Tramel's ScissorTales: OU legend Billy Tubbs belongs in College Basketball Hall of Fame
I was contacted last week about a campaign to get Billy Tubbs on the 2024 College Basketball Hall of Fame ballot.
Frankly, I was a little surprised Tubbs hasn’t been on the ballot. Or even already enshrined.
I’m generally much more supportive of the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City — adjacent to the downtown T-Mobile Center — than the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Springfield is an unwieldy collection of basketball interests — NBA, international, women’s, college, even high school — that often have provincial bias.
A couple of decades ago, I suggested a separate NBA Hall of Fame. Turns out, college basketball beat the pros to the idea of a separate institution, and it’s a grand showcase for the campus game.
Anyway, I agreed to write a letter of endorsement for Tubbs’ nomination. I didn’t cover Tubbs’ early OU teams full-time — I was 19, working at the Norman Transcript, when the Sooners hired Tubbs in 1980 — but I certainly covered him a bunch and remain amazed at his success. One of the great success stories in OU athletics history.
Here is the letter I wrote:
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“When Billy Tubbs arrived at the University of Oklahoma in 1980, Big Eight basketball was good but not exciting. Within the decade, Big Eight basketball was great and totally exhilarating.
“Tubbs’ BillyBall style — high-pressure defense, wide-open offense — was successful beyond any Sooner’s wildest dreams. OU trailed only North Carolina for the most victories in the 1980s, the Sooners were No. 1 seeds in three straight NCAA Tournaments and Tubbs’ 1988 squad reached the national championship game.
“Tubbs’ style – sparked by ballplayers like Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, Harvey Grant and Stacey King — spread throughout the Big Eight, notably with Johnny Orr at Iowa State and Roy Williams at Kansas, and the conference soared in success and national profile.
“Tubbs had notable breakthroughs at Lamar before OU and at Texas Christian after OU. But those 14 seasons in Norman were a milepost in the history of college basketball.
“I’ve always believed that the 1980s were the greatest itineration in the sport. The decade when full parity had come to college basketball; the decade when the nation’s best players were staying in school three and four years; the decade that had it all, from fabulous teams to superstar players to Cinderellas.
“And Billy Tubbs’ Sooners were on the Rushmore of 1980s college basketball. I wholly endorse Tubbs for the College Basketball Hall of Fame.”
Tubbs died in 2020 at age 85. But his legacy lives on. Good luck to the Tubbs family, and hopefully Tubbs soon will be not just nominated, but inducted, into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Cason Wallace shines in Thunder debut
Cason Wallace’s Summer League debut did not slow the rising tide of Thunder optimism. The first-round draft pick from Kentucky scored 20 points, made six of 10 3-point shots and appeared to play his projected-tough defense as OKC beat Dallas 91-80 Saturday in Las Vegas.
Here’s what I liked about Wallace on Saturday night:
1. He seemed to let the game come to him. Wallace forced few shots (he took 15 overall). He wasn’t overly-aggressive. Aggression is a great thing for a young player. Too much aggression is a potential yellow flag. Wallace did not surrender to such temptation.
2. Wallace’s demeanor seemed superb. When Wallace banked in a running, halfcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer, his smile was dang near as wide as Jaylin Williams’. No reason to pretend you saw it coming.
3. At the draft-night press conference, both Sam Presti and Thunder director of scouting Acie Law IV used a bunch of descriptions that made me think of Jalen Williams. We’re one game in, but the similarities remain. Williams is a little bigger and a little more athletic, but otherwise, recall the phrases. Maturity, ability to play on and off the ball, unselfish, plays to win, intelligent, tough, competitive, both sides of the ball, good physicality, long arms, instinctive. That’s what Wallace showed in Game 1. Keep me on the similarity train.
4. The angst over what Presti’s going to do with the roster seems a waste of mental energy. Sure, the Thunder has 749 players on the roster and must get down to 15. But too much concern is wasted over roster spots 13-15. Focus on this — Wallace seems to be another high-level NBA player. You never can have enough good players. And the Thunder got another one in the draft.
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The List: Power Five football road records
Chris Putnam, an OSU fan and one of my favorite correspondents among readers, researched the best road records among Power Five Conference football teams the last 10 years. His data is very interesting, and I’ve included his occasional commentary:
1. Ohio State 40-4, .909: “I would have guessed Alabama was No. 1.”
2. Alabama 35-7, .833
3. Clemson 39-9, .813
4. Oklahoma 36-9, .800
5. Georgia 34-9, .791
6. Iowa 34-15, .694: “Higher than I would have guessed.”
7. Wisconsin 31-15, .674
8. Oklahoma State 33-19, .635: “I did not expect the Cowboys in the top 10.”
9. Michigan 29-18, .617
10. Notre Dame 26-17, .605
11. Washington 27-19, .587
12. TCU 31-22, .585
13. Southern Cal 30-22, .577
13. Utah 30-22, .577
15. Oregon 27-21, .563: “Lower than I would have guessed.”
16. Florida State 26-21, .553
17. Michigan State 27-22, .551
17. Miami 27-22, .551
19. Louisiana State 24-20, .545: “Lower than I would have guessed.”
20. Virginia Tech 28-24, .538: “Ahead of Texas?”
21. Stanford 29-25, .537
22. Pittsburgh 28-25, .528
23. Penn State 24-22, .522: “Lower than I would have guessed.”
24. Baylor 26-24, .520
25. Kansas State 25-25, .500: “Lower than I would have guessed.”
25. Louisville 25-25, .500: “Ahead of Texas?”
25. Washington State 25-25, .500: “Ahead of Texas?”
25. Florida 21-21, .500
29. Minnesota 24-25, .490: “Ahead of Texas?”
30. North Carolina 25-27, .481
30. UCLA 25-27, .481
32. Duke 26-29, .473: “AHEAD OF TEXAS!!!!!!!!”
33. Northwestern 22-25, .468: “Ahead of Texas???”
34. Texas 21-24, .467
35. Boston College 24-29, .453
36. Mississippi State 22-27, .449
37. North Carolina State 22-28, .440
38. Auburn 19-25, .432
39. Texas A&M 17-23, .425
40. Missouri 21-29, .420
41. West Virginia 21-30, .412
42. Ole Miss 18-27, .400
42. Arizona State 20-30, .400
42. Wake Forest 22-33, .400
45. Maryland 20-32, .385
46. Nebraska 18-30, .375
47. Texas Tech 18-31, .367
48. Tennessee 16-28, .364
49. Georgia Tech 18-32, .360
50. Indiana 18-33, .353
51. Iowa State 19-35, .352
52. Kentucky 16-30, .348
53. Purdue 16-31, .340
54. South Carolina 16-32, .333
54. Arizona 17-34, .333
56. Illinois 15-34, .306
57. Syracuse 15-36, .294
58. California 15-37, .288
58. Rutgers 15-37, .288
60. Arkansas 11-31, .262
61. Oregon State 14-40, .259
62. Vanderbilt 13-38, .255
63. Colorado 10-39, .204
64. Virginia 9-40, .184
65. Kansas 5-50, .091: “One of the wins was at Texas.”
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Mailbag: Most memorable moment
Readers ask the most interesting questions. Some of them are open-ended.
Chad: “I hope you are doing well. I was just curious what you consider to be the most memorable moment for you since you became a sportswriter?”
Tramel: Wow. That’s a broad inquiry. From the NBA Finals to the day I was hired by the Transcript as a 17-year-old. From the Orange Bowl to the day The Oklahoman hired me in 1991. From Final Fours to the day of the infamous Kevin Durant headline. From the day I hired Jenni Carlson to the day colleague Mike Baldwin proclaimed that if you take away Nolan Ryan’s seven no-hitters and 5,000 strikeouts, he was just another pitcher.
But I can toss in a few unforgettable events. 1. The 1992 Putnam North-Yukon high school football game. Unbelievable plot and drama. 2. The Bryce Drew shot in the 1998 NCAA Tournament at the Myriad. I was sitting courtside next to The Associated Press’ Pat Casey, who was a Valparaiso graduate. 3. The OU-Boise State Fiesta Bowl. Enough said.
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: OU legend Billy Tubbs belongs in College Basketball Hall of Fame
