JimBob
02-05-2008, 07:28 AM
Major turnaround
By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer
2/5/2008
Ex-La. Tech coach has OSU in Top 25
KURT BUDKE STEPPED onto the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena for the first time on March 25, 2005.
The silence was deafening.
"There wasn't a soul in there but me," Budke said. "I guess it was all the ghosts of GallagherIba. But man, I could imagine the noise. I thought we could really do something if we can get this arena full. We would really be tough to beat."
His thoughts proved to be prophetic.
After going 0-16 in the Big 12 in 2005-06, the Salina, Kan., native orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA history.
A year after struggling to win six games over all, he guided the Cowgirls to their first 20-win season (20-11) since 1997-98 and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1996.
Ten months after the NCAA game, Budke stepped into a sold-out Gallagher-Iba Arena and watched as his Cowgirls manhandled then-No. 6 Oklahoma, 82-63. The record crowd of 13,611 was the largest ever to witness a women's basketball game in the state of Oklahoma.
"I knew even back then the first sellout would be Bedlam," Budke said. "I didn't know when it would happen but I thought if we did our job, we had a chance to sell out at some point. OU being ranked sixth at the time had a whole lot to do with it being a sellout."
The No. 17 Cowgirls host No. 5 Baylor at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"It's another challenge for us," Budke said. "To go from that (0-16) to the NCAA Tournament, there's just no way to understand what we went through. Give my assistants all the credit -- to recruit to a 0-16 team -- they did a great job."
Taylor Hardeman, a junior guard from Norman, was one of two players on the squad that failed to win a Big 12 game.
"I just knew this (0-16) wasn't how it was supposed to be," Hardeman said. "It was hard to get up for games. But I've never quit anything in my life and I wasn't about to start."
Hardeman said she's very happy with OSU's success this year. Budke, though, won't allow himself to enjoy the spoils too much.
"All I have to do is remember those recruiting calls after that first year," he said. "They went something like this. 'Hello, I'm Kurt Budke, head women's basketball coach at Oklahoma State University.' So far so good, they're listening. I'd tell them we play in the Big 12. They're still listening. I'd tell them we were 0-16 the previous year. Click. They would hang up. It was hard, very hard, trying to recruit."
Two years later, Budke and his staff are the ones taking calls.
"We have kids calling us asking about our program," he said. "During those two years, we lost out on good Oklahoma kids. It takes time for players to believe in what you are trying to do. But now we are getting the attention of sophomores and juniors. That's when the turn really starts, when recruits believe."
Budke sold 5-foot-5 point guard Andrea Riley on the possibilities. Riley was his first big recruit since he took on the OSU job.
"I really wasn't concerned with what happened before I arrived," Riley said. "I was thinking of the future, not the past. We are still proving ourselves. We are ranked but at the same time we have to beat the teams that are nationally recognized."
One year after helping the team reach the NCAA Tournament, Riley put the Cowgirls on the national map with a 45-point effort against OU. Riley is averaging 23.2 points on the season, and 28.3 in Big 12 games.
Going into the final week of the regular season in 2007, OSU was 17-9 overall and 5-8 in the Big 12.
They finished with victories over Texas, Nebraska and Kansas State and an 8-8 league mark. But would it be enough, Budke wondered?
"Looking back, if we lose any one of those three games, we don't get in the NCAA," Budke said. "We would have gone to the NIT and that would have been a great step for us. But when we won those last three, we felt like we had turned the corner.
"To finish 8-8 in the Big 12, I didn't think there was any way we could be kept out," he said. "That's when we knew were going in the right direction."
A 15-year veteran coach, Budke's lone losing season came in his first year at Oklahoma State. He won four national titles in seven seasons at Trinity Valley Community College. That was followed by five years at Louisiana Tech, in three of which he compiled an 80-16 record.
So, why would he leave Louisiana Tech, a perennial Top 25 program, to take over an Oklahoma State program that posted just 14 victories in three seasons?
"It was the Big 12," Budke said. "It's the best conference in America in women's basketball. Top to bottom it is the toughest. If you can compete for a Big 12 championship, then your program is going to have an opportunity to win it all. First things first, try to win the Big 12. If can do that, you have a chance to win a national championship."
There was added motivation.
"I don't think you will ever see, in any major sport such as football, basketball or baseball, a mid-major win a national championship," he said. "They don't have the financial backing to do it . . . I saw the opportunity to go to a place that supports all their sports and I jumped at it."
Getting friend Jim Littell on board was a must. Littell is OSU's associate head coach.
"Jim and I had talked for years that if either one of us got to a place we really liked, we would join back up," Budke said. "Jim had won everything he could at the junior college level. I think he was ready for another challenge.
"I can't tell you how lucky I am to have him here. He is a head coach. A Division I head coach."
Oklahoma State started the year 16-1 before losing two of their last three games. Back on track after an 82-61 win at Colorado, Budke is cautious.
"Its baby steps in the Big 12," he said. "I know we are not going to sell out every game, I will love the day we do. But our fans recognize the big games. If we can fill the end zones with students and get the bottom bowl full, it's an unbelievable atmosphere."
Budke said he'll stick around for the long-haul.
"My family loves it here," he said. ". . . We're in the heart of the old Big Eight. I love it here. I absolutely would finish my career here if they will have me. So if Duke called, it wouldn't matter. Tennessee -- it wouldn't matter. We're home."
By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer
2/5/2008
Ex-La. Tech coach has OSU in Top 25
KURT BUDKE STEPPED onto the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena for the first time on March 25, 2005.
The silence was deafening.
"There wasn't a soul in there but me," Budke said. "I guess it was all the ghosts of GallagherIba. But man, I could imagine the noise. I thought we could really do something if we can get this arena full. We would really be tough to beat."
His thoughts proved to be prophetic.
After going 0-16 in the Big 12 in 2005-06, the Salina, Kan., native orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA history.
A year after struggling to win six games over all, he guided the Cowgirls to their first 20-win season (20-11) since 1997-98 and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1996.
Ten months after the NCAA game, Budke stepped into a sold-out Gallagher-Iba Arena and watched as his Cowgirls manhandled then-No. 6 Oklahoma, 82-63. The record crowd of 13,611 was the largest ever to witness a women's basketball game in the state of Oklahoma.
"I knew even back then the first sellout would be Bedlam," Budke said. "I didn't know when it would happen but I thought if we did our job, we had a chance to sell out at some point. OU being ranked sixth at the time had a whole lot to do with it being a sellout."
The No. 17 Cowgirls host No. 5 Baylor at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"It's another challenge for us," Budke said. "To go from that (0-16) to the NCAA Tournament, there's just no way to understand what we went through. Give my assistants all the credit -- to recruit to a 0-16 team -- they did a great job."
Taylor Hardeman, a junior guard from Norman, was one of two players on the squad that failed to win a Big 12 game.
"I just knew this (0-16) wasn't how it was supposed to be," Hardeman said. "It was hard to get up for games. But I've never quit anything in my life and I wasn't about to start."
Hardeman said she's very happy with OSU's success this year. Budke, though, won't allow himself to enjoy the spoils too much.
"All I have to do is remember those recruiting calls after that first year," he said. "They went something like this. 'Hello, I'm Kurt Budke, head women's basketball coach at Oklahoma State University.' So far so good, they're listening. I'd tell them we play in the Big 12. They're still listening. I'd tell them we were 0-16 the previous year. Click. They would hang up. It was hard, very hard, trying to recruit."
Two years later, Budke and his staff are the ones taking calls.
"We have kids calling us asking about our program," he said. "During those two years, we lost out on good Oklahoma kids. It takes time for players to believe in what you are trying to do. But now we are getting the attention of sophomores and juniors. That's when the turn really starts, when recruits believe."
Budke sold 5-foot-5 point guard Andrea Riley on the possibilities. Riley was his first big recruit since he took on the OSU job.
"I really wasn't concerned with what happened before I arrived," Riley said. "I was thinking of the future, not the past. We are still proving ourselves. We are ranked but at the same time we have to beat the teams that are nationally recognized."
One year after helping the team reach the NCAA Tournament, Riley put the Cowgirls on the national map with a 45-point effort against OU. Riley is averaging 23.2 points on the season, and 28.3 in Big 12 games.
Going into the final week of the regular season in 2007, OSU was 17-9 overall and 5-8 in the Big 12.
They finished with victories over Texas, Nebraska and Kansas State and an 8-8 league mark. But would it be enough, Budke wondered?
"Looking back, if we lose any one of those three games, we don't get in the NCAA," Budke said. "We would have gone to the NIT and that would have been a great step for us. But when we won those last three, we felt like we had turned the corner.
"To finish 8-8 in the Big 12, I didn't think there was any way we could be kept out," he said. "That's when we knew were going in the right direction."
A 15-year veteran coach, Budke's lone losing season came in his first year at Oklahoma State. He won four national titles in seven seasons at Trinity Valley Community College. That was followed by five years at Louisiana Tech, in three of which he compiled an 80-16 record.
So, why would he leave Louisiana Tech, a perennial Top 25 program, to take over an Oklahoma State program that posted just 14 victories in three seasons?
"It was the Big 12," Budke said. "It's the best conference in America in women's basketball. Top to bottom it is the toughest. If you can compete for a Big 12 championship, then your program is going to have an opportunity to win it all. First things first, try to win the Big 12. If can do that, you have a chance to win a national championship."
There was added motivation.
"I don't think you will ever see, in any major sport such as football, basketball or baseball, a mid-major win a national championship," he said. "They don't have the financial backing to do it . . . I saw the opportunity to go to a place that supports all their sports and I jumped at it."
Getting friend Jim Littell on board was a must. Littell is OSU's associate head coach.
"Jim and I had talked for years that if either one of us got to a place we really liked, we would join back up," Budke said. "Jim had won everything he could at the junior college level. I think he was ready for another challenge.
"I can't tell you how lucky I am to have him here. He is a head coach. A Division I head coach."
Oklahoma State started the year 16-1 before losing two of their last three games. Back on track after an 82-61 win at Colorado, Budke is cautious.
"Its baby steps in the Big 12," he said. "I know we are not going to sell out every game, I will love the day we do. But our fans recognize the big games. If we can fill the end zones with students and get the bottom bowl full, it's an unbelievable atmosphere."
Budke said he'll stick around for the long-haul.
"My family loves it here," he said. ". . . We're in the heart of the old Big Eight. I love it here. I absolutely would finish my career here if they will have me. So if Duke called, it wouldn't matter. Tennessee -- it wouldn't matter. We're home."