Old Titan Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 9 hours ago, GoldenEagleFan said: In an age of “positionless” basketball, it’s great to hear Old Titan showcase the first word in his username and put such restrictions around what a “Shooting Guard” is supposed to entail. I can only imagine your staff meetings as you put together a roster: “Yes I know he’s an elite shooter and can come off a screen and catch and shoot, but he isn’t taller than our point guard so obviously he does not fit into this very specific and complex definition of what we need our 2 to look like! Scratch him from the list!” I guess it’s tough to argue when you’ve clearly done your research and have included the source.... a Wikipedia link! Here, I’ll make it simple for you: respectively smaller guys have trouble getting their shots off against respectively taller guys, whatever position their playing. Or did you not notice how NDSU completely shut down Max Abmas in the tournament semi’s by putting a longer defender on him? Or, that TU did the same thing with their big guard Lawson Korita in the second half at the Reynolds Center? Or what basically ANY good team ORU played with any size on the perimeter did last year to ORU's diminutive shooters? But that’s fine, go ahead and fall in love with 5’-11” guys padding their stats against Sisters Of The Poor by jacking uncontested 25-footers on the way to another .500 season, while the Dakota schools continue their domination of the league by fielding actual Division-1 rosters. If I didn’t know any better, I might be led by some of the conversation here to believe that’s acceptable.. It’s not, right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 8 hours ago, Dr. Cornelius said: I don't think Clover will have to do all that much to replace Nzekwesi. Nzekwesi was a nice guy but he wouldn't or couldn't play defense and would completely disappear for long stretches - including the final Summit League tournament game where he didn't really seem to even want to be out there. The guy played hurt all year. It was painful to watch him try to run at times. He was in no condition to play back-to-back games in Sioux Falls, as the NDSU game proved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 And one last rant: I think "positionless" basketball is fool's gold. With the notable exception of Golden State's "Death Lineup" that featured four future Hall of Famers in Curry, Thompson, Durant & Iguadala, it's never won anything at any level. I could have won an NBA championship with those guys while running plays from Henry Iba. Look at the No. 1 team in college basketball in 2020: Kansas had a very traditional line-up with a monster at the "5" in Azuibuke and complimentary players surrounding him at the other four positions. Same thing with No. 2 Gonzaga: huge along the frontcourt, big guards around the perimeter, the same sort of line-up that has proven successful at the highest levels for decades. No analytics to see here; just good ol' fundamental basketball with an emphasis on size. Positionless basketball dominated by three-point-shooting is simply a gimmick for weak rosters, like "Moneyball" in baseball, or the air raid in football. Sure, it can be glitzy and high-scoring, and with the right combination of players you can even make the playoffs, but 9 years out of 10 it will get you beat in the end by equal talent in conventional systems that don't forsake defense by mistaking flash for substance (even though I can't stand them, see "Patriots, New England" or "Alabama Football" as examples). "Now get off my lawn, you dad-burn whipper-snappers!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 The Dakota schools (mainly SDSU and NDSU) have ruled the Summit League for the last 7-8 years. Mainly because they play team ball and have great chemistry. They are not the most talented, athletic, etc. but the players know their roles. So for ORU to match that they also need chemistry. Here are some thoughts on player roles next year based on the roster: 1. Leadership: Fuqua (Quarterback) Makes the team run like a well oiled machine and hopeful Glasper can be his backup. 2. Scorers: Max, K.O., DJ, and maybe Stevens (double digit guys) 3. Role Players: Francis, Jurgens, Lufile, and Jones. They provide defense, rebounding, and solid play. Do the dirty work. 4. The talented new guys: Bergens, Clover, and Stevens. Learning as they go and Coach Mills finding where they fit best. Clover most likely defense and rebounding, Stevens scoring off the bench, and Bergens learning to run the team behind the experienced point guards (the RJ's). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU GRAD Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 23 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said: What do you guys think about the 4 star recruit Bergens: Is he ready to be a starting point guard? How did he slip through the cracks and wind up with ORU? Will it take him awhile to really be a star? Etc. Who knows? When Ken Tutt came on the scene with Caleb Green as freshmen we did not know what we had in a dynamic duo. As a freshmen Ken Tutt at 6'1" did it and for a small guy, while Caleb Green at 6 8" scored 17 pts per game and 9.9 rebounds and both did so much damage in an ORU uniform to opponents. Those were some great years and who knows if Bergens and Clover can compare with these legions. Tutt (2003-07) still ranks seventh in ORU history with 2,019 points. He helped lead ORU to two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT. He is one of only 17 players to average more than 20 points per game for a season and earned Tournament MVP honors in 2006 and 2007. He was a freshman All-American by CollegeBasketballNews.com and Rivals, and is top 10 in conference history in 3-pointers made (101 in 2003-04), career 3-pointers made (319) and career points (2,019). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Very true...I forgot that E-Man was hurt....TheEagleman will retract his unfair remarks above... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 On 4/10/2020 at 6:29 PM, theeagleman5 said: ORU also needs much more consistent play from Kevin Obanor next season....TheEagleman thought that KO was ready to have a huge Soph year but he failed to show up in many games and only portions of others.....honestly, I expected much more....Sophomore Jinx or what you see is what you get???... Good point. With K.O. it seems like the Coaches or something has to light a under him . During the conference tournament, the announcer on the radio broadcast said K.O. was out to prove he was a good player because he felt upset that he got left off the all conference teams. Then in those two games he averages 20 and 10, thus getting selected to the all conference tournament team. When he puts his talent together with a passion to be his best then K.O. is an all star. Otherwise he just coasts on his talent and is a 11 points and 6 rebounds kinda of player, which is still solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 I don’t think KO is to blame. Give him more minutes and he will produce. He deferred at times to Nzekwesi and he sat the bench more than he should have while 4 guard lineups shot 3 pointers. He should have a great season next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 All of this roster talk for next year is great! But I'm checking twitter everyday and seeing all these posts from Jon Rothstein and the D1 Docket of teams scheduling games and it's killing me! Can we at least get something from ORU. I went and looked back at last year, and we at least knew about the @ Iowa game in March! Give us something please!.......I didn't want to start a new topic until there was something concrete to post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 On 4/13/2020 at 11:33 AM, ORUIllini said: All of this roster talk for next year is great! But I'm checking twitter everyday and seeing all these posts from Jon Rothstein and the D1 Docket of teams scheduling games and it's killing me! Can we at least get something from ORU. I went and looked back at last year, and we at least knew about the @ Iowa game in March! Give us something please!.......I didn't want to start a new topic until there was something concrete to post. Here is a little tasty treat, wait for it. ORU schedules four home games next year: non D1 teams. Shock and awe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 34 minutes ago, ORUIllini said: All of this roster talk for next year is great! But I'm checking twitter everyday and seeing all these posts from Jon Rothstein and the D1 Docket of teams scheduling games and it's killing me! Can we at least get something from ORU. I went and looked back at last year, and we at least knew about the @ Iowa game in March! Give us something please!.......I didn't want to start a new topic until there was something concrete to post. Here's something new in the books for the 20-21 schedule: home-and-home with UMKC. Actually; that's a pretty fun roadie to look forward to: get up there leisurely the evening before the day of the game, do some shopping at The Plaza the next day (or check out the museums and Union Station if it's too cold), grab some fantastic BBQ for pregame, then a late nightcap or three in the Power & Light District. For the fans' sake who would like to make the trip each season, here's hoping ORU-vs-UMKC is annually a Saturday night event at BOTH places, and never on Thursdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 I was looking at ORU's roster on VC (verbal recurits website) and they have the Eagles with 13 scholarships. The website says that RJ Fuqua is listed as "left for personal reasons". Sounds very unusual considering his dad's history and the fact that he was really improving as the season went on last year. Has anyone heard anything regarding RJ? Maybe that is why they brought in two guards at the end in Glasper and Bergens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 4 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said: I was looking at ORU's roster on VC (verbal recurits website) and they have the Eagles with 13 scholarships. The website says that RJ Fuqua is listed as "left for personal reasons". Sounds very unusual considering his dad's history and the fact that he was really improving as the season went on last year. Has anyone heard anything regarding RJ? Maybe that is why they brought in two guards at the end in Glasper and Bergens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleManiac Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 That's disappointing. He was one of my favorites last season. He plays with so much energy and is always the smartest guy on the floor. He'll be missed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 8 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said: The website says that RJ Fuqua is listed as "left for personal reasons". Sounds very unusual considering his dad's history and the fact that he was really improving as the season went on last year. Has anyone heard anything regarding RJ? I sure hope that this is "fake news". I haven't seen it confirmed anywhere else, but I'm also not wanting to look very hard... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 ….say it ain't so, RJ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 If it is so, which none of us want, then that means the Eagles lost most of the backcourt from last year (RJ, Burns, and Kearns). So now the highly ranked new guards (Jamie B. and Stevens) will have to step up and play strong right from game one. It is a lot to expect from guys who have never played D1 basketball. Since the backcourt is similar to the quarterback position in that as your guard play goes so goes the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUIllini Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 If true, doesn't it seem a little strange that outside of the individuals directly involved, who would obviously know, and aren't saying anything, Verbal Commits somehow has "insider" knowledge? How has this not been found or reported somewhere on social media? Is Verbal Commits that good?! Not going to believe it until RJ or ORU confirms it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.