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Thx, Bogus Thx, Bogus Thx, Bogus Thx, Bogus Thx, Bogus Thx, Bogus Thx, Bogus

Hopefully Coach will give him enough minutes to accomplish this.

“MACK IS BACK” https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6OtO8yuSVK/?igsh=ZXQ5NTl2d2JzcWky That’s a HUGE momentum builder hopefully for the rest of this offseason!

Springmann mood:

Rev’s AC Madness was fun to watch. The players had a great time showing what they could do and interacting with the enthusiastic crowd. Carol and I could only stay for the first round. Here are a few thoughts: Mcbride was definitely the "General". He had something to do with almost every point scored by his team. He either made the basket or assisted a teammate who was either driving to the basket or in position for an open shot behind the arc. He was very jovial and talked to people in the crowd as he ran down the court. He did some really fancy dribbling while moving backwards. HCRS would not want to see that during a real game, but it was fun to watch. Kareem was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the court. He made one of the most fantastic windmill slam dunks that I have ever seen. As he was in the air moving toward the basket, he caught the ball with outstretched arm parallel to his waist and slammed the ball so fast I didn't even see it pass through the net. Cam was crazy good. Even his teammates appeared to be shocked. He was draining threes and passing like Mid-Court Max. (Correction: Three pointers were only 2 pointers.) Here are a few photos taken on my iPhone:

Tim Johnson has the connections and opportunities to do much better than TU. To use a football metaphor, he needs to be patient and wait for the hole to open up before he rushes through it.

Saw this on the alumni Facebook page. Would be a lot of size!

"Hero ball" is like a cancer. Once it infects one player, it spreads to others. We saw a distinct difference in the team's chemistry between the non-conference schedule and when the team came back together after the Christmas break. The disastrous loss to UMKC looked like an anomaly when we turned it around the next game at Denver, but it was just the beginning of the end to the season. I don't possess any inside information on this subject - only the observations of the game and the comments made by others on this board, which were on point. Everyone has a role to play on the team and some may not have liked the role that they had in their post-Max era. HCRS will need to remedy this and make it known to all the players what they need to do to make the team successful. One thing I do know without seeing who will be on the floor at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.... Mackey will be the leader of this team. He will be the playmaker and the team better listen to him. HCRS needs to coach through Isaac and develop the next leader for the following season in preparation for Isaac's departure. Performance on the floor will dictate what role(s) are played by the team. Those that aren't able to perform should learn and get better - not sulk and look for greener pastures. If you want greener grass, water your own grass and make it grow. HCRS has a history of identifying and developing talent. Now he is getting the players on the seats in the bus that he wants to drive around.

You can't coach tall, but his height can certainly be a disrupter under the basket. He only played in eight games for the Minutemen and played over five minutes once - his first game. He would be a project and probably not a lot of minutes with any team as a Sophomore. He'd probably be willing to redshirt if he has a year available. Mathok comes from South Sudan - a country near-and-dear to the Mrs. and my hearts. We went there in 2010 and haven't made it back again, but hope to soon. I'm sure that he prefers the USA over the life he had in South Sudan but probably wants to get some money back to his family playing here.

Romano's 100th MLB save was accomplished this past Monday. Got his fourth save in four chances today (on four opportunities) as he was activated on April 16th from an elbow inflammation during Spring Training. https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/video/jordan-romano-on-his-100th-career-save

Now we should be looking further ahead. The OU game on Tuesday - albeit an important regional game - is like having a player at third in the ninth inning with two outs when you're ahead by two runs. You don't care about the runner - just get the guy at the plate. We need to get better in the League and hope that this will translate to positive gains in our mid-week games. The Omaha series is BIG for us this season. They are currently the #1 seed in the SL tournament and will provide us with a good look at what we are made of. We are 1-8 in conference games at home - lost all three series played and swept in two of them. We MUST take care of business at home, especially since the tournament will be played in Tulsa. We will know more about where we stand at this time next week during graduation weekend. By Sunday, we will have won the series already or we will be here at this same place wondering whether we are even going to make the tournament (which we should with UNC coming to Tulsa soon).

Yea, I agree. I never noticed that from Bedford at all. I loved the way he played all season. McBride is the only one I ever saw playing hero ball, and he did it pretty often. I don't have any locker room info either, and there's always more to the story than what you see on game day. That just really surprises me.

HCRS will have an opportunity to prove his skeptics wrong this year as he will have a roster that on paper is not as talented as last seasons. The 3 possible new starters are well below the stats of the players they are replacing: SG: Jalen Miller 3.1 pts 1.4 rbs- replacing Bedford 14.6 pts 6.4 rbs (ORU 2nd leading scorer, 2nd leading rebounder) SF: Carlos Rosairo 2.3 pts 1.4 rbs- replacing Kareem 12.4 pts 6.9 rbs (3rd leading scorer, leading rebounder) PF: Sam Alajiki 4.4 pts 2.8 rbs- replacing DJ 9.7 pts 3.3 rbs As concerned as I am about the replacement of the points, the loss of rebounding on a very poor rebounding team really jumps out as a critical concern to me. Hopefully, coach is getting the guys he wants, it's a very abbreviated recruiting process so it's impossible for anyone to know for sure. The players we are bringing in this year are probably the level of players we can expect moving forward in the current college basketball environment so HCRS needs to show he can win with these types of players. It's year 2 for coach, not expecting a miracle (although it would be very welcome) but we need to see improvement that indicates the program is heading in a positive direction. It's your program coach with your guys and your culture now, show us what you got!

South Dakota (and all Summit League teams) need to invest in the appropriate equipment to administer a D-1 baseball program. This includes a tarp big enough to cover the infield and pitcher's mound and home plate area, light standards for when the game may go long, and turf equipment to make fields playable after inclement weather. These should be minimum standards for teams to maintain their competitive levels. After all, what good is a woke school with their diversity, equality and inclusion if they aren't going to be equal in their intercollegiate athletics???

I was happy to see Fox 23 News on their 6 PM sports report mention that despite entering the Transfer Portal McBride is “staying put” at ORU.

Fixed it for you. Don't get me started on this nonsense. As the father of a born female college athlete I have very strong opinions on this topic.

Serious question... Outside of the increase in compensation, which is the better job? While TU operates in a higher-level conference, they have not had much athletic success in a number of years, while ORU has earned some recent positive momentum with Sweet Sixteen and College World Series runs.

Go ORU!!

Coach Mills picked up a solid point guard in Justin Hill from Georgia. He averaged about 10 points and 3 assists for the Bulldogs last year. McBride came back to stick it to those TU guys for the 4th year in a row! Time for another Mayor's Cup victory.

I couldn’t agree more. Bedford is a good player but not a good team player. One thing about HCRS he is extremely honest and transparent. If a player’s attitude or work ethic is subpar they will hear about it and if it doesn’t change they will play elsewhere. My hunch is HCRS is picking players this year that are team players first and that will listen to him. As long as our talent level is good our team chemistry will determine how far we go. Clearly last year the chemistry was not there. I believe it will be drastically different this year.

I would rather have Williams back.

Bedford was the impetus of the "hero ball" syndrome on the team last season. I would only want Bedford to come back if he is committed to team ball first and be a MOGA guy - Make ORU Great Again! There's no "i" in Team.

Stahl had 3 more hits in game two so he was 7-10 on the afternoon and four innings of 1 hit relief by Ure....big time performances in a must win DH with tomorrows game in doubt due to weather....going 2-0 a huge deal as ORU comes back home for an 8 game home stand ...gotta win our ballgames at JLJ especially vs. Omaha and No. Colorado....looks like the boys are not dead yet.......They're ALIVE!!!........

Good guys sweep the Saturday doubleheader; 13-5 in the nightcap. Sunday looking very unlikely weather wise. Not dead yet!

https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. https://godrakebulldogs.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/carlos-rosario/9442 Averaged 8 minutes per game, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 51.1% from the field, 44% from 3-point (4 - 9, or 20% of his shots were 3-pt attempts). He's not a Tucker DeVries, but he is a small forward type that could contribute greatly next season. Just goes to show you that you hit "submit" on a different page and you find out that each one of them saved and appended to the last page.

This is wonderful news! My hunch is HCRS will add some more keys pieces and we will have a really good cohesive team next year. Gotta keep using the intangibles like HCRS and Kelsi Musick seem good at doing.

That is SUCH good news. What a great ambassador for ORU Athletics!

He was at the baseball game with friends Tuesday night; he sure acts like a guy who is sticking around, or at least NOT like a guy who is out the door.

Interesting read from the Tulsa World a week ago. (I don't read the Tulsa World much anymore). https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/tu/bill-haisten-as-rick-dickson-nears-retirement-tu-has-to-look-at-oru-s-tim/article_e356eb36-fe8c-11ee-9581-7385811227b2.html Johnson is a 42-year-old Bartlesville native who attended Oklahoma State, received a law degree at the University of Arkansas and was an impactful assistant athletic director at Clemson. At Oral Roberts University, Johnson became Mike Carter’s deputy athletic director in 2015. In 2021, Johnson succeeded Carter in the athletic director role and has been remarkably effective. Not only did Johnson elevate that athletic department’s success levels in fund-raising and marketing, but he actually designed the Mike Carter Center — ORU’s remarkable new basketball practice facility on the south edge of the Mabee Center. Having rallied ORU donors for an extensive renovation of the Golden Eagles’ baseball stadium, Johnson is blessed with the people-skill talent required in the fund-raising business. At Clemson, he raised a lot of money for Tiger football, and he was a difference-maker in that school’s campaign to raise $1 billion for various projects. ORU would be sickened to lose Johnson to its crosstown rival, but Johnson should be Candidate No. 1 for the University of Tulsa’s athletic director position.

Grant Nelson, 12-year veteran from NDSU, reportedly returning to Alabama for yet another season, since it pays so much better than not getting drafted.

Interesting news in the transfer portal today, some of us remember a freshman Aiden Mahoney, for St. Mary's who ORU played in the opener 2 seasons ago, in the kids first college game he comes off the bench and scores 25 against us. Over his 2 seasons with the Gaels, he drew some attention as he just committed out of the portal to 2-time defending national champ UCONN.

I guess they would say football. But TU is the smallest FBS school and doesn’t really have a chance of winning anything significant.

Well that makes one of us

Sunday's game has been cancelled due to the rain that is expected all day tomorrow. Good guys get a sweep and series win. Onward to OU on Tuesday and an important series (all of them are important now) with Omaha at JLJ next weekend.

Sam and Carlos were both players we pursued in the portal last year. It’s good to see we kept at them. Does Sam have 1 year left? That lineup looks like it could be solid at rebounding but I’m not sure who can get buckets if McBride has an off night. I’m still hoping for a Bradyn Hubbard signing. That guy is a walking bucket. I wouldn’t say no to another shot blocking center but I think we have a good groups of bigs. We do need another PG.

ORU finishes off the Jacks 16-4 in Game one......15 hits and need the bats to stay hot as the home team had to go thru their bullpen in the opener....4-5 for Stahl w/3 RBI....LaLiberte 3-4 with 5 RBI and Breeze with a couple hits and 5 RBI....we really need to take this series and would be nice to get a sweep today while SDSU is reeling....Let's do it!!

I just heard the SDSU play-by-play guy confirm that the Tommies are not eligible for the conference baseball tournament. I suppose the reason that UST is eligible for the basketball tourney is that ALL teams qualify for the tournament, so the Tommies participation does not exclude another eligible school from the opportunity to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. Since only four teams qualify for the baseball tourney, the Tommies won’t be at JLJ for the tourney in late May. With this information, I’m now feeling much more confident about ORU qualifying for the tourney, especially with a three game series at home with Northern Colorado in two weeks.

Time to add a few names: 8. Isaac McBride - Graduate 9. Carlos Rosairo - Junior (He played the Covid season, so should have two more years left). Carlos was a guy that ORU went after in the transfer portal last year and made his final 3 list before going to Drake.

ORU doesn’t have a PG at all. McBride was extremely limited on ball last season. Really wish Amboree was sticking around so McBride could play the 2.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6F1krDuxVy/?igsh=eHBzdW4wMzJ3MmZp Elijah Lawrence (Rev) has set up “Rev’s AC Madness” at the Aerobics Center this Thursday, with four teams made up of friends of the captains and some of last year’s team members. Captains are Kareem, Elijah Lawrence, McBride, and Kai Fudge (who seems to be a manager of the MBB team or something). Ashton Smith, Jake Shannon, Cam, and Braeden Moore are all on teams. I find this whole thing a little interesting since many of these players have announced new homes, while specifically McBride has not. I wonder, does this fun, intramural, COMFORTABLE event move the needle at all for McBride?

Yeah so excited. Thanks for posting ORob 2. That makes the weekend even a little better. Now coach Springmann can build around the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year: Isaac McBride! We got our quarterback and leader again for another season.

Good news to hear!

These are the most likely scenarios: UNC Goes 6-6 and ORU doesn’t go at least 8-4 UNC Goes 5-7 and ORU doesn’t go at least 7-5 UNC Goes 4-8 and ORU doesn’t go at least 6-6 We need to be better than .500 for the rest of the season to have a chance and help from UNC.

(OT's post) That is a WHOLE NEW Coach Springmann!

Starting to feel bad for Paul Mills, as this is the 4th former player to be recruited by Wichita State that has said no thanks. Abmas, Thompson, Mwamba and McBride.

I wonder how many of these players will wind up hopping from job to job once their playing days are over. Will they take a job, stay a year, get bored, move on, and lather-rinse-repeat? We've seen what's been happening in the service industry. Every time you go to a restaurant or other store, the people who wait on you are completely different--and they don't seem to get much training. Or they don't bother to learn, because they figure they'll be quitting soon anyway.

Wouldn't it be great if McBride would use this event to announce that he is retuning to ORU this fall? He put Kareem on the spot last year about returning to ORU when he spoke to the crowd during the dedication of the Mike Carter Center.

The Summit League transfers are making a big splash in the portal. William Kyle to UCLA, Zeke Mayo to Kansas, Frank Fiddler to Michigan State, BJ Omot to Cal, and the NDSU big man (forgot the name) to Nebraska. Sounds like a who's who that is picking guys from the Summit.