NORMAN — Put a shoulder into Carl Blair’s chest and it’s going to be met with an equal reaction. He’s simply not willing to give up anything.
“If you push him, he’s gonna push back,” Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger said of Blair.
The Sooners (10-5, 0-3 Big 12) could use a lot more of that attitude and that reaction after three conference games. They’ve been a team that’s allowed itself to be pushed around.
Blair has been one of the few exceptions. His performance Monday night at Oklahoma State was one of the few sliver linings in a 73-65 loss to the Cowboys. Blair scored a team-high 20 points and the 6-2 guard yanked down 10 rebounds.
“Carl battled. We have to get more of that,” OU coach Lon Kruger said.
It’s the reason why Kruger has moved Blair into the starting lineup for today’s 12:30 p.m. meeting with No. 18 Kansas State (12-3, 1-2) at Lloyd Noble Center.
Kruger has remained surprisingly upbeat after the Sooners’ winless start to the Big 12 schedule. After every game, he continues to talk about his team playing hard. Playing tough, well that’s an entirely different deal.
Tough teams buckle down when opponents are making runs. They do that by winning those scraps for loose balls and finding an extra bit of energy when the intensity rises. They don’t back away from the challenge.
The Sooners — as a whole — haven’t shown that ability yet. They’re 0-3 in the league play because they didn’t match Missouri in just about anything during the 87-49 loss on Jan. 3. When Kansas turned up the intensity early in the second half on Jan. 7, the Sooners didn’t match it. Same thing happened against the Cowboys earlier this week.
Blair is the mascot for what OU has lacked. It needs to play with a chip on its shoulder. Blair’s had one all season.
“They need me to bring toughness and play hard whenever I’m on the floor; that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.
Blair, however, has been in a different position than OU’s starters this season. He started 25 games, including every Big 12 game, last season as a sophomore. However, he lost that starting job when Kruger brought in junior college point guard Sam Grooms. It was motivation for Blair.
“I knew I didn’t do well in conference play defensively and being able to knock down shots. I worked on that this summer,” he said. “I improved.”
The rest of the Sooners need to follow suit. Sophomore guard Cameron Clark will be coming off the bench today. Kruger is hoping it will have the same effect it had on Blair.
Something has to change if the Sooners are going to rebound from their lackluster start to conference play.
“We have good guys and they’re playing hard. But there’s a difference between playing hard and playing Big 12-tough,” Kruger said.
Blair understands what that means. He won’t be timid. The rest of the Sooners have to figure it out.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
