Brumbaugh to Ok. State?
DALLAS -- The endless saga of Keith Brumbaugh might be coming to an end.
The 6-foot-8 forward from DeLand High (Fla.), who held a news conference announcing he was declaring for the NBA draft in the spring but then didn't get a sniff and ending up withdrawing by June 21, appears headed to Oklahoma State.
According to at least one source, Brumbaugh visited Oklahoma State last Monday and Tuesday, a visit that was confirmed by Cowboys guard JamesOn Curry, here to tryout for the U-21 USA National team.
The source said Brumbaugh committed to the Cowboys, although Curry said he would be a bit surprised, considering Brumbaugh wasn't interested in playing with his potential future teammates during his visit.
But Brumbaugh has an Oklahoma State connection. He was working out for the draft with John Lucas in Houston. Lucas' son, John III, was there, too. John Lucas III played at Oklahoma State the past two seasons.
Brumbaugh visited Nebraska earlier this month and appeared headed for the Cornhuskers. First-year Huskers assistant Jerry Francis was, at one time, working with Lucas in Houston, which is how Brumbaugh, Florida's Mr. Basketball, got hooked up with Nebraska.
Brumbaugh was originally being recruited by USC after declaring for the draft, and prior to that by Florida and South Florida.
Is he worth all of this attention? No one knows yet, but he is clearly one of the highest profile players still available for the 2005-06 season. Brumbaugh still has to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse before a determination can be made on his eligibility. At Oklahoma State, he would help offset the loss of signee Gerald Green, who was a first-round pick in the NBA draft.
Final nuggets
Presenting the other side of the scheduling spat, new Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said his issues with Boston College are simply over a difference in determining a date on which to play the game.
Pikiell said he offered up four dates while BC offered one. He said there is no signed contract with the school and that he's not pulling out on anything just yet. BC contends that there was a verbal agreement.
"I'm trying to rebuild this program," Pikiell said. "We've only got one home game. We're trying to work out our schedule just like everyone else."
Pikiell didn't appreciate the one-line reference that Stony Brook had balked at a contract with BC in a recent Daily Word. BC contended that he did. Pikiell said there is no deal. This looks like just another scheduling squabble.
• Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said the Orange still need three games.
• Michigan State coach Tom Izzo laughed when I told him that it looks like he's not going to the Detroit Pistons, hours after Flip Saunders was introduced as the Pistons' new coach. Izzo had been the target of rumors for months that he was headed to the NBA.
• Miami coach Frank Haith said Rob Hite, who averaged 17.3 points a game last season, should have been invited to the U-21 tryouts. He said he wasn't given a full explanation as to why Hite wasn't asked to tryout.
• Bold predictions: Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said Taj Gray should be Big 12 player of the year while Arizona associate head coach Jim Rosborough said if 6-10 junior center Kirk Walters (2.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg) averages 12 points and eight rebounds then the Wildcats will be a top-10 team.
• Rosborough said the Wildcats' game at North Carolina is set for Jan. 28. Oklahoma State associate head coach Sean Sutton confirmed that the Cowboys would play Tennessee in the doubleheader in Oklahoma City Dec. 22. Oklahoma-West Virginia is the other matchup.
Andy Katz
