Publicity (March Madness 2021)

[Otis 83]

1 hour ago, ORUTerry said:

Is anyone on this board getting any work done this week? Just asking for a friend....

My friend says no

[ttowncount]

I’m retired and am having a hard time keeping up. Lol. 

[Dr. Cornelius]

Argus Leader: Zimmer: Oral Roberts' Cinderella run just what Summit League needed

With wins over 2nd-seeded Ohio State and 7th-seeded Florida, Oral Roberts has become the second 15-seed ever (joining Florida Gulf Coast, in 2013) to reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.

The Golden Eagles are the first Summit League team to reach the round of 16 under its current name. Back in 1998, when the Summit was known as the Mid-Continent Conference, then-league member Valparaiso defeated Ole Miss and Florida State to make it to the Sweet 16 as a 13-seed.

For Oral Roberts, which made three straight NCAA tournaments from 2006-2008 and left the Summit League for two years (2012-2013) only to return, it’s a rare chance to bask in the national spotlight.  They’ve become tournament darlings, previously media-allergic coach Paul Mills is suddenly mugging for the cameras, and players like Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor, previously well-known to only those who are intense followers of the Summit League, have become household names.

Good for the Eagles, and good for the Summit League, too. (FULL STORY)

[Dr. Cornelius]

Midmajor Madness: The Sideline View: Summit coaches talk Oral Roberts and the Sweet 16

Billy Donlon is not a big Twitter guy. There just isn’t always enough space to make sure you get your point across, he said. But on Sunday night, the Kansas City coach was tempted to tweet. Oral Roberts had just knocked off Florida to make the Sweet 16, and there was something Donlon wanted to highlight about the fellow Summit League squad.

He wanted to remind people that the Golden Eagles had finished fourth in the conference.

“For me, I did not say that as a knock on them,” he said. “I really want to promote our league. They finished fourth, they could’ve won the regular season, but it shows the strength of our league.”

The Golden Eagles’ historic jaunt to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend as a No. 15 seed has certainly been a boon for the Summit.

Donlon talked about the recruiting benefits that ORU’s continued exposure could have for the league, benefits that he said will rightfully, and obviously, be reaped most by the Golden Eagles. South Dakota coach Todd Lee talked about recognition the run brings to the league, and the financial boost to the conference as a team piles up multiple wins in the Big Dance.

Donlon and Lee, however, have more in common then simply coaching teams in the same league as the program from Tulsa that’s suddenly a household name. They both did something this season that Ohio State and Florida could not: beat the Golden Eagles. (FULL STORY)

[TrueBlue82]

Interesting quote from the Argus Leader (Zimmer) article (bolded emphasis mine):

They’ve become tournament darlings, previously media-allergic coach Paul Mills is suddenly mugging for the cameras, and players like Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor, previously well-known to only those who are intense followers of the Summit League, have become household names.

This has been one of the most surprising observations for me from the NCAA run.  I've always thought of Coach Mills as a high character guy, but I've felt that he has never been a very good interview, and this quote from a Sioux Falls Summit follower validates my opinion.  But this week, he has been OFF THE CHARTS, saying everything I had always hoped to hear coming from the mouth of an ORU coach - and doing it effortlessly, seemingly unscripted, on the highest stage.  What flipped the switch???  I am VERY, VERY pleasantly surprised...

[ORUTerry]

I agree. He is throwing quotable phrases everywhere: press conferences, radio/tv interviews, etc. His stories and responses in multiple venues have been great. He is unapologetic in his faith and the mission of the school. It’s like he came from central casting as the guy we want to represent ORU as a basketball coach.  

[Old Titan]

As I alluded to in my “mea culpa” post on another thread, I was under the false impression he was insecure,  to the point of being antisocial. It seemed like he was trying too hard to be quotable at some times. And his apparent disdain for public appearances, his coaches shows, and post-game interviews only served to fuel that perception, in my case at least.

But it all changed for me in Sioux Falls.  With each win in the tournament he seemed to relax and become more genuine.  And with each game since, he has exploded with personality, growing more and more confident and sounding more and more WISE. 

I’ve never seen such a transformation in a public persona in such a short time.  It’s pretty obvious now it was there all along, but for some reason only now are we seeing the whole package  

It’s like some hokey Hollywood script where the leading character is convinced he needs to “fake it till he makes it”, only to realize in the end that he had what it takes to make it all along.

All he needed to do was relax, and be himself...which was plenty enough. 

[Otis 83]

8 hours ago, Old Titan said:

 It’s pretty obvious now it was there all along, but for some reason only now are we seeing the whole package  

Kind of like the team’s defense?

[Cletus]

From my few observations of Coach Mills, he is an unassuming person. People always see people like that as invisible until something important comes along, and then, it's the other side (not him), who are surprised. He was the same person all along. People take those folks for granted because they aren't loud. Even the players seem like that to me, from the interviews I have heard.

It's refreshing in a world filled with pointless noise. 

[Otis 83]

Another distraction to diminish your productivity. 

To use this opportunity to “go into every man’s world” I changed my Teams background to the Mabee court. So every work call they see our arena and I get to spread the word about ORU. Early in the week some of my coworkers who don’t know me well thought it was a bit and asked me how I got ORU gear overnight. 
 

 

 

[Old Titan]

3 hours ago, Otis 83 said:

Kind of like the team’s defense?

[Old Titan]

 

[Keenan Henderson]

Does anyone have the link or know where we can watch last night's special about ORU that was on Channel 6 in Tulsa?  Looked on their website and could not find anything.

[Dr. Cornelius]

Dallas Morning News: How Jesuit’s Max Abmas went from overlooked prep star to this year’s NCAA Tournament darling

There were around 130 high-level Division-I coaches at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. It was before Max Abmas’ senior year in July 2018. Sure, Cole Anthony — now in the NBA — was on the opposing team.

And sure, it was the semifinals of a high-level AAU tournament. So Abmas might not have been the center of attention with talented players all over the court.

But still, there were the eyeballs of more than 100 recruiters from top programs — and any one of them could have recruited the talent that has now taken over the NCAA Tournament.

“[We were] on the last court,” said Max’s father, Troy Abmas. “And the court was surrounded by all these college coaches. All the big college coaches in the game.”

Abmas played at Jesuit in Dallas and for 3-D Sports in AAU ball. The current sophomore is listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds. Scholarship offers didn’t roll in after that tournament. He had just five offers in total, three from military schools, as well as Oral Roberts and Marist.

Russell Springmann, an assistant with the Golden Eagles, decided to make him a priority when almost no one else would. Abmas has rewarded that faith by leading the nation in scoring and putting up a combined 55 points in two massive March Madness upsets. He’s looking for another big performance against Arkansas on Saturday in the Sweet 16 at 6:25 p.m.

“I didn’t have a lot of [recruiters] really offer me like that,” Abmas said. “I was talking to a lot of them, but none of them really [offered].”

When Abmas was in seventh grade, he got into trouble with a teacher at school. There was an AAU basketball game later that day, and Max’s father, Troy Abmas, wanted to make a point. (FULL STORY)

 

[Dr. Cornelius]

 

[oruvoice]

We need a catchy nickname like Phi Slamma Jamma. Something like Max & The Miracles. 

We're missing a window. Maybe someone in media relations can coin some catchy name and feed it to the media. Beat Arky and watch it really take off. 

Just a thought.

[darrenj]

13 minutes ago, Dr. Cornelius said:

 

I kinda wondered what had happened to him. He could really recruit at TX and got a lot of guys there. Very happy for him and that he bounced back. 

[Old Titan]

Kenny the Jet weighs in on a nickname, at least for Max and Kevin.

Or should I say, “Mike & Sully”?