STILLWATER —
Cooper Bassett spent the last five years living his dream as a member of the Oklahoma State football team. Now his younger brother Dawson Bassett will get that same chance.
After a late commitment defected, the OSU coaching staff had a scholarship open and offered the younger Bassett — who quickly accepted. On Wednesday, Bassett and 22 other players signed national letters of intent to join the Oklahoma State team.
“Selfishly, I’m so happy to have my little brother follow in my footsteps in going to OSU, but more importantly because of how happy he is,” Cooper Bassett said. “He loves OSU just like I do. I can promise you Dawson’s loyalty and love for Oklahoma State is just as big as mine. That’s the biggest reason for why I’m happy — my little brother’s dreams came true today just like mine did five years ago.”
Bassett is listed as an athlete out of Tuttle but Gundy said he would play linebacker. Bassett was the only Oklahoma native to ink with OSU.
“He’s more active side-to side than Cooper. If he’s anything of a player and has the loyalty that Cooper had for our program, then he’s a great take for us,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “From a talent standpoint, we liked him from day one, we just didn’t know that he fit in this class. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens, but we’re thrilled that he’s a part of a great family and great Oklahoma State people.”
Cooper said he agreed with Gundy’s assessment of the younger Bassett, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, being more athletic than the 6-foot-5, 270-pound graduating Cowboy.
“I’ve always said God gave me size and God gave Dawson the agility,” Cooper said. “... He’s always had that advantage over me in the athleticism and agility and quickness.”
The fact Dawson is the lone Oklahoma native to sign with OSU struck a bit of a nerve for Gundy on Wednesday.
“We took one (Oklahoma) kid this year and that really bothers me,” Gundy said. “Now we offered a number of them, but we didn’t get them. I think it’s important for the people in Oklahoma to know that if there is a player in any case that can help us, we’re going to offer him because we want to take care of all the Oklahoma people.”
It possibly could have been no Oklahoma signees for OSU, however. After the defection of a previous OSU recruit, a scholarship opened in the final hours and Gundy placed the call to Dawson a week before National Signing Day — even though they weren’t looking to sign any linebackers in this class.
“He was a little bit of a tweener for us because the positions that we needed him at and the positions he played, we weren’t going to take them in this class,” Gundy said. “From a talent standpoint and his attitude and his love of the game, we would have taken him months ago, but we really didn’t need him at outside linebacker because we have so many young players at that position.”
But Gundy has always been about family.
Dawson isn’t the only brother of a Cowboy to be joining the OSU family in this recruiting class. Darius Curry, a four-star cornerback from Flowery Branch, Ga., is the younger brother of C.J. Curry, a freshman wide receiver at OSU who played in two games this past year.
“I think it’s a testament to OSU. ... I think the younger brothers see the older brothers in the facilities and the environment and not just as a place to play or go to school, but that it really is a family up there,” Cooper said. “I think not only does OSU get good players, but I think they get a player that is a little bit more invested in the program. I think it’s a good thing to do and shows how great the program is that not only one family member wants to go there, it’s a good enough place to make the whole family want to go there.”
It’s just a continuation of bringing brothers into Stillwater to play for the Cowboys — dating back to the Woods brothers of Rashaun, D’Juan and Donovan. Junior offensive lineman Daniel Koenig is also the third brother to play for Oklahoma State.
“We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve had some brothers that have come through here that have done very well. That’s a sign that we’re handling them the right way and they’re happy here at Oklahoma State,” Gundy said. “If they weren’t happy, their brothers wouldn’t want to come here. ... I feel like Oklahoma State is starting to build a football tradition and that’s the foundation of where it starts. The former players have to come back and be a part of our alumni weekend.
“A number of our players have come back on their open weekend in the NFL and they are on the sidelines. They do that on their own. They come back and they want to be here and they want to be a part of our team. We’re starting to build some of that tradition that over years and years will begin to pay off for our football team.”
Jason Elmquist is the sports editor for the Stillwater NewsPress.
Sports
List of Cowboy football signees heavy on out-of-staters
- Sports
-
-
Workman's blasts cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. -
UCO to host US women's sitting volleyball team's exhibition matches against Russia
The University of Central Oklahoma will host five exhibition matches of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team versus the Russian National Women Sitting Volleyball Team beginning tonight at 10. Matches continue on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a single match on Sunday at 9 a.m.
This will be the first time the Paralympic silver medaling Team USA has faced Russia since 2011. According to Head Coach Bill Hamiter, these matches will serve as preparation for the Sitting Volleyball World Championships in 2014.
Team USA will be available after each match to meet with fans and sign autographs.
All exhibition matches are free and open to the public. -
Impact-making Graves inks with OBU
When a basketball team goes 80-3 over the years a player was there, that athlete has made a profound impact on that particular program.
Not only did she/he leave a legacy athletically to have that type of success in Class 6A, but left a mark in a leadership capacity as well.
Cameerah Graves, Edmond Santa Fe’s standout guard who led 6A in assists her senior season with 129, signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma Baptist University last week. - More Sports Headlines
-
