PODCAST: Crunch time for wrestling & basketball

2/27/2020 |  Ben Johnson

State tournament wrestling is this weekend, and small school basketball teams will be punching their tickets to the state tournament in area tournament play.
Listen in as we break it all down for you.

SKORDLE SHOOTOUT is Saturday in Cushing

5/30/2019 |  Michael Swisher

If you need to get your basketball fix early this summer, Cushing might be just the spot for you this Saturday.

The inaugural Skordle Shootout team camp will take place Saturday, June 8, at Cushing Middle School and will feature 12 straight hours of basketball action simultaneously on two courts. The day full of roundball action is sponsored by Sons of Ireland Basketball.

Skordle Live will be a big part of the event as every game played on Court 1 will be live streamed.

That’s 18 games beginning at 9 a.m., with the last one slated for an 8:20 p.m. start.

The games (See complete schedule below) can be watched on your Skordle App or on Skordle.com. If you can't be in Cushing or even watch it live on your device, you can still keep up with scores on your Skordle App. All the scheduled games are already loaded into the app.

On top of that, Skordle personalities will be on hand to interview players and coaches throughout the day. Those interviews will be made available on the app and website later in the week.

As far as the teams involved: It’s a who’s who of small-school basketball powers.

Here’s a list of GIRLS teams scheduled to take part:

Cashion - One of our first chances to see the team under new head coach Andrea Taylor

Cushing

Dale - 2019 2A runner-up in Eric Smith’s first season as head coach

Varnum - 2019 Class B champ

Kingston - 2019 3A quarterfinalist and 2018 runner-up

Calumet - Knocked on door of Class B state tournament

Garber - Reached Class A area tournament

Perry

Shattuck - Reached Friday of area; pushed Seiling in regional final

Chisholm - Ever improving in 3A as Tana Gragg enters third season

Lomega - 2019 Class B semifinalist that owns more gold balls than any girls program

Sulphur - 2019 3A quarterfinalist

And the BOYS:

Cashion - Made some strides in 2019 with young squad

Cushing

Dale - Ranked No. 1 in 2A for part of 2019 before losing in quarterfinals

Varnum

Kingston - Dominant 3A state champ in 2019

Calumet - Class B runner-up in 2019, could move to Class A this year

Garber - Made run to Class A state tournament in 2019 and also….Will Jones

Perry - Veteran coach Brandon Hight had best Maroon squad in several years, reaching top-eight in Class 3A and earning spot in area championship

Adair

Rejoice Christian - Caught fire at the right time and claimed the Class 2A title

Okemah - Won 21 games and got to 2A quarterfinals

Minco - Impressive season ended in 2A semifinals

Obviously those were last year’s results and these are different teams. Some big-time contributors have moved on and others will be asked to step up.

But that’s what team camps are for - to get a glimpse of the future, to see who’s ready and who’s got some work to do.

So make your plans. Join us in person in Cushing…or join us on your app or online. 

Either way, it’s going to be wall-to-wall basketball featuring some teams with legitimate state tournament aspirations in 2020 and you won’t want to miss it.

Additional information:

Cushing Middle School location:

512 S. Harmony Road

Cushing, OK  74023

Admission:

$5 for adults

$2 for children

$3 for veterans and senior citizens

Koy Hughes headed to Garber

4/29/2019 |  Michael Swisher

Five generations of Koy Hughes’ family have graduated from Garber High School.

He didn’t want his son to break that tradition.

With that in mind, Hughes is leaving his post as head football and baseball coach at Waukomis High School to return to his alma mater.

Hughes will be an assistant football coach, serving as the defensive coordinator on Blake Lamle’s staff and take over for Lamle as the Wolverines’ head baseball coach.

“That’s where I’m from and it’s just an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Hughes said.

He’s served as the Chiefs’ baseball coach the last three years, during which time they compiled a 38-39 record. He was the head football coach in each of the past two seasons and guided Waukomis to a 10-12 mark while reaching the playoffs each year.

“To have the opportunity to go learn from Coach Lamle, someone who has won two state titles, was really big for me,” Hughes said. “This is something, if I want to be a head coach again, that will really benefit me down the line.”

Lamle came to Garber prior to the 2018 season after a five-year stint at Shattuck, the last two as a head coach. His 2017 team won the Class B title and he was the offensive coordinator on the 2015 title team.

“I’m very excited to welcome Coach Hughes back home,” Garber superintendent Will Jones said. “This is a huge hire for our athletic program. He brings great experience as a head football and head baseball coach, and more than anything, the bleeds maroon and gray. He takes great pride in being a Wolverine and is going to come in here and grind and work for Garber.”

Hughes graduated from Garber in 1999 and played on the 1998 Class B state championship football team.

Hughes was also on some successful Garber baseball teams.

“Garber had a really good run in baseball in the 80s and 90s and I’d really like to help get us back there,” Hughes said.

PODCAST TIME! Wall to wall basketball and wrestling

2/28/2019 |  Ben Johnson

Medals and trophies have been handed out to wrestlers across the state. Now it’s time for basketball teams to start claiming hardware.

Ben and Michael dive into Class A & B state basketball tournaments on tap this week, and they guys also make their predictions in each class.

Ben breaks down what happened at the state wrestling tournament and some of the various highlights along the way. 

Also added a new segment where the guys named their MVPs of the week. Listen in and find out who they dubbed as last week’s MVPs.

All that leading up to Michael's interview with Okarche coach Ray West. You don't want to miss what West had to say.

Thanks for listening & enjoy!

Have any feedback? Email the show at ben@skordle.com

Garber girls stay alive with buzzer-beater

Girls Basketball | 2/25/2018 | Billy Hefton | Enid News & Eagle

Garber’s girls are the cardiac kids in the Class A playoffs.

Macy Swart hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Lady Wolverines a 46-45 win over Texhoma in the Area I losers bracket quarterfinals at the Central National Bank Center Friday. It was the third straight game decided at the buzzer for Garber, now 21-8.

The Lady Wolverines now face Canute, a 42-38 winner over Canton, at 1:30 p.m. today in another elimination game. Two-time defending state champion Seiling (24-1) faces Oklahoma Christian Academy (18-8) at 6:30 p.m. in the winners bracket finals for a berth in next week’s state tournament.

OBCA Announces Stellar Hall of Fame Class

5/3/2021 |  Michael Swisher

Five coaches with nearly 200 years experience and more than 3,800 victories make up the 2021 class of the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The five – Larry Callison, Dan Hays, David Page, Bob Weckstein and the late Ray West – will be inducted during a luncheon in Edmond on June 5. Tim Bart, director of the OBCA Hall of Fame, revealed the roster of honorees this week.

The OBCA was formed in 1967 and the inaugural Hall of Fame induction was in 2002. The 2021 class brings the total of honorees to 115.

Ticket information and reservations may be obtained through Coach Bob Hoffman, University of Central Oklahoma, 580.478.9186 or bhoffman4@uco.edu.

The 2021 Hall of Fame selections:

Larry Callison. Coached boys and girls basketball during a 40-year career. Won state championships with boys at Ketchum (1995) and girls at Tahlequah Sequoyah (2015, ’17, ’18) and had three runners-up. Overall coaching record: 900-224 (552-117 in boys, 348-107 in girls), retiring in 2019. Coaching stops: Gore (1977-85), Ketchum (1985-97, 2010-12), Vian (1997-99), Stilwell (1999-01, 2005-06), Eufaula (2001-03, 2006-08), Boynton (2003-05), Tahlequah Sequoyah (2013-19). Member of Oklahoma Coaches Association and Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Association halls of fame.

Dan Hays. During a 38-year collegiate career, compiled record of 724-470 at Northwestern Oklahoma State (five seasons, 71-68 record) and Oklahoma Christian University (33 seasons, 653-402). Holds record for most wins by men’s basketball coach at a four-year Oklahoma college. Spent three years as assistant at Southeastern Oklahoma State. Product of Albuquerque, N.M. Inducted into NAIA Hall of Fame, 1998.

David Page. 39 years as coach (36 as head coach). Ranks fifth all time among Oklahoma prep boys basketball coaches with 744 victories. Coached at Blackwell (1980-90), Hominy (1990-98), Yale (1998-2004), Pawnee (2004-current). Won state championships at Yale (1999, 2000) and Pawnee (2005, ’08-09-10) with two runner-up finishes. Product of Oklahoma’s cradle of coaches, Cleveland. Member of Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Bob Weckstein. Began coaching career with baseball (seven seasons) and girls basketball (four seasons) at Okarche before hitting his stride in boys basketball at Frontier in 1989. Has won six state championships at Frontier, the consolidated Red Rock-Marland schools, with a record of 650-240. Recently retired as superintendent at Frontier, but will remain as the head coach. Played for OBCA Hall of Fame coach J.V. Haney.

Ray West. Died in 2019 while in 45^th year as head coach. Ranks No. 2 all-time among Oklahoma boys basketball coaches with record of 853-391. Coaching stops: Fort Supply (1974-76), Gould (1976-77), Purcell (1977-78), Mountain View (1978-81), Mustang (1981-82), Cordell (1982-94), Okarche (1994-2019). President of OBCA 1992-93. Will be inducted into Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in July.

Garber's Jones Passes Boys Basketball Torch to Reed

4/8/2021 |  Michael Swisher

Little did Fletcher Reed know that when he was coaching Snyder in the state basketball semifinals, he was also taking part in a job interview of sorts.

Reed on Wednesday night was named the new boys basketball coach at Garber High School when that district’s board of education unanimously approved the move.

He takes over for Will Jones, who coached the program for four seasons. 

His tenure culminated with the 2020 Class A state championship and a runner-up trophy in 2021.

Jones, also Garber’s superintendent, stepped down from his basketball job shortly after the season ended and Reed was someone he had his mind on to take his place.

And it was mostly from what he witnessed a couple weeks prior at The Big House.

“I didn’t know much about him before the season,” Jones admits about Reed.

For good reason.

Reed was just in his second year as head coach at Snyder. Prior to that, he spent one season as a graduate assistant at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.