East Central Pre- (and now Post-) Game Thoughts

[theeagleman5]

TheEagleman just got home and saw that ORU won by 7 points and had to come from behind in the 2nd half to do it.......doesn't sound like a very impressive start....20 for Billbury.....good thing that ECU only shot 44% from the FT line.....

[SOLO_Gold]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4mUXs4fxlQ&feature=youtu.be&a

[Old Titan]

I'm trying not to read too much into one exhibition game - good or bad.  The first half looked like what happens when you don't play a Blue-White scrimmage:  sloppy, confused, not enough intensity, etc.  Second half was much better.

 

Scott was surprisingly upbeat after the game; I expected quite the opposite.  He says ORU will play/shoot better.

 

Some observations (from just last night; not definitive):

 

No Drew Wilson, not even in civi's - what's up with that?

 

Harris can shoot from anywhere:  great mechanics and a high release point.  Whether he can make from anywhere remains to be seen.  He did have two of ORU's only three 3-pointers.  It's funny:  he just looks like somebody that played for Creighton.

 

Owens played S-O-F-T most of the time.  Doesn't mean he IS soft; just a typical freshman performance last night.  He showed flashes of being physically dominant - gotta figure out a way to light his fire and keep it stoked.

 

Speaking of fire:  Conley has unbounded energy, and is looking to score more.  Still foul-prone.  But love his motor - he deserves to start.  Will be the leading rebounder on the team, and possibly the 3rd-leading scorer,  if he can just stay on the floor longer.

 

Singleton hasn't changed one bit from last year.  That's not a good thing.  Simply has not grasped the concept of an entry pass to the post.

 

Same thing for Word.

 

Lee has a strange, quick shot from "3".  Looks streaky at best.  Really small.  Got lost too many times on perimeter defense.

 

Obi was not the same Obi we remember from last year's regular season.  But, as Sutton pointed out after the game, he was pretty much the same Obi as last year's exhibition season:  tentative, almost coasting at times.  Still, he's the smartest guy in the room, even on one leg.  He makes so many plays that don't show on the stat sheet (and plenty more that do).

 

Billbury was too differential in the first half.  When he started going to the hole after the break, he was much more effective.  Once again the best rebounder on the team.

 

Adrion Webber still can not buy a "3", but he does a lot of other things well.  He's a solid body out there on both ends of the floor.

 

Henderson was the difference in the game.  If he started for the visitors, ORU loses by double-digits.  He needs as many minutes as he can get, and he needs the ball on the block whenever he is open.  Reminds me of Marcus Lewis in his work ethic underneath.  Plays like a man, pure and simple.

 

BTW, East Central was quicker, stronger and the better shooters Tuesday night.  They were incredibly disciplined in their motion offense - the ball movement was fantastic, leading to a lot of open 3's which they often converted.  They just weren't very deep and even smaller than ORU, and they wore down late in the game.  Still, a very solid opponent.

 

Also must take into account that ORU is not going to run ANYTHING in these exhibition games that TU can go to school on for Nov. 15th.

 

P.S.  The seating in my entire row of the Gold section has reached critical condition.  I'm bringing a seat cushion to put behind my back from now on.  I'm serious - it's bad...

[ORUalum]

thoughts on the PG situation OT?  did you see an answer between Lee, Young, or Singleton.   trust any of them to start against TU?

 

are we looking at a starting lineup of Billbury, Emegano, Henderson, Conley, and Webber  for TU?

[Old Titan]

thoughts on the PG situation OT?  did you see an answer between Lee, Young, or Singleton.   trust any of them to start against TU?

 

are we looking at a starting lineup of Billbury, Emegano, Henderson, Conley, and Webber  for TU?

 

It's just one game, but I didn't see anything at the "1" that looked like an improvement over last year.

 

And "point guard by committee" is just like platooning your quarterbacks in football.

 

It almost always means you don't have one.

[ORUJason]

Singleton showed some speed when he caught up to an ECU player on a breakaway. He also looked fairly solid on defense to me vs last year. If he could improve his ability to pass the ball into the post he would probably be the starter.

Lee looks like he can shoot but didn't really stand out in any other way. Henderson looks like he has really developed a low post game. He might become a starter if he keeps playing like he did last night. Owens has good size and will polish his post game and defense over time. Harris looks like a tall guard rather than a forward but he appears to be able to shoot the three. If he can become more aggressive near the basket he could be dangerous, but I don't think he was impressive enough to warrant starting over Henderson or Conley or even Owens.

[ManiacAlum]

Harris AND Lee started? That's either great or terrible news.

[theeagleman5]

TheEagleman finds it hard to believe that Harris and Lee will start when we line up against TU in ten days.....Coach Sutton probably just wanted to see what they had to offer....I would expect that Saturday night we should see the starting line up for opening night against Rogers State.....but maybe Scott has a few more tricks up his sleeve....he might be trying to lull the Golden Hurricane into a false sense of security....at least let's hope so.....

[ORUJason]

Scott mentioned on the post game broadcast last night that this team has solid depth vs previous years and I would agree. There isn't much of a drop off between the starters and non starters. I'm not sure yet if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I hope it is a good thing.

[SOLO_Gold]

NM