tramel's ScissorTales: Sooners' transition from Sherri Coale to Jennie Baranczyk 'perfect'

Big 12 Tournament revenues soar

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was hired to fortify the conference coffers. Television contract, new marketing, sponsorships, all those components can be wrapped up in revenue enhancements.

And Yormark has delivered. Just take the Big 12 Tournament, for instance.

Yormark notoriously moved the media off their floor seats to the hockey pressbox, high above the T-Mobile Center court. The media griped, of course, because that’s often what we do best.

But there was no decision to be made. Yormark’s premium-seating plan brought in approximately $1.5 million in extra revenue, and that number figures to go up next season, since the Big 12 has produced a waiting list for those courtside views and the accompanying benefits, like food and beverage in a back-tunnel club.

The Big 12 announced that the tournament was the highest-grossing in conference history, with a 38% increase in ticket revenue from 2022 (and a 20% increase from the women’s tournament).

The men averaged 18,022 people per session; the women averaged 5,077.

The Big 12 brought in Shaquille O’Neal for his DJ Diesel act. The After Party on Saturday night in the Power & Light District drew a crowd of almost 7,000.

“I am thrilled with the results,” Yormark said. “As we continue to reimagine our championships, our No. 1 priority will always be to create value and drive revenue for our member institutions.”

Safe to say Yormark’s Big 12 administrators are thrilled as well.

More:Tramel: Why a nine-game SEC football schedule is no sure thing when OU, Texas join

Mailbag: Where’s Ibaka?

Thunder alumni often come to the mind of fans.

Margaret: “Where is Serge Ibaka? Did he retire?

Tramel: No. The Milwaukee Bucks worked a buyout agreement with Ibaka on his contract a few weeks ago, making him a free agent. But so far, no team has signed Ibaka.

It’s a delicate maneuver. Often, when a veteran falls out of the rotation in the final year of his contract, he seeks a new situation. But sometimes, the player discovers he’s not necessarily sought after.

Ibaka is 33 and not near the player he was in his Thunder prime.

The Thunder traded Ibaka to Orlando in June 2016, in a one-sided trade that brought OKC Victor Oladipo, the just-drafted Domantas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova. The Magic traded Ibaka to Toronto the next February.

Over his first four post-Thunder years, Ibaka’s scoring went up in Orlando and Toronto. He had acquiesced to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for years. Ibaka’s rebounding stayed steady. And in Toronto, Ibaka helped the Raptors win the 2019 NBA title.

But Ibaka’s shot-blocking waned. He averaged 2.5 blocks per game with OKC, but only 1.2 and 1.6 with the Magic and Raptors, respectively.

Then Ibaka moved on to the Clippers and eventually the Bucks, and his impact waned with both teams. His career is nearing an end.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Can Jacie Hoyt make Oklahoma State women's basketball a Big 12 power?