Randy Rutherford
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Randy Rutherford (born December 4, 1971) is an American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach and former professional basketball player. Rutherford had a three-year college career with
Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, where as a senior in 1995 he helped the Cowboys make their first Final Four appearance in 45 years. He went on to play professionally in Spain, Finland, Cyprus and Australia. With the
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...
in Australia, he led the league in scoring and earned All-NBL Second Team honors in 2002.


Early life

Born in
Idabel, Oklahoma Idabel is a city in and county seat of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,010 at the 2010 census. It is located in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, a tourist area known as Choctaw Country. History Idabel was estab ...
, Rutherford was raised in the nearby football-crazed town of Broken Bow. He grew up playing football, but gave it up to concentrate on
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
. He also played
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
as a child alongside his five brothers. Rutherford attended Broken Bow High School, where he played three years of basketball for the Savages. He averaged 28.6 points and 14.6 rebounds as a senior in 1989–90, leading Class 4A in scoring while finishing second in rebounding. He had a 49-point performance during the season and was named the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association's 1990 Player of the Year. He was also a successful long jumper in high school.


College career

In the fall of 1989, Rutherford signed a letter of intent with the
Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...
. However, by the end of his senior year at Broken Bow, he had not qualified academically for Division I after not meeting Proposition 48 guidelines. Rutherford initially indicated he would attend OSU and sit out the 1990–91 season after learning he was only one point shy of the necessary 18 on his ACT. But two weeks after making his decision public, he changed his mind. Rather than miss a season of basketball, Rutherford enrolled at
Bacone College Bacone College, formerly Bacone Indian University, is a private tribal college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by missionary Almon C. Bacone, it was originally affiliated with the mission arm of what is now Ameri ...
. His plan was to graduate from Bacone in three semesters and then transfer to OSU midway through his sophomore year. During the 1990–91 season, Rutherford averaged 17 points and five rebounds for the Warriors. In November 1991, Rutherford signed a financial aid agreement with OSU. He successfully transferred to OSU midterm and redshirted in the spring of 1992 to maintain three years of eligibility. Rutherford was a three-year letterman for Oklahoma State from 1992–95. He had a memorable senior season, averaging 19.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during the Cowboys' 1994–95 campaign. He had 45 points with 11 3-pointers in a game against the Kansas Jayhawks on March 1, 1995. He finished as the Big Eight Conference record-holder for 3-pointers in a season and a career, while earning All-Big Eight honors and making the Big Eight's all-defensive team. He led the team to a Big Eight tournament championship and the Cowboys' first Final Four appearance in 45 years, helping the Cowboys put together a memorable NCAA tournament run, upsetting No. 1 Wake Forest and No. 2 UMass. In a Sweet Sixteen victory over Wake Forest, Rutherford had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and in the East Regional final, he scored 19 points in a win over UMass to earn Oklahoma State's first Final Four appearance since 1951. Oklahoma State lost to eventual national champion
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
74–61 in the semifinals, despite Rutherford's 15 points. He averaged 18.2 points in five NCAA Tournament games. In 99 collegiate games over his three-year career, Rutherford averaged 15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.


Professional career

A lack of height and poor performances in numerous NBA draft camps, combined with a court appearance in May 1995, led to Rutherford dropping to second-round pick contention in the
1995 NBA draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouve ...
. He ultimately went undrafted and was picked up by the
Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...
in the third round of the CBA draft in September 1995. He did not join the Cavalry however, deciding instead to return to OSU to complete his degree. In October 1996, Rutherford signed with the Oklahoma City Cavalry. He began the 1996–97 season with the Cavalry, but left the team after just three games. He subsequently moved to Spain, where he played in the
second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
for
Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
. In 13 games during the 1996–97 LEB season, he averaged 14.9 points per game. For the 1997–98 season, Rutherford played in Finland for
KTP Basket Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat Basket, shortly KTP Basket, is the largely independent basketball team of Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat, a Finnish sports club based in Kotka, and has played in the Korisliiga since 1957. The club has won the Finnish cha ...
. He moved to Cyprus for the 1998–99 season, where he played for PAEEK. For the 1999–2000 season, Rutherford moved to Australia to play for the
Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After t ...
in the NBL. In 28 games for the Cannons, he averaged 23.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Rutherford remained in the NBL for the 2000–01 season, joining the
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...
. In 27 games in his first season with the Bullets, he averaged 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. In his second season with the Bullets, Rutherford earned All-NBL Second Team honors and led the league in scoring with 25.0 points per game. In 30 games, he also averaged 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. His third season with the Bullets ended prematurely after he was cut with three games to go. In 26 games, he averaged 17.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. On July 22, 2003, Rutherford signed with APOEL of the Cyprus Basketball League. After failing to satisfy the coach, he was released on September 2, 2003, prior to the start of the season.


Coaching career

After retiring from playing basketball, Rutherford returned to OSU and served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for four years. He was on the coaching staff in 2004 when the Cowboys went back to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament. In May 2008, Rutherford was appointed head coach of the boys basketball team at Tulsa Central. In his lone season as coach of the Braves, he guided Central to an area tournament championship and an appearance in the Class 4A State Tournament. The Braves, who played against many Class 5A and Class 6A teams during the regular season, finished 13–13. In March 2009, Rutherford resigned as coach of Central to become the men's coach at
Murray State College Murray State College is a public community college in southeastern Oklahoma with the main campus located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. It is named in honor of former Oklahoma Governor William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray. Murray State College also mai ...
. He coached at Murray State for two years. In July 2018, Rutherford was appointed head coach of the boys basketball team at McLain High School in Tulsa.


References


External links


NBL profileOklahoma State Cowboys coaching bioTrading card database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Randy 1971 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Bacone Warriors men's basketball players Basketball players from Oklahoma Brisbane Bullets players Canberra Cannons players Guards (basketball) Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball players Sportspeople from Oklahoma