Non Story Material Starting to Invade COVID-19 Pandemic with Likekele "Scoop"
STILLWATER -- I'm always looking around and checking the competition to see what stories are out there on other sites and when we might miss a story. I feel pretty good with the team of John Helsley, Zach Lancaster, and Marshall Levenson that we don't miss much, but we do sometimes. Imagine my surprise on Monday after my radio show when I peruse several sites and I see one with a headline story that Isaac Likekele reportedly coming back. Heck, I never knew that he was leaving. Likekele started and was the hero in the Cowboys last game and win in Kansas City. Likekele went the distance and scored the game winner in a 72-71 victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament.
I realize that one of the top players in the prep ranks, Cade Cunningham, signed with Oklahoma State in November, but never heard or felt all season long that Likekele was anything but committed to being an Oklahoma State Cowboy.
I immediately fired off some phone calls and was greeted with chuckles and the report that I was not the first call. There were several that started with a Twitter message on the "scoop" this morning. I did not receive a call or a text during my three-hour radio show nor did I hear one of our basketball insiders at the station in Tom Dirato bring it up right before my show.
Sources: Isaac Likekele is returning to Oklahoma State next season.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 20, 2020
Should form one of college basketball's most dynamic back courts in 20-21 alongside incoming freshman Cade Cunningham.
Our Zach Lancaster wrote a story on it, but after speaking with him said he wondered why it was even out there as Likekele had never even hinted he was doing anything other than returning.
I had no idea that there was a chance that Isaac Likekele would leave.
— Nathan Hiatt (@NATE_HIATT) April 20, 2020
This absolutely scared me, at first. #OkState https://t.co/5WdTwJ6GSF
It appears there is one national reporter that has acquired the cell phone numbers (Mike Boynton gives his out to certain media) to college basketball head coaches and will repeatedly text them questions until he gets an answer. Boynton waited awhile on the Likekele question probably out of frustration or false story fatigue. However, after he answered it, here came the story as if it were breaking news.
"This is an absolute non story that was thrown out there like Isaac Likekele was contemplating going somewhere, which was never the case," a source that is extremely knowledgeable of the program. "Likekele was never going anywhere. He was always going to be back with the team next season."
Likekele finished this season, one where he missed four games and was not full speed for probably five or six more, with 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. He led the team with 4.5 assists a contest. He also led the team in steals with just under two a game.
It's great Likekele is going to be back to lead the young veterans on the team as they combine with the highly-rated recruiting class. However, it was not a scoop, but a known fact.
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