Travelin' Travis Ford off to good start at Oklahoma State

Early on, he knew someday he would answer to "Coach Ford." Kentuckian by birth, he transferred from Missouri to his home state's flagship university not to fulfill some dream but to soak up the hoops wisdom of then-Wildcats coach Rick Pitino.

"He's the best college coach in America," Ford said Wednesday by telephone. "There's so many things I've learned from him."

Pitino, now at Louisville, has returned the favor, lauding Ford in interviews as "one of the brightest players I coached in 30 years." Ford's previous layover was at Massachusetts. Pitino, an alumnus, figured prominently on the references list.

Oklahoma State was alluring to him because of its hoops tradition, affiliation with the Big 12 and considerable resources, made possible by gazillionaire booster T. Boone Pickens. The oil/gas mogul signed off on Ford's hiring after failing to yank Bill Self out of Kansas.

The locals were leery of anyone not named Sutton in the pilot seat. Hall of Famer Eddie Sutton (1990-2006) and son Sean (2006-08) had preceded Ford.

"There's no question I walked into a very desperate situation," Ford said. "I knew about the split sides," with one faction furious over Sean's firing.

Ford won them over with supreme self-confidence that stops short of arrogance, plus a no-nonsense approach that plays well in the heartland.

Deep into last season, Ford whipped the Cowboys through a four-hour practice heavy on defense, rebounding and running stadiums. At the time 15-9, they won six straight, later advancing to round two of the NCAAs.

Such torturous tactics were not quite necessary this year. But ...

With one week between games last month, "We had some extremely tough practices," he said. "We used it as kind of a re-dedication week.

"Those are things you don't normally do near the end of the year. Our team just hasn't seemed to respond when we go easy on them."

The Cowboys proceeded to win four of five, a streak accented by an upset of No. 1 Kansas.

"A special day," Ford said, "one you'll always remember."

Ford need not climb a stool to address his players. The smallish lineup includes four guards and 6-foot-8 post man Matt Pilgrim, a refugee from the coach's alma mater. (Wildcats coach John Calipari ran off Pilgrim among other unwanteds.)

It's also young, with freshmen outnumbering seniors six to one, which bodes well for the next few seasons.

Like any coach, Ford says he just loves his current station in life. He has not created any news for the TMZ.coms of the media world, as have the troubled Suttons. Eddie's bout with alcoholism resurfaced publicly with an auto accident in 2006 that led to his retirement; Sean, his successor, was arrested last month on charges of illegally attempting to obtain prescription painkillers.

"The people here are so genuine," Ford said. "They truly love their university. It's mainly been fun."

While the little guy with a bounce in his step has bounced around during his career, he has always landed on a higher plane than before. When the Kentucky post was vacant last year, a clamor arose throughout the commonwealth to go after its beloved homeboy.

So he is liable, like his cinematic alter-ego Danny O'Grady, to someday take flight again, looking for the slam-dunk coaching job.