Daily Bullets: Wiggins earns Smart’s respect

Happy Pi Day, y’all.

Hoops

Must read on Markel, do it. (O’Colly)

Brian Phillips is the king of OSU sportswriting, even though (or maybe because) he rarely does it. Read this on the Cowboys because nobody else can write it. (Grantland)

I’m not sure I totally buy in yet but Wiggins was fantastic yesterday. (Big Lead)

Cobbins is a good player, but I don’t quite understand how his absence has convinced some to morph him into some kind of superhuman in their minds. He was averaging 5 and 5. (Fox Sports SW)

Photos from KC on Thursday. Some great ones in here. (Flickr)

Ford: “But our guys fought really hard, just didn’t have enough left in the tank there late. We fought a lot of adversity. Foul trouble, our 4s and 5s, obviously we don’t have a lot of depth there. But, hey, no excuses, Kansas deserved it. They made big shots and big rebounds against us. But our guys fought. I’m proud of them.” (Scout)

I miss Kemper Arena as well. Great memories from Berry Tramel. (NewsOK)

Smart on Wiggins: “Give him credit. He earned my respect tonight. Like I said, you’ve got to earn my respect. And he earned it tonight.” (NewsOK)

OSU remains a nine-seed. (CBS Sports)

Self: “I thought Markel made a couple of really hard shots. That one 3 he made to give them the lead was a joke how good that was.” (Big 12 Sports)

Here’s the three, btw. (ESPN)

On Myles Turner: He’d have every opportunity to play a pivotal role from Day 1 as the pillar of a young team, but it’s easier to envision exactly how he will be utilized offensively in other programs. (ESPN)

Using KenPom formulas to prove that we were the most underachieving team in the country. That Travis Ford pic tho. (Grantland)

Wiggins doesn’t have to change, we do. I think we’re sort of projecting a lot on a few games but I generally agree with this. (ESPN)

Bill Self thinks we’re better than we think we are, I think. Also, I noticed the Smart near-steal at the end of regulation. I actually thought he was going to snag it. (NewsOK)

Smart with a mini-shot at Wiggins: “He didn’t get Big 12 Player of the Year.” (Tulsa World)

10 thoughts on OSU and Kansas. (PFB)

In the last two months, OSU has just three road-neutral wins – at West Virginia, at TCU and vs. Texas Tech in Kansas City. (Tulsa World)

Football

PFB will sponsor this, if necessary. (Tulsa World)

Chelf continues to be hilarious. He has a workout with Falcons. (O’Colly)

Photos from Pro Day. Why was Gilbert there? (Flickr)

I really want Josh Stewart to make it but I’m kind of worried that he’s a little off in his self-evaluation. Do teams want a middle class man’s Tavon Austin? Maybe..but maybe not. (O’Colly)

Gundy on the spring game: “At some point I have to make a decision based on what’s best for our team first and then our fans and people that follow us second.” (ESPN)

Gilbert on not running at Pro Day: “I wanted to but my agent said my time was pretty good at the columbine and I didn’t need to run.” (okstate)

Chelf: “I would love to keep playing and that’s why I’m out there and that’s why I’ve been training. If I’m fortunate enough to get a shot. I’ll take advantage of that.” (Tulsa World)

Other

I interviewed Rickie Fowler last week. (CBS Sports)

The writers bracket. (Big Lead)

Chris Fowler is locked up through 2023 with ESPN, what happens with Rece Davis? (Big Lead)

Good interview with Nate Silver on the new 538. (NY Mag)

You don’t risk enough to be happy. (Medium)

Well this is not good. Allen’s $60 million football stadium is cracking and shrinking. (Big Lead)

Baseball doubleheader today. (okstate)

Browns gonna Browns. (Deadspin)

Baylor beat OU. I’m 4-2 in my Big 12 bracket. Doesn’t bode well for next week..

Pro Day highlights.