Old Titan Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 For those who have expressed concerns over Albert Owens and his future at ORU as a grad student, I would have to think the following should be considered "a good sign" - working out Tuesday with assistant coach Steve Upshaw in the Mabee Center practice gym: Footnote: a good friend of mine who's son is an ORU student who hangs with several of the players tells me they are excited about the structure and policies a new coach will hopefully bring. Said there were "different rules for different players" under the previous staff, and things got so bad at one point last season that the team held a players-only meeting and voted to have one guy kicked off the team, but the coaches would not follow through with it (that player is no longer on the roster now). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleManiac Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 A little surprised Steve Upshaw has stuck around. I thought Perry was the only coach still on staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 8 minutes ago, EagleManiac said: A little surprised Steve Upshaw has stuck around. I thought Perry was the only coach still on staff. Upshaw was retained. He's going to be a valuable resource for the new coach, with his knowledge of the team, the conference, travel arrangements, ORU's academic requirements, faculty and staff personnel, tutoring resources, summer camps - the list goes on and on. Plus, he's just a great guy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 47 minutes ago, Old Titan said: Footnote: a good friend of mine who's son is an ORU student who hangs with several of the players tells me they are excited about the structure and policies a new coach will hopefully bring. Said there were "different rules for different players" under the previous staff, and things got so bad at one point last season that the team held a players-only meeting and voted to have one guy kicked off the team, but the coaches would not follow through with it (that player is no longer on the roster now). wow.....further proof that a change was needed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 45 minutes ago, Old Titan said: Upshaw was retained. He's going to be a valuable resource for the new coach, with his knowledge of the team, the conference, travel arrangements, ORU's academic requirements, faculty and staff personnel, tutoring resources, summer camps - the list goes on and on. Plus, he's just a great guy. Steve is a truly quality guy who will be called upon to provide stability during the upheaval of a coaching change. Glad he's sticking around!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Yes. Steve Upshaw is a fantastic person. I truly hope he sticks around for many years to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Upshaw will help provide continuity for the players & program. He is a great guy and provides a strong role model. The new coach would be well advised to keep him on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU82 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Thanks for the info OT, apparently it was time for a change. Hopefully the new staff takes a better approach. I can say that I am impressed with what Coach Perry is doing with the team per what is being posted on Instagram at ORUMBB. The team held their first "share meeting" yesterday with Big E starting it all off with an opening prayer. Also saw where they had Kenny Robinson and Willis Collins come in to speak. Eagleman, perhaps you recognize those names. They both played on the Elite 8 team back in '74 which beat Syracuse and Louisville and lost in OT to Kansas 90-93. Nice for those two to show up and encourage the team. I like what Coach Perry is doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 LOL....YES SIR!!...TheEagleman does remember Kenny Robinson (back up PG) and Willis Collins who was a 6-9 PF/C and a darn good one who started for ORU the next year 1974-75 under Coach Jerry Hale....didn't know Kenny very well but Willis Collins was a very quiet guy and I liked him...a gentle giant.....I like what I am hearing about this team...TheEagleman loves Coach Sutton but it was clearly time for a change....especially when you hear about "different rules for different players"....Sounds like K-Mart was headed out no matter what..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 Willis Collins is joined to his right in this picture by his steady girl, Rebecca Roberts (widow of former ORU great Anthony Roberts, who was Willis' teammate). Kinda has a nice symmetry to it, doesn't it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oruvoice Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 So great to have former players come back/stay connected. Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Willis Collins didn't score much but he was a solid defender in the middle...a real wide body who took up a lot of space and grabbed a few rebounds.....ORU could have used a guy like that the past few years to stop all those easy baskets down the lane.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 22 hours ago, Old Titan said: For those who have expressed concerns over Albert Owens and his future at ORU as a grad student, I would have to think the following should be considered "a good sign" - working out Tuesday with assistant coach Steve Upshaw in the Mabee Center practice gym: Footnote: a good friend of mine who's son is an ORU student who hangs with several of the players tells me they are excited about the structure and policies a new coach will hopefully bring. Said there were "different rules for different players" under the previous staff, and things got so bad at one point last season that the team held a players-only meeting and voted to have one guy kicked off the team, but the coaches would not follow through with it (that player is no longer on the roster now). Some clarifications on the "footnote" above: everyone is assuming the offending player is Kris Martin, but I don't know that for a fact. Could have been one of the seniors (not even sure my friend knew; he just knew from his son about the meeting and the vote. Said the player in question was either late-to or skipped-a-number-of practices and team meetings). And about that "meeting": while I suppose players-only gatherings have their place, I (for one) am not too keen on college basketball teams giving ultimatums to coaches or administrators, calling for boycotts, conducting protests, etc. It's one thing to all be of like minds. It's quite another to think that means your team is a democracy, and the coach is some steward who can be "out voted". That's not what a college basketball coach is: at best he's a benevolent despot; at worst he's a dictator. But either way, he's the captain of the ship. And if a member of the crew doesn't like it, he should jump overboard and swim for shore, not organize a mutiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 I agree - players have to submit to authority or eventually chaos will reign. But if a coach is perceived as being patently unfair or showing blatant favoritism, he is sowing the seeds of a mutiny. That is true in any organization. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 Trying to recall a junior (in terms of eligibility) ever winning this award? Preemptive move in retaining his services for another year? (Not that he doesn't deserve it - the dude can play, and is an academic All-American). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 ....Albert for ORU President!!!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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