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Western Illinois at ORU


EagleManiac

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Very encouraged, even if they go up and get swept in the Dakotas the next 3 games. 

I see no reason that ORU is not competing at the top of the league next season if even just one of the recruiting class is an impact player.

The arrow is definitely pointing up.  I hope the students and Tulsa community start to notice and the Mabee Center starts seeing more than 1000 - 1500 fans in attendance.

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I think Cater and Wilson should be pleased with their decision to move on and their choice in Coach Mills. They should never be pleased with how it was handled. 

This team is good, but will be really good in February. Still some areas to tighten up, especially staying sharp through the end of the game.  

Where is Rudder? After we get him worked back in the ceiling will get higher.

The free tickets improved attendance tonight. Hopefully the teams performance will keep bringing them and more back. They are really fun to watch.

 

 

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Ruder is still battling an eye infection, but is expected to be cleared to play on Monday. Will be nice to have him back. 

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10 minutes ago, ORUTerry said:

Ruder is still battling an eye infection, but is expected to be cleared to play on Monday. Will be nice to have him back. 

I wouldn't fool with the starting five once he's healthy.   I know this is probably not the way Owens and Ruder imagined their final season, but invest every minute possible in the young core of the team.

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I wonder if Kearns could play the point with Ruder as the shooting guard and Fuqua coming off the bench.  I think we could use Ruder’s experience.

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I was at the game tonight. It was really good to see the guys play. I think one of the main things coach Mills has brought to the team is an identity. The guys play hard, they have a clear objective on offense, they rebound well, and they're starting to really flex their muscle defensively. 

A few more observations from tonight: 

- Chris Miller got into early foul trouble so Albert played a lot. He was probably the better matchup for Western Illinois big guy. He did an excellent job blocking shots. 

- Emir Ahmedic got some burn when WIU's backup big was in and immediately missed a shot, then regained the rebound and scored. I like his aggression. He probably deserved to play more.

- Jontray Harris played hard and is an incredible athlete, but it seemed like our defense was worse and our offense was limited when he was in. Probably was a bad matchup for him. 

- Fuqua is really good overall. Love his mature demeanor. The only thing is he sometimes would get tunnel vision and miss the easy pass to an open shooter because he was looking for a different play to develop. 

- Overall, Western Illinois looks like a good team. They have size, they're long and athletic, and they have some shooters. Our defense bothered them for sure. However, the main thing is we just have so many good bigs. No matter which of our bigs is in, they can all post up one on one, and they are all really aggressive on the boards. 

- After seeing the guys in person, the thing I keep thinking is that we are a nightmare matchup for a lot of teams. We start two guys over 6'8 on the wings of our defense. It's really impressive length and super fun to watch. 

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E-Man has really improved the past month as has White....but TheEagleman really loves the way Fuqua plays....I am probably prejudiced because I watched his old man play of lot of games in the 70s and loved his dad....but this kid RJ looks like a very special player....does his dad Richard come to all of the home games?.....:geek:

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Quote of the Game
"First off, I just want to glorify the name of the Lord. He's been with us through the good and the bad and we just want to give Him the glory. We came out and did what we had to do, winning the rebounding battle and playing with effort." – Sophomore Emmanuel Nzekwesi    ....TheEagleman says....AMEN!!!.....:clap:

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I honestly don't see why anyone would be talking about next year.  This team has a chance THIS year.  They are a little young but when will you ever be able to bring a fifth year senior off the bench?  It's a tremendous advantage to have the starting front line we have plus AL waiting in the wings.

 

Yeah the future looks bright but the recruits are nothing but potential right now.  This current group is bought in and a majority of these guys have gone through at least one bad season so they should have no trouble staying hungry.  I was at the last two games and these guys are playing for each other.  I think they can win every game left on the schedule.  

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7 hours ago, ORUParentLurker said:

I honestly don't see why anyone would be talking about next year.  This team has a chance THIS year. 

I am starting to believe this. We have a unique style of play, with a roster of capable, athletic players who have bought in to the new coach's system. They're playing at a high level right now and I'm enjoying every bit of it. 

It's funny. The past few seasons, all we wanted to talk about at this point in the year was how our recruits coming in might help us get into the top half of the conference. Now, we can actually talk about competing for a top 3 spot in the conference and it's not crazy. 

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I wasn't able to watch the game last night, but it sounds like it was very similar to the last two games....

The next 3 games will be very telling for me...I would consider it a success if ORU went 1-2 against the Dakotas, then follow that up with a win over Denver at home to go 5-2 in the first half of conference play...

The second time through the conference will be tougher now that teams know what to expect, so I could see ORU going 4-3 to finish up 9-5, and as good a shot as any team in winning the conference tourney...which is something I certainly didn't expect back at the beginning of November!

These are exciting times for ORU basketball, Paul Mills seems to be the real deal!

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Check out Paul Mills' comment at the 3:39 mark about "them adjusting to us, instead of us adjusting to them" in terms of line-ups.

LOVE IT!!

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