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Southwest Christian University


eagle88

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After a rough night at CSU I think we need a winnable game to boost our confidence. My father in law graduated from SW Christian so our family may be a bit divided! I hope we see more of Sir Isaac and Eli and give our bigs a chance to play and develop. We are going to need them this year. Hopefully we focus on playing strong defense as we prepare for tougher opponents.  Good guys should win this one 100-65.

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Homecoming is always special.  Hope the locals on the forum enjoy the new Mabee center!  Is there a Sweet 16 banner event planed for tomorrow night?

Nothing against SW Christian but this is basically a practice game for the Eagles.  Really the next three out of four are, since ORU plays non D1 teams.  

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Mabee Center should see a nice homecoming crowd on a Friday night and hopefully lots of students....Coach Mills will surely clear the bench in the 2nd half as ORU wins easily over SW Christian  111-66......:shield-logo:

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121-50....scheduling this game an embarrassment...and it won't be much better next week vs. Haskell. This is the best ORU can get for homecoming weekend?? 🤢🤮😴

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I think with several new players that this type of game early in the season is what they need to gain more experience playing together and improve their on court chemistry.

Coach Mills did a nice job of spreading the playing time around and everyone scored as well.

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Coach Mills calls Sir Isaac Herron (SLIM).  SLIM looks very impressive and in two games is 4-4 from the three-point line.  Lufile seemed very happy to be out there and put up 10 points and 4 rebounds.   Enjoyed watching the second half when ORU had a frontline of SLIM, Lufile, and Ish Plet.  Would like to see some of that in the Summit League this season.  ORU shoots 42 threes tonight, even more than against CSU.  

The students were great and brought an extra fire to the game.  Coach Mills said in the postgame interview that tonight's crowd was the best since he has been at ORU!

Edited by Keenan Henderson
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Hopefully the crowds will get even better as they keep winning.

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Surprisingly fun and engaging contest. Southwest Christian actually had a couple of athletes; they were just sloppy and unorganized. Crowd was fantastic; so nice to hear cheering again!

Couple of observations:

  • Max still looking a little lost up top; it’s obvious in Obanor’s absence that he can’t decide whether to assert himself more or defer to his improved teammates.  But, when he does decide to go full-on “MidCourtMax”, it is magical:  late in the first half, his double-heat-check string of three bombs in a row from right in front of the scorer’s table had die-hard fans and casual homecoming attendees alike jumping to their feet in amazement. 
     
  • Carlis Jurgens needs to break his habit of driving to the basket only to jump stop to a halt right in the paint, and instead finish at the rim. When he does, he’s going to have a 20-point night. It’s like he doesn’t realize how good he is!
     
  • Elijah Lufile finally saw some time in the second half, and immediately showed why he is ultimately ORU’s best option at the “5”. He has great hands, is really active, hits the offensive boards hard, and finishes nicely around the rim. Here’s hoping his time increases exponentially in the coming weeks. 
     
  • Sir Issac Herron has a wealth of upside; he just needs time. Has a beautiful stroke from behind the arc, and is comfortable putting the ball on the deck and going to the hole. Can’t wait to watch him grow as the season goes on!
     
  • Memo to the Mabee Center staff:  you need to step up your game big-time to match the physical improvements to the building. Only one chatty usher scanning tickets in the North Lobby caused a horrible bottleneck right at tip-off.  And the failure to have anyone on the catwalk to unveil the Sweet Sixteen banners at the appointed time was embarrassingly awkward. C’mon guys; with OSU and TU on the horizon, you have to be better.
  •  
  • Can’t believe I’m saying this, but the band could actually be miked a little louder with the new sound system. 
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17 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

 

  • Memo to the Mabee Center staff:  you need to step up your game big-time to match the physical improvements to the building. Only one chatty usher scanning tickets in the North Lobby caused a horrible bottleneck right at tip-off.  And the failure to have anyone on the catwalk to unveil the Sweet Sixteen banners at the appointed time was embarrassingly awkward. C’mon guys; with OSU and TU on the horizon, you have to be better.

AMEN.

 

It’s the first game, but the in-game experience was pretty rough as well. The games/activities were unorganized and lame throughout. The banner reveal was humiliating. Eli was nowhere to be found. 
At one point, the guy behind me with his two kids said “Where is Eli? Where are all the balls they used to throw away?” 

I fell in love with oru basketball games when I was young because of the constant excitement. Taking pictures with Eli, running around trying to grab one of the balls the cheerleaders threw out, chasing the blimp around the arena, etc. The sports marketing department has to step up their game. Need to capitalize on the current interest in the program by bringing families in. Last nights entertainment is not going to do it. 
 

To be fair, the new “game host” is a great addition. Just have to give him material to work with.

 

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Just a thought:  could the absence of promo items being thrown into the stands be an NCAA or conference mandate related to COVID social distancing?

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2 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

Just a thought:  could the absence of promo items being thrown into the stands be an NCAA or conference mandate related to COVID social distancing?

Good question and a fair point. This is possible, if not probable. I still maintain that the activities during breaks/timeouts need to be improved. Eli needs some coaching. The sports marketing students need some as well. 
 

I gave a pass last season for COVID, but I’m not giving one this year! 

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Glad everyone had a fun time....did anybody notice that OSU lost to Oakland and SDSU got rolled at Alabama?😬

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A couple of thoughts on our bigs:

- At one point, DJ posted up their center, which I don't think I've ever seen him do. He received the ball very well, and then made a great move and nailed a mid-range jumper. This is a perfect addition to his game. I love it. 

- I'm even more convinced after last night that our starting "small ball" lineup with DJ at the 5 and Lacis at the 4 is not going to work. The height is there, but Lacis and DJ do not provide the inside presence that makes a penetrating guard second guess his drive to the bucket. Even against a small SWC lineup they just do not have the size to be effective. 

- Sir Isaac really impressed me last night. He is the new pick and pop guy to replace Obanor. Great athleticism. Great stroke. I can see why Mills is not wanting to insert him into the starting lineup yet, though. He's just not ready for the primetime quite yet and it's hard to bump out guys like Lacis or DJ, who are. 

- Lufile looked great. Fully capable of getting significant minutes (if he doesn't have a minutes restriction).

- Either Lufile or Sir Isaac should be in at the 5 at all times. One needs to be a starter and be getting 25+ minutes a game.  DJ is a fantastic shot blocker and is a great presence in the paint, but the defense becomes a sieve when he's slotted in at the 5. Not his fault, he's just not built to bang in the paint.

- Clover has made significant improvement since last year. Will be a great option off the bench. 

I'm not worried about our bigs, only worried if they're going to get the opportunities. The staff seems to really want to play small ball again this year for some reason. 

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I attended the game last night with my wife, father in law and 3 grandsons. We had a great time. It is remarkable how good the Mabee Center looks, truly something all of us fans and alumni can be proud of. I think this year's team has more depth than last year and even though we played a weak opponent once our new guys get some experience and they gel as a team no telling what we can accomplish. Coach Mills has a unique way of getting his players to buy into his system as the season progresses. The combination of our tried and true returning players and the new guys will be fun to watch as the season progresses. I see college basketball as having 2 seasons, Nov-Mar and then the conference tournament and beyond. Let's keep improving as we did last year!

 

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1 hour ago, EagleManiac said:

- At one point, DJ posted up their center, which I don't think I've ever seen him do. He received the ball very well, and then made a great move and nailed a mid-range jumper. This is a perfect addition to his game. I love it. 

If DJ keeps developing that mid range game WATCH OUT!

1 hour ago, EagleManiac said:

I'm even more convinced after last night that our starting "small ball" lineup with DJ at the 5 and Lacis at the 4 is not going to work. The height is there, but Lacis and DJ do not provide the inside presence that makes a penetrating guard second guess his drive to the bucket. Even against a small SWC lineup they just do not have the size to be effective. 

The three guard lineup (Max, McBride, Phipps) is going to have serious problems against bigger Summit League teams. Unless they are really scoring it and pushing the pace I don't know if we'll see them together.

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16 hours ago, Old Titan said:

 

  • Can’t believe I’m saying this, but the band could actually be miked a little louder with the new sound system. 

To me the band is a good volume this year. 

We really need to move as we sit right under the speakers and it is SOOOO LOUD!!  It has been loud for years and still hasn't been corrected.  😞

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I was really happy to see Lufile back on the court. He is one of my favorite players.

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