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New Mexico State at ORU


theeagleman5

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TheEagleman is pleased with the effort tonight....that's a good win against a decent team even though the Aggies were missing a couple of players....Obi stepped up with 24 and Korey with 21.....Henderson played well also and we did get a Bobby Word sighting with 8 points....yeah, Young might be the PG we have been looking for...expecting to see more of him on Monday and Tuesday.....and maybe we have seen the last of Drew Wilson....what's going on with him?.....we shot well from the floor tonight but still missing too many FTs under 70% which almost cost TheEagleman the cover having taken ORU -2....cha-ching!.....so now we  have a shot to get back to .500 on Monday night vs. Missouri State.....GO BLUE!.... :clap: :clap: :clap:

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Some random game observations:

1. NMSU is a long, athletic team. They played tough, physical defense. I thought we matched their intensity on defense. NMSU pressured us most of the game and were strong on the boards.

2. Henderson played strong down low in the first half. I thought we did not work hard enough to get him the ball in the second half.

3. Aaron Young played well given the limited minutes thus far this season. His timely three pointers in the second half were difference makers. We had to really work to get open looks given their size.

4. Sutton worked to give Obi and Billbury some rest. We had numerous lineups on the court.

5. I thought we were a bit rusty on offense in the first half - and sloppy with the ball (weak passes). We got better in the second half.

6. Our late game free throw shooting needs to get better.

7. I thought Sutton had another good coaching performance. His substitutions were good and we switched into a zone defense at times and I think it made a difference. Their coach opted not foul us late in the game and allowed us to run off 30 seconds before shooting Curious strategy given how we were shooting free throws.

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I continue to be impressed with Albert Owens. I may be wrong, but I believe he still has a lot of upside and can potentially become an absolute beast in the future. He is still a true freshman right out of high school but seems to hold his own against veteran/seasoned players.

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Coach Sutton post game interview....drew wilson is suspended indefinitely! Broke team rules....again

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The 26-8 run in the second half took us from 8 down to 10 ahead. When NMSU cooled off a little we took advantage and that was clearly the difference in the game. Aaron Young was the key to igniting that run. It was certainly a big night for his young career. As mentioned above, the defense has been fairly consistent and the offense in the 2nd half was impressive.

Henderson was impressive down low. Hopefully any eligibility concerns that he dealt with last year are behind him. We can still use Wilson for depth so hopefully he turns things around.

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Good points all; couple of additional observations:

 

After seeing our team now three times live vs. D-1 competition, I'm convinced Kory Billbury is ORU's best ball handler against pressure in the backcourt.  So what does that say about the other so-called point guards?

 

I have no problem with Aaron Young starting at the point till Chris Crawford arrives on campus.  At least he looks to pass first.  But he's a complete liability on defense, due to his lack of size and strength.  It's David Mason all over again.

 

Obi moved better last night than any game so far.  And he's not favoring his right arm like he was.  Looked really smooth, but just 10 shot attempts, and only one from behind the arc?  He needs to shoot more!

 

Denell is a beast on the offensive glass.  Like him a lot.

 

More Albert Owens, please.  Can not for the life of me figuire out Conley (and his terrible FT percentage) was on the floor late against NMSU's pressure with Owens (and his decent touch from the line) on the bench.

 

No ORU lead is safe late in the game right now:  all three wins so far have featured bif second half leads followed by near-disastrous collapses down the stretch, and well; Weber State speaks for itself.  Poor free throw shooting, even worse short selection, and few stops on the defenseive end.

 

Not sure how stats are kept during the game in this digital age, but ORU's always seem to be on the low side for the hustle plays (men and women both).  4 blocked shots total between the two teams last night?  No way:  at least twice that.  Where's Joel Barker shouting out to the crew "THAT'S A BLOCKED SHOT AND OFFENSIVE REBOUND!!" when needed?

 

ORU attendance has reached an all-time Division-1 low.  No more than 1500 warm bodies in the house last night (I actually started counting everyone - got depressed; stopped).  I know, I know:  it's December, OU and TU played in town earlier in the day, the students are gone. But still:  it's as bad as the NAIA days.  Cringe to think what the make-up game on Monday may look like:  under 1000?

 

Speaking of OU:  I watched them man-handle TU in person on Saturday, and they are every bit as good as advertised, just not particularly deep.  ORU needs to get the win Monday night vs. Missouri State and just see what happens Tuesday night in Norman, but I seriously doubt a day, a week, or a month of preparation would make much difference for them against the Sooners:  they are really big, really fast, and really good shooters.  Tayshawn Thomas is as skilled of a "4" as I've seen in this state in a long time.  Can do it all.  OU has NCAA high-seed written all over them.  One thing in ORU's favor is the date:  nice little trap spot between TU and a surprisingly good Washington squad on the 20th in Las Vegas.  Maybe they'll all stay out late this Monday night...

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I really think Albert Owens has star potential. He has a presence in the post that seems to grow every game. I think the more PT he gets the better he'll be.

That was a really fun game last night, with ORU playing pretty well, and good production from nearly all on court. I am totally convinced that many, if not most, of the leads that are blown in the closing minutes are due to slowing down the offense and trying to run the clock down. As soon as we start slowing down the tempo, trying to use clock, and passing around the perimeter, our guys get out of position, they're not running the plays they know, and they end up taking poor, low percentage shots that often miss, allowing an energized opponent to race to the other end and cut into the lead.

Also, we've GOT to improve FT shooting. It will cost us more games if we don't.

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Speaking of OU:  I watched them man-handle TU in person on Saturday, and they are every bit as good as advertised, just not particularly deep.  ORU needs to get the win Monday night vs. Missouri State and just see what happens Tuesday night in Norman, but I seriously doubt a day, a week, or a month of preparation would make much difference for them against the Sooners:  they are really big, really fast, and really good shooters.  Tayshawn Thomas is as skilled of a "4" as I've seen in this state in a long time.  Can do it all.  OU has NCAA high-seed written all over them.  One thing in ORU's favor is the date:  nice little trap spot between TU and a surprisingly good Washington squad on the 20th in Las Vegas.  Maybe they'll all stay out late this Monday night...

 

OU looked real good and they did it with Spangler in foul trouble and Buddy Hield having a poor shooting day. 

 

did anyone else happen to catch that Crutchfield/ORU/Buddy Hield story from Gottleib during the broadcast?  if i heard him right, it sounds like another great player that got away.

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ORU attendance has reached an all-time Division-1 low.  No more than 1500 warm bodies in the house last night (I actually started counting everyone - got depressed; stopped).  I know, I know:  it's December, OU and TU played in town earlier in the day, the students are gone. But still:  it's as bad as the NAIA days.  Cringe to think what the make-up game on Monday may look like:  under 1000?

I did count. At tip off, not counting players, staff and media, it was under 1000 (723 ). There may be two less at the next game. At least we may want to move for the last two minutes of the game.  I do not understand why the ushers think they need to "STAND" in front of the fans for the last two minutes of the game.  It isn't like we are going to rush the floor. If it is for security, one of our older fans could take most of them out with their cane.  Our usher stood, blocking the view of at least six paying fans, and we all pointed out that we couldn't see the game. When we asked if she could move or sit on the concrete ledge. she seemed more determined to be sure she blocked peoples' view.  This reminds me of the RR days, when he had a section roped off so people couldn't get to his family. Does this bother anyone else, or is it just me?  We can watch from home for free, but I actually like seeing the other fans and visiting a little. Besides, we have already invested in season tickets for 39 years and I love the Golden Eagles.

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I do not understand why the ushers think they need to "STAND" in front of the fans for the last two minutes of the game.  It isn't like we are going to rush the floor. If it is for security, one of our older fans could take most of them out with their cane.  Our usher stood, blocking the view of at least six paying fans, and we all pointed out that we couldn't see the game. When we asked if she could move or sit on the concrete ledge. she seemed more determined to be sure she blocked peoples' view.  This reminds me of the RR days, when he had a section roped off so people couldn't get to his family. Does this bother anyone else, or is it just me?  We can watch from home for free, but I actually like seeing the other fans and visiting a little. Besides, we have already invested in season tickets for 39 years and I love the Golden Eagles.

 

I noticed that!  And they didn't look lke the usual "Yellow Coats"; they were wearing casual (and I mean, CASUAL) clothes and looked kinda surly.  Maybe they're holiday temps, off from their day job of spreading joy at the tag agency... ;-)

 

Seriously, they were most likely acting under orders; not sure who sets the rules about their conduct, but would imagine a well-meaning e-mail to one of the good folks at this link might get some answers (I would start with Crispin...).

 

Wonder if anything could also be done about the sweet-but-apparantly-focally-challenged lady at the foot of the escalator unintentionally forming The Human Bottleneck while trying to scan the ticket barcodes...  :nerd:

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Thanks Old Titan. I spoke to Crispin at the game and was told "No she can't kneal or sit down because her job is to keep people from going through the gate." She didn't seem to like my response that they couldn't open the gate if she sat on the step, but they could still go through the rails. :wasntme:

I started with Tony Winters. In addition I addressed your bottleneck and wearing a competitors logo. Would Taco Bell let their employees wear a "Bueno Head" shirt to work? We will see how it is at Monday's game. :wacko:

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I am pleased to report that Tony Winters sent me a kind and professional response, apologizing for the usher's lack of common sense.  He will cover with the staff that they are to sit on the step and not block the view of the fans. He will also make sure they are not wearing other school's logos.  I have always found Tony to be sensitive to the fans and a nice person. ORU is fortunate to have him.

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