SOLO_Gold Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 ORU hoops news: 5 players (Korey Billbury/Bobby Word/Jabbar Singleton/Dederick Lee/Drew Wilson) won't return next season. #orumbb #summitmbb— Ben Johnson (@BenJohnsonTUL) March 30, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 shocked about Word. i had a bad feeling about Billbury, but was hoping he would get reinstated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 shocked about Word. i had a bad feeling about Billbury, but was hoping he would get reinstated. Me too... this feels like a tremendous loss. Word was never enough of the focus of the ORU offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 at least Word still has his red-shirt intact. potential reason??? Freshman starts: 21 Sophomore: 9 Junior: might have seen the writing on the wall with Aaron Anderson? ...so that couple more players we need to go get that Sutton was talking about is now 3 more players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 This is puzzling "I spoke with Korey, and I think it's in the best interest of us and of Korey for him to move on," ORU coach Scott Sutton said of Billbury, ORU's leading rebounder at 7.4 per contest. "I'm hopeful that he can graduate, and I'm hopeful that he'll be able to continue at a Division I school." http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/oru/mensbasketball/oru-s-korey-billbury-bobby-word-others-not-returning-to/article_fc246791-0e0e-5d12-be2f-b13d9dcd1ff0.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Folks, before I break down in tears or jump for joy, let's consider this: Korey Bilbury is the ONLY one of these guys who would have seen considerable playing time 10 years ago when ORU was a national player. Bobby Word would have been a 5-minutes-a-half guy on those rosters, Drew Wilson would have been a crowd favorite in occasional mop-up duty, while Lee and Singleton would have never seen the light of day. Whether this is good news or bad news ALL depends on who replaces these five guys: if they're bigger, stronger and better basketball players, then this is merely a much-needed housecleaning. But, if they're replaced with similarly-flawed players who are equally undersized and outmatched, then this truly is a black-letter day. Like everything else: time will tell... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 related: Barry Hinson shocked with 2 more transfers (total 5).....calls transfers an "epidemic" all 5 were the decision of the player not Hinson....fields questions on job security LINK - presser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 ORU assistant Sean Sutton watched Springdale 2015 G @Showtyme_Era work out today. Owens planning to visit ORU on April 10-11. #arpreps— Jimmy Carter (@NWAJimmy) March 30, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Good to see Sean is out on the road - I keep waiting for him to start hauling in anything near the kind of talent he routinely signed at OSU as an assistant and head coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Is this normal in college basketball to routinely lose so many players each year? Seems as if it's happening more than it used to with our teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Please use at least a few of the now available scholarships to recruit bigger, stronger and faster players who have a sense for the game. I have to agree with OT on this, outside of Billbury and possibly Word, the rest will not be missed. Sorry, but I was never impressed with either Singleton, Lee or Wilson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Yep....Billbury is the only one that TheEagleman will truly miss....but sounds like something happened that couldn't be erased so he's gone....Word?....eh....he was OK but nothing spectacular....his one moment of glory was that 3 ball he hit at the end of the IPFW game at Mabee Center to send the game into overtime....the rest of the guys leaving were just not very good at all...let's hope they get replaced with players more suited to Summit League basketball....these guys were all recruited when we were in the Southland..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I am concerned about the APR when we lose this many players. Have they adjusted the APR calculation to account for this type of player movement? I don't know what happened with Korey but this was probably unavoidable with him, yet still very disappointing. Bobby Word was a nice role player who really improved and tried hard to fill the void that Korey left. Word could definitely have been a significant contributor next year. It helps a program to keep players like Bobby Word around IMHO. You spend so much time developing them as both players and people and then suddenly they are replaced with players who don't have that experience in the program and have to get up to speed before the can really contribute. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Good point Jason. How does all of this play out with regard to our ARP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Forgot about the APR.....this isn't gonna be good.....losing one or two players is understandable but FIVE?....this will hurt....after thinking about more ORU will really miss Word...he was improving and I was probably too hard on the lad in my post above....the kid looked like he going to be a decent scorer of the ball...but sounds like it will have to be somewhere else....the others really will not be missed.....Billbury is a head scratcher...he was a one of our best players for 3 seasons....wonder what happened?.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Please use at least a few of the now available scholarships to recruit bigger, stronger and faster players who have a sense for the game. I have to agree with OT on this, outside of Billbury and possibly Word, the rest will not be missed. Sorry, but I was never impressed with either Singleton, Lee or Wilson.I have to say, do you think they haven't been TRYING to get the players you describe? The reason they don't have 'em is because they can't get 'em! Unfortunately, over the past several seasons, we've watched the talent level of our recruits diminish. It's not that they're not trying - look at the players that are recruited, make campus visits, and are offered on the recruiting board. The challenge has been getting them to sign. And, to be honest, what is going on in the program to change that? It will take a Herculean recruiting effort to change the status quo, I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I have to say, do you think they haven't been TRYING to get the players you describe? The reason they don't have 'em is because they can't get 'em! Unfortunately, over the past several seasons, we've watched the talent level of our recruits diminish. It's not that they're not trying - look at the players that are recruited, make campus visits, and are offered on the recruiting board. The challenge has been getting them to sign. And, to be honest, what is going on in the program to change that? It will take a Herculean recruiting effort to change the status quo, I'm afraid. I haven't seen much evidence of ORU focusing on size on the recruiting trail the past few years. For the past 4-5 seasons, the recruiting boards (even before signing day, when they are little more than wish lists) seem filled with undersized 2-guard after undersized 2-guard. ORU used to sign big kids every year. Some turned out to be stiffs, but at least they were on the roster. And how else is a low-major going to develop a post man if it doesn't take a flyer on developing a Mickey Michalec or a Marcus Lewis or a Shawn King every now and then? Where's the beef, not just in the blocks, but in the backcourt? Where's the Rod Pearson/Adam Liberty/Ken Tutt/Erik Folkes/Moses Ehambe/Luke Spencer-Gardner/Chris Riouse body type, with a little heft to their frame? In other words: where is ONE backcourt player on the ORU roster (beyond Obi or Korey, who let's face it, are 3's in ORU's scheme) with a similar build to almost every guard you see in the Summit League? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Am I to understand that you don't even think they're recruiting bigger players, OT? Surely they're trying, but not meeting with success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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