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Albert had ample opportunities to rise to the occasion this past season. I was at several games where they were running the offense through him for the 1st half and eventually moved away from him in the 2nd half because he wasn’t producing. I don’t blame the coach for that at all. I also don’t recall Coach Mills verbally berating or wearing out his players like has been mentioned. Albert had some nights where he was on and was aggressively trying to score, but there were many games where he would receive the entry pass and then pass it back out over and over. I finally decided that he needed to be in a certain position within about 4 feet of the basket where he could turn to his left or spin and put up his hook shot. If he didn’t have a comfort level with his positioning, or if he missed his first couple shots, he seemed to lose his passion to score. I could be wrong, but that is what it seemed like from the stands. I never understood why he could score 25 points one night and 3 points the next night even though he got at least 25 minutes of playing time both nights. Eventually you deduce that some nights he just didn’t have the passion and was going through the motions on the court. I know he is a very nice person and represented ORU well off the court, I just don’t choose to blame the coaches for his lack of production when he was clearly given opportunities.

Unfortunately, the previous staff had similar problems with recruits from as close as across Lewis Ave. The dorm requirement is an issue but could be alleviated somewhat with the new building... My only concern with recruiting European players is the transition in play style. I know it's a cliche or stereotype but most European players may not be used to the physical nature of the game stateside.

He's a tremendous talent. You see his numbers are impressed. I see them and wonder what they should have been. He literally got benched in several games because of effort this season. It takes some stones for a coach to do that but it was justified. Maybe I tend to think like a coach more than most fans, but I have to dispute any claim that the "situation " didn't work out and it's somehow anyone's fault but his own.

I'm curious what this statement means since I've read it here several times. What I saw this year was a new staff who strated the year trying to force feed the ball to Owens. They asked him to play defense and rebound. As the year progressed he proved to be unreliable on both ends. He ended his career as a 6'9" big bodied guy with long arms and only one career double-double. Does anyone really think a different program would have put him on the floor with that kind of "effort"? Albert is a great kid but he doesn't love to play. If you want to blame Mills for Owens lack of passion so be it.