‘Blind Leading The Blind’: OSU’s Young Frontcourt Provides Healthy (but Green) Competition

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State basketball team has five scholarship post players on its roster: junior Cameron McGriff and four freshmen.

Yor Anei, Maurice Calloo, Duncan Demuth and Kentrevious Jones are new to Stillwater, but at least a few of the group will have to play major minutes for coach Mike Boynton this season.

A lot of the development of the young group falls on McGriff’s rather broad shoulders. In practices, McGriff can get stern with the young players, but it’s all for the betterment of the team.

“They watch everything that I do, so I try to not make as much mistakes, I mean I still make mistakes, but I want them to learn from me,” McGriff said. “They know I love them, but sometimes (tough love is) the way you get the message across.”

In every post drill McGriff goes first. He isn’t a bad person to learn from. As a sophomore, McGriff had 20-point games in Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas and in the WVU Coliseum, both were upset victories for OSU.

McGriff averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last season. He started 17 games, including OSU’s final 14.

“We just watch his every step and try to mimic what he does because he’s obviously such a great player,” Demuth said. “We’re just trying to be like him.”

Unless the Cowboys want to play small and put McGriff at center and Lindy Waters at power forward, there will likely be a freshman post starting, with bench minutes coming for other standouts. This creates a healthy competition among the young group.

“They compete every day,” McGriff said. “I think they have an understanding that they’re all practicing for playing time, so they go at each other every day. It’s impressive to watch.”

A particular battle to watch for is Anei and Jones who could compete for the starting center position. Both are 6-foot-10 and have been matched up with each other since the team’s summer practices before the European tour.

Anei and Jones each bring different body types despite being the same height. Jones is more of a low-post bruiser, while Anei shines on the defensive end thanks to his ridiculous length.

“We’re really good friends outside of the court, but once we get on the court, our friendship goes away,” Anei said. “We gotta go hard against each other, as hard as we can, so we can make each other better. That’s how our friendship works.”

OSU was picked to finished last in the Big 12 on Friday, primarily because of the high turnover on its roster with six true freshmen as well as the addition of graduate transfer Mike Cunningham.

Boynton said he hopes the team will play its best basketball about January, but for now, he hasn’t understated how much growing needs to be done, particularly down low.

“Inside, they’re all freshmen,” Boynton said. “Cam’s down there. He’s like the old man and a bunch of guys hopefully trying to do what he does.

“If there’s ever a day has to go to the bathroom for 15 minutes in practice, there’s just the blind leading the blind down there.”

Here is a deeper look into “The Blind.”

Maurice Calloo

Height: 6-9
Weight: 225
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Interesting note from media day: Calloo is from Ontario, Canada, but he attended high school at Huntington Prep in West Virginia.

He was scouted at an AAU tournament and when he was 15, he left his family in Canada and moved in with host parents for three years. He said he still talks with his host parents every day.

“I liked it,” Calloo said. “It was a good experience for me, and it prepared me well for the next level. ”

Boynton on Calloo: “Mo is probably the most skilled (of the freshmen bigs). He may be one of the most skilled guys on our team in terms of overall basketball talent. He can really, really shoot. He can really pass. He can probably guard three to four positions. He’s got a really strong center of gravity, so he’s not easily pushed around. Can rebound well, but just doesn’t know what we’re doing yet.”

Kentrevious Jones

Height: 6-10
Weight: 265
Hometown: Macon, Georgia

Interesting note from media day: Jones said his parents were initially a little skeptical on the 54 pounds he has dropped since coming to Stillwater.

Jones said his dad didn’t want him to lose weight at first, but Jones said both parents have since come around and told him how proud they are.

“My Mom, she would ask me, ‘Are you sure you’re eating?'” Jones said. “And I’d say, ‘Yeah, Mom, I’m eating,’ She’d be like, ‘Well, why you losing so much weight?’ and I’d tell her, ‘Mom, it’s the process I have to do.”

Boynton on Jones: “Kentrevious doesn’t move as well. Doesn’t have as many different skills, but when he catches it inside, you feel pretty confident that he’s going to be able to get a good shot off because one, he’s probably got pretty good position and you’re not going to be able to move him from where he wants to be.”

Yor Anei

Height: 6-10
Weight: 225
Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas

Interesting note from media day: Anei is missing his middle and index fingers on his right hand.

When Anei was 2 or 3, he stuck his hand in a blender. With it happening when he was so young, Anei hasn’t had to change his daily life, as he just learned to do what he needed with two less fingers.

“I’ve been like this my whole life, so I’ve grown to adapt,” Anei said. “I write with my right hand. I shoot with my left, but I’m right handed. … I often forget about it all the time. It’s normal to me.”

Boynton on Anei: “Yor gets pushed around all the time, but he has an unbelievable knack for shot blocking. He’s blocked shots being out of position because it’s a natural thing for him, and he’s pretty nimble, knows how to move. He’s got great length.”

Duncan Demuth

Height: 6-8
Weight: 200
Hometown: Seminole, Florida

Interesting note from media day: Along with junior guard Thomas Dziagwa, Demuth is the second player on OSU’s roster from Florida.

Demuth said the summer in Stillwater was comparable to Florida, but he has some prep to do for the winter months.

“The summer was kinda the same, but now it’s starting to get a little cold,” Demuth said. “Last weekend, it was miserable.”

Boynton on Demuth: “Duncan is a really, really smart kid. Because of his intelligence basketball-wise, he’s been kinda able to edge out, a little bit, a couple of the other post guys. He picks up things really quickly.

“He’s been coached really hard. His coach was, I don’t wanna say crazy, but he was a high-strung very, very demanding guy, so he laid a great foundation for him to take seriously how to learn, how to study. You know, ‘If I teach you something, it’s your job not to learn it. I’m not coming back tomorrow and teaching it again.’ He’s got a great sense of responsibility in that regard.”