Tag: Mookie Blaylock

Buddy Hield and Trae Young top 10 college guards of the last decade per Jon Rothstein

Buddy Hield and Trae Young had special careers in Norman which ended with them as top 10 guards of the last decade.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been spoiled with some special talent on the hardwood. Whether it was Alvin Adams, Stacey King, Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor or the newer era with guys like [autotag]Blake Griffin[/autotag], [autotag]Buddy Hield[/autotag] and [autotag]Trae Young[/autotag].

Hield and Young had two of the better individual seasons I’ve seen any college basketball player have. Hield’s senior season was remarkable to watch. He averaged 25 points, 5.7 rebounds on 50.1% from the field and 45.7% from 3. He’s the only player I’ve ever seen that when he shot a three it felt like it was going in every time. It’s what led to him winning several national awards.

Young’s season was special as well. I remember watching him play basketball at the YMCA in Norman when he was in junior high. You could tell then he’d be special but I never thought he’d be that special. In his lone season in Norman, he led the nation in points (27.4) and assists (8.7) per game which had never been done before.

More: Oklahoma men’s basketball all-time roster: Sooner Legends

Those special seasons helped land both on CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein’s top 10 list of best college guards in the last decade.

Now, it says it is in no particular order so who knows who is first and who is 10th. It’s also a great list with a lot of great guards. Still, you can’t convince me any of those guys are better than Hield. That’s how special that season was.

It helped get Oklahoma back into the Final Four and although that didn’t turn out how Sooner fans would have wanted, it was one fun ride.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma men’s basketball all-time roster: Sooner Legends

With March Madness here, we look at Oklahoma’s all-time basketball team led by Coach Billy Tubbs and players like Wayman Tisdale.

We are on the cusp of an exhilarating time of the year for most sports fans nationwide, as March Madness is very near. The electricity generated by conference tournaments and the following NCAA Tournaments is an experience no collegiate sport can replicate. Selection Sunday is Mar.12.

Porter Moser’s team has had an incredibly perplexing season. They beat multiple ranked teams and played tough in some other games. However, the Sooners look like the odd team out when deciding which Big 12 teams make it into the field of 68.

Oklahoma was a mainstay in the tournament during the 2010s, as they made it six times. Their most recent berth was in 2021. The Sooners’ most recent Final Four appearance was in 2016, spearheaded by Oklahoma basketball legend Buddy Hield. With a reasonably steady program despite no national championships, what would an all-time Sooners basketball team look like? Sooners Wire chose one head coach, two assistants, and ten players to make up the all-time roster.

Where does the nickname ‘Mookie’ rank in NBA history?

Where does ‘Mookie’ Blaylock rank on NBA’s greatest nicknames?

Our colleagues at the Rookie Wire recently put together a list of the best nicknames in NBA history. On this list, you can find names like The Iceman, Magic, Agent 0, Dr. J, and of course his Royal Airness, Air Jordan. A total of 101 nicknames were presented on the list with one former Oklahoma Sooner making the list. So where does ‘Mookie’ rank?

No. 60: Daron “Mookie” Blaylock

(AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Steve Sisney)

Daron Oshay Blaylock was dubbed Mookie as a child by his older sisters, and the nickname stuck. The rock group Pearl Jam originally went by the name Mookie Blaylock in homage to the crafty point guard. The band later titled its debut album “Ten” as a nod to Blaylock’s jersey number.

During his two-year run at Oklahoma, Blaylock averaged 36.6 minutes played in a total of 74 games played. In the 1987-88 season, ‘Mookie’ averaged 16.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 3.8 steals per game. The following season his points per game average rose to 20.0, while his assists climbed to 6.7, and added 3.7 steals per game. He was named consensus second-team All-American in 1989.

Blaylock played in the NBA after being drafted 12th overall by the New Jersey Nets in the 1989 NBA draft. He would play for the Atlanta Hawks from 1992-99 and finished his career with four seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

Professional Accolades:

  • 1994 NBA All-Star
  • NBA All-Defensive First Team (1994,1995)
  • NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1996-99)
  • NBA steals leader (1997,1998)

Career Statistics:

  • 11,962 points
  • 3,659 rebounds
  • 5,972 assists

Today in Nets history: Nets win first playoff game in eight years

Drazen Petrovic and Derrick Coleman made sure the Nets weren’t swept by the Cavaliers in the first round of the 1992 NBA Playoffs.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After losing in the first round of the 1986 NBA Playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks, the New Jersey Nets didn’t make the postseason again until 1992. But there was still another streak the ’92 group needed to snap.

The Nets didn’t win a game in the 1986 NBA Playoffs. Same thing happened in 1985.

Going into Game 3 of the first round on the 1992 NBA Playoffs, the Nets franchise had not won a playoff game in almost exactly eight years — the last win coming against the Bucks on May 5, 1984.

The skid came to an end on April 28, 1992, as the Nets fought off another sweep, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-104 to force a Game 4 (full box score).

Chris Morris led the Nets with 28 points. Derrick Coleman (22 points and 11 rebounds) and Mookie Blaylock (10 points and 12 assists) both posted double-doubles.

Drazen Petrovic had a strong showing, as well. He scored 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting (3-for-5 from deep).

RELATED: Ranking the top five power forwards in Nets history

Today in March Madness: Oklahoma scores third-highest point total in NCAA Tournament history

Billy Tubbs’ Sooners put up the third-highest single team point total in NCAA Tournament history against Louisiana Tech on March 18, 1989.

‘Billy Ball’ was alive and well on this day 31 years ago.

Billy Tubbs’ Sooners put up the third-highest single team point total in NCAA Tournament history against Louisiana Tech on March 18, 1989.

Led by Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King, Oklahoma cruised to a 42-point victory to advance to the Sweet 16.

Blaylock led all scorers with 34 points on 14-28 shooting from the floor, seven rebounds, seven assists, and four steals while playing the full 40 minutes. King chalked up a double-double scoring 21 points and hauling in 15 rebounds, dishing four assists and swatting away four of the Bulldogs shots.

Skeeter Henry led the way off the Sooners’ bench, filling up the stat sheet in his 31 minutes on the court. Henry scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dropped three dimes, snagging three steals and two blocks.

The one-seed in the Southeast region, Oklahoma narrowly got passed 16-seed East Tennessee State in the first round of the Tournament 72-71 to get to the second round.

The Sooners’ run came to an end in the Sweet 16 against five-seed Virginia 86-80. Virginia would lose to three-seed and eventual national champion Michigan in the Elite Eight.

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