Lifelong Cowboy: The Pawnee Pistol

Now working as the director of player development for Oklahoma State men's basketball, Keiton Page has a long history of being a Cowboy.

From growing up an OSU fan, to playing basketball for the university and now coaching for his alma mater, he has spent a lot of his life in Stillwater.

Raised a Pokes Fan

Growing up in Pawnee, Okla, there was no doubt Page wanted to be an Oklahoma State Cowboy. He attended numerous games in Gallagher-Iba Arena as a child, so the gameday experience at GIA was a familiar sight.

The first game he ever attended was a Bedlam game in 2003.

You know the one. Victor Williams' game-winning shot with 3.6 seconds left to beat in-state foe Oklahoma. Talk about an introduction to the fabled building.

"After that, I was looking at my dad and brother like, 'If I ever get a chance to play at this place, this is where I want to be," Page said.

Little did he know that he would end up on the white maple floors of Gallagher-Iba Arena one day soon.

In the meantime, Page was making a name for himself in Pawnee. Later tabbed the "Pawnee Pistol," he averaged 44.5 points per game his senior season with 7.3 assists and 6.3 steals.

Playing under his dad, he incredibly scored 54 points with 13 assists in a 95-79 victory over Oklahoma Christian School to help Pawnee take home the state title. That of course came just a day after scoring 42 points in an 84-52 win against Oktaha.

A 5-10 guard from a small town in Oklahoma, he was officially on the map.

Finding a Home in Stillwater

But of course, even before his senior year heroics people knew about the kid from Pawnee.

In the summer prior to his sophomore year of high school, Page began getting offers from multiple Big 12 schools.

Toward the end of his sophomore basketball season at Pawnee High School, Page was offered a roster spot with OSU. A quick two days later, he accepted the offer.

"I knew where I wanted to go and that was the one I was holding out for," Page said. "Once I had that chance, I wasn't going to let it go anywhere."
On Nov. 14, 2007, Oklahoma State officially announced the signing of page.

"Keiton is a skilled played," former OSU assistant James Dickey said at the time. "He is an excellent student and an outstanding shooter. He will be a great addition to our basketball program and to Oklahoma State University. Keiton is an extremely hard worker who is a winner. He comes from a basketball family, and we are very pleased to sign another big-time player from the state of Oklahoma."

A two-time Oklahoman Super 5 pick, Pawnee's star was heading to Stillwater.

The Full Gallagher-Iba Arena Experience

Fast forward to the 2008-09 OSU basketball season – when he was a freshman – Page finally got his chance to be the main part of the gameday atmosphere. On Oct. 21, 2008, Page and the Cowboys performed for a capacity crowd inside Gallagher-Iba Arena for the annual Homecoming & Hoops night.

Coming as no surprise to anyone in the state, Page led the White team that night with nine points as they won the inter-squad exhibition.

Later on Nov. 14, Page recorded his first official bucket as a Cowboy in OSU's 76-57 win over UTSA to open the season.

During that year, quickly found what every Cowboy finds. Every game in GIA was always filled with energy, spirit and intensity, although Big 12 games were dissimilar.

"The focus and the mentality in those games always is different," Page said. "It was intense and everybody was locked in and everybody was dialed in."

One of his most memorable games in Gallagher-Iba Arena was in his second season as a Cowboy.

On Feb. 27, 2010, the Cowboys took on the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks, who brought with them an impressive 27-1 record into the game. OSU's star guard, James Anderson, was at risk of missing the game due to an injury. Even the guys in the locker room weren't sure if he'd be able to play.

"Leading up to it without James, was obviously like, 'what do we do here?'" Page said. "'We got to kind of pull a rabbit out of a hat.'"

Anderson recovered enough to play in the game while the rest of the players and fans rallied behind the Anderson and the Cowboys.

"It was one of those games that you know it's going to be crazy loud in there," Page said. "The fans are going to be nuts."

The game stayed close down the stretch, and Page knocked down four crucial three pointers to solidify the Cowboy victory, 85-77.

Fans stormed the court and hoisted Page on their shoulders, notably on the shoulders of a fan favorite in Copan Combs, as the Pokes defeated the No. 1 team in the country.

Page still laughs when he looks back and remembers nobody on the team missed class the following day. Campus was buzzing. Many received standing ovations from professors and fellow students.

"It's the tradition, it's the coaches, it's the players and most importantly, it's the fans that make this place what it is" Page said.

That was exactly the kind of love and support Page felt after hitting four-straight clutch threes that day.

Wrapping Up His Career

Feb. 27, 2012 was the final game of Page's four-year career. The game had significance not only because the Pokes were playing their Big 12 rival Jayhawks, but it was also senior night and Page's final game at GIA.

"There were a ton of emotions going into that one," Page said. "I was the only senior."

From watching his first OSU game in 2003, to playing his final game in GIA nine years later, Page had quite the career.

"I remember when it was all over with, it took a while to leave the locker room and leave the gym," Page said. "Knowing that was the final time I throw a uniform on in that gym so that part of it was really really tough."

Through the love and hard work he put into the program during his four-year career, Page is a lifelong Cowboy.

"Looking back on all the memories, all of the teammates, the friendships, the coaches, the memories, the fans, everybody I got to meet while I was playing was remarkable," he said.

The Pawnee Pistol finished his career with 1,651 points to solidify his spot inside the top-10 in career scoring for Oklahoma State.

He was a two-time All-Big 12 Conference selection, and his 299 career 3-pointers were the standard until Phil Forte III broke Page's record in January of 2017. Page ranks eighth among all OSU players with 108 career starts, and his career free throw percentage of 85.9 ranks fourth.

"Being around Keiton, it doesn't take you very long to realize that he's a Cowboy," head coach Mike Boynton said around the time of his hire as director of player devolvement in 2017. "He has a tremendous passion for this University and this program. He's served in every role imaginable for this program over the last 10 years, and he's someone that we would have really missed had we not been able to keep around. He's an unbelievable asset, and no one can better tell the story of what it's like to be a Cowboy than Keiton Page."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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