NORMAN, Okla. -- If you watched Monday's 73-67 men's basketball win over Texas, you probably saw a foursome of Sooners on the bench wailing on imaginary guitars, rolling pretend dice and sinking make-believe putts. It was all in the name of fun -- and big Sooner baskets.
Team members James Fraschilla, D.J. Bennett, C.J. Cole and Ryan Spangler have been starring in OU's "Three Band" for the majority of the season, initially celebrating made 3-pointers (hence the name "Three Band") by playing imaginary musical instruments with each player displaying three fingers. The celebrations eventually morphed into other creative antics and didn't require a conversion from behind the arc.
"My friend Rem Bakamus of Gonzaga started doing a 3-point air guitar, and I kind of stole that and told him I was going to give him credit and try to spread it around," said sophomore walk-on Fraschilla, the "Three Band's" leader. "So we got the air guitars going and that slowly led to other things."
Thanks to Monday's national telecast, the "Three Band" has hit the big time. Overnight fame ensued with numerous online written and video accounts of the group's playful behavior following big treys and monster dunks. Multiple Tuesday afternoon ESPN programs highlighted the innovative celebratory actions.
"On Twitter, I had about 50 mentions after the game with all the pictures of us doing it and all the little videos of us," said Spangler, who is redshirting like Bennett and Cole. "It was blowing up everywhere."
Even though playing time for the group is minimal or even non-existent, Cole said the group still has a responsibility to the team on game days.
"We're going to contribute by celebrating, getting the morale up and doing whatever we can to get the bench hyped, get the crowd hyped," he said.
Now, the challenge is to keep coming up with new routines. No worries, says Fraschilla, who apparently has already written the group's next set list.
"You definitely need to stay tuned and just be ready," said Fraschilla. "It's outside the box."