ORUalum Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Kerwin Smith (Sr) Miller (Jr) Eman (Jr) Kearns (Jr) Saunders (Jr) Jones (Jr) Fuqua (So) Ahmedic (So) Obanor (Fr) Milton (Fr) Weaver (Fr) Jurgens (Fr) Lacis (Fr) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 On 4/24/2018 at 2:09 PM, Old Titan said: And I'm pretty sure Mikey was a walk-on. Great guy; decided to focus on getting his degree and supporting his young family. As if you couldn't tell, I'm not a huge fan of signing European or South American players to a low-major D1 program like ORU. Their "buy-in" to the program is typically suspect, particularly considering it's a private Christian school that requires living in a dormitory your entire career. They tend to leave early and often, for whatever reason. Signees from Africa and the English empire have historically been exceptions to this rule; not at all sure why... 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUParentLurker Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Is Latvia considered Europe? The two NBA players I know from there are Porzingas and Davis Bertans. Neither of those dudes are soft. Emir is from Bosnia and he's quite the bruiser, just needs to be healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 5 minutes ago, ORUParentLurker said: Is Latvia considered Europe? The two NBA players I know from there are Porzingas and Davis Bertans. Neither of those dudes are soft. Emir is from Bosnia and he's quite the bruiser, just needs to be healthy. I agree, Emir is not soft at all. If anything he has to control his strength on the court like Miller did this season or opponents will look to flop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 4 hours ago, ORUParentLurker said: Is Latvia considered Europe? The two NBA players I know from there are Porzingas and Davis Bertans. Neither of those dudes are soft. Emir is from Bosnia and he's quite the bruiser, just needs to be healthy. Time for your "Geography Minute": Latvia is one of the "Baltic States", along with Lithuania and Estonia. They border the Baltic Sea, along with countries such as Finland, Sweden, and Denmark in northern Europe. Their populations are predominantly Caucasian ("Baltic" is an ancient Indo-European word that literally means "white"), as opposed to Bosnia and other former Soviet republics much further south, which feature a broader diversity of ethnicity in their populations (Slavic, Turkish, Arab, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU GRAD Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Kerwin Smith (Sr) Miller (Jr) Eman (Jr) Kearns (Jr) Saunders (Jr) Jones (Jr) Fuqua (So) Ahmedic (So) Obanor (Fr) Milton (Fr) Weaver (Fr) Jurgens (Fr) Lacis (Fr) I am assuming this is the final roster with some potential nonqualifying in the fall. This will be an interesting year, to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 no Spencer Sutton, Fuqua moves off his pop's #24 to #12, and Miller goes from #52 to #34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 There is so little we know about the majority of players on this roster. That could actually be a good thing. You could have a starting five with the five returning players (Fuqua, Kearns, Nzekwesi, Miller, Ahmedic), although that is probably unlikely. But 3-4 of the returning players might be starters with the most likely candidates Kearns, Nzekwesi, and Miller. I am excited to see what Kevin Obanor and Kennedy Milton can contribute to the team. Truthfully, I would think that all starting spots will be up for grabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUALUMNUS99 Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 15 hours ago, ORUJason said: There is so little we know about the majority of players on this roster. That could actually be a good thing. You could have a starting five with the five returning players (Fuqua, Kearns, Nzekwesi, Miller, Ahmedic), although that is probably unlikely. But 3-4 of the returning players might be starters with the most likely candidates Kearns, Nzekwesi, and Miller. I am excited to see what Kevin Obanor and Kennedy Milton can contribute to the team. Truthfully, I would think that all starting spots will be up for grabs. Theres no way Miller and Ahmedic will not start together don't be surprised if Milton and Obanor both start their freshman years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Don't forget that these returning players were something like 21-42 over the past two seasons.....a mostly new starting line up isn't necessarily a negative.....TheEagleman is wondering why RJ would switch numbers from the old mans' #24 to #12....I guess since only half the player that his dad was it certainly makes sense..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUParentLurker Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. There are a lot of guys who can play at least two positions as well. So we'll get to see if Mills like to play fast or not. It will also be interesting to see how all these new guys shoot the ball. I'm expecting a big improvement from Sam and RJ in year two shooting. The chemistry is tricky as well. You have 5 juniors and 6 freshman. The juco guys put up over 15 shots a game last year and we had Noone getting 12. In fact we had 5 guys get between 8 and 11 shots a game. That's pretty balanced. Personally I'm hoping for an up tempo game that gets our possessions up so that it doesn't matter who starts. We need 8 or 10 playing good minutes and always attacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Not real sure about Kearns but TheEagleman does like RJ....I think he had his moments as a freshman and I look for improvement in 2018-19 especially if he hits the weight room..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Sam was thrown into a role (point guard) that is not his natural position. He performed admirably and seemed to be unflappable on the court. His year in juco (North Platte) indicates that he can shoot; his three-point percentage was 53.4% (63/118). I hope with a year of D-1 experience and being accustomed to the speed/tempo of the game at this level, he will be able to play his 'natural' position and provide quality outside shooting for the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUParentLurker Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Combo guards have made a comeback, just in case anyone wasn't paying attention. The true PG who can't shoot is going away. I'm also pretty sure that Mills wants to have 2 ball handlers on the court. So I expect Sam and RJ to fill those requirements. Whether or not you believe Sam is a PG, he still led the team and was 2nd in the whole conference in assists. He played over a 1000 minutes, also 2nd in the conference. Sam was also named the team MVP. Keep your expectations low if you want. They always say the biggest jump is from year one to year two. Sam, RJ and Emir are all in Year Two. I don't think the backcourt is going to be an issue. Mainly because I think we have solid players coming back and if the new guys beat them out it means they are VERY good. We probably could worry again if we have two guards drop off the team early in the season like we did last year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 That works for me, Lurker.... TheEagleman may set the over/under for wins a bit higher for 2018-19. Once the schedule is finalized and we see who is on campus in September we will know more....maybe at least 12.5... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 2 hours ago, ORUParentLurker said: Combo guards have made a comeback, just in case anyone wasn't paying attention. The true PG who can't shoot is going away. I'm also pretty sure that Mills wants to have 2 ball handlers on the court. So I expect Sam and RJ to fill those requirements. Whether or not you believe Sam is a PG, he still led the team and was 2nd in the whole conference in assists. He played over a 1000 minutes, also 2nd in the conference. Sam was also named the team MVP. Keep your expectations low if you want. They always say the biggest jump is from year one to year two. Sam, RJ and Emir are all in Year Two. I don't think the backcourt is going to be an issue. Mainly because I think we have solid players coming back and if the new guys beat them out it means they are VERY good. We probably could worry again if we have two guards drop off the team early in the season like we did last year. I didn't intend to downplay Kearn's accomplishments at point guard last year; he averaged over 3 assists per game and was a good passer/ball handler. It just would be good if he could concentrate on shooting more than setting up his teammates. We need a consistent outside shooting threat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUALUMNUS99 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Do not be surprised if many of these new guys take some spots. Coach Mills fought valiantly this past year but it was fairly obvious that he was forced to do things he didn't want to do with everyone on last years team. I expect Sam and Emmanuel to be the only two starters who played significantly on last years team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Kearns was a significant contributor last year. He brought stability to the guard position, especially after Ruder was injured. As good as Kennedy Milton hopefully will be, and as hopeful as we are that RJ will progress, it is important to have some veteran experience at guard, and Kearns will provide that as a combo guard. Kearns’ versatility will give Coach Mills more flexibility with his lineups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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