The summer of 2005 was huge for the Oklahoma State basketball program. After an unexpected Big XII title and run to the Final Four that came a Will Bynum miracle shot from making the championship game, the outlook for 2006 was just as bright. Despite the loss of Tony Allen as a first round pick of the Boston Celtics, the program returned the other four starters, and brought in Tar Heel cast off JamesOn Curry, the all time leading scorer in North Carolina high school history. Eddie Sutton's first national title was on the way.
Of course, that's not where the bulk of optimism was linked to for OSU fans. After years of belly aching about how Coach Sutton relied on junior college transfers or cast offs from other schools for talent, the Sutton recruiting team finally hit a stride. Parlaying the incredible results of 2004, the promise of a succession plan of Sean replacing Eddie (ending the competitor recruiters from scaring players that a Eddie's pending retirement would leave the player in the lurch), and an abundance of playing time available for the new recruits due to the team having seven seniors in 2005, the Cowboys got five of the top-100 high school seniors (including two McDonald's All-Americans) to sign letters of intent. To bolster the class, the basketball program signed three more JUCO All-Americans.