Tramel's ScissorTales: Why late Eufaula coach Paul Bell meant much to OU football & the Selmon brothers
Paul Bell died Saturday at age 89, and maybe you don’t know the Paul Bell name. But you probably know the Paul Bell story.
It’s funny how football careers are made. It’s funny how lives are changed.
Bell coached football at Eufaula High School for 18 years, 1961-78, where he coached the Selmon brothers – Lucious, Dewey, Lee Roy; each an all-American defensive lineman at OU -- and eventual Sooner quarterback star J.C. Watts.
Bell also coached at Holdenville and Hugo, but it was his time in Eufaula for which he was known. Bell lived in Eufaula during retirement. A memorial service will be scheduled later.
“Ironhead Nation has lost a great, great man,” current Eufaula coach Larry Newton posted on Facebook. “Coach Paul Bell had so much of an impact in a community that he loved. I as a head coach have always wanted our teams to have that Coach Bell toughness. I always strived to do the things that Coach Bell would be proud of. Mr. Maroon will be missed.”
Lee Roy Selmon is missed, too. He died in 2011 at age 56.
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But in the days leading up to Selmon’s 1995 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he told me the story of how the Selmon brothers came to football.
They were the youngest three of 10 children. The Selmons attended the segregated school in Eufaula. And football was not on the radar of Lucious, two grades ahead of Dewey and Lee Roy.
But according to Lee Roy Selmon, Bell saw Lucious Selmon, a strapping, strong seventh-grader, wrestling. Bell knew a good thing when he saw. He asked Lucious to switch schools and come out for football.
“But I don't know how to play football," Lucious Selmon said.
Bell’s response: “I'll teach you."
Selmon went home and told his mother, “The coach at the white school wants me to play football. What do you think of that?”
Jessie Selmon didn’t think much of it: “I think it's dangerous and it's rough.”
But Lucious Selmon talked his parents into it. He eventually broke the color line at Eufaula High School and joined the football team.
“I owe a lot to” Lucious, Lee Roy said then. “He had the courage to accept the invitation. I often wonder, what would have happened if he had declined the opportunity?”
OU fans and everyone who ever had a chance to meet the Selmon brothers shudder at the thought.
Lucious began teaching to his little brothers what Bell taught him.
“I remember him introducing us to it," Lee Roy said. "We had seen a little football on television but didn't think much of it.”
The Selmons would play 2-on-1 – Lucious vs. Lee Roy and Dewey.
At his Hall of Fame induction in Canton, Ohio, Lee Roy Selmon reflected back on all the people who impacted his life. Count Paul Bell in that group.
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Cowboy seasons thrilling
OSU fans have been thrilled by football season and disappointed by basketball season, even accounting for the NCAA Tournament ban in the latter.
But Cowboy fans must acknowledge the entertainment value of both sports. It’s been through the roof of Gallagher-Iba Arena.
An OSU football team that finished 12-2, won the Fiesta Bowl and placed seventh in the final Associated Press poll played eight games that finished within a one-possession. Didn’t seem to matter if OSU was playing Notre Dame or Missouri State, Bedlam or Tulsa, the Cowboys staged a ridiculous amount of tight games.
An OSU basketball team that is 13-14 and now is just three games from the end of this no-tournament season has played five overtime games and three more that finished with one possession.
And when the OSU-Baylor game Monday night went to overtime – the Bears eventually won 66-64 when Isaac Likekele’s desperation 3-pointer clanged off the rim at the buzzer – Mike Boynton found a novel way to celebrate. The Cowboys went to overtime when referees ruled via replay that Likekele’s crazy, underhanded flip of a loose ball went through the net but just a tad late – it beat the game clock buzzer but not the shot clock.
Boynton wasn’t down.
“I actually took the opposite approach,” Boynton said. “When we got to overtime, obviously the emotions were crazy. I said, ‘Hey, we get to play some more basketball. Even if it’s just five more minutes. Five minutes that wasn’t on our schedule previously. We’ll take it.’”
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Now that’s positive thinking. The NCAA wiped away at least one Big 12 Tournament game for OSU, perhaps more, and maybe an NCAA Tournament game. The Cowboys have made up that deficiency with, so far, 25 extra minutes of basketball. Five five-minute overtimes.
“It goes back to my opening statement,” Boynton said. “These kids haven’t given up on our program, when they could have a long time ago. They haven’t given up on each other, they haven’t given up on our staff, they haven’t given up on themselves. Even without a whole lot of things to be hopeful for.
“So again, speaks to their character. Our record doesn’t reflect that I should be super happy or pleased, and I’m not happy with the record, but everybody in this room is well aware of what’s going on with this team. To have them continue to show up and do that work is truly remarkable. I’m not sure I could do it.”
This much is true. These Cowboys are wildly entertaining.
They beat Cleveland State and Oral Roberts in overtime. In conference play, the Cowboys have gone to overtime in Stillwater with Iowa State (an 84-81 loss), Kansas State (an 82-79 victory) and Baylor (the 66-64 loss).
OSU also lost to Oakland 56-55, beat Texas Christian 57-56 and lost 71-68 at Kansas State.
That’s reminiscent of football season, which hopefully you remember well. Here was OSU’s season schedule:
W Missouri 23-16
W Kansas State 31-20
W Kansas 55-3
W TCU 63-17
W at Texas Tech 23-0
L Baylor 21-16 in Arlington, with the Cowboys stopped on fourth down less than a yard from the goal line in the final seconds;
W Notre Dame 37-35 in Glendale, Arizona, a game in which the Fighting Irish led 28-7.
What a great season, yes, but what an entertaining season.
Alas, only the latter statement is true about OSU hoops. But give the Cowboys credit for hanging in there.
“That speaks for our team,” said OSU sophomore Bryce Thompson. “Lets us know we’re not going to go away, no matter what the circumstances are. We’re going to come out, we’re going to give our all for the fans and this city. They’re important to us. It’s only right that we go out there and give it our all.”
The Cowboys upset then-top-ranked Baylor back in January and came within a whisker of sweeping the defending national champion.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Boynton said. “Hard game. Defending national champions. Hate that we missed out on the opportunity to finish it.
“Just thankful to be their coach. Obviously, this thing’s winding down for us all, trying to catch everyone that we can.”
But this OSU basketball season is not going gently. The Cowboys are playing all the extra basketball they can, even if that means overtime.
'He's real': How former Oklahoma State guard Lindy Waters III has taken a leap with G League OKC Blue
Lindy Waters channelling Duncan Robinson
I saw Cameron McGriff sitting in the stands Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. McGriff, a Cowboy stalwart from 2016-20, played in 132 OSU games.
Then McGriff, a 6-foot-7 power forward, chased his NBA dream – and caught it. During the league’s Covid outbreak a couple of months ago, McGriff signed a 10-day contract with the Portland TrailBlazers. McGriff played three games with Portland, scored 14 points and was not re-signed when the contract was up in early January.
And that’s the fate of most marginal players, be they in the NBA’s (minor) G League, or overseas, or even on a two-league contract (the NBA foolishly calls them two-way contracts). Most marginal don’t get even a 10-day shot, and most that do don’t get a second chance.
Which brings us to McGriff’s four-year OSU teammate, Lindy Waters III.
Waters played minor-league basketball (not the G League) a year ago and this season with the G League Oklahoma City Blue. And a couple of weeks ago, Waters signed a two-league contract with the Thunder.
Waters has played in three games for OKC, the first two mostly in non-consequential circumstances. I’m not sure Waters ever touched the ball. But Waters was inserted in the first half last Wednesday against the Spurs and played 7½ minutes. Waters sank a 3-pointer on his first NBA shot, later added a fast-break dunk and then missed another deep ball.
But it made me realize that Waters has a different kind of opportunity than McGriff and many of the impossible-dream crowd called up to the NBA for a flare.
Waters possibly could shoot his way into an NBA job. Just like Duncan Robinson.
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The sharpshooter now is a Miami Heat mainstay. Maybe you recall his backstory. Robinson went to Division III Williams College and was quite a shooter. He was recruited by Michigan, which was not offering a scholarship, but Robinson held out, and the Wolverines gave in. Coach John Beilein gave Robinson a scholarship. Some believe that Robinson is just the second Division III player ever to be handed a Division I scholarship.
Robinson sat out a season, then spent three years at Michigan, making 42 percent of his 3-pointers and averaging 9.3 points a game. He scored eight points against OSU in Michigan’s rousing, 93-92 victory in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Nobody saw Robinson as an NBA player. He went undrafted, but the Miami Heat signed Robinson to an NBA Summer League contract. He made 17 of 27 3-point shots in that 2018 Summer League, shooting that will draw the attention of every scout.
The Heat signed Robinson to a two-league contract, and he played most of the 2018-19 season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce but got into 15 games with the Heat, during which he made just 28.6 percent of his 3-point shots. But Robinson made 48.3 percent of his Skyforce 3-point shots and was named third-team all-G League. So the Heat stayed interested.
Robinson made the Heat roster in training camp 2019 and the rest is history.
In the last three seasons, Robinson has played in 201 games, started 191 and made 40.9 percent of his 3-point shots. He is a singularly-skilled NBA player – he can shoot better than all but a handful of players.
Robinson can’t do much else. But he can shoot. He stretches the floor for Miami stars Jimmy Butler and Ben Adebayo to operate, and he’s completely valuable to Miami, which made the 2020 NBA Finals and currently leads the Eastern Conference with a 38-21 record.
And Robinson has to be an inspiration to Waters, who likely possesses more all-around game than does Robinson. But Waters, like Robinson, will get a chance to stick and play only if he keeps making 3-pointers.
Waters was a heck of a shooter at OSU – 39 percent on deep balls (not far off Robinson’s Michigan pace) -- and has been superb in the G League, making 48.3 percent of his 3-pointers, in 16 games. Yes, 48.3 percent. The exact percentage that Robinson made three seasons ago for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Even better for Waters, the Thunder is in position to give him a longer runway. The Heat was in the business of winning when Robinson got his chance. The Thunder is in the business of developing players and seeing what’s on the vine.
The Thunder can – not saying it will, but it can – give Waters playing time these final 24 games of the season just to see if OKC has discovered another Duncan Robinson.
It’s a lot of pressure, of course. Knowing your future heavily depends on making a single shot or two. That weight is not on Josh Giddey or Tre Mann or Aaron Wiggins, fellow Thunder rookies but with multi-year contracts.
Of course, that’s what this business is. Pressure.
It’s all Waters could ask for. Undrafted two years ago. Playing minor-league hoops in Enid last season. Scratching for playing time with the Blue a couple of months ago.
Keep making shots, and an NBA team will keep putting you out on the court.
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On November 13, 2016, OU opened its basketball season with a 97-61 victory over Northwestern State of Louisiana.
Freshman Jordan Shepherd played 19 minutes for the Sooners, scoring eight points. Freshman Kameron McGusty played 18 minutes for OU, scoring three points.
That was a long time ago. That game was about 6½ months after the Buddy Hield-led appearance in the Final Four. Lon Kruger was only halfway through his 10-year era as the OU coach. Trae Young was a Norman North senior.
Tuesday night, the University of Miami plays at Pittsburgh. Saturday, Cal-Berkeley hosts Stanford.
Kameron McGusty will play for Miami. Jordan Shepherd will play for Cal.
Both those Sooners from so long ago still are playing major-college basketball.
A combination of the transfer portal, and the graduate transfer rule, and the Covid-induced extra year of eligibility, has combined to lengthen the college careers of many players.
The same roads that lead to Stillwater and Norman also lead out of town. I found 13 former Sooners and Cowboys playing major-college basketball in this 2021-2022 season. Here they are, ranked by impact on this season:
1. Alondes Williams, Wake Forest: The likely Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year. He’s averaging 19.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, virtually double his OU averages the previous two seasons. Wake is 21-7 and seems headed for the NCAA Tournament.
2. Kameron McGusty, Miami: Leading the 19-8 Hurricanes with 17.7 points a game. McGusty averaged 21.6 minutes and 9.4 minutes per game over two OU seasons, then transferred to Miami. After sitting out 2018-19, McGusty has played three Hurricane seasons, making 66 starts in 75 games and averaging 14.6 points a game.
3. Brady Manek, North Carolina: Averaging 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the 20-8 Tar Heels. Manek is shooting 38.4 percent from 3-point range. His numbers are slightly better than his four-year OU career.
4. Michael Weathers, Southern Methodist: Averaging 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the 19-6 Mustangs. The much-traveled Weathers played at OSU in 2018-19, averaging 9.2 points, but encountered legal trouble. He had transferred from Miami-Ohio, where he averaged 16.7 points in 2016-17. Weathers went to Texas Southern after OSU, sat out a season and averaged 16.5 points last season. Then transferred to SMU.
5. Jamal Bieniemy, Texas-El Paso: In two El Paso seasons, Bieniemy has averaged 12.2 points, including 15.4 this season for the 16-11 Miners. Bieniemy is shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. In two OU seasons, Bieniemy made 47 starts in 65 games but averaged just 5.1 points game a year.
6. De’Vion Harmon, Oregon: Averaging 10.6 points and 2.3 assists for the Ducks, who are 17-10. Harmon’s numbers are almost exactly the same as his two-year career at OU.
7. Jordan Shepherd, California: Anyone remember the point guard from Asheville, North Carolina? He played two seasons for Lon Kruger, 2016-17 and 2017-18, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 assists. Then Shepherd transferred to North Carolina-Charlotte, sat out a season, played two years and started 52 games and averaged 13.0 points. Now Shepherd is a super-senior at California, where he’s averaging 14.1 points and 2.5 assists for the 11-17 Golden Bears.
8. Kur Kuath, Marquette: Leading the Big East with 2.7 blocked shots per game for the 17-10 Golden Eagles. The 6-foot-10 center is averaging 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds, similar to what Kuath did for OU a year ago, after playing little his first two Sooner seasons.
9. Trey Phipps, Oral Roberts: Sharpshooter is averaging 9.1 points and shooting 43 percent for the 10-3 Golden Eagles. In his freshman season at OU a year ago, Phipps made 35.5 percent of his 3-point shots and averaged 2.6 points.
10. Maurice Calloo, Oregon State: Averaging 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds a game for the 3-22 Beavers. Calloo averaged 5.8 points a game last season as Oregon State stormed to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. Calloo scored 15 points against the Cowboys in the second round of the tournament. Calloo averaged 2.5 points in 16 games for the Cowboys in 2018-19.
11. Yor Anei, DePaul: The 6-foot-10 center is averaging 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots, making just four starts in 25 games for the 12-14 Blue Demons. Anei played last season at Southern Methodist, where he played just 11 games and averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots. Anei was a productive player the previous two seasons at OSU, making 55 starts and averaging 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
12. Victor Iwuakor, Nevada-Las Vegas: A shoulder injury has limited Iwuakor to 15 games for the 16-11 Rebels. He’s averaged 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds, slightly down from his OU numbers the previous two seasons.
13. Ferron Flavors Jr., Robert Morris: Played four games for Robert Morris this season but left the team after averaging just 16.5 minutes and 4.3 points through four games. Flavors averaged 11.6 minutes and 3.4 points for OSU last season. He had transferred from California Baptist and originally began his career at Fairfield.
Mailbag: OU’s arena issue
My Monday column on OU’s desire to have a new basketball arena brought in a variety of questions. Including this one.
Steve: “Haven’t lived in Norman since my days at OU. Do the folks in the Norman, Moore, Cleveland County area actively support OU athletics and attend sporting events? Since LNC was built in 1975, Norman has doubled in population to almost 130,000. Moore has grown as well, I’m sure. A 10–20-minute drive to watch top-shelf athletes perform makes a lot more sense than a 1½-hour round trip from the OKC area, especially when OKC has a Thunder franchise that needs butts in seats. Softball, football, etc … Norman residents supporting or is OU athletic attendance heavily dependent on Oklahoma City support? If so, the folks at OU need to do a better job of promotion in the OKC area. Free pizza is probably not the answer.”
Tramel: It's a great question, and I don't have the answer. I don't know if anyone has the answer. Does OU know where its season-ticket holders come from? Sure. Does OU know where it's single-game ticket buyers come from? I don't know.
I don’t think marketing is the issue. Sooner athletics is well-marketed. And I don’t think Norman’s location is an issue. Norman’s location is a plus. Nobody in Stillwater or Manhattan or Lubbock or Waco is going to show pity for Lloyd Noble Center sitting 35 miles from northwest Oklahoma City and Edmond.
But OU definitely needs OKC. Same as OSU needs OKC and Tulsa, even moreso.
The No. 1 problem with college basketball attendance these days is the product. Period.
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: Eufaula coach Paul Bell meant much to Selmon Brothers and OU football
