It’s been a decade, but Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel still remembers what Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso warned her when she was first interested in leading the Razorbacks.
Deifel was a graduate assistant under Gasso for two seasons at OU before a couple of brief stops and ultimately ending up at Arkansas in 2016. The No. 6 Razorbacks visit Norman this weekend for a top-10 SEC series as Deifel, with the help of assistant coach DJ Gasso, the son of the OU coach, has built Arkansas into a consistent national contender as Gasso’s early words still linger in her mind.
Courtney Deifel still chasing Oklahoma with Razorbacks
“I remember looking at this job and talking to Patty, and she’s like, ‘Well, you’re gonna be here for every regional,'” Deifel shared this week. “And I’m like, ‘Or you’ll be here, you know, like, what?’ So I still remember that in the back of my head.”
Gasso wasn’t necessarily arrogant in her statement. It was the truth at that point. Arkansas had made six appearances in the NCAA Tournament then, and five times was sent to Norman. Then, the first time Deifel led the Razorbacks to an NCAA regional in 2017, they again headed to Norman, where the Sooners outscored Arkansas 24-6 in a pair of wins…