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2018 Transfers


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Albert had ample opportunities to rise to the occasion this past season.  I was at several games where they were running the offense through him for the 1st half and eventually moved away from him in the 2nd half because he wasn’t producing. I don’t blame the coach for that at all.  

I also don’t recall Coach Mills verbally berating or wearing out his players like has been mentioned.  Albert had some nights where he was on and was aggressively trying to score, but there were many games where he would receive the entry pass and then pass it back out over and over.  I finally decided that he needed to be in a certain position within about 4 feet of the basket where he could turn to his left or spin and put up his hook shot.  If he didn’t have a comfort level with his positioning, or if he missed his first couple shots, he seemed to lose his passion to score.  

I could be wrong, but that is what it seemed like from the stands.  I never understood why he could score 25 points one night and 3 points the next night even though he got at least 25 minutes of playing time both nights.  Eventually you deduce that some nights he just didn’t have the passion and was going through the motions on the court.  I know he is a very nice person and represented ORU well off the court, I just don’t choose to blame the coaches for his lack of production when he was clearly given opportunities.

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19 minutes ago, ORUParentLurker said:

I confess that I don't know the right answer.  I'm saying you should be able to use playing time to enforce the coaching.  If a guy isn't playing hard I don't know that there is any good excuse for that.  However, I am willing to acknowledge that the coach's ability to identify true lack of effort vs. lack of confidence is a factor. 

What I can say confidently is that Mills seems to be  tough coach and some players aren't going to respond well to that style.  That doesn't make it wrong.  And I sure hope he's recruiting the right kids that fit his style.

Exactly. Me too. 

 

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8 hours ago, ORUJason said:

Albert had ample opportunities to rise to the occasion this past season.  I was at several games where they were running the offense through him for the 1st half and eventually moved away from him in the 2nd half because he wasn’t producing. I don’t blame the coach for that at all.  

I also don’t recall Coach Mills verbally berating or wearing out his players like has been mentioned.  Albert had some nights where he was on and was aggressively trying to score, but there were many games where he would receive the entry pass and then pass it back out over and over.  I finally decided that he needed to be in a certain position within about 4 feet of the basket where he could turn to his left or spin and put up his hook shot.  If he didn’t have a comfort level with his positioning, or if he missed his first couple shots, he seemed to lose his passion to score.  

I could be wrong, but that is what it seemed like from the stands.  I never understood why he could score 25 points one night and 3 points the next night even though he got at least 25 minutes of playing time both nights.  Eventually you deduce that some nights he just didn’t have the passion and was going through the motions on the court.  I know he is a very nice person and represented ORU well off the court, I just don’t choose to blame the coaches for his lack of production when he was clearly given opportunities.

Its a lot harder for bigs especially traditional ones like Miller and Owens to score consistently when guards around them are not hitting shots. A perfect example is the Oakland game compared to when they played USD. Oakland did ORU a favor by not doubling the post all night.  Or in Miller's case when they played Minnesota and he exploded for a career high because they didn't double. But when conference comes into play and teams know your tendencies its much harder to score. USD is a good example because they double the post hard.  Owens showed growth by passing out of the double team much more willingly this year. Problem is he's usually  passing to across the court and without Austin Ruder for much of the year and Kearns usually being the entry passer he was passing to below average three point shooters except for when Kearns was opposite of him. Especially when White and Emmanuel are both in. Passing to an extremely below average three point shooter in Nzekwesi for half the year out of a double team is EXACTLY what those teams want ORU to do.

Sometimes when watching from the stands it can be difficult  understand the defensive schemes of small ball teams it may seem like Owens is content passing out. Because im pretty sure no one on this forum has ever said Owens passed it out of the post too much LOL.

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It wasn’t just in double team situations that Albert was passing the ball out.  It would be nice to recruit some higher % 3 point shooters.  Several other Summit League teams seem to be able to find multiple players that can shoot well from 3 point range.  

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1 hour ago, ORUJason said:

It wasn’t just in double team situations that Albert was passing the ball out.  It would be nice to recruit some higher % 3 point shooters.  Several other Summit League teams seem to be able to find multiple players that can shoot well from 3 point range.  

If ORU does not get a 2 & 3 who can truly spread the floor it will be another Long year for coach Mills. 3 point shooting is a trademark of the Summit & basketball as a whole these days. 

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8 hours ago, ORUALUMNUS99 said:

If ORU does not get a 2 & 3 who can truly spread the floor it will be another Long year for coach Mills. 3 point shooting is a trademark of the Summit & basketball as a whole these days. 

I'm pretty sure the staff agrees with you there.  It's critical in today's game to be have threats on the outside.  It opens up the lane for driving and post play.  Not mention you get 50% more points for a 3!  I believe a few of the freshman are considered good outside shooters.  Hopefully they get comfortable quickly.  I also believe the returning players are working hard to improve as well.  Just imagine the impact of having Kearns, RJ and Eman all improve by 10 percentage points or so?

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that our bigs were difficult to contain after last season.  Teams in conference doubled and sometimes tripled our bigs with no respect at all to any of our 3 pt. shooters.

Nzekwesi .234%

Kearns .352%

Fuqua .322%

 

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Yeah they sagged on the bigs and generally clogged the lane with help.  Teams were only threatened by Kearns and Ruder and it showed in the way they guarded everyone.  They focused on taking away open looks from those two by sagging off of everyone else.  If we put 3 or 4 shooters on the court at once I think you'll see everyone's averages rise.

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32 minutes ago, ORUParentLurker said:

Yeah they sagged on the bigs and generally clogged the lane with help.  Teams were only threatened by Kearns and Ruder and it showed in the way they guarded everyone.  They focused on taking away open looks from those two by sagging off of everyone else.  If we put 3 or 4 shooters on the court at once I think you'll see everyone's averages rise.

For sure. If ORU can get the lane opened then they will be a much better team without a doubt!

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If a couple of guys step up (shoot better than .333%) and become knock down shooters it will create floor spacing and we will have the one on one matchup like we did in 16-17. 

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Quote

6-10 Oral Roberts grad transfer Javan White, who took an official visit to Clemson last week, said today he plans to make a decision on his next school later this week. White played two seasons at ORU and redshirted a third leaving him two years to play at his new home.

“Overall the visit went very well,” White said of his time at Clemson. “Met with the staff and most of the players and viewed the facilities. I met with the strength and conditioning coach as well. I met with academic (staff) and talked about some school stuff as well.”

White also took official visits to Massachusetts, Nevada and LSU. He is a 230 pound forward from Ames, IA. Last season he averaged 10 points and a team high 9 rebounds per game. He shot 51% from the floor, 40% from three and 55% from the foul line.

 

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Congrats to Javan and Jontray for graduating.  According to reports, Javan will announce his pick between Clemson and LSU today.

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If Javan picks LSU he may need to have his degree revoked.... :)

 

Seriously, either place is great.  LSU just really, really stinks as a bball program.

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I like the tweets by Coach Mills. It's a good look to stay classy and encouraging to players who are leaving your program. 

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42 minutes ago, ORUalum said:

 

Time will tell, and I wish Javan nothing but the best at Clemson, but I just don't see him being a major contributor there...

it was nice to see Coach Mills congratulate Javan and Jontray on their graduation from ORU.... in my opinion I get the sense that both players felt it was in their best interest to go elsewhere and that Mills was ok with them going....

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  • 2 weeks later...
6 hours ago, ORUTerry said:

 

I saw this today. Several pundits think this is a big time get for Texas Tech. Chris Beard seems to really be building something down there in Lubbock.

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