By Alex Nicoll
Editor-in-Chief
@NicollMac
Finishing the season ranked No. 13 in the country, the Oklahoma Sooners, coming into the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed will play Albany Friday at 6:27 p.m. CT. One member of this squad, sophomore forward Austin Mankin, played his high school basketball at Coppell High School and was one-third of Coppell’s own big three in Pepperdine junior forward Jett Raines and Hawaii junior Warren Oishi.
Mankin is the sole member of the three in the NCAA Tournament.
What is it like being able to play in the NCAA Tournament?
It’s a lot of fun. It’s just cool to have so many people watching you, the whole school behind your back supporting you and it’s one of the biggest sporting events in the country. Being able to be a part of that is such a rare opportunity to even make it.
What was the team’s reaction on Selection Sunday when ya’ll were announced as the No. 3 seed?
We were all pretty relieved because that is a big accomplishment getting the No. 3 seed. We were also kind of surprised because that meant we were in the top 12 in the country. I think we were initially ranked 15th so we thought we were going to get a No. 4 seed. It was a big accomplishment to get a No. 3 seed so we were excited. We thought we could do it, but it’s just a relief and an accomplishment. We are really happy and looking forward to it.
What were your expectations coming into the year?
Obviously we wanted to be a No. 1 seed, that was the main goal, and we wanted to win the Big 12, that was one of our goals going in. The Big 12 is the toughest conference in the country so we got second, we were happy with that but we weren’t done. We want to win the whole thing now.
What is the biggest difference between this year’s team and last year’s team?
We definitely have more experience than last year. We really did not what it was like to be in a big tournament like this. We are a lot more skilled inside, last year our big man was more of a stretch forward and this year we are bigger inside so we have an advantage when we play those bigger teams. Experience and our inside presence is different.
Now we are going to back to your high school days. How is coach Lon Kruger different between former CHS coach Brad Chasteen?
They are very different in their own ways. They are both great coaches but I would say Coach Chasteen was more of an old-school coach; he would push us. He had a more defensive mindset and he would push us more more defensively. The way he played, he wanted everyone to play so we could sub five in and five out. Nothing was really individual. Coach Kruger focuses on defensive but is more offensively gifted. It’s different because its college and not many people. He is not that old school and he has that NBA experience. It’s hard to explain their differences really, Chasten prepared me for the physicality of college basketball. It’s been great playing under a seasoned coach like Kruger. He really knows hot to get the best out of his players.
Is there any team you are looking forward to play if you get the matchup?
I obviously would love to play Kentucky, because I don’t know if you heard but Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis said we were one of the teams that could be them. I would love to play Virginia too because I think we are really, really good defensively and they are one of the best defensive teams, so playing them would be great. Those games would be fun.
