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Friday, December 4, 2020

A bleak winter Stillwater businesses struggle during extended break Marcus Trevino

Claire Boomer Coney Island in Stillwater is having to adjust around having very few students in town over break.

Hungry college students used to pack Coney Island’s socially-distanced rooftop seating. Now the seats are empty and the door hardly swings open after many Oklahoma State students went home for winter break. The winters have always been harsh for Coney Island and other small businesses in Stillwater. “It’s very slow,” assistant manager Anthea Bates said.

“And it’s been 1000% worse than normal years because of COVID.” Businesses always prepare for a four-week period in which one-third of the town’s population is gone. But this year’s lull is extra challenging as it’s been doubled to eight weeks because of COVID-19. Jay Rice, owner of Thai Loco, said everyone is struggling to make a profit. “It’s all about breaking even right now,” Rice said. “It’s not just the students who left, but it’s also faculty and staff. People are also taking vacations during the winter so there’s even less residents

coming in.” J. Cole, a women’s clothing store, began preparing for the break months earlier than normal. It hasn’t yet seen as big a loss as some other businesses. “Profits have definitely decreased but luckily we have Christmas shoppers coming in,” manager Allison Savage said. “I’m nervous for after Christmas though. We’re hoping for the best but bracing for the worst.” For many of these businesses, the best won’t return until the students do.

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School and speedways OSU student Rachel Harper doubles as a race car driver

Ben Hutchens Rachel Harper got her start racing cars by fighting an age-old battle. Kids have been bothering their parents about things for millenniums, and Harper’s lifelong yearning to drive a race car was satisfied last year when her father, Rodney, asked her a couple of questions. “I kind of was bothering him about it,” Harper said, “because it started out as a joke. Then we were going on a trip somewhere and he asked (me) ‘Do you really want a race car? Do you really want to do it?’” Rodney wasn’t surprised that his daughter wanted to get behind the wheel because she had been attending races with her father since she was 5 years old, and by the time she was 10 she knew more about his cars than half the people who helped him. Harper answered with an affirmative ‘Yes’ and her father bought a car the next week. Harper is a proud owner of her race car, a white Chevy Nova frame with a red number 288 emblazoned on the side and a Chevy LS motor under the hood. Harper is also a senior at Oklahoma State University, double majoring in agriculture business and accounting at the Spears School of Business. Harper aims to be a CPA after she graduates, which is a pretty rare goal among young people racing cars. “It’s not the norm for a Spears student to be a race car driver. I guess I’ve never met anyone that was a race

car driver and also a spears student,” said Ryan Sparks, a junior at OSU majoring in management and marketing. Norms regarding racing don’t really apply to the Harper family, which has racing in its blood. “It’s a family thing,” Harper said. “I grew up at the racetrack, and my dad raced my entire life.” A long history of family racing success didn’t help Harper driving her car for the first time in a trial run at Enid Speedway this past August. Harper was rushed getting onto the track because her trial run took place in the intermission of a larger event at the track. She didn’t have time to ask her dad all the questions she would have liked. “He just told me not to Courtesy of Rachel Harper crash, and I didn’t do that,” OSU student Rachel Harper dons the number 288 as part of her fast side gig: a race Harper said. All of Harper’s questions car driver. and concerns vanished the took her out and she ran it one after the drivers meeting and instant she hit the gas pedal. time, Rodney said. “It scared told her it was ok to pull into Harper took her first lap slowly me to death, and I said, ‘we’re the infield if the race was too and was quickly passed by her done’ and sold the car.” much for her to handle. dad who was driving a car of The Lone Star 600 is a But, as Rodney proudly his own. two-night race held this past said, “That didn’t happen.” “My dad was full speed first weekend of October at Harper raced moderately ahead, but it did kind of light Devil’s Bowl Speedway in well in her debut, finishing a fire under me ‘Oh, he passed Mesquite, Texas. The first 58th the first night. She said me’ so then I kind of got to person to complete 300 laps that the craziness of the race going a little more. I wanted on either night is that night’s started when she had to use to follow him so I could kind winner. five straps to secure herself in of see the lines he ran but that The Lone Star 600 is a her seat and continued when didn’t last long,” Harper said. two-night race held this past her transmission broke halfway The anxiety Harper felt first weekend of October at through the race. before her trial run paled in Devil’s Bowl Speedway in “I was supposed to be able comparison to the anxiety Mesquite, Texas. The first to take off in second gear and Harper felt in the week leading person to complete 300 laps go to third gear and just ignore up to her first race—The Lone on either night is that night’s first gear,” Harper said. “But Star 600. winner. There are 192 cars on it broke, and so half the time “You could tell I was nerthe track at one time, and the it wouldn’t go from second to vous,” Harper said. “I wasn’t only time the race is stopped third.” saying a lot or anything like is if a wreck blocks half of the Strapped into her seat, that and everyone was like ‘Are track. It i Harper tried her best to use her you ok.’” reasonable to see why peripheral vision to figure out Rachel was not alone in Harper was nervous, not to her position relative to other her nervousness. Her father has mention the $10,000 prize for drivers. a history of getting nervous the winner of each night. watching his daughter race. Right before the race, “I bought her a car when See Speedway on pg. 2 Rodney sat his daughter down she was 5, a kid sprint, and I

Page 2 Friday, December 4, 2020

News

speedways Continued from pg. 1 “You have no idea who is behind you or anything like that,” Harper said. “I mean you know they are behind you if they smack the crap out of you, but you’re just trying to stay away from everyone else.” Harper’s father didn’t fare quite as well on the first night of racing. On the 21st lap, his engine failed him, and he broke down. His role changed from his daughter’s competitor to ally. When Harper came to pit road for more fuel, her dad started giving her pointers on how to drive on a slick track because the track started to gather slight precipitation. “Yes, I wanted to race as much as I could,” Rodney said, “but the good thing about it was I got to watch her. I was like ‘Where did this come from? She’s never been in a car.’ I really anticipated that she would be at a slower pace.” Harper improved on the second night of racing, finish-

ing 48th. Her top speed in the race was about 85 mph on the straightaways and her average speed for a lap was closer to 78 mph. The second night of getting jostled around with other vehicles also cemented Harper with a nickname. “They nicknamed me “Tire killer” if that tells you how many I killed,” Harper said. “I think it was four on Friday and on Saturday I was really trying to avoid it and I think I only killed like two.” Even with six tires punctured, Harper called her racing debut a success. Her overall finishing place was 49th, and although she didn’t win any prize money, Harper still made history. She is the only female driver to have ever finished both nights of racing and is the highest female finisher in the event’s history. The thrill of racing in The Lone Star 600 is enough to keep Harper coming back to the track for more, and it makes all the time she invested into the race worth it. Harper generally works on her car with her dad from

ACTIVE FAITH! (Part #2) “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Heb.11: NIV) These Ancients of the Bible were commended for their faith. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” (Gen.6:9 NIV) He believed God existed and God rewarded those who diligently sought him. His faith brought immediate action. (Heb.11:8) He did not put the building of the ark on a long “to do” list. It took 100 years to build. During that time he constantly spoke of the judgement that was coming. (2 Pet.2:5) This was the situation in Noah’s day. How about our day? Do we believe God exists? To so many, God is something of the past; one you give an hour or so every Sunday morning, because of tradition, but he does not truly count

for much in life. So this moves us to turn to things that have only temporary pleasure, and build our life activities around them. Noah and others mentioned in Heb. 11, were looking for something lasting, something God had promised. They realized they were strangers and pilgrims; living here for a short time. They were living for something better. (Heb.11:13-16) It is so worthwhile to read and reread the New Testament and consider what was the hope of the early Christian leaders; they passed on to all the believers. It was not centered in this present life. They were “running a race;” living a life centered in the example of Jesus himself, and in those who walked with him during his earthly life. We can do the same; live for the eternal, present ourselves to Christ, and let him use us to bear lasting fruit.

6 p.m. to 2 a.m., with the odd hours due to dad preferring to work late because he has trouble sleeping. The worlds of being a fulltime student and part-time race car driver collided at the Lone Star 600. Harper had two tests to take, one a business communications test and the other an agriculture price & analysis test. “We had a camper, so I just made (my family) all go. I just said ‘Y’all just go and look at the cars or something just don’t come in here…this is my testing area now.’” As uncommon as it is to see a young female business student double as a race car driver, the two complement one another. “If I just sat around and had to do schoolwork all day, I think my brain would literally go crazy,” Harper said. “So, having something where I can go and get away (like) working on a race car… is a stress reliever for me.” Andy Luse, an associate professor in the Spears School, said that Harper’s determination to race cars and do things outside of simply being a success-

ful student will benefit her. “It actually shows me that she is willing to be well-rounded outside of her studies, more like a well-rounded human being, well-rounded in life and that’s good,” Luse said. The Harpers’ next race is in February at Centerville Speedway in Arkansas. “I just printed off the entry forms for that one,” Rodney said, “so we are going to try and get the cars ready.” “I hope I (beat Rachel), but if she beats me that would be awesome too.” Rachel doesn’t see herself stopping racing anytime soon and said that if her dad finally decides to retire, she will keep the Harper family name going on the track. She said that since races are generally held on Saturdays, she could balance taxes during the week and balance RPMs on the weekends. “I think that is what gives a little fun to life,” said Spears School senior Micah Weston, “is the things where you can get out of (the daily grind) and just enjoy yourself.”

news.ed@ocolly.com

News

Fresh beginnings By Adam Engel Every year, many high school seniors spend days planning for their first college semester. Unfortunately, plans have been everchanging in 2020, especially for Oklahoma State University freshmen. Looking back at her first semester, freshman Jaqlyn Evans thought her first few months on campus were what she expected. “Aside from social activities like tailgating, the school did a great job allowing students to do most activities that were normal a year ago,” Evans said. Avery Luetkemeyer, a Stillwater native and freshman echoed Evans’ statement. “Obviously, we’re students and we’re going to go out and be social but the university itself has done a pretty good job of keeping everything COVID friendly,” Luetkemeyer said. Because of the challenges they had to overcome this

semester, OSU President Burns Hargis has been complementary to his students for persevering. “This has been a most unusual experience for all of us,” Hargis told The O’Colly.. “The students are a resilient bunch, that’s all a part of the maturation process. You probably don’t mature a lot doing things you like. It’s working through struggles that is maturing.” Academically, Luetkemeyer had different expectations in college. “This semester was a big change from high school,” Luetkemeyer said. “Growing up in Stillwater, I was expecting OSU to be like high school, but the classes are a lot harder than I expected.” After all, despite limitations, OSU students are still able to attend class and live on campus— a situation that is not fully available throughout the country. “It was great still being able to go to the Colvin Center,” Evans said. It was nice to attend on

campus rather than remotely. I made new lifelong friends and I have loved the whole experience so far.” Throughout the semester, Evans had to adapt to another change— quarantining in the Stillwater Hampton Inn after testing positive for the coronavirus. “The quarantine wasn’t bad at all,” Evans said. “The hotel room was super nice, and it was a suite. It was much nicer than my dorm room to be honest.” At the midway point of the school year, OSU announced the decision to move fully to in-person classes in the spring, a decision that has some freshmen excited about a step towards normalcy. “I’m excited for in-person classes,” Luetkemeyer said. “I did concurrent enrollment in high school, so I kind of know what it’s like. That was the benefit of growing up in Stillwater, I can take classes at OSU and not even be a fulltime student.” news.ed@ocolly.com

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Bryan Pizana Temperature Checker in the Classroom Building at Oklahoma State University on September 23rd, 2020

Page 4 Friday, December 4, 2020

Never give up Riding jackson getting his chance to shine after difficult journey

Ryan Breeden

Dezmon Jackson underwent quite a journey to get to where he is today. Coming out of high school as a 2-star talent and the No. 18 ranked player in Arkansas, Jackson had no offers to play Division I football. With that in mind, he had no choice but to go the JUCO route. Jackson

chose Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, and the first year was challenging for him. So challenging that he almost walked away from the sport he loves. “It was just so tough,” Jackson said. “I didn’t know that much about JUCO, I just knew that it was a chance to restart my recruitment. I was like nine hours from home, it was tough, it was cold and I didn’t have my car, just a lot of stuff.”

Pandemic practices

how the osu wrestling team is dealing with covid-19

Marcus Trevino The answer is with extraordinary difficulty. The question? How does coach John Smith navigate his wrestling team through a pandemic? Wrestling is classified as a Tier 1 sport in the NCAA’s Sport Transmission Risk Summary. This is the highest exposure tier for COVID-19 because physical distancing and face coverings aren’t possible during training or

competition. This is why Smith and his staff must remain vigilant. “I’ve never had these kinds of challenges faced in my 29 years,” Smith said. “We have to make sure we maintain the idea of keeping our student-athletes healthy.” Some of the challenges include getting tested every other day and limiting the number of wrestlers who can practice at once, leading to longer days. Smith said the process is physically and mentally draining. Still, he goes about each day with an optimistic approach. “I think the important thing is staying motivated,” Smith said. “There’s going

to be better times and we just need to get to them and make sure you’re able to put a healthy team on the mat.” To his credit, Smith has taken the full brunt of the challenges while maintaining a sense of normalcy for his wrestlers during practice. Travis Wittlake said there haven’t been any major adjustments. “(Smith) has been preaching to us to keep our health safe and our numbers down on the cases. We’re keeping contact pretty minimum,” Wittlake said. “We’re grinding just like any other year. It’s not a whole lot different.”

the wave Cowboys looking to carry over offensive momentum

Chris Becker Oklahoma State had its most explosive and complete offense game last week, which seemed improbable and borderline impossible with all the injuries piling up. But that didn’t stop it. Without Chuba Hubbard, LD Brown, Teven Jenkins and a host of other players, the Cowboys put up 539 yards, with 237 of them coming with the rushing attack of Dezmon Jackson, who was the third stringer prior to the game. This was only the second time this season, and first with Spencer Sanders on the field, the Cowboys offense put up more than 40 points and more than 500 total yards. With the offense finding a groove now, the Cowboys have the ever pesky TCU defense awaiting them. Coach Gary Patterson and his TCU defense ranks No. 42 in total defense this season, allowing a little more than 368 yards per game. “They’re really good on defense again this year,” coach Mike Gundy said. “They do a nice job, they run to the ball, (Patterson) has a good plan. So it’ll be a big challenge for us on Saturday.” The only other game this season the Cowboys offense clicked to this extent was against Kansas, and Sanders was still out nursing an ankle injury. That performance did not carry over to the same extent. This week, the Cowboy offense has to carry over the offensive performance, now that the defense is wearing down as the season inches closer to completion. “TCU has a very good defense and we know that,” running back Dezmon Jackson said. “I think this is their last game and they’ve been on a roll lately, so we’re going to have to go in there and fight hard. And we have to keep our momentum going, just keep our fast pace on offense in practice and just keep going fast and keep getting in shape so we can hopefully line up fast, get our plays off and just got to stay consistent at the end of the day.” The biggest problem of inconsistency for the Cowboys rested with an offensive line that has been riddled with injuries since the opening drive of the season. In the most unlikely game, the offensive line played its best of the season, allowing one sack and paving the way for the Cowboys more than 300 rushing yards. That was all without Jenkins, the No. 10 ranked tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft, according to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper. Riding

sports we had talked about that everybody takes a different path, and it’s not always straight and narrow. Sometimes you’ve gotta go a different direction. It was definitely a tough time for him, Continued from pg. 4 absolutely.” Jackson’s end goal was to Before JUCO, Jackson was play for a Power Five team, and a star at Parkers Chapel High the difficulties he went through School in El Dorado, Arkanon that journey are a big reason sas. A four-year varsity player why he’s in the position he in that rushed for 1,600 yards and now. 21 touchdowns his senior year, This is now Jackson’s secJackson was the state’s offensive ond season at Oklahoma State, player of the year. and he’s seen himself rise up the With all the accolades and depth chart thanks to his hard stats he had in high school, not work and resiliency. having any offers was hard to “Coming from a small swallow. Jackson has always set school and going JUCO, I just high goals for himself, and his never in my life had anything high school head coach, James handed to me,” Jackson said. Housdan, helped him realize that “I’ve never been a high-star guy not all journeys are the same. that’s been highly recruited.” “I knew he was frustrated,” Jackson’s hard-working atHousdan told the O’Colly. “But titude has been noticed by his

Never

OSU teammates, and his work ethic is infectious to the team. “He’s a quiet guy that works hard, knows his job and will get the job done,” offensive lineman Jake Springfield said. “He’ll motivate people around him just by doing what he does.” During this past offseason, Jackson impressed Cowboy coaches with his performance in practices and scrimmages. After showing the fans some flashes of what he could do during the Kansas game, he got the chance to shoulder the load on Saturday against Texas Tech He did not disappoint. Jackson carried the ball 36 times and rushed for 236 yards and three touchdowns, which is the most an OSU running back has run for all season. “I’m glad that he finally got an opportunity to start and display his talent,” Housdan said. almost Riding season complete, the Cowboys still

Image Taken at the Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Football Game

“He’s a young man that’s set high goals for himself from an early age, and I think he’s showed a lot of determination and grit in his football career.” The performance against Texas Tech for Jackson was as good of a debut as you can get, and Cowboy fans will see him again next weekend and maybe even beyond that. On Monday, coach Mike Gundy labeled Jackson as the starting running back going forward. It was never an easy road for Jackson, but the adversity he faced is finally paying off. “There was a lot of tough times,” Jackson said. “I got frustrated a lot. I just kept pushing, and all my work that I’ve done showed on Saturday.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

al. From game to game, the position group, or have a chance person, making to reach the Big the impact had Continued 12 Championchanged, but from pg. 4 ship, but that against Texas will require two Tech everything “We were strong offensive clicked. running the performances Beating a ball well, we to ensure wins TCU defense were clicking,” to keep them in will take a team left tackle Jake the running. effort, and the Springfield The Cow- team is well said. “We had boy offense aware of the to move people has the stars importance in around since we across the field, being multidilost Teven (Jen- but getting mensional come kins), but that them to play a Saturday. didn’t phase us game with all “We’re not at all. We just of them having good enough knew we had to big impacts has offensively to come in, work proved a more be one-dimenbetter, keep difficult task sional, we have getting better than imagined. to stay balanced every day and it For most of the and we have showed on the season, the unit to try to keep field.” has been fairly the other team With the one dimension- off-balanced,

Photos of the week (by joshua cleary)

Gundy said “It’s been that way here for a lot of years. Two or three years, when we were good enough to where we could become onedimensional, but we’re not in that position right now. We have to be able to rush the ball effectively to keep the defense off-balance and that allows Tylan (Wallace) to make some plays.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Page 6 Friday, December 4, 2020

sports Improved play from Sanders guides Cowboys to victory over Tech light of Sanders’ game on Saturday, and while it was the only passing touchHe’s over there down he threw, the somewhere. redshirt sophomore With a quickly was also able to collapsing pocket score on a 9-yard and a defender right rush in the fourth in his face, Spenquarter. cer Sanders heaved “He played the ball up in the very well,” coach air, which graceMike Gundy said. fully landed into the “His composure was hands of Tylan Wal- good and graded lace, who was able really high in his to touch his toes in reads. He took care bounds to put the of the football, so Cowboys up by 10 we were pleased late in the third. with his game on The quarterback, Saturday.” now on the ground, In a season that raised his fists to the has been riddled sky, celebrating the with injuries and perfect pass. turnover problems “I think I’ve for Sanders, he was always been blessed able to shine against to locate the ball the Red Raiders, and go up and get completing 19 passit,” Wallace said. es for 222 yards as The 27-yard well as rushing for touchdown to Wal- 87 yards. He only lace was the highhad one turnover in By Dean Ruhl

the game, an interception at the beginning of the third quarter and took just one sack. In a game that was dominated by Dezmon Jackson and the run game, Sanders was able to do his part, spreading the ball out during the game and completing passes to seven different receivers. The offensive line has been playing a game of “musical chairs” this season, but it was able to come out and play its best game of the season, which assisted Sanders in his ability to have time to drop back, as well as give him space to tuck the ball if need be. “We were clicking,” offen-

sive lineman Jake Springfield said. “We knew we had to come in, work better, keep getting better every single day and it showed on the field.” Sanders finished with a QBR of 59.3 on Saturday, his third-highest of the season when throwing three or more passes. Gundy hopes that this is something Sanders will continue to do in the Cowboys’ upcoming game against TCU. “He should get a little better each week, so hopefully he’ll play as consistent as he did in the last game,” Gundy said.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Joshua Cleary Spencer Sanders looks into the stands pregame before Oklahoma State Football’s win against Texas Tech

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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Brosnan and Craig, most recently 6 “You __ at hello” 11 Bench subject 14 Mosque-goer’s deity 15 Certain lesson 16 “Do Ya” rock gp. 17 Checked out ’70s AMC cars? (2004, 1984) 19 Uruguay uncle 20 Coagulate 21 Went by 23 Genetic indicators? (2018, 2002) 28 “We need to chat” 29 Hand-off recipients: Abbr. 30 Interested to a fault 31 Gamble 32 Flight sked info 34 “Dexter” airer, briefly 36 2001 Wayans Brothers sequel, and a hint to the four other longest puzzle answers 41 Ltr. addenda 42 King played by Glenda Jackson 43 Actress Gardner 45 Sneaky stratagem 48 TV watcher’s device 49 Long-time Delaware senator 51 Getting no goodies from trick-or-treating? (1978, 1990) 55 Chose to take part 56 Colorado NHL club, to fans 57 66, e.g.: Abbr. 58 Possible sequel to “Despicable Me”? (2010, 2019) 64 1994 Olympics host: Abbr. 65 Movie segment 66 Curbs, with “in” 67 Graduating gp. 68 Concise 69 Vedder of Pearl Jam

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By Yoni Glatt

3 Dodgers’ div. 4 Prop for a Macbeth soliloquy 5 Machines that may cover tracks? 6 “Interesting” 7 Web pioneer 8 Moistureabsorbing substances 9 Virile 10 __ ice palace: Disney movie setting 11 Releases 12 Sci-fi film staples 13 Pine-scented, say 18 Manning with two Super Bowl victories 22 Wine option 23 Montreal NHLer, to fans 24 Wool sources 25 Campus mil. group 26 Airport transport 27 Clear 33 TV’s Burrell and Pennington 34 “Titanium” vocalist DOWN 1 English lit degrees 35 Stegosaurus, for 2 Pay add-on? one

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Daily Horoscope Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency Linda Black Horoscopes (TNS)

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12/4/20

Solution to Thursday’s puzzle

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk © 2020 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

sports

Throwing back the clock Cowboy basketball using defensive approach in an offensive era

under 65 points,” sophomore Kalib Boone. “If we have a high scoring game, we’re just trading buckets and we’re not trying to be that team just trading Chris Becker buckets. We need kills and we need stops.” In an age of offense, getting freshman to buy in On Wednesday, Ilis a difficult task. That is linois State scored 177 where the veterans come points on Greenville, in to help get everyone to which scored 108. That is where they need to be in just one example of how order to use the defense offense has taken over to generate transition ofbasketball. fense, a strong suit of the But not for OklahoCowboys. ma State and coach Mike “We want to be able Boynton. to put ourselves into a poDefense is so impor- sition to win our confertant to the program it is ence and go to the NCAA written on the back of the Tournament, regardless players’ practice shorts as of what people seem to a constant reminder. believe right now we’re “After our first game, still eligible to go to the we said we have to pick tournament,” graduate up our defense and then transfer Ferron Flavors we held a team under 65 said. “We’re just making points, and then we played sure we’re competing evMarquette and held them eryday, being ready to go

and making sure everyone understands defense wins championships.” Barely 10 minutes in to the game with Marquette, the Cowboys found themselves down early and lacking momentum. Marquette was beating the Cowboys using its size advantage on offense, so Boynton had to make a change. He decided to switch from man-to-man defense to a 2-2-1 pressure that fell into a 2-3 zone in the halfcourt. That switch could’ve gone one of two ways, but it went the way of the Cowboys stifling Marquette’s offense and leading to a 15-0 run for the Cowboys. “It was pretty early, but I wouldn’t say I was worried,” Boynton said. “I wasn’t happy about being down 12, that wasn’t part of the plan. It was some-

thing we talked about having ready and going to and I think the guys responded the right way. I was excited to see how we would respond to some adversity.” The players give credit to the coaching staff in the ability to smoothly switch from man defense to zone in the middle of possessions without a timeout. “It’s not difficult, the coaching staff does a good job of making sure we’re all on the same page,” Flavors said. “They’re on top of us as leaders making sure that when the coach gets a call to us, everyone on the court knows exactly what we’re in.” Big 12 play is inching closer with only three games left before the Cowboys face TCU to open up conference season, and the Cowboys are getting closer to finding

Rondel Walker stands guard during Oklahoma State Basketball’s win against Texas Southern on November 28, 2018 in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

their identity. After seeing how the zone has worked well in the Cowboys first three games and especially against Marquette, the Cowboys have found what could be a secret weapon when they face Big 12 teams that will have a size advantage on the offensive end. “Come mid-December, when you start conference play, you’ve got to have a good idea of who you are,” Boynton said. “I feel good that we’re learning some different things. We figured out that we can go to the zone and still be pretty active. We forced 24 turnovers playing 30 minutes of zone, that’s pretty good. That’s certainly something to be excited about going forward.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Joshua Cleary

Page 10 Friday, December 4, 2020

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! e n i l n o s u Visit

at Stillwater

4599 N. Washington Street Stillwater, OK 74075 *New leases only! Restrictions Apply! Limited Time Offer! Contact the Leasing Office for Complete Details! Professionally Managed by Lindsey Management Co., Inc.