Where are they Now? Ernie Abercrombie

When Oklahoma basketball fans look back at the career of Ernie Abercrombie, they don’t remember him for his stats. They remember him for his heart.

Abercrombie epitomized Kelvin Sampson’s “Heart, Hustle, Hardwood” slogan to a tee. The Houston, Texas native stood just 6-feet, 4-inches tall, but he used his 240-pound frame to his advantage while playing the power forward spot and often times going up against opponents three to five inches taller.

“Ernie’s heart is the size of his butt,” Sampson once said.

But when you look back at the stats, Abercrombie’s were pretty good. He started in 46 of the 60 games he played as a Sooner, and averaged 12 points and 8.2 rebounds over his two-year career from 1994-1996.

Along with being known for his heart, Abercrombie was also known for his big 3-point shot that helped Oklahoma knock-off No. 1 Kansas in Norman on Feb. 20, 1995. It’s hard to believe it’s been just over 14 years since that day, and 13 years since he’s worn an Oklahoma uniform, so OUHoops.com recently talked with the former Sooner about his clutch 3-pointer, playing for Kelvin Sampson and life after basketball.

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OUHoops.com: What did you major in at OU? What are you up to these days?

Abercrombie: I majored in Business Management. I currently live in Houston and own a family business (JohnHenrysFoodProducts.com). We do all kinds of BBQ grills and smokers, rubs and marinades. We have around 600 dealers including one or two in Norman.

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OUHoops.com: What did you do immediately following your playing days at OU?

Abercrombie: I went and played two years overseas in Spain. Coach Sampson helped me find an agent after the season. It was a really good experience. It was an eye-opener to see other parts of the world. It made me take even more pride in being an American.

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OUHoops.com: Do you still get to watch the Sooners on TV?

Abercrombie: Yes, I do. I went to the game when they played Rice last year. I know one of the incoming recruit’s parents. Tommy Mason-Griffin. I watched him play three times last year and think he is going to be a real nice player. He has quite a following down here in Houston. I heard that he needed to drop a little weight. I am going to try and make it to a game or two next year if my business will allow.

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OUHoops.com: What are your thoughts on the state of the program, and head coach Jeff Capel?

Abercrombie: I think he is doing a great job. It was hard when Coach Sampson first left because I didn’t know where we (former players) would fit in. I didn’t want to come up to him too soon because I figured that he was getting mobbed by enough folks. But we sat and talked, and he just really is a great guy. He came up to me at the Rice game and told me to come up to Norman like 12 times (laughs) during our conversation. I am really impressed with his recruiting. I think he can take OU to the next level. I mean, that football program has what seven titles? It is time to get one for basketball, and to have one in the trophy case. I think Coach Capel can do it.

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OUHoops.com: Tell us how you ended up at Oklahoma. What other schools were you considering? How tough was it to decide not to stay at Washington State.

Abercrombie: I wasn’t highly recruited out of high school. I attended junior college outside the Fort Worth area, and was recruited by mostly mid level schools. Washington State and Coach Sampson were recruiting me to go up there. As soon as Coach Sampson got the job at Oklahoma, then I was his first guy to commit to him. I was in the same class as Prince Fowler and Antonio Bobo.

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OUHoops.com: What are your thoughts of playing basketball for Kelvin Sampson?

Abercrombie: Loved playing ball for Coach Sampson. He would always push us to be better. He would push way past the line that you thought you could go, and then push more. He was such an intense guy on the court. He demanded hard work, and if you didn’t give it to him, then he would really get after you.

Some guys couldn’t handle the criticism. I could. It helped me to become a better player. He cared so much for his players, but he didn’t care if you liked him or not. He was always fair. The thing that most people don’t know is that he was a totally different person after practice. It was like he would flip a switch, and then he would be like my uncle or older brother and be really relaxed.

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OUHoops.com: What did you like most about playing for Coach Sampson?

Abercrombie: There isn’t really anything bad I can say about Coach. We still talk several times a year. He has always been very good to me. I remember helping to coach his son (Sooner Staff member Kellen Sampson) at OU basketball camp. My favorite thing about him, if I had to name one, would be how much attention he would pay to detail and how he could motivate us. I came in (from JUCO) thinking that I was going to give 110 percent and he asked for 150 percent.

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OUHoops.com: Any funny stories between Coach Sampson and yourself or any of your teammates?

Abercrombie: There are too many. I would have to think about it. Bobby Joe (Bobby Joe Evans) used to make everyone laugh, including Coach Sampson. Bobby had really, really flat feet. I mean, the guy was so flat-footed that it was funny. It actually was what really hurt his knees. He was always telling practical jokes. He and Hootie (Evan Wiley) came into fall practice really overweight. Coach didn’t like that. He had those two running early in the morning and doing extra exercises. Hootie was also a jokester, and those two would just be cracking up together.

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OUHoops.com: How did you enjoy your two years at OU? What was your favorite class that you took at Oklahoma?

Abercrombie: Man, I had a blast at OU. We won a lot of games. My family got to come up and watch me play from Houston. I just really enjoyed my two years. It was a great experience. My favorite class was probably African American Studies. I had a couple of others that I really enjoyed, but that was my favorite.

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OUHoops.com: What did you like to do for fun in Norman? Did you hang out with athletes of other sports?

Abercrombie: We were a pretty tight-knit group. Coach Sampson made it all about basketball, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time (laughs). We went to the movies sometimes. Some of us would like to go to the mall. We would go eat at Charlestons. It was one of the only big restaurants over there on the other side of I-35 at the time. That place has really grown since I played ball over there. We also played some video games, but yeah, it was mostly basketball. I hung out with a couple of Houston area football players that I knew from high school. My roommate during my first year was Dion Barnes, who also was from Houston.

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OUHoops.com: People always like to talk about Ernie Abercrombie as a great rebounder. What made you so successful at crashing the boards? What was your mindset?

Abercrombie: I just did what I could to help out the team. Ryan (Ryan Minor) really did most of the scoring. Coach set up a lot of the offense through him. When I got there, I just tried to think of a way that I could make an impact. Rebounding is 50/50 technique and effort. The technique is being able to box a guy out. I used that technique and was able to get rebounds while usually going up against guys that were five or six inches taller than me. You also have to have the effort. You need both to be a good rebounder.

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OUHoops.com: What was your favorite shot or spot to shoot on the court? What was your favorite post move?

Abercrombie: I haven’t really thought about a favorite shot, but I guess it would be a corner jumper. From the short corner out to the 3-point line. I always tried to face my guy up in the post, and used my quickness to get around them. Sometimes I would fade-away. It was difficult to do a lot of turnarounds because guys were so much taller, so I liked to use that quickness to score down there.

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OUHoops.com: What were some of your favorite games that you played in at OU?

Abercrombie: Off the top of my head, the Mississippi State game, Nebraska, anytime we played Texas. The fourth game of my first year, we were playing in Hawaii and we met up with Arkansas. They had just come off a national championship. I didn’t start that game, and was recovering from shoulder surgery. None of our post guys could handle big Williamson (Corliss Williamson). He was the biggest guy that I had ever seen down low. He was killing us. Coach Sampson came up to me and said, ‘Ernie, get in there and do what you can to stop him.” I think I ended up holding him to two or three points the rest of that game. I also always enjoyed playing OSU, and of course the Kansas game.

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OUHoops.com: Let’s talk about that big win for the Sooners over the Jayhawks in which you hit that huge corner 3. What was that moment like? That was the last time that a Sooner crowd has rushed the court at the LNC.

Abercrombie: Amazing. You know, I had actually fractured my pinkie two nights before at Colorado. They took me back in the locker room, and treated me and then sent me back out there. So during that KU game, I couldn’t catch the ball with my right hand. So when John (John Onjetes) threw me that pass, then I had to catch it with my left hand. Calvin Curry had just shot a three and had missed it badly. The only reason that I was out that deep in the corner was because I was tracking down the rebound.

It felt good when it left my hand, and thankfully, it went in. It’s a good thing, too, because Coach didn’t like me shooting the three ball (laughs). The moment that means the most to me from that game though was actually the next trip down the floor after the shot. I got my hand in the passing lane and deflected the pass that led to Ryan getting fouled and making the two free throws that won the game.

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OUHoops.com: What was it like playing for a true pass-first guy like John Ontjes?

Abercrombie: John was such a down-to-earth guy. He was probably my favorite player on that team. I wish we had had him for my second year. People would always discount him. Say he was too slow, couldn’t keep up with his man, couldn’t jump high enough, but bottom line, John always got the job done. He made everyone around him better. He was always a step or two ahead of the play. A great anticapator.

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OUHoops.com: What was your favorite heckle that you heard either directed at you or anyone else while you played college ball?

Abercrombie: It was actually at Nebraska. In that gym, you could really hear what people were saying. They were getting all over Ryan. I think someone asked him if he wanted some cheese with that whine or something after a call. It was pretty funny.

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OUHoops.com: Where was the toughest place to play on the road during your OU days?

Abercrombie: At Oklahoma State was always the toughest. Man, that old fieldhouse (Gallagher-Iba Arena) was tough. The place was so small before the renovation. It seemed like the fans were right on your head. They had Bryant Reeves. We had some good battles.

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OUHoops.com: Who was the biggest influence on your basketball success growing up before you arrived at Oklahoma?

Abercrombie: U of H’s Phi-Slamma-Jamma 84-85 (Houston Cougers). I used to live in Oklahoma City when I was younger. My dad knew Billy Sims. That was when OU was really something in football. Billy would take us to some games, and after the game was over I would get to run on the field. Actually, OU has always been one of my favorite teams, even as a child. But for basketball I always liked those really good Houston teams.

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