ORUalum Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 best of luck to Coach Phipps...LINK Conley Phipps, an Oral Roberts University assistant for the past 15 years and the leading scorer in Cleveland High history, has accepted the Chieftains’ head coaching position, athletic director Onis Pankey said. Phipps, 48, replaces James Womack, who guided the program for six seasons. The Chieftains were 7-16 this past year. “I’ve had great experiences coaching in college basketball for the last 21 years, but I loved being a high school coach and I’m looking forward to running my own program again,†Phipps said. i hope Coach Sutton will bring in an ORU guy......maybe Chad Wilkerson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Chad would be a nice selection but TheEagleman would be an even better one....tell Coach that I am available..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 "Right now, Phillips is earning $175,000 a year. That needs to go beyond $200,000 if NDSU has any hopes of keeping Phillips." "But there is only so much a mid-major program like NDSU can afford without breaking the bank. It can’t spend $412,000 like Denver is doing for head coach Joe Scott – even though the Denver athletic department budget is reportedly in the red. And it can’t match the $483,000 that Scott Sutton gets at Oral Roberts – a program that will be returning to the Summit League next year." Wow. Time to acknowledge the 400-pound gorilla in the room: once you figure in Sean Sutton, Conley Phipps, Kyan Brown, Wade Mason and Steve Upshaw, is it possible ORU's outlay for coaching staff salaries may be in the neighborhood of $1 million a year? I may be way off base here, so forgive me if I am, but............any chance Coach Phipps' position is not replaced....in an effort for that gorilla to lose some weight? Can the program maintain with only 4 assistants? I know there is a lot of work done by the assistants behind the scenes, especially during the off season, but I'm just wondering out loud..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I may be way off base here, so forgive me if I am, but............any chance Coach Phipps' position is not replaced....in an effort for that gorilla to lose some weight? Can the program maintain with only 4 assistants? I know there is a lot of work done by the assistants behind the scenes, especially during the off season, but I'm just wondering out loud..... Bingo. Hammer meet nail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 IMO the answer to ORU basketball's problems is not to have less help. Here's my 2 cents: The pitch about the ORU program is like many universities –– send your kids to play under Coach Sutton and he'll develop him into a man you can be proud of –– except for 1 clear distinction. Because this is a Christian university you hope that your kid will become a better man, an educated man, and a better disciple of Christ. We need a coach who can fill the hole that O.R. filled while he presided over the university (which could only happen because of his heavy involvement in the program). It's a unique position that is important regardless of the nature of your work in Christendom. Having a coach on staff that comes from the church world but also played a high-level of college basketball and/or coaching would be an interesting skill set to harness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 We need a coach who can fill the hole that O.R. filled while he presided over the university (which could only happen because of his heavy involvement in the program). Wait. What? Are you insinuating that there was a higher level of 'spirituality' in the basketball program, when OR was around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Wait. What? Are you insinuating that there was a higher level of 'spirituality' in the basketball program, when OR was around? ha no. nice try. What I'm saying is that discipleship is an intentional and deliberate practice and one that a university like ours is appropriately positioned to offer young men. Discipleship doesn't just happen -- just as something like mentorship doesn't just happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I'm all for discipleship, but not at the expense of what could be perceived as fiscal irresponsibility. More than likely something had to give. It probably came down to the coaches either take a pay cut or taking on more responsibility with a smaller staff. Either way, it seems tough. I wish Coach Phipps the best, and hope ORU can get back to the tourney soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I'm all for discipleship, but not at the expense of what could be perceived as fiscal irresponsibility. More than likely something had to give. It probably came down to the coaches either take a pay cut or taking on more responsibility with a smaller staff. Either way, it seems tough. I wish Coach Phipps the best, and hope ORU can get back to the tourney soon. Again––not what I was trying to get across. Fiscal responsibility should be foundational for any entity––personal or business––we're talking procedures that are not only boiler plate, but also obvious given the university's recent history. So I'm all for fiscal responsibility but if a university like ours is choosing between discipleship and responsible fiscal practices, something is really wrong. Beyond that, I do want to be clear that I'm not insinuating that the coaching staff doesn't value what I mentioned above––I really believe in the coaching staff. Was just giving a light hearted opinion. Good luck to Coach Phipps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Conley's father was a long-time high school coach, and I've always wondered if Conley, Jr. would go the high school route anyway, if Scott Sutton had left ORU before now. I would wager he will be very successful as a high school coach in Oklahoma, and I know he has a couple of really nice juniors-to-be at Sapulpa next year in Alex Ogunseye and Dae Williams. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Conley's father was a long-time high school coach, and I've always wondered if Conley, Jr. would go the high school route anyway, if Scott Sutton had left ORU before now. I would wager he will be very successful as a high school coach in Oklahoma, and I know he has a couple of really nice juniors-to-be at Sapulpa next year in Alex Ogunseye and Dae Williams. Maybe a potential future ORU pipeline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Maybe a potential future ORU pipeline They're both football players, also. They might both earn athletic scholarships to play a sport somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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