50th Anniversary of Mabee Center ORU Basketball Opener

[theeagleman5]

It's very hard to believe but a full half century has passed since the first ORU roundball game at Mabee.....yes, it was Dec. 4th 1972 when Richard Fuqua, Eddie Woods and company took the hardwood to take on Wisconsin in a battle of Top 25 schools.....ORU won that match up 90-76 and TheEagleman was there in the student section about 3 or 4 rows off the court behind the basket.....just wonderful memories and Mabee was packed with a sellout crowd of over 10.500 that Monday Night.....50 years have flown by and lots of wonderful Mabee memories have taken place...highs and lows.....perhaps you guys would like to share you biggest high and lowest low from Mabee Center since 1972?...For TheEagleman they were probably during the same week of March 1974....beating Louisville in the NCAA Sweet 16 on a Thursday Night was total elation....and then coming back and losing in OT on Saturday afternoon to Kansas. That loss cost us a chance to go to Greensboro, NC and the Final Four which ORU very well could have won......ah....that one still sticks in my craw.......

[ORUIllini]

Great stuff Eagleman! Love hearing about the history of Mabee and ORU basketball. Just wanted to say that 50 years seems like a great time to wear some sweet Nike throwback uniforms sometime this month. Seems like a marketing no brainer! Just sayin….

[Dave Connor]

I remember the unforgettable atmosphere of that ORU vs Wisconsin game, but I also remember that took me forever to get out of the parking lot after the game. One of my most memorable moments occurred 25 years later in the locker room. During Bill Self’s time as head coach, for every home game a faculty member was named honorary coach. We got to eat the pre-game meal with the team, sit at the score table next to the coaches, and observe the locker room pre-game and postgame meetings. During the 1996-97 season, I was honorary coach when Earl McClellan (our senior starting point guard) was late for the pre-game warm-ups. Coach Self assured Earl that he knew it wasn’t his fault, but he had to enforce his rules, so he started Eric Perry (a freshman) as point guard. Eric played a great game, and in the post game locker room Bill Self informed Earl that Eric was the new starting point guard until Earl earned back his starting position. The teammates sat quietly, but Earl enthusiastically congratulated Eric (who started only 2 games that year). Bill Self and Earl McClellan both handled that situation with such class that it left a lasting impression on me. 

[Keenan Henderson]

One of the first games I went to at the Mabee Center was versus Arkansas in 2002.  My best friend and I were big Hog fans and knew little about ORU's basketball team.  We were in for a big surprise as ORU won and was up double digits most of the game.  That was when I become a big ORU fan and Arkansas became #2 on my scorecard!