Jump to content

Preseason Publications & Polls


Old Titan

Recommended Posts

40 minutes ago, ORUParentLurker said:

I'll take the over.  We will compete very well in conference this year.

I agree. With the combination of improvement & the rest of the Summit (except for SDSU) regressing I could see us finishing top 4.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Totally agree.  Omaha has no pre-season first or second teamers, and we have two - and the league chooses Omaha ahead of us.  Must mean that they have no respect for anyone else on our roster.  Respect is earned, and I think we will earn it back this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah the whole roster is turned over except what?  4 guys?  And Tray barely played last season.  Toss in a brand new coaching staff and any preseason evaluation should go out the window.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's.

All.

About.

Guard.

Play.

True, I've lamented ORU's lack of big men in past years, but whether the frontcourt is small or not, ya gotta have somebody running the offense, breaking down the defense, limiting turnovers, defending the 3-point line, etc.

As seen last season, Albert and Emmanuel can't make up for poor guard play.  No big men can.

Omaha has had markedly-better backcourts than ORU since entering the league.

I would not pick anyone in the Summit League below ORU, unless I know for a fact their guards are worse than what ORU might trot out there this year.

And we don't know the answer to that yet...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check out the projected "Newcomer Of The Year":  ORU juco transfer guard Sam Kearns.

Of course, before you get too excited, remember that one of these publications predicted last season's "Newcomer Of The Year" would be Dez McDaniel... :doh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Quote

6. Oral Roberts- A new era begins in Tulsa with Paul Mills taking over for long time ORU head coach Scott Sutton, who I think was shown the door a little too quickly after a few down years. Regardless, Mills appears to be a solid hire out of Baylor, and the transition to his style and schemes should be relatively painless given the returning personnel on ORU's roster. Mills knows how to coach bigs, and he'll always place a high emphasis on offensive rebounding. The good news is that ORU has one of the best frontcourts in the league and should adapt well to the old Bill Evans 1-1-3 zone that Scott Drew uses at Baylor and Mills will in all liklihood bring with him to Tulsa. The frontcourt is paced by A.J. Owens, one of the best true post scorers in the league. Owens will likely improve his rebounding numbers dramatically under Mills. 6-foot-10 Javan White returns from an ACL injury and should be the key in the middle of the 1-1-3. The other big piece in the frontcourt is Emmanuel Nzekwesi, whom Mills wants to stretch out to the perimeter more. Nzekwesi is an outstanding rebounder but has to improve his shooting and efficiency offensively if he's truly going to play at the 3. The backcourt is an entirely new unit with the exception of Jontray Harris, a 6-foot-4 wing whose extreme athleticism hasn't quite translated on the court yet. Austin Ruder comes in from Missouri State and will immediately be Mills' best shooter on the perimeter. The point guard position is totally up in the air, but JUCOs James Conley and Sam Kearns, along with freshman RJ Fuqua (son of Richard Fuqua, ORU's second all-time leading scorer) will all likely share time on the ball. The Eagles were bad offensively and even worse defensively last year, but with Mills' emphasis on offensive rebounding and a unique zone the league is mostly unfamiliar with, ORU could surprise some teams.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mid Major Madness -- Summit League Power Poll

  1. SDSU
  2. SD
  3. Denver
  4. NDSU
  5. Fort Wayne
  6. Omaha
  7. ORU
  8. WIU
Quote

7. Oral Roberts

A new era of Oral Roberts basketball begins this year as Paul Mills takes over for longtime head coach Scott Sutton. He faces the tall task of turning around a program that only won eight games last year.

One bright spot for the Golden Eagles is a pair of experienced frontcourt members. Albert Owens is a bruiser on the low block, and Emmanuel Nzekwesi dabbles as an athletic sidekick. The major question mark for Mills will be where the production comes from on the perimeter. Jalen Bradley graduated, and Kris Martin transferred to Colorado State. Someone has to step up at the guard spots for Oral Roberts, or they could be faced with another season in the cellar.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Breaking news....Jalen Bradley and Kris Martin are gone.....2 "stars" from an 8-22 team....I wonder how we will ever replace them.....|(:|:shake:

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welp... expectations couldn't be much lower.  The team has plenty of bulletin board material.  Do they still use bulletin boards?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A 3 game difference between First and 7th.....the Summit is up for grabs, my friends....any team can win it....except for maybe Western Illinois....:eagles:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The old adage of "win at home, split on the road" applies here.  Even with losing the odd game on the road (and finishing 3-4 on the road), sweeping the season at home would lead to a 10-4 record - and likely win the conference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...