TUPATALK: An interesting year
In contemplating the most significant sports stories (both locally and beyond) the past 12 months, one reaches an inevitable conclusion — 2022 was pretty much like any year.
Many teams and athletes expected to do well achieve their expectations, or at least close to it. Other teams and individuals came up notably short of their promise. There were those that made a colorful year by surpassing with surprising verve well beyond predictions.
Key injuries stifled success, heroes emerged out of shadows into the spotlight, disappointments broke the hearts of athletes and their fans, other athletes basked in great and well-deserved glory and memories were nourished and blossomed.
Following are some random observations about some of the year’s interesting happenings. They are not meant to be a catalogue of the most impactful stories.
Bart returns to coaching: I always had a feeling Tim Bart would return as a sideline coach. The former Bartlesville High boys basketball coach/athletic director accepted the head boys hoops job at Claremore-Sequoyah nine seasons after he resigned as the Bartlesville coach.
Bartlesville High’s David Castillo does it again: This account obviously will receive consideration in the meaningful stories list. But, I thought it was telling Castillo again proved himself in the competitive cauldron to earn a spot, among the best players of the nation around his age group, to earn one of the 12 roster spots on the USA Basketball junior teams. In 2021, Castillo and his U16 teammates won the gold in the Copa de America tourney in Mexico. This past summer, he made the grade for the U17 team, which won the World Cup basketball tournament, played in Spain.
Coaching musical chairs: To put it simply, Oklahoma Union High bid good-bye to a wealth of coaching experience and talent. Lee Ott — who had led the OUHS boys basketball team to the 2020-21 Class 2A state title, and to a return to the state tourney in 2021-22, resigned after spending most his coaching career at OUHS. He and his wife Chrissy — who had been a successful head volleyball and assistant girls basketball coach at OUHS — quit to accept coaching opportunities at Claremore-Sequoyah, their alma-mater. OUHS’ sports community received another shock when longtime head coach Thad Hewitt stepped away in order to become the head girls basketball coach at his alma mater Nowata High. In both those cases, the gravitational pull of opportunity and family tradition proved to be stronger than these coaches’ obvious devotion to Oklahoma Union. In both cases, the Otts and Hewitt, a father or brother had been a head coach at the schools they went to.
White starts, ends year strong: Local pro kickboxing warrior D.J. White opened the year by winning a championship belt, lost it in August, and bounced back in December to knock out an opponent and start another quest to be champion. This could be a major story in 2023.
Futility on gridiron makes a U-turn in Copan: Following more than a decade of struggles that might have killed most sports programs, the obstinacy of the administration, coaches and players that kept it going finally paid off. Copan finished 4-6 — a stunning improvement from a team that had averaged approximately one win a season since 2010. With just a couple of tweaks and breaks, Copan easily could have been 6-4 or better. With most its team due back in 2023, the Hornet turnaround should travel end more distance.
Parker keeps his dream alive: A year ago, Bartlesville High graduate A.J. Parker seemed poised to make a stronger impact in 2022 as a defensive back for the Detroit Lions. But, another player edged him out for one of the final roster spots. The Lions waived him twice in about two months, but both times re-signed him to their practice squad. He did play well in a few-week stay this season after the Lions brought him up form the practice squad. But circumstances led him to being waived and being brought back to the practice squad. The crystal ball is too clouded to try to predict his pro future in 2023. But, Parker has proven he could be an effective starter (he started several games his rookie year (2021) with the Lions.
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Other: Oklahoma's unexpected slide in football, TCU's rise to the semifinals, the L.A. Rams winning the Super Bowl, Tom Brady's about-face on retirement, Aaron Judge's home run binge, The Detroit Lions passing the Green Bay Packers in the standings, and so on.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TupaTalk column
