ANALYSIS: BARTLESVILLE BRUINS BRINGS FIGHT TO THE FLOOR; FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
Bartlesville High School’s Dennis Duncan dribbles the ball down the tunnel before a game.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Feb. 19, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Hats off to one of the most determined groups of gritty seniors in Bartlesville High School boys basketball history.
What they lacked in wins they more than compensated for in grit, devotion and savvy.
Chances are head coach Jake Christenson is going to produce a convoy of double-digit win seasons during his time at Bartlesville.
Most will be overall more talented, deeper, athletic and bigger.
It’s unlikely any will bring more fight to the floor.
Christenson inherited a team that had recorded a cumulative 6-24 team the previous two seasons — and they hadn’t produced enough prettiness to make a pig wink.
Christenson combined the remnants of these teams and helped create a pretty competitive, entertaining enterprise — not only against 4A-and-smaller teams but against a fair share of 6A teams, win or lose.
The hide of the challenges already have been peeled away the past 10 months — no reason to rehash them.
In looking ahead to next year, I realize some of the challenges — size, experience, overall athleticism, unsteady production off the bench, the distribution of competitiveness etc. — still loom like spectral question marks on an obscure landscape.
And, of course, Christenson has to replace a lot of energy and skill departing with the senior class.
But I perceive a handful of factors that could make a huge factor.
For one, with the liberal Oklahoma transfer rules — with which I am bitterly opposed — any program is just an incoming player or two from making a tremendous move.
In looking at Bartlesville’s history, Kent Girard’s decision in the early 2020s to leave home school competition and enroll at Bartlesville produced a memorable season. Consider this season, when new faces at area places have helped forge unforgettable seasons.
Bartlesville is more than capable of bringing a game changer or two.
Another factor is the homegrown Bruin talent in his middle school program. By uniting these guys with the really good pieces Bartlesville has returned should make a significant difference.
Third, in that vein, hopefully Bartlesville will enjoy the full use of some of its current talent that has been dealing with injury or health.
Finally — and I don’t believe this being talked about enough — is the introduction of the shot clock. This could be a monstrous advantage for an inside-out, or back-cut half-court offense like Bartlesville.
The shot clock is a great equalizer when it comes to size. If a smaller team covers the inside well and plays good help defense, it won’t allow nearly as much free wheeling inside by aggressive offenses. Shot clock defensive strategy can favor undersized defenses because the offense’s cherry-picking base cuts are limited.
Shooting will be a premium for Bartlesville’s success. The truth is simply this — the Bruins have to become more consistent marksmen on the outside. There were too many games where their three-point shooting faded like a melted candy bar on hot asphalt. It’s great to hit 13 or 14 bombs occasionally, but I think success is built on six-to-eight made treys — in action time — consistently per game. That’s the way to keep opposing defensive players charging around and creating fluid, open opportunities. Pop! Pop! Pop!
I believe that the net snapping three-pointer off a quick spot-up is one of sports’ most beautiful plays next to a soaring homer or a receiver in full stride cradling a catch.
Well, anyway, again I salute this year’s seniors. They did more with less tangibles than almost any team could. They became winners on the court and set a higher bar.
Bartlesville High School’s first-year head boys basketball coach Jake Christenson coaches during an earlier season game.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports