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New Year’s Resolutions: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Marcus Smart

FILE - This Nov. 28, 2013, file photo shows Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart (33) putting up a three-pointer during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Purdue at the Old Spice Classic tournament in Kissimmee, Fla. Two months into the season, it hasn’t been all about the freshman. Yes, some have lived up to the billing, but many of the players who’ve had the biggest impact so far are ones who have been around for a while.(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Phelan M. Ebenhack

Over the course of the holiday week, we at College Basketball Talk will be detailing what we believe will be the New Year’s Resolutions of some of the nation’s most talented, most disappointing, and thoroughly enigmatic teams. What can we say, we’re in a giving mood.

Who else made Resolutions? Click here to find out.

WHAT DOES OKLAHOMA STATE PROMISE TO DO MORE OF?: Rebound the ball


  • Why it will happen: Oklahoma State isn’t short on athletes. Markel Brown, Marcus Smart, Le’Bryan Nash, Michael Cobbins, Brian Williams, Kamari Murphy. These are all kids that are capable of putting on a dunking show. The ability to rebound is equal parts positioning, boxing out and want-to. It has as much to do with effort as it does size, and given the Cowboy’s athleticism, this group should be able to improve on their currently-mediocre rebounding numbers.
  • Why it won’t happen: There’s a reason that the Cowboys are currently sitting 147th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and 179th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage: they may be athletic, but they aren’t all that big up front. Michael Cobbins and Kamari Murphy are Travis Ford’s two biggest big guys, and they both check in at a slender, 6-foot-8. Le’Bryan Nash plays the four for the Pokes, but he’s never been a great rebounder, either. What happens when this team goes up against someone like Kansas or Kentucky, who has a massive front line?

WHAT DOES OKLAHOMA STATE SWEAR THEY WILL DO LESS OF?: Let Marcus Smart fire away from three


  • Why it will happen: I get it. Marcus Smart is the star of this team. He spent the offseason getting better shooting the ball. But he’s also shooting just 32.3% from three this season after shooting 29.0% from three last season. He can make threes, but he’s inconsistent. He’s streaky. And he’s taken more threes than anyone else on the Cowboys roster this season. More than Phil Forte (46.9%), Markel Brown (41.9%), and Stevie Clark (40.7%). Smart shouldn’t stop shooting. But he should be more selective.
  • Why it won’t happen: This is Smart’s team. He’s the star, he’s the leader, he’s the decision-maker. If he thinks a shot that he takes is a good shot, who is going to quibble with him?