New OSU defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo is 37. Seems young for a Big 12 defensive coordinator.

On Nardo’s staff is defensive analyst Gary Gibbs. Gibbs was 28 when he became a Big Eight defensive coordinator.

Gibbs, the former OU head coach (1989-94), has been helping Mike Gundy’s staff for several years. Gibbs was Barry Switzer’s defensive coordinator for eight seasons, 1981-88, and in the long line of great OU D-coordinators – Larry Lacewell, Rex Ryan, Mike Stoops, Brent Venables – Gibbs might rank No. 1.

Gibbs, now 70, stepped out of retirement to help out the OSU staff a few days a week. And Gundy sees similarities between Nardo and Gibbs.

"Those two are a little bit alike from a cerebral study,” Gundy said. “Like to study the game, sit around for hours and talk about it. So there's some similarities between those guys."

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We have yet to meet Nardo, other than a couple of extended video interviews, but his personality seems a lot more exuberant than Gibbs’. Gibbs was/is quiet and measured. Nardo comes across as much more personable and continually talks about relationships.

But their football acumen obviously stands out. Gundy found Nardo at Division II Gannon University in Pennsylvania. Barry Switzer hired Gibbs as defensive coordinator only seven seasons after he was an OU linebacker, and Switzer probably wanted to make that decision quicker.

Gibbs is an example of the deep reservoir of resources available to modern coaches. Analysts don’t coach on the field, but they study film and help set gameplans and take much of the load off coaching staff.

Gundy noted that Nardo is having to adjust to so much help.

“There's two things that I've seen from him when I've gone to pry information from him,” Gundy said Monday. “One is, he's never been in a situation where he's had this many people coaching on one side of the ball. There's that many resources.

“Most of the time there's been three coaches on the entire side of the defense. Now he has all the resources we have, the student assistants, quality control, all the different things that we have. So, he's pleased that he's able to distribute and spread the wealth amongst everybody with responsibilities.”

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Gundy said that Nardo’s other observation is that his off-season work will be important. Nardo wasn’t hired until late January. He’s still adjusting to the Cowboy personnel, even as spring practice nears its conclusion.

“He's interested in watching video when spring's over, to see kind of where we're at and what he can add to his package based on the athleticism that we have,” Gundy said. “So that'll be an interesting side for next fall is the even-front, and then what we can do from an attack package with the athleticism we have that he's not been accustomed to."

Nardo is quite learned on the 3-3-5 defense that Iowa State has used to great success in the Big 12. But Gundy wants to keep a four-man front as an option. Changing defenses would seem to be quite important in conference success.

Gundy said he’s enjoyed having Nardo on the staff.

"I knew a lot about him,” Gundy said. “I did a lot of research. I don't think anything's surprised me. It's been fun to watch him transition through the development of his relationship that he's getting with the players. Starting to feel comfortable to take control of them.”

Nardo’s background is void of NCAA Division I-A football, other than being a graduate assistant at Ohio University. But Nardo is 37. Quite grizzled compared to Gibbs 43 years ago.

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No Thunder for NBA awards?

The NBA awards ballots are in, and the announcement of the winners will be sprinkled throughout the playoffs. The Thunder has plenty of candidates for the various honors but aren’t likely to have a winner, with the possible exception of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on first-team all-NBA.

We’ll analyze all-NBA later. Here’s how I see the awards.

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NBA Most Valuable Player

Gilgeous-Alexander will get some downstream votes – electors are asked to rank five players – but the race is among Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

All have had monster seasons. Embiid seems the likely winner, in part because he has yet to win an MVP, while Jokic and Antetokounmpo each have won back-to-back.

But my vote would go to Giannis. Sometimes, we can overthink this. He’s one of the NBA’s best defensive players, and he averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

And Milwaukee has the league’s best record, 58-24.

Antetokounmpo, at age 28, keeps getting better. He improved his scoring average over last season, just as he’s done every year but once since arriving in the league. Two years ago, the Greek Freak’s points per game dipped to 28.1, from 29.5 the previous year. Since then, it’s back to 29.9 and now 31.1.

The MVP debate has turned caustic, with allegations of racism from ex-Thunder Kendrick Perkins. The truth is, there are no bad choices among these three. But I’d take Antetokounmpo.

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NBA Rookie of the Year

Orlando’s Paolo Banchero seems the likely winner, but the Thunder’s Jalen Williams is making a late push.

It’s a remarkable story. Four months ago, much of the league couldn’t distinguish between the Thunder’s same-named rookies, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams.

But Jalen Williams, of Santa Clara, has become a force. His box score numbers (points, rebounds, assists) of 14.1/4.5/3.3 pale compared to Banchero (20.0/6.9/3.7), but Williams' efficiency is much better than Banchero’s.

Williams is shooting 52.1% from the field, 35.6 from 3-point range. Banchero is shooting 42.7% from the field, 29.9% from deep.

But Banchero is Orlando’s No. 1 scoring option and draws the attention that goes with that kind of status. Banchero is a rookie on a mediocre team; efficiency has no chance in that environment. It was a different era, but in Kevin Durant’s rookie season in Seattle 15 years ago, he shot 43% from the field and 28.8% on 3-pointers.

If Williams had played early the way he did the last four months (15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 52% shooting), then he might steal the award. But I think Banchero should get the vote.

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NBA Coach of the Year

Mark Daigneault will get some consideration. And he’s done a whale of a job. The Thunder’s over-under victory total was set at 23½. OKC won 40.

But Mike Brown did something even more remarkable. He directed the Sacramento Kings to 48 wins and ended their 17-year playoff drought.

Daigneault has something Brown does not. An organization that knows what it’s doing. The Kings have been a mess for decades. No winning culture, no plan, no nothing.

Yet Sacramento has been one of the NBA’s best teams all year, and while the Kings have a good roster, let’s not pretend it’s loaded. Borderline all-stars in De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have shined, but Brown has been fantastic in setting a plan that has worked.

There are other good candidates. Cleveland’s J.B. Bickerstaff. New York’s Tom Thibodeau. Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins. But Brown stands well ahead of the field.

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NBA Defensive Player of the Year

This award comes down to one question: Did Jaren Jackson Junior play enough? The Memphis shot-blocker played in 63 games, 1,787 minutes.

Is that enough? His chief competitor, Brook Lopez, played in 78 games and 2,373 minutes. That’s almost 500 minutes difference.

The NBA’s pending collective bargaining agreement calls on a game minimum for awards, but I’d much rather see a minutes minimum. Players can manipulate the games played. We saw some players play less than 30 seconds in a game down the stretch, just to get credit for a game played (looking at you, Mikal Bridges).

My general minutes standard has been 1,800. Sixty games, 30 minutes a game. Anything less gets squishy.

But maybe I’m off. Maybe it should be 60 games, 28 minutes. Then it’s 1,680 minutes.

Two minutes a game doesn’t seem much. But it’s the difference between Jackson qualifying or not qualifying.

So I don’t know. I think Jackson will win. But I’d vote for Lopez.

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NBA Most Improved Player

Gilgeous-Alexander is a major contender. He went from never-an-all-star to potential first-team all-NBA. That’s a huge leap.

But let’s be honest. Everyone knew SGA was all-star bound. Probably all-NBA bound.

No one saw Lauri Markkanen coming.

The Bulls had him for four years, he played well but not great, and Chicago gave up on him. Traded him to Cleveland, where he played solid a year ago, then was part of the Donovan Mitchell trade with Utah.

And the Jazz found itself a star. Markkanen averaged 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds a game, shot 49.9% from the field and 39.1% from deep. He started the All-Star Game.

Who’s going to have the better career? SGA. Who was the most improved player in 2022-23? Markkanen.

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NBA Sixth Man of the Year

I have no idea who will win. The Knickerbockers’ Immanuel Quickly? The Celtics’ Malcolm Brogden? The Lakers’ Austin Reaves?

After watching the Hawks beat the Heat on Tuesday night, I’m ready to march with backup center Onyeka Okongwu.

But I’d vote for Sacramento’s Malik Monk. His numbers are solid – 13.5 points, 35.9% 3-point shooting. And the Kings aren’t a deep team. That starting lineup is really good. Fox, Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray.

But the bench is limited, and Monk provides not just another triggerman but at times a life raft. He had a 45-point game in a one-point win over the Clippers and a 33-point game in a one-point win over the Nuggets.

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Road teams OK in NBA play-in history

The Thunder plays at New Orleans in the NBA’s play-in tournament on Wednesday night, seeking to become the first team to reach the playoff bracket from the 10^th seed.

This is the third year for the play-in tournament, and while no team has won back-to-back road games to survive the play-in, road teams have held up fairly well.

We saw that Tuesday night in the 7-8 games. The Atlanta Hawks won at Miami 116-105 to become the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed. And while the short-handed Timberwolves lost at the Lakers, Minnesota led most of the way before losing 108-102 in overtime.

In 2021, the home team won all the first-round games — Lakers 103-100 over Golden State, Grizzlies 100-96 over Spurs, Celtics 118-100 over Wizards and Pacers 144-117 over Hornets.

But in the next round, Memphis won at Golden State 117-112 in overtime (Washington, at home, spanked Indiana 142-115.

So the only usurper to the bracket was the Grizzlies, who finished ninth in the West standings but got the 8-seed in the bracket.

In 2022, the home teams again won all the first-round games — Timberwolves 109-104 over the Clippers, Pelicans 113-103 over the Spurs, Netropolitans 115-108 over the Cavaliers and Hawks 132-103 over the Hornets.

But in the second round, both road teams won: Pelicans 105-101 over the Clippers, and Hawks 107-101 over the Cavs.

So in two full seasons of play-in basketball, the four ninth-place teams have reached the bracket thrice.

But never the 10^th-place team.

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The List: Big 12 prospects for NFL Draft

The Big 12’s annual talent void in the NFL Draft might not be so apparent this season. According to Pro Football Focus’ list of draft prospects, the Southeastern Conference has 17 of the top 70 players, while the Big 12 has 11 of the top 70.

That’s not a one-sided difference, considering the SEC includes 14 schools and the Big 12 10.

Here are the Big 12 players (including players from the soon-to-be-members) listed on Pro Football Focus’ top 150 list:

1. Tyree Wilson, edge, Texas Tech: Ranked ninth among prospects, Wilson had 50 quarterback pressures a year ago.

2. Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU: Ranked 10th, Johnston was a big-play receiver for Texas Christian, averaging 18.8 yards per catch in college.

3. Anton Harrison, OT, OU: Ranked 24th, that should put Harrison in the first round.

4. Will McDonald IV, edge, Iowa State: Ranked 25th, McDonald will transition from a down lineman to an outside speed rusher.

5. Bijan Robinson, TB, Texas: Ranked 27^th, some think Robinson will go much higher. But should any team take a tailback high?

6. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, edge, Kansas State: Ranked 32^nd, Anudike-Uzomah had 89 pressures and 21 sacks over the last two years.

7. Tank Dell, WR, Houston: Ranked 44^th, Dell is small – 5-foot-10, 165 pounds – so some teams will be scared away.

8. Steve Avila, G, TCU: Ranked 47^th, Avila played both guard and center for the Horned Frogs.

9. Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State: Ranked 51^st. What, you thought TCU and K-State were the Big 12’s best teams because of smoke and mirrors?

10. Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, CB, TCU: Ranked 59^th, a bright prospect despite standing a shade under 5-foot-8.

11. Siaki Ika, DL, Baylor: Ranked 63^rd. Stonewalled OSU in the 2021 Big 12 Championship Game but didn’t play as well in 2022.

12. Anthony Johnson, S, Iowa State: Ranked 69^th. Transitioned from cornerback in 2022.

13. Moro Ojomo, DL, Texas: Ranked 88^th with lots to like. A fifth-year senior who still is just 21. And a tall interior rusher. Interesting combination.

14. Wanya Morris, OT, OU: Ranked 90^th. Morris has steadily improved since his first year at Tennessee.

15. Kendre Miller, TB, TCU: Ranked 97^th. Great story. A two-star recruit out of high school.

16. Blake Freeland, OT, Brigham Young: Ranked 98^th with lots of athletic ability but some questions about his strength.

17. Marvin Mims, WR, OU: Ranked 109^th (early fourth round territory) but showed big-play ability as a Sooner.

18. Demarvion Overshown, LB, Texas: Ranked 112th, made a bunch of plays for the 2022 Longhorns.

19. Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Cincinnati: Ranked 118^th, Pace has just a six-foot wingspan, which might tell you how UC has been able to win big. By recruiting really good ballplayers who didn’t measure well.

20. Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati: Ranked 119^th, came to UC as a tailback, so still learning the nuances of receiver.

21. Deuce Vaughan, TB, Kansas State: Ranked 122^nd, and tiny at 5-foot-5. But what a ballplayer, as you know.

22. Keondre Coburn, DL, Texas: Ranked 125^th, had more pressures (31) in 2022 than in the three previous seasons combined (28) despite starting all those years.

23. Roschon Johnson, TB, Texas: Ranked 126^th, was a quality tailback stuck behind Bijan Robinson.

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Mailbag: OU wrestling

My OU wrestling item from last week prompted some interesting responses.

John: “I enjoyed reading your article regarding the OU wrestling program. Not because I am a wrestling fan, but just the opposite. Nobody cares. Including me! I'm old enough to remember the glory years. It's a financial drain, and those funds are needed elsewhere. Since Stan Abel, the coaches change, but the results remain the same, and as you have shown, getting worse. Thank you for documenting that fact for all of us. Moving to the SEC would be the perfect time for OU to shut down the wrestling program. Yes, there is history and former glory, but those trophies have been collecting dust for decades. It's time to put the trophy case where it can be seen by generations to come, to learn 'what used to be.’”

Tramel: OU’s wrestling slide is a problem. A great tradition, but not much in the way of results. For a variety of reasons.

But I don’t advocate cutting programs. Sometimes schools feel compelled to do it, and sometimes they do it even without being compelled. But if you can avoid it, that’s best.

Here’s something to consider. Women’s wrestling is getting bigger. In Oklahoma high schools but also throughout the country.

As universities continue the four-decade odyssey of trying to meet Title IX requirements, adding women’s programs is always a solution.

Could OU add women’s wrestling at some point? Perhaps. Would it be easier to add women’s wrestling than any other sport? No doubt.

That doesn’t really help men’s wrestling. But it’s something to think about.

The problem with OU wrestling is the geography has changed, the landscape of the sport has changed and the fan base has changed – died off or gotten much older. OU is having a devil of a time getting people to go watch men’s basketball. It’s not likely going to entice people back to McCasland Field House for wrestling.

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: Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy sees likenesses in Bryan Nardo, Gary Gibbs