Thunder star wants to talk with the NCAA

(Photo by TorreyPurvey.com)

By Michael Kinney

OKLAHOMA CITY – Carmelo Anthony doesn’t like the state of college athletics. In fact, the Oklahoma City forward is so exasperated, he would like to have a sit down with NCAA officials and hear exactly what is on their mind.

“I would love to sit down with the NCAA and just hear their thought process, hear what they’re thinking, hear what’s their future,” Anthony said Tuesday. “I am all for the athletes. I think we have to future out something for college as a whole.”

Anthony, who played one year at Syracuse, didn’t hold back when he was asked about the controversy currently surrounding the NCAA. When it turned to the ongoing debate on whether athletes should be paid, he had plenty to say.

“It’s easy for me to say that I think the players should get paid, yes. How they get paid, I think that’s something to be figured out,” Anthony said. “I think it will only get figured out if the NCAA wants it to get figured out. If they don’t want it figured out, then it won’t get figured out. Then you’re going to continue having these issues, having these problems. College basketball will go down. Guys are not going to go to college. Then it’s going to force the NBA to step up and kind of take the age limit off.”

Anthony admits he doesn’t have the answers how to pay athletes. He just knows the current system and the rules are not fair for the young men and women who are making billions for the NCAA.

“College athletes period need to be compensated,” Anthony said. “You have to think about a 16-year old kid, a 17-year old kid going to college. Yeah, they get a free education if they get a scholarship. But how are they surviving on those campuses? A lot of them cant afford food. They get in trouble for taking $10, $20. So many small things go along with that.”

Anthony, who has never shied from offering his opinion on the most heated topics, believes the NCAA is heading for a doomsday if they can’t come up with a system that is fair for everyone involved.

“I would tell my son to go to college,” Anthony said. “But, with that being said, you’re going to start seeing a lot more players looking at the opportunity to go play overseas. You’re going to start seeing guys maybe forgoing their senior year of high school and start trying to get to the G-League. You are going to start seeing these different leagues throughout the world become more powerful because of what the NCAA is doing.”

Yet, Anthony does seem to see a small light at the end of the tunnel and thinks the problems can be worked out. But he is not hopeful.
“It has to be a collective effort between the NCAA, the NBA, just basketball as a whole,” Anthony said. “The NCAA and amateur sports have been corrupt for so long. We all know that. Whether you get caught doing it or not, it is what it is. I don’t have the answers. Obviously, no one has the answers right now. But something has to be done.”

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Writer with Eyeamtruth.com

No. 1 Oklahoma dismantles WVU

By Michael Kinney

The West Virginia gymnastics team knew it had its work cut out for it. Traveling halfway across the country to take on No. 1 Oklahoma was not going to be an easy task.

In order to knock off the Sooners, the Mountaineers were not only going to have to be at their best but also get a little lucky and get an OU squad that wasn’t on top of its game.

Even though WVU had a solid performance, it wasn’t enough to take down the Sooners. Oklahoma won, 198.025-195.750, Feb. 23, at the Lloyd Noble Center, in their final Big 12 dual meet of the regular season.

“I think we are just building our depth right now,” OU coach K.J. Kindler said. “I think a 198 is a benchmark score, a great score. There is no doubt about it. We’re focused on showing our landings off and making sure that we are getting better and better every week. We definitely think that we are in a good place right now.”

The Mountaineers are 0-10 against the Sooners since 2013 and 1-15 all-time.

WVU moved to 7-7 on the season. However, the Mountaineers have struggled when taking on teams ranked in the top 25, going 0-6.

“You know Jason always does a great job of telling us to stay in the West Virginia bubble,” associate head coach Travis Doak said of head coach Jason Butts. “I think our team does a great job of competing regardless of who we compete against. It could be No. 1, it could be No. 50. We just have to do our gymnastics and we did that tonight.”

WVU began the night on the bars. Jaquie Tun posted a 9.750 — the highest of any Mountaineer. As a team, WVU scored a 48.300.

“We started out a little bit rough on bars,” Doak said. “There is some work to do there. But I think as a coach you want to see them rally after some adversity.”

However, the Sooners’ 49.550 on the vault gave them a solid lead after the first rotation.

WVU came back strong on the vault. Led by Kirah Koshinski, who is ranked 11th in the nation on the vault, they totaled a season-high 49.325. Koshinski had a team-high score of 9.950 while Robyn Bernard added a 9.925.

“We struggled a little bit on bars, but we really brought it back on vault,” Koshinski said. “It was such a confidence booster. Once we got it going there, energy started to pick up a little bit.”

After two rotations, the Mountaineers found themselves behind, 99.025- 97.625.

In its previous outing, WVU also trailed after the first two rotations before storming back to win the meet.

This time the Mountaineers were facing the two-time defending champion and the chances of the Sooners falling apart and making it easy on the Mountaineers was remote.

WVU went to the floor routine and saw its first three competitors all score around 9.7.

However, Chloe Cluchey, Tun and Koshinski each scored a 9.850 to close out the set and help the Mountaineers post a 49.100.

But, once again, the Sooners were just a little better on the beam. They put up a 49.600 to take a 148.625-146.725 advantage into the final routine.

The Mountaineers closed out the evening on the balance beam. Despite Carly Galpin racking up 9.875, they were unable to gain any ground on the Sooners.

All but one member of the Oklahoma floor unit scored at least a 9.8. Maggie Nichols led the way with a 9.950 on her way to securing the all-around title for the Sooners.

Oklahoma is off until March 3 when they host Big 10 powerhouse Michigan at Lloyd Noble Center. OU is hoping to bring out a great crowd for the meet.

“The crowd tonight was really good,” Oklahoma’s Natalie Brown said. “We feed off the energy. We want everyone in Norman to come out to our meets because we work really hard in the gym and we want to show them what we’ve been doing. We’re the number one ranked team so that should be the reason they should come out and watch us.”

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Writer with Eyeamtruth.com

Mayfield stays true to himself

By Michael Kinney

NORMAN — When Baker Mayfield walked to midcourt during a timeout at the Oklahoma-Texas basketball game Saturday, it was supposed to just simple welcome home from the fans.  Mayfield hadn’t been in front of the OU fan base since the Sooners lost to Georgia Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl.

“It’s been a crazy journey, hasn’t stopped,” Mayfield said. “This is the first time I’ve been back to Norman, actually. Since the Senior Bowl I’ve been training hard, getting ready for the (NFL) combine, setting up my schedule for interviews and whatnot, going forward after Pro Day. It’s a long process, a waiting game. You guys know me, I’d rather play ball. So I’m excited to get through this process and get back to it.”

Carrying his Heisman trophy, Mayfield did all the things expected of him. Took photos with coach Lincoln Riley, watched the highlight video and thanked the fans.

Then Mayfield showed what exactly has made him one of the most popular Oklahoma athletes to ever come through Norman. He handed off the Heisman and started waving his arms to get the crowd pumped. He then headed straight toward the Texas bench while putting up the upside down Longhorn hand sign in full view of the players and coaches.

That one gesture encapsulated exactly who Mayfield has been for the past three years since transferring to Oklahoma from Texas Tech. He loves the Sooner unabashedly and hates the Longhorns in the same manner and doesn’t care who knows it.

“I was born and raised in Austin, they didn’t recruit me,” Mayfield said of UT. “I grew up 15 miles from the campus. I can’t stand them, or anything they do. I don’t care.”

Mayfield is a state of Texas native. Went to school at Lake Travis High, but didn’t get an offer from any school in Texas. While OU also didn’t offer Mayfield a scholarship at the time, it was the Longhorns who he held the grudge against.

Mayfield was asked during a press conference he held at halftime of the OU-Texas game. The Austin based reporter asked him why does he like to “give Texas the business.”

Mayfield looked at him like he just asked the most obvious question in the world before giving his response.

What makes Mayfield one of the most interesting quarterbacks to have come on the scene in a long time is his refusal to be someone he is not. That apparently has been a topic of conversation around the league.

“I talked to the NFL guys that say I need to calm down a little bit,” Mayfield said. “But when it comes to Texas, absolutely not. I can’t stand them.”

While Texas will always be his main antagonist, Mayfield is all set to join the ranks of the NFL and find some new foes.

However, Mayfield has had to not only answer questions about his ability on the field, but also perceived attitude issues. But Mayfield said he went into the interviews at the Senior Bowl with the conscious effort to not be someone he isn’t.

“I learned that’s the best way to be,” Mayfield said. “Those guys had a lot of questions about my character, everything like that. So when I sat down and had conversations with guys that make decisions on putting millions of dollars — they’re in control of those franchises. They have to invest in young guys and they don’t know exactly what they’re going to get. So being honest and up front with those people was the best thing for me. That’s what I learned so I’m going to keep doing that.”

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Writer with Eyeamtruth.com