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Bright future for ORU!


Keenan Henderson

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4 minutes ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Another thing that stands out about Coach Mills is his able to keep players.  In a college basketball world where over 1,000 players transfer every year (about 3 per team), ORU has had zero transfers in the last two years.  That means guys are buying into his system/culture, which means they have time to develop and then we see it all come together at this year's Summit League Tournament.  

This is true and it would fall under "recruiting". He might not be great with X's and O's, and player development continues to be a question mark, but he seems to get the guys he wants and manages to keep them around. From the outside he doesn't appear to be much of a "player's coach", but he must be. 

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What about Springman?  He seems like a valuable additon to the coaching staff.  In his interviews he seemed more like an X's and O's type of guy.  Springman was the head coach at the University of San Diego and also worked with the OKC Thunder.  So he might help Coach Mills with some of that.

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If you watch the player interviews following the Summit League tournament games you will see that Mills has also recruited high character individuals that reflect well on the university.  That, in addition to the lack of player turnover, is also a sign of a healthy basketball organization.

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That is good info about Springman. If Mills can keep his coaches who help mask his weaknesses that will be a key. Hopefully they all love the environment and culture at ORU and want to stay for a while. All great leaders have strengths and weaknesses and in my opinion it is a badge of honor to admit that. In the end it is the results that matter!

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Losing Lufile this year was huge. I’m sure he figured to be huge in the coaches’ plans for the team. He certainly would have provided defensive & rebounding support in the post. 

Our roster deepened this year with Glasper (injured), Jurgens (improved), Thompson (got more confidence/improved towards the end of the year), Weaved (injured but contributed) and Lacis. I think Stevens can be a spot role player (scoring) and Jones is a high energy player who defends and grabs rebounds. I think the big guys (Clover/Plet) need to develop because we could use their presence under the basket 
 

 

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Paul Mills interview on the Baylor Bears flagship station in Waco on Thursday - he did a really nice job.  Click the link at the end of the tweet for the audio playback:

I've given Coach Mills and Coach Patterson a hard time over the years re: their seeming inability to cut ties with the Baylor program, but this tournament run with the team they've personally assembled appears to have effectively severed the cords:  they ARE Golden Eagles now.

 

 

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17 minutes ago, ORUTerry said:

Losing Lufile this year was huge. I’m sure he figured to be huge in the coaches’ plans for the team. He certainly would have provided defensive & rebounding support in the post.

I ran into an old "friend of the message board" at the ORU-OSU baseball game, who mentioned (and he should know) that Lufile "has been cleared to play next year".

I'm not even sure what they means (injury? eligibility? can't imagine academics; I think he's a good student), and I did not press our friend for details, but it sounds like two things can be assumed:

  • Whatever kept Elijah from playing this year has been successfully addressed
  • He is currently planning on returning to ORU next year to play basketball

That's good news:  the dude is a physical specimen, by all accounts he seems like a great guy, and ORU should be a better team with him contributing.

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13 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

I ran into an old "friend of the message board" at the ORU-OSU baseball game, who mentioned (and he should know) that Lufile "has been cleared to play next year".

I'm not even sure what they means (injury? eligibility? can't imagine academics; I think he's a good student), and I did not press our friend for details, but it sounds like two things can be assumed:

  • Whatever kept Elijah from playing this year has been successfully addressed
  • He is currently planning on returning to ORU next year to play basketball

That's good news:  the dude is a physical specimen, by all accounts he seems like a great guy, and ORU should be a better team with him contributing.

That is good news! Lufile is buildt like Zion Williamson!  He is really strong on the offensive boards, just needs to improve his defensive skills.

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20 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

I ran into an old "friend of the message board" at the ORU-OSU baseball game, who mentioned (and he should know) that Lufile "has been cleared to play next year".

I'm not even sure what they means (injury? eligibility? can't imagine academics; I think he's a good student), and I did not press our friend for details, but it sounds like two things can be assumed:

  • Whatever kept Elijah from playing this year has been successfully addressed
  • He is currently planning on returning to ORU next year to play basketball

That's good news:  the dude is a physical specimen, by all accounts he seems like a great guy, and ORU should be a better team with him contributing.

This would be amazing news! With Lufile out there ORU would be a much better defensive and rebounding team.

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1 hour ago, Old Titan said:

I ran into an old "friend of the message board" at the ORU-OSU baseball game, who mentioned (and he should know) that Lufile "has been cleared to play next year".

I'm not even sure what they means (injury? eligibility? can't imagine academics; I think he's a good student), and I did not press our friend for details, but it sounds like two things can be assumed:

  • Whatever kept Elijah from playing this year has been successfully addressed
  • He is currently planning on returning to ORU next year to play basketball

That's good news:  the dude is a physical specimen, by all accounts he seems like a great guy, and ORU should be a better team with him contributing.

I really, really, REALLY missed seeing Lufile on the court this year. It was a big disappointment. I'm so glad to hear that he will be back next fall. I am looking forward to a strong schedule, no game cancellations, and being able to sit less than 6 feet from another person! Please let it be! Oh--and NO masks!!!

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5 hours ago, eagle88 said:

Both have proven themselves to be very mediocre coaches but both men had/have really good recruiting coaches ie. Cory Williams and Solomon Bozeman. Williams helped to recruit Green/ Tutt/ Owens and Bozeman Obanor/ Max. 

If my memory is correct, Obanor redshirted at ORU (2017-18) the season before Coach Bozeman and Coach Springmann were hired. 

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Considering what the guy at Wichita State did this year, coming out of the off-season turmoil and winning the AAC regular season, he should get this award. No question. 

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40 minutes ago, GoldenEagleFan said:

If my memory is correct, Obanor redshirted at ORU (2017-18) the season before Coach Bozeman and Coach Springmann were hired. 

Coach Hester (current LA Tech assistant) recruited Obanor and Weaver

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21 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Real quick, longtime fans:  give me a quick breakdown of the final minutes of the three championships at the UMAC. 

Little Rascals Waiting GIF

Exactly.

I’m not even sure who ORU beat in the middle one; I know it was a Cinderella Chicago State team the first time and a George Hill-led IUPUI team in the third one. 

But, whether ORU had or blew big leads in any of them?  Can’t recall.

I just remember the court being stormed in all three. 😎

Oru beat oakand in the middle one down like 10 at the half kangas was lighting them up put yemi on him scoreless 2nd half !tutt hits a key shot oru wins by 4🏀🏆 

 

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That was the third championship game (Oakland, Chicago State, then Oakland again). Yemi shut down Kangas and Shawn King blocked/altered every shot near the basket in the second half. We overcame an 11 point first half deficit. 

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Third championship game was against Oakland. The fourth championship game was against IUPUI. We lost the first one and won the next three. 

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