STILLWATER – Thursday night was the season debut for freshman big man, Ben Ahmed. He had a surgery in the preseason to put a plate in his foot.
Head coach Steve Lutz talked to the media on Tuesday and mentioned Ahmed was close to being back, even going so far as to say that he might play in the game against Kansas City.
Well, play he did and play well he did as well.
Ahmed finished the game with six points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor with seven rebounds, four coming on the offensive end in just eight minutes of action.
“I was nervous a little bit, but it was good,” Ahmed said of his debut. “This is what I’ve been waiting for, what I’ve been dreaming for, so I was excited to get out there.”
“I thought Ben was fantastic,” said coach Lutz. “He rebounded the ball at a high rate; he didn’t do things he can’t do. I thought he played hard; he dove on the floor in the corner. I thought he gave us a boost. It was good to see him out there and I’m excited for him moving forward.”
With the injury to Parsa Fallah, the Cowboys are in need of a big presence down low. That’s not to say Andrija Vukovic isn’t playing a valuable role. He started against the Roos, playing 23 minutes and scoring a career-high 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor with three rebounds. But he’s still developing.
Christian Coleman played a role down low as well in the absence of Fallah, playing a season-high 37 minutes of action and scoring a season-high 20 points and recorded 10 boards for his second double-double of the season.
But Coleman is more of a three, who can play the four or five spot, and he certainly enjoyed watching what the frosh could do.
“Oh, I loved it,” Christian Coleman said of Ahmed’s performance. “Obviously, he came in and got a lot of offensive rebounds. He was a presence down there on the glass and every time he got it, he scored. I think he missed only one shot on the rim, so I love it. I like when he comes in because he’s a physical big and he’s going to hit you for sure.”
Ahmed will get another chance to get back out onto the court this coming Sunday as the Pokes play host to Cal State Fullerton.
