Stories of What each man loved

Kendall Durfey worked dream job at OSU

Kendall Durfey quickly became an OSU fan. He moved to Stillwater to pursue his masters degree, and to reunite with his younger brother, Nelson, who was an undergrad at OSU.

They both grew up in upstate New York, and carried on their family’s tradition in Oklahoma.

“We’re a media family,” Nelson said. “My parents owned a radio station when we were born, so we ended up going into the family business. We had a radio station in New York, then came out to Oklahoma. We had a radio station that Kendall was the general manager of after he graduated from ORU. We sold it then he came to OSU since I was there.” When Kendall got to Stillwater, the brothers quickly bonded over work in the sports radio business, and attending OSU games.

From the 1985 Bedlam “Ice Bowl” in Norman, to the basketball games in the not-yet raised roof of Gallagher-Iba Arena, Kendall embraced OSU athletics.

While at OSU, Kendall worked for the Education Television Services and the OSU radio network as a producer and engineer. From the coaches show for football to being able to work directly with the basketball team, he had his dream job.

“When he got the job at the Cowboy Radio Network, it was great, because he got paid to go to games,” Nelson said.

Bjorn Fahlstrom: Key of the Cowboy Air Force

Nowadays, most major college basketball teams charter a jet to fly them to and from away games. It’s faster, simpler and keeps everyone together.

Back in 2001, coach Eddie Sutton transported his team on multiple planes provided by donors. He started the practice as head coach of Arkansas, where it because known as the Razorback Air Force.

Sorority class lost Nate Fleming

People on campus started wondering why an entire pledge class of sorority girls had gone missing.

At some point on their way to a chapter meeting at their house, the girls decided to ditch the function and head to a different house a block away. It was one shared by former Cowboy basketball teammates Fredrik Jonzen and Nate Fleming.

The girls had stopped in to say hello, and two hours later they were still hanging out. It made sense why they were friends with Jonzen, a star senior forward on the team. But why did the girls want to see Fleming, a freshman walk-on who barely played?

Here he is with his wife, Karen, a coach on the OSU soccer team.

Everyone liked Nate.

“All those girls knew Nate and Fredrik,” Zane Fleming, Nate’s father said. “Fredrik was a junior and

Part of the reason teams made the switch was the 2001 plane crash that killed pilot Bjorn Fahlstrom and nine people connected with the Oklahoma State basketball team. The unique way OSU traveled to games made the entire traveling party close.

“When you fly with the same people all the time there’s just a level of comfort high profile cause he was a starter on the team and Nate as a freshman and everybody loved him anyway so it was a good place to go.”

Nate loved being part of a team. He loved being a part of something greater than himself and lifting others to success. That’s why coaches, teammates and sorority girls loved him. Whether it was hustling through drills or tutoring teammates he always heeded the advice of his father. Do the next right thing.

Will Hancock combining words, sports and people

Karen Hancock thinks her late husband, Will, could have done just about anything.

Will’s SAT scores were “off the charts,” and his math skills would have made him a great engineer or accountant. But he had no desire to crunch numbers all day.

“He was a wordsmith, he loved the English language, he loved words,” Karen said. “I think for him, he needed to do something to entertain himself, fulfill himself with writing. And he loved sports, so he combined the two.”

Working as sports information director for Oklahoma State basketball merged all of Will’s interests. The people he could help in his role made the long hours and heavy travel worth it.

“He liked young people, and he liked helping facilitate them having a good experience,” Hancock said. “He

Daniel Lawson Jr.: A man of the people

No matter what room Daniel Lawson Jr walked into, he was welcomed.

Doug Gottlieb, point guard of the Cowboys from 1997-2000, roomed with Lawson at away games for part of his senior year. That season, the OSU roster had six scholarship seniors. Lawson, a redshirt junior from Mott Community College, fit right in.

But in a room of younger players and other players under redshirt, he acted just the same. Gottlieb said he was accepted by the entire program.

“Everybody liked Dan,” Gottlieb said. “Dan was like good looking, smart, smooth talker – he was a good dude.” That’s what Lawson enjoyed most about those OSU teams. Being around the guys. Being part of the team. And he was great at making everyone laugh.

“Very very funny,” Gottlieb said. “He was the perfect fit for Oklahoma State in that he was super laid back.” to it,” former OSU point guard Doug Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb recalled a story in which Lawson received extra tickets to a game and gave one to two girls. Problem was, he sat them next to each other.

Fahlstrom, born in Sweeden, moved to Oklahoma City to learn how to fly. He was a former professional tennis player and fit in perfectly with the Cowboy basketball team.

“But those guys wouldn’t have been on the trip if they weren’t really good guys, there’s not enough space or time,” Gottlieb said. “They were just always funny and busting balls. It was just a good thing.” wrote all the stories and tried to get some attention shown on the guys he worked with whether that was with basketball or golf.”

What surprised Karen after the plane crash in 2001 was how many people felt a piece of Will’s love.

“What was always amazing to me… is just the people that came out of the woodwork and said, ‘Will did this for me, Will said this to me,’” Hancock said. “He clearly just touched a lot of people.”

“It was hysterical,” Gottlieb said. “He was really likeable. Kinda more smooth than anything else, and he kinda dressed cool, acted cool, just one of those very laid-back big cats, man.” Courtesy