Flavors Can Shoot the Three, but also Says He Can Defend

New graduate transfer Ferron Flavors Jr. spoke with the media a couple of hours prior to the Cowboys first practice and said he's more than a three point specialist.

STILLWATER -- Ferron Flavors Jr. is another of the newcomers to Oklahoma State basketball that was able to show off some for Cowboy basketball fans as they tuned into the first official and full hoops practice of the 2020-21 season on Wednesday afternoon. Oklahoma State live streamed the practice on Wednesday afternoon and gave the fans a look into how the process of building the team in the advanced 20-hour a week stage we're entering. 

Flavors has seen that process before because while he is a newcomer to the Oklahoma State program he is in his fifth season of college basketball. The native of Federal Way, Wash., a suburb of Seattle, the 6-3 guard started his collegiate career at South Mountain Community College in Arizona. He averaged 17.6 points a game and he hit 95 three-pointers in one season for the second most in program history. He went on to play at Fairfield University for a season. He then was at California Baptist for the 2019-20 season and helped then to a second-place finish (21-10/10-6) in the WAC. His 2.93 three-pointers a game tied him for 26th in the NCAA.

Flavors has seen a lot of college basketball, just not at Oklahoma State and in the Big 12.

"It's been a little bit of an adjustment, but it's okay," Flavors said of the adjustment to being a veteran and rookie all at the same time. "I lean on the coaches for that because one of the main reasons that I'm here is my leadership. I know that I'm in a different program but experience is something that you can't teach. The fact that I've been able to come and help these guys, especially considering how many underclassmen we have, I've been able to give them something to lean on."

Leadership may be one reason, but the biggest reason that Flavors is here would be that shooting touch and ability to knock down treys at a near 43-percent clip. One program insider said that if the season started today the coaching staff would start Flavors, but the idea is for Chris Harris (coming off knee surgery) or another younger player to play up to making the starting line-up and Flavors be the sixth man. 

Of course, it does not matter whether you start or you're the sixth or seventh man off the bench. You can lead, you can shoot, but you have to be able to play defense. I asked Flavors what part of his game has improved the most since arriving in Stillwater. 

"Definitely my defense for sure," Flavors answered when I asked what part of his game had improved the most or had been impacted the most since he arrived at Oklahoma State. "I feel that is something that I have had great improvement on since I've been here. That is something that I've been able to take to the next level, and considering my professional aspirations after Oklahoma State, that is something that will translate to the next level just being a three point shooter and a lock down defender on the other end."

Interesting, Flavors likes flavors and in ice cream and he was asked by The Oklahoman's Jason Unruh about if he had tried any knew flavors lately, If name, image, and likeness were in now, that could be a strong opportunity for Flavors. 

"Actually, I tried some Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream the other day, two flavors," he said. "I tried, let me see if I can think of it, cookies and cream. That is one of my favorite flavors. Then I had a cookie dough flavor, chocolate-chip cookie dough and that was good. Then there's peanut butter cookie dough. Those two are both good." 

Just like three-point shooting combined with lock down defense are two flavors that Mike Boynton really likes in a player. Do those two things and Flavors won't have to worry about getting playing time.