Returning players

[Keenan Henderson]

As we grow closer to having college basketball in Nov., what do you think about the returning players for ORU (Including DJ Weaver and Carlos Jurgens)?  Maybe how they need to improve or strengths they can build on.  How will they mesh with the new guys? Or whatever else you want to add. Thanks for sharing.

[ORU GRAD]

It is sad that we have heard little about the team this year concerning practice and the year is so undecided with the pandemic around still. The good news is that we are going to play basketball. We know what to expect with Obannor, Lufile, Lacis, and Abmas. We also know the talent of D.J Weaver and what he brought to the table with his shooting and size but have not seen him play in over a year along with Jurgens. Jones was non-existent last year, mostly and in his Senior year. This is a real question mark year because of so many new players who may or may not become starters. I hope to know more when the season practice starts in almost two weeks. I feel we have better depth than in the past few years and may even have an exciting year. I have a saying, "Time will Tell."

[Keenan Henderson]

Good points ORU grad! I am hoping that K.O. can really step up and be that all star and stud that the Eagles need.  He was up and down a lot last year.  Lacis seemed out of position in 19-20 [lack of depth in the frontcourt and injuries) and had to play mainly the 4 and even at times the 5.  He is better suited at small forward giving ORU some 3 and D on the wing.  Abmas had a great freshman year and will be on every team's radar this year as ORU's number one or two option on offense.  Hopefully he can avoid a sophomore slump, now that the defense's will be all over him.  Jurgens is now 22 as a sophomore, since he redshirted last year.  Does that mean he is more mature just because he is older?  He needs to bring some maturity to a very young and inexperienced backcourt.

[Keenan Henderson]

Just picked up a copy of Lindy's College Basketball magazine at the store.  They are pretty high on ORU, ranking the Eagles as third in the conference behind the usual suspects (SDSU and NDSU).  They also put K.O. and Max on the second team all star list.  The main point they made was that Jamie Bergens is another star Dutch player for ORU and that he is an even more promising player than E-man.  High praise for the newcomer, considering that you could make a case that E-man was a top 20 all time great player at ORU.

[theeagleman5]

TheEagleman loved E-Man....but he isn't a Top 20 player at ORU...Top 30 probably but i am sure i can name 20 better players and i know OT can....there were at least 10-12 better players in the 70s alone...

[Keenan Henderson]

20 hours ago, theeagleman5 said:

TheEagleman loved E-Man....but he isn't a Top 20 player at ORU...Top 30 probably but i am sure i can name 20 better players and i know OT can....there were at least 10-12 better players in the 70s alone...

Good point. Some of us newer to the forum forget about the glory days. Eman is probably around the top 30.  He played a lot more games than some good players and that is why he finished so high on the all time scoring and rebounding list.

[theeagleman5]

Maybe E-Man sneaks in at 19-20...but TheEagleman would list all of these guys from the 70s in the all time ORU Mens Top 20....in no particular order....Haywood Hill, Richard Fuqua, Eddie Woods, Anthony Roberts, David Vaughn, Alvin Scott, Al Boswell, Sam McCants, Greg McDougald and Arnold Dugger. Those 10 are unquestionable...

[ORUJason]

Mark Acres, Jeff Acres, Cat Johnson, Caleb Green, Tim Gill, Ken Tutt, Larry Owens, Dominique Morrison, Moses Ehambe, Greg Sutton, Derrick Taylor, Damen Bell Holter, Marquis Barnes, Obi Emegano, Rocky Walls, E-Man, Luke Spencer Gardner, etc.  

It is truly difficult to rank some really great players from 1-40 or so, but it would be an interesting exercise.

[Keenan Henderson]

ORU has been blessed with an abundance of good players over the years including a few not listed above: Warren Niles, Shawn Glover, and Albert Owens.  It is hard to rank them because each guy might have played between 1-4 years depending on their situation.  Hopefully in a few years we can add the new guys (K.O, DJ Weaver, and Max) to the list.  

[ORUJason]

Yes and I left out Marcus Lewis as well.

[Old Titan]

ORU TOP 20 PLAYERS OF ALL TIME

(alphabetic order)

• Mark Acres
• Steve Bontrager
• Al Boswell
• Arnold Dugger
• Obi Emegano
• Richard Fuqua
• Caleb Green
• Calvin Garrett
• Tim Gill
• Gary "Cat" Johnson
• Ken Tutt
• Dominique Morrison
• Anthony Roberts
• Alvin Scott
• Greg Sutton
• David Vaughn
• Rocky Walls
• Chad Wilkerson
• Eddie Woods
• Haywoode Workman

Next Ten:  Jeff Acres, Robert Griffin, Heywood Hill, Robert Jarvis, Marcus Lewis, Antonio Martin, Sam McCants, Sebastian Neal (look him up), Larry Owens, Ray Thompson (look him up, too)

 

[theeagleman5]

That's a REALLY GOOD List by Old Titan.....outstanding.....but no Greg McDougald? I will give E-Man this...he had four solid years....inconsistent and injury plagued but good....obviously he doesn't make OT's Top 30.....TheEagleman still would opine that Anthony Roberts is the greatest ORU player of all time....he edges out the guy who put ORU on the map, Richard Fuqua.....4 excellent years at ORU (Honorable Mention All American) then a solid NBA career....still holds the single game NIT scoring record with 66, I believe.....RIP Woosie.....

[Old Titan]

1 hour ago, theeagleman5 said:

That's a REALLY GOOD List by Old Titan.....outstanding.....but no Greg McDougald?

Top 50, along with these other 19 really nice players (in no particular order) - Luke Spencer Gardner, Jonathan Bluitt, Duane Fox, Sam McCamey, Lester Gill, Carl Hardaway, Dana Lewis, Earl McClellan, Ricky Baskin, Akin Akin-Otiko, Willie Irons, Yemi Ogunoye, Moses Ehambe, Marquis Barnes, Kevin Ford, Josh Atkinson, Eric Perry, Derrick Taylor, Clarence Thompson, and Clifford Crenshaw.

Okay, okay...No. 51 - Emmanuel Nzekwesi.

[Keenan Henderson]

Thanks OT for posting.  Confess I have only seen about 6 or 7 of those guys on your top 30 list play for ORU.  So it is definitely a history lesson for us newer guys on the forum.  With that said, most of the Golden Eagles star players were here before 2005.  It just shows why Coach Mills has made it a pressing need to go out and recruit highly ranked players these last few years.  Since we are doing our top lists, here is one for this year (just to get back on topic lol):

20-21 top ten players (feel free to make any changes)

1. Kevin Obanor - With Eman gone, he will rise to the top and be a force inside and out.

2. Max Abmas - Streaky scoring machine who is still developing the rest of his game.

3. DJ Weaver - As long as he is healthy, should be a solid small forward (ORU really did not have one last year).

4. Elijah Lufile - A real beast inside: great around the basket. Hopefully, improves on the defense end (2 blocks last year).

5. RJ Glasper - At 6 feet needs to be the little engine that could and take over at the point for the other RJ that graduated.

6. Jaime Bergens - Going to believe the hype and say he is the next star for ORU.  Solid backup this year but bright future.

7. Carlos Jurgens - Added 20 pounds and should be more steady this year, after an up and down freshman year.

8. Kareem Thompson - At 6'6 he brings a variety of skills to the court.  Should be a good role player.

9. Francis Lacis - Just a good glue guy.  Can hit the three and play some defense, plus always has a great attitude.

10. Nate Clover - Jr. beast.  Would be interesting to see him and Lufile on the court at the same time (good defensive line in football, too).

The other guys will have to fight for playing time or mop up time.

 

[ORU GRAD]

1 hour ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Thanks OT for posting.  Confess I have only seen about 6 or 7 of those guys on your top 30 list play for ORU.  So it is definitely a history lesson for us newer guys on the forum.  With that said, most of the Golden Eagles star players were here before 2005.  It just shows why Coach Mills has made it a pressing need to go out and recruit highly ranked players these last few years.  Since we are doing our top lists, here is one for this year (just to get back on topic lol):

20-21 top ten players (feel free to make any changes)

1. Kevin Obanor - With Eman gone, he will rise to the top and be a force inside and out.

2. Max Abmas - Streaky scoring machine who is still developing the rest of his game.

3. DJ Weaver - As long as he is healthy, should be a solid small forward (ORU really did not have one last year).

4. Elijah Lufile - A real beast inside: great around the basket. Hopefully, improves on the defense end (2 blocks last year).

5. RJ Glasper - At 6 feet needs to be the little engine that could and take over at the point for the other RJ that graduated.

6. Jaime Bergens - Going to believe the hype and say he is the next star for ORU.  Solid backup this year but bright future.

7. Carlos Jurgens - Added 20 pounds and should be more steady this year, after an up and down freshman year.

8. Kareem Thompson - At 6'6 he brings a variety of skills to the court.  Should be a good role player.

9. Francis Lacis - Just a good glue guy.  Can hit the three and play some defense, plus always has a great attitude.

10. Nate Clover - Jr. beast.  Would be interesting to see him and Lufile on the court at the same time (good defensive line in football, too).

The other guys will have to fight for playing time or mop up time.

 

I think Sheldon Stevens -at 6'3 guard and shooting 42% behind the arc and a 2nd team Juco All American has a great shot at being in top 10 list you have assembled. Bergens and Jurgens will fight for that 10 spot. I could be wrong but we will see. We seem on paper to have better talent and depth this year. No matter, we will have great guard potential and in a month and a half plus we will know for sure where we stand. 

[Keenan Henderson]

Not as high on Stevens because I grew up in Arkansas and went to junior college in Hot Springs (before ORU). Saw some of those Arkansas juco teams and they were just not very good ( to be kind). That team Stevens played on has only existed for two years (the two years he was there). So unsure if he can make that big of jump to D1. Maybe by his senior year he will be in the rotation.

[Dr. Cornelius]

14 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Not as high on Stevens because I grew up in Arkansas and went to junior college in Hot Springs (before ORU). Saw some of those Arkansas juco teams and they were just not very good ( to be kind). That team Stevens played on has only existed for two years (the two years he was there). So unsure if he can make that big of jump to D1. Maybe by his senior year he will be in the rotation.

It's always a coin flip as to whether a player can make a smooth transition to D1 (either from high school or JUCO). A player can have all the accolades in the world but can still struggle getting acclimated to the step up in competition.

[ORU GRAD]

17 hours ago, ORU GRAD said:

I think Sheldon Stevens -at 6'3 guard and shooting 42% behind the arc and a 2nd team Juco All American has a great shot at being in top 10 list you have assembled. Bergens and Jurgens will fight for that 10 spot. I could be wrong but we will see. We seem on paper to have better talent and depth this year. No matter, we will have great guard potential and in a month and a half plus we will know for sure where we stand. 

Time will tell but some knocked Abmas when we signed him as a freshman and stated he could not make that transition as a starter with his high school shooting percentage which proved to be wrong as he at times last year lit it up. Just an opinion.

"One of only two ORU players to start all 31 games ... Closed the year 39th in the NCAA and one of two freshman to rank in the nation's top 40 for made 3-pointers (238) ... Ranked third on the team scoring 14.5 points per game reaching double figures 23 times, including nine performances of at least 20 points ... Was the highest scoring true freshman in The Summit League totaling 448 points, including a season-best 27 points against North Dakota"