Postseason Postscript

In case you missed it, the RSU hoops season has come to an end. The D2 national tournaments are about to commence. The Hillcats have just one more season as provisional members before they're eligible for postseason play. With that said, here are a few items to ponder as we all ready ourselves for some madness over the next several weeks.

1) Congratulations to Frederico Santos for capturing the first-ever conference player of the year award in Hillcat history. Freddy averaged a double-double for the season, and set single-season records for rebounds and double-doubles. He was a joy to watch. He embodies what Coach Justin Barkley wants a Hillcat to be...gritty, smart, demanding of himself. I said it on the air a few times late in the season but it's worth repeating. Santos was the best teammate in the 8-year history of men's basketball. He was very deserving of the POY honor.The RSU men would not have finished in 2nd place outright without Freddy. It's a shame we only had him for one season on College Hill. Santos plans to continue pursuing his degree at RSU, and has a TV internship awaiting him this summer in Brazil. He has such a good head on his shoulders. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

2) Congratulations are in order as well to junior guard J.C. Hartzler and women's senior guard Mikaila Newton. Both received all-conference selections as well. J.C. was named 2nd team all-Heartland and Mikaila was named honorable mention. Both had exceptional seasons.

3) It was also announced that men's coach Justin Barkley was tabbed as the OklahomaSports.net Division 2 men's coach of the year in the state of Oklahoma. I thought he should've landed the Heartland's coach of the year honor as well but St. Mary's won the league so the Rattlers Jim Zelznak took home that award. In 5 seasons at the helm, Barkley has molded this program into his own likeness. He surpassed 100 career victories this season as well. He has all the qualities you want in a leader of young men.

Finally, another in case you missed it...the university recently released a bold vision for the future of not only Hillcat Athletics (see pic above) but also the school as a whole. You can read about it HERE. Scroll down to page 29 for a rendering of the future Hillcat Arena, a.k.a. the Multipurpose Arena and Convocation Center. The plan already calls for new tennis courts to be constructed near the Diamond Sports Complex (Hillcat baseball and softball) as tennis will be added in the very near future. As long as fundraising goes well, it'll be really cool to have a basketball arena basically on campus. The Claremore Expo Center has been a fine home court but it wasn't necessarily meant for basketball. This is a long-term plan for the future. Let's hope it becomes reality sooner rather than later. If you have extra money sitting around under the mattress and you want to donate to the cause, contact RSU athletic director Ryan Erwin. I'll leave you with a highlight from the senior night victory over rival Arkansas-Fort Smith. The 'Cats swept the season series with the defending league champs. Boy, did that one feel good!