W E E K E N D E D I T I O N | F E B R U A R Y 11 -14 , 2 0 16 | T W I C E W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M
OU DAILY
Senior guard Buddy Hield drives to the basket against Kansas State on Jan. 9. Hield is one of four Sooners to score 46 or more points during a single game.
CHRISTOPHER MICHIE/THE DAILY
MISS OF FORTUNE
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Lattin’s failed free throw turns Hield into superstar
uddy Hield had 33 points as Khadeem Lattin strutted down the floor and beat his chest as he made his way toward the free throw line. “I got it,” Lattin screamed amid the crowd of 16,300 in Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Wi t h t h e s c o re t i e d a t 7 7 against then-No. 1 Kansas, Lattin had a chance to etch himself into Sooner lore with just seconds on the clock. A chance to be the final shining moment in snapping a 23-year losing streak in Phog Allen. A chance to upend a topranked Kansas team for the first time in 13 years. A chance to pave the road to the top spot in the AP Poll, a road
JOHN WALKER • @JTW2213
untreaded since 1990. But as Lattin stepped to the foul line, the ball hit iron on the front end of the one-and-one. Kansas sealed the rebound and a trip to overtime. The rest is history. Oklahoma and Kansas duked it out for three extra periods, and the Sooners fell short in a 109106 triple-overtime loss to the Jayhawks. A tough night for the Sooners, who had three players log over 50 minutes in a losing effort. However, Lattin’s miss at the charity stripe might have been the strongest force behind Hield’s newfound superstardom. In extra time, the Bahamian dazzled a national audience against the top-ranked team in
the nation on the road. Three overtimes later, Hield’s night was not just impressive — it was historic. Hield joined Sooner greats Stacey King, Brent Price and Wayman Tisdale as the lone players to score 46 or more points in a game in the program’s history. Hield edged former Oklahoma forward Alvin Adams for eighth on the all-time scoring list while converting a personal-best eight three-pointers in Lawrence. The senior guard has since led the team to its first No. 1 ranking in 26 years, filed six additional 25-plus point games and outdueled LSU forward and player of the year candidate Ben Simmons in a thrilling, come-from-behind road victory.
The Naismith front-runner has elevated himself from a local household name to a prominent figure in college basketball. From Kevin Durant to Chris Paul, Hield’s future NBA colleagues have paid respect to the 22-yearold’s game. College basketball writers and national pundits continue to rave about his character and work ethic almost as much as his performance and play. As the postseason approaches, it is becoming safe to assume that Buddy Hield will win Player of the Year. The senior guard is posting more than 25 points per game and is still in the ulta-rare 50/50/90 club in the middle of February. As for his teammate, Lattin has long since recovered from
his foul line folly against Kansas. The sophomore forward was front-and-center of a game winning tip-in against No. 11 West Virginia to secure the 70-68 victory and the team’s 15th win of the season. “It’s kind of a like a redemption for me,” Lattin said after the game. Lattin and Hield now boast shining performances this season. Lattin found himself back on the right side of closing moments, and Hield can place a 46point line on his resume when he submits it to Naismith voters. And it’s all because of one missed free throw. John Walker
john.t.walker-1@ou.edu
OU’s last wins over Kansas March 10, 2002
Feb. 24, 2003
Feb. 21, 2005
Feb. 9, 2013
March 7, 2015
No. 4 Oklahoma 64, No. 1 Kansas 55
No. 5 Oklahoma 77, No. 6 Kansas 70
No. 22 Oklahoma 71, No. 8 Kansas 63
Oklahoma 72, No. 5 Kansas 66
No. 15 Oklahoma 75, No. 9 Kansas 73
The Sooners held the nation’s leading offense to just 19 points in the first half. Oklahoma put on a defensive clinic, holding conference All-American guard Kirk Hinrich to just four points. Guard Hollis Price won Big 12 tournament MVP with 23 points.
The Sooners led 47-26 at the half and gained a 32-point lead four minutes into the second half. Kansas made a strong rally, but guards Hollis Price and Quannas White paired 19-point outings to secure the win for the Sooners.
Oklahoma possessed a 15-point lead by the break and held Kansas to just 22 points at the half. Freshman guard David Godbold broke out against the eighth-ranked Jayhawks, posting 15 points and seven rebounds.
Forward Romero Osby contributed a game-high 17 points while guard Steven Pledger tallied 15. The game was secured by then-freshman guard Buddy Hield with a steal and an after-the-buzzer two-hand slam to elicit a court storming in Norman.
With the game tied at 73, the Sooners had 5.4 seconds to run the length of the floor for a last-second shot. After a layup grazed off the rim, Buddy Hield swooped from the perimeter to deliver the game-winning tip-in.
Boren suggests pay cuts for himself, others Proposal would cut his pay, vice presidents’ and deans’ by 3 percent ANDREW CLARK @Clarky_Tweets
OU President David Boren has proposed cutting the pay of many deans and vice presidents of the university as part of a money saving initiative amid a statewide budget crisis. Boren has proposed to cut his own pay and that of 26 other OU vice presidents and deans by 3 percent to save almost $250,000, O U p re s s s e c re t a r y C o r b i n Wallace said. The proposed cuts would take place July 1. The money saved will go toward need-based scholarships for students, he said. Not all deans and vice presidents will have their pay cut, however. Wallace said any dean
or vice president who makes less than $200,000 will not receive a cut, including Scott Mason, the vice president of governmental relations; Matthew Hamilton, the vice president of enrollment; and Nicole Judice Campbell, the dean of University College. The salary reductions are part of Boren’s plan to cut the university’s budget by $20 million amid a statewide budget shortfall. Other administrators affected by the pay cuts include Kyle Harper, the executive vice president and provost; Clarke Stroud, the vice president for Student Affairs; and Jabar Shumate, the vice president for the University Community. Ed Kelley, the interim dean of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, who is also facing a 3 percent pay cut, said there had been plenty of informal discussion regarding the cuts prior to their announcement. “I picked up on some of it last week, and my guess is that this
has been discussed since ... the middle of January right before the semester began,” he said. Kelley also said he believes the pay cut is to show that the people atop the university’s hierarchy are unified in moving to eliminate the budget deficit. “I think (Boren) wanted to make sure that everybody here, at a time when it is very unlikely for there to be pay raises … that the people here who were doing well salary-wise, that they were contributing to what was going on,” Kelley said. OU’s administrative costs are among the lowest in the nation and have been cut in half, down to 4.5 percent, since 1994, Boren said in a press release. Boren has also unveiled other initiatives to cut the university’s budget, including a voluntary early retirement plan, reductions in purchases and travel and a reduction of faculty and staff by attrition.
Those eligible for Boren’s voluntary early retirement plan will be notified of their eligibility Feb. 15. The cutting of OU’s budget stems from the state playing less and less of a role in funding it. State appropriations comprise 15.5 percent of OU’s total operating revenue budget for the fiscal year 2016, while they comprised 31.3 percent of the university’s total operating revenue budget in the fiscal year 1995. However, the total amount of money state appropriations contributed to the budget has increased by about 11.56 percent since 1995 when adjusted for inflation. Kelley said the challenges the state is facing may be the toughest it has faced since the 1980s, when low oil prices caused an economic crisis in the state. Andrew Clark
andrewclarkou@gmail.com
SALARY REDUCTIONS
Twenty-seven administrators, including OU President David Boren, will face salary reductions as part of a university-wide initiative to save money.
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deans
vice presidents
administrators who hold both dean and vice president positions