It?s hard to grasp the level of talent once displayed on a nightly basis in gyms across Edmond, Okla.
Home to two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller and PGA Champion Bob Tway, Edmond also was the epicenter of an explosion of basketball talent, not the least in present KU coach Bill Self.
And Allen Community College head coach Andy Shaw was right in the mix of it.
Shaw?s Edmond Santa Fe squad featured four starters who went on to play Division-I basketball, himself included. One of them was an NBA Lottery pick. The fifth starter went on to play Division II ball on a scholarship.
In 2006, with five seniors who had started since their freshman year, Santa Fe was ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation by USA Today.
The squad took the 2005 state championship and fell just short of another title the following year. Santa Fe lost in the semifinals to Putnam City (located in North OKC near Edmond) behind the efforts of 6-8 forward Keith Clark (Oklahoma signee who floundered around in the NBA?s D-League) and a young freshman phenom by the name of Xavier Henry, who ended up being a prized recruit for KU.
It was a team Santa Fe had defeated the year before in the semifinals, minus Xavier, and add his brother C.J. Henry into the lineup. C.J. originally signed with KU before being selected by the New York Yankees with the 17th pick of the 2005 MLB Draft.
Everywhere you went teams were loaded with talent. Putnam City North (10 minutes away) featured a scrappy 6-4 senior named Sam Bradford. Though he was a good basketball player, he is best known for his quarterback play at the University of Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trophy.
On the other side of Edmond was a player destined for super stardom in Blake Griffin. He and older brother Taylor led the Oklahoma Christian School Saints to four consecutive state titles.
Future NBA Draft pick and one-and-done Kentucky player Daniel Orton was minutes away at Bishop McGuinness (OKC).
Coaches from across the country were flocking to gyms in the OKC-metro area vying for commitments from recruits like a salesman stalking a customer at a furniture store on any-given holiday that promises to be the years? biggest event.
Self and Kelvin Sampson (then at Oklahoma) were frequent visitors. John Calipari (then at Memphis), Eddie Sutton (then at Oklahoma State) and numerous others made appearances from time to time, signaling to recruits and parents alike they were interested.
In most instances it had less to do with judging a players talent and more to do with being seen by the parents of the players. And fans were quick to point them out. The big-name coaches were easy to spot searching for a quiet place in gyms filled to capacity.
It may not have been Harlem?s famed Rucker Park but for a moment the eyes of the Basketball Gods were looking down on the prairie.
AS A coach?s son, Shaw was a self-described gym rat. His father Bill, who served as an assistant at Enid High School (Okla.), had the key to the gym and a young Andy would follow whenever he opened the doors. When Andy had reached sixth grade, his summer team coached by his dad knocked off an Oklahoma City based tournament team named the Oklahoma Redhawks.
