OKLAHOMA CITY (February 13, 2010) - This is a draft round, and it’s a little bit interesting, because two guys came in here tied for the lead. Mauney picked a bull to win the round on – a bull that may be tough for him to ride – while Pistol Robinson picked a bull he should ride easily, but that may not be enough to win a round where we are almost sure to see a 90-point ride or two.
Since the draft was at 11 Oklahoma time, I didn’t get to look at the pairings until late, so we’ll run down the best of the best, and keep it short.
Cody Campbell on 56 More Bucks:
Campbell really made the most of the 14th pick in the draft, and got one of the best bulls for him in this round. He rode More Bucks for 90.25 points in Pueblo last May.
Beau Hill on 43S Dirty Duty:
Hill didn’t have a high draft position, because he bucked off in Round 1, but he still got a bull he was 88 on in Denver just last month.
J.B. Mauney on 514 Top Notch:
Top Notch has thrown off 90 percent of left-handed guys that have been on him, but if Mauney can ride, it will be big. The last two scores earned on Top Notch were 91.75 and 90.75.
Josh Koschel on 09 California Dreamin’:
This veteran bull is a good pick in this round. He’s thrown Josh off before – two seasons ago – but right now Josh is on a roll and should ride him. Average ride score on California Dreamin’ is 89 points.
Valdiron de Oliveira on 229 Say I Won’t Gunner:
This is a strength-on-strength matchup. Gunner’s strength is throwing off right-handed riders, and Oliveira’s strength is riding everything he gets on. Look for Oliveira to have the edge here, because Gunner is ridden fairly often for round-winning scores.
Stormy Wing on 515 Smoke Screen:
This up-and-coming bull is making his Built Ford Tough Series debut. He’s only been ridden once, but that was by Stormy Wing – for 89 points and a round win in Monroe, La., about three weeks ago. This was a definite sleeper pick bull that many of the guys probably haven’t seen, but could be awesome.
Mike Lee on 418 Monkey Blood:
Hasn’t been ridden in a long time, but could be worth a big score.
Austin Meier on 262 Gringo Honeymoon:
This is another sleeper bull that isn’t seen on the BFTS too often, but he could be worth a lot of points. Although he isn’t talked about a lot, he is ranked among the top 100 active bulls in the PBR right now.
Travis Briscoe on 415 Cool Spot:
This is an interesting matchup, because this bull may be the toughest bull in the round, and Briscoe is the world No. 1. At times, Cool Spot has looked like an elite bull, and is one of the best bulls in the PBR you hardly ever hear about.
Look for Sean Willingham, McKennon Wimberly, Pistol Robinson, Ryan McConnel, and Skeeter Kingsolver to make the whistle, but they may not have enough bull to place near the top.
