OSU's Matt Pilgrim turns corner, set for more minutes

6-foot-9 forward may crack starting lineup in near future

By Justin Hite Stillwater NewsPress

STILLWATER — It’s been a long road back for Oklahoma State forward Matt Pilgrim.

Before the season, Pilgrim hadn’t played real basketball for a year because of NCAA transfer rules.

Sure, he’d played a few pickup games here and there, but they were all without team jerseys. They were without a whistle and they definitely were without some of the top-flight talent Pilgrim will face over the next month-and-a-half.

When Pilgrim got to Oklahoma State the gradual road began. It didn’t begin well.

In Pilgrim’s first game as a Cowboy, he played 10 minutes before fouling out. But from there, it began to get better, slowly. Three games later and the player Pilgrim could be emerged. He played above the rim, grabbed rebounds and slammed thunderous dunks for his first double-double.

But then the foul trouble crept back. At times it wasn’t if but when foul trouble pulled him from the game.

Against Utah and Tulsa, Pilgrim nearly fouled out but all the while the signs were there. He wasn’t playing more than 20 minutes, but still nearly pulling down double-digit rebounds.

Then the 6-foot-8 forward missed nearly three games with an illness and something must have sparked during his recovery.

He came back in time for the Big 12 season and got an Oklahoma State career-high 23 minutes against Texas Tech. The biggest surprise: Only 1 foul. The fouls came early in the season because Pilgrim was still rusty from not having play. Now, those cheap fouls are all but gone and Pilgrim seems on the verge of making a difference in the Cowboys’ lineup.

“The sky is the limit for this team when Matt is playing his best basketball,” OSU forward Marshall Moses said. “He’s a big-time player. No one has seen the best of him yet, except for us in practice.”

Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford is seeing it. He sees Pilgrim’s impressive plays and his vicious finishing ability. And he’s seeing Pilgrim get into more of a rhythm on the court. After back-to-back road losses in Big 12 play, new thoughts have crept into Ford’s mind. Thoughts that haven’t been there for almost two months.

Pilgrim started for the Cowboys the first two games of the season when it seemed like he’d have more fouls than minutes played. Ford has given serious thought to putting Pilgrim back in the starting lineup during the last two days.

“A lot of scenarios have gone through my head on which direction to go and change and trying to mix things up a bit,” Ford said. “For a lot of reasons, whether to get a guy’s attention or this might just be better, the different lineups I’ve looked at. There’s no question, Matt Pilgrim needs to be playing starter-type minutes.”

Ford has even drawn up plays for the big forward. Pilgrim may be OSU’s best when it comes to offensive rebounding and scoring off the glass, but Ford wants to get the offense in his hands.

Pilgrim will be key to how far the Cowboys go in the Big 12. At least his fellow big man thinks so.

“He can really be a key to us winning and losing in this league against big-time teams,” Moses said. “It just depends on when he comes if he is ready to play or not. For the most part lately, he has been ready to play every day.”

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