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Review of 19-20 season


Keenan Henderson

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15 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Actually, it’s the difference between a team whose identity is obsessed by 3-point shooting instead of consistent defense.
 

Maybe some day this coaching staff will simply amass enough offensive firepower to overcome their annual defensive shortcomings. 
 

But, don’t hold your breath...

Some times, I look back at stuff that I post late at night while I'm tired & cranky, and I just cringe.

For one thing, the grammar and sentence structure was pitiful.

Secondly, it's even more snarky than usual (which is saying something).

Look, here's the deal:  with all that "talent, experience (5 seniors) and potential", this should have been a breakout year defensively.

But, it wasn't. 

It just wasn't as awful as the previous year.

Out of 350 D1 teams, ORU ranked in the mid-200's in most defensive categories this year (and, never forget that four games were non-D1 runaways with skewed stats).

Now, ORU is looking at three returning starters in Fuqua, Abmas and Obanor who are not exactly known for their defense.

Add to that a handful of newcomers from the prep and juco ranks who do not yet realize what it takes to play defense at the D-1 level, and you have a combination for a step backward defensively.

Which is troubling, to say the least - unless they can REALLY score, I suppose.

 

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Plus they add Stevens (20 points a game at junior college) and Weaver (10 points a game). So yeah they will have some offense but like you said Old Titan, not sure where the defense will come from. Remember they averaged 80 last year so offense was not a problem then either.

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1 hour ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Plus they add Stevens (20 points a game at junior college) and Weaver (10 points a game). So yeah they will have some offense but like you said Old Titan, not sure where the defense will come from. Remember they averaged 80 last year so offense was not a problem then either.

Averaging in the upper-70’s for both offense AND defense will get you a .500 record or worse vs. D1 competition every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Because what that actually translates to is a bunch of 85-70 wins and 70-85 losses, with very few actually close games in between that might have been won by great defense in the closing moments. 

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In my opinion, during the three years of the Mills era, the coaching staff has proven to be above average in recruitment of talent, average in player development and below average in game management.  This may not be an accurate assessment as the three aspects are often intertwined.  The improvement in talent has continued to raise the level of success each season, but management of the Xs and Os has kept the ceiling lower than "what it could have been".  It is my hope that more maturity and experience in their roles will help the staff continue to improve in the latter two categories.  If they don't, they will soon find that it is much more challenging to recruit talent, who want to play early and often - and WIN...

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JB, can you please elaborate on your definition of “average”?

  • ”Average” as in “average for ORU’s more successful teams”?
  • ”Average” as in “average for a successful program in a conference like the Summit League”?
  • ”Average” as in “average for a successful D-1 school with post-season aspirations”?
  • etc.
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All TheEagleman can say is....Next Coach please.....😕🏀😕

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On 3/25/2020 at 1:08 PM, ORUTerry said:

I heard from a good source that Stevens and Clover signed LOI’s in the Fall. 

But then there’s stuff like this, which makes me scratch my balding head.

It’s from a Tulsa World season wrap-up and “look ahead” story posted just this morning:

Key recruit coming next season: Nate Clover

Clover has not signed with ORU yet but has been committed to the Golden Eagles since last September. He’s a three-star center, according to Rivals.com, from Memorial High School in Port Arthur, Texas, and listed at 6-foot-8. Clover could make an immediate impact for ORU at a position the Golden Eagles are in need of depth.

What is the deal?  

If he hasn’t signed, what’s the hold-up?  

If he has, why did someone tell Dakota Gregory with the Tulsa World that he hasn’t?  

Strange deal; guessing we won’t hear anything official about this kid till school starts.

image.png

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16 hours ago, Old Titan said:

JB, can you please elaborate on your definition of “average”?

  • ”Average” as in “average for ORU’s more successful teams”?
  • ”Average” as in “average for a successful program in a conference like the Summit League”?
  • ”Average” as in “average for a successful D-1 school with post-season aspirations”?
  • etc.

My comment was intended to compare these three aspects of a coaching staff against one another, meaning that I've been favorably impressed with the outcome of recent recruitment efforts, but disappointed with game management, with player development somewhere in the middle.  But, to answer your question directly, in this context I would best define average as it relates to "a successful program in a conference like the Summit League".

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  On 12/30/2019 at 9:16 AM, Dr. Cornelius said:

I think that's right. There was a Twitter announcement... but nothing official from the Athletic Dept.

Dec. 30, 2019 OT said:

Yet Nate Clover continues to tweet and retweet ORU Basketball content, which would lead one to think he still wants to come to ORU (perhaps even expects to), but there's a snag of some sort that has prevented the deal from being sealed. 

I'm willing to bet the problem involves his academic standing, which might explain why a prospect like him has fallen to ORU in the first place:  everyone else assumes he will have to go to a juco or a prep school.

We might not know until school starts in August whether he has literally and figuratively made the grade and enrolled at ORU - and perhaps the exhibition games in November to learn whether he is eligible in his first year.

I trust we will know by this summer the status of all three plus a couple more.  Average is to me what we were the last two years. Some times we looked excellent and other times other times poorly. We are a tick above in Recruiting. Average  in talent for the Summit League, and below average in management of the game. Some things are for sure. We are improving and if our teams could play 40 minutes instead of 20 minutes, we might be on the rise in Men's Basketball.This is what I hope to be true.

View image on Twitter

 

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Just to clarify....TheEagleman agrees that Coach Mills and staff have recruited much better talent than the final Sutton years....in fact its been a huge upgrade...just wondering about playing time and game day coaching decisions...the situation of Kevin Obanor has been head scratching...would like to see Mills be more transparent....he has not been terrible but needs to talk more...on the other hand...i think its time for Carter to retire and Billy Wilson to just go away....😘

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Lofton-Clover-combined-622x350.jpg
 
Kenneth Lofton Jr., left, and Nate Clover. (I.C. Murrell/The News)
 

Kenneth Lofton Jr., Nate Clover nominated to All American Games

45.jpg

By Brad Robichaux

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Published 12:07 am Thursday, January 16, 2020

 
McDonald’s has announced nominations for the 2020 All American Games, which will place April 1 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Among those nominees were Memorial High School’s senior big men Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Nate Clover.

“It’s a very, very great honor for two guys to get a McDonald’s All American nominee,” Memorial head coach Alden Lewis said. “Anytime you can get two of your own guys on the same team to get nominated for that, that’s really big for the program. Those two guys, they have been working extremely hard since they  were freshmen. 

 

This game may not happen now with the Coronavirus situation. 

 
A
 
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Clover appears to be a defensive-minded player. I think he received some defense-related awards in the past. If this correct and he does & can play defense, maybe it will rub off on the other players.

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

Interesting data point:

 

Stats like this remind me of the old philosophy question:  "If a tree falls in an empty forest where no living thing can hear, does it actually make a sound?"

In this case, the question is:  "If a statistic doesn't seem to correlate with a team's won-loss record, does it actually make a difference?"

Only three of the top ten teams in Turnover Rate were top-50 in NCAA "NET" rankings (Oregon #12, St. Mary's #31, and Arkansas #43).

Two schools that were good at limiting turnovers were really bad at scoring more points than their opponents:  Florida Gulf Coast (#312 in NET) and Seattle (#226).

The remaining five schools in the "top ten" of this statistical category had relatively mediocre records; only five won more than 18 games this season vs. D-1 competition.

So, what does it all mean?

It means that having a low turnover rate doesn't necessarily translate into more wins.

But, I would be willing to bet that having a HIGH turnover rate DOES translate into more losses...

 

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If I remember correctly, Coach Mills said at the beginning of last season that he had put a strong emphasis on cutting down on turnovers. He even had the team carrying a basketball to class to remind them. Seems like it worked. Hopefully next year the emphasis will be on defense and the Golden Eagles will be second on defense!

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The low level of turnovers was even more impressive when you consider the run and gun offensive style the team embraced.  They were certainly not playing a Princeton 4-corners type of offense.

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