Confirmed: Paul Mills to Wichita State

[Eaglefan 21]

Lol, in more ways than one I suppose. 

[Old Titan]

 

[titansforever]

In the Wichita Eagle:

"My family and I are extremely excited about being a part of Wichita State University," Mills said in Wednesday morning's press release. "The rich history, winning tradition and unbelievable community support will keep us working on behalf of the greatest fans in all of college basketball. We can't wait!"

(Quote was probably created by the dept. and shown to him to approve.)

[Old Titan]

9 minutes ago, titansforever said:

In the Wichita Eagle:

"My family and I are extremely excited about being a part of Wichita State University," Mills said in Wednesday morning's press release. "The rich history, winning tradition and unbelievable community support will keep us working on behalf of the greatest fans in all of college basketball. We can't wait!"

(Quote was probably created by the dept. and shown to him to approve.)

Wait, I thought he said ORU fans were the best fans in all of college basketball!  

#KnowYourAudience #HelloCleveland

[tmh8286]

4 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

Wait, I thought he said ORU fans were the best fans in all of college basketball!  

#KnowYourAudience #HelloCleveland

We USED to be . . . times change.

[ORUTex]

5 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

Wait, I thought he said ORU fans were the best fans in all of college basketball!

Obviously, ORU fans were the best until yesterday, when WSU fans passed them. Try to keep up!

[Otis 83]

1 hour ago, eagle88 said:

I met Oral on several occasions but never really got to know him. For those of you that knew Oral was he a high level mason? I've  always found it fascinating that ORU is riddled with masonic symbols

What’s your source for that? I’ve never heard that before. 

[titansforever]

What's being lost in all of this is how hard it will be on his kids. A new state, new schools, new church, leaving friends behind. 

And then there's the weather:

BESTPLACES COMFORT INDEX

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for Wichita is 7.2 (10=best), which means it is less comfortable than most places in Kansas.

6.9 / 5.9

 

Summer   /   Winter

September, May and October are the most pleasant months in Wichita, while January and December are the least comfortable months.

[Otis 83]

I’ve been letting this stew for close to 24 hours before commenting publicly.  I’m super disappointed….in myself.  I naively allowed myself to think Paul Mills could be different.  I naively believed that he sincerely meant it when he said that its possible to win championships at ORU. I foolishly believed him when he said he came to Tulsa to build the next Gonzaga.

I don’t begrudge him for leaving for what he perceives to be a better situation.  I don’t begrudge him for leaving for what I imagine is significantly more money.  However, I am disappointed that he sounded so sincere when he clearly wasn’t.

That doesn’t mean I think he’s an especially bad person.  He’s probably got fewer character flaws than I do.  But it just hurts.  He really had me fooled.  I really thought he was different.  Is he the first coach to do this?  Of course not and he won’t be the last.  But I foolishly allowed myself to believe that he was different.

If he really did believe it’s possible to win a national championship at ORU and he really did believe that he could build the next Gonzaga here then there’s no reason to leave.  If he were able to do that at ORU then the money would surely come and he would be in a BETTER situation than Wichita State because he would be in an environment consistent with his faith and values.  Maybe this is unfair of me, but I can only conclude that he didn’t really believe it.  However, he sure did say it a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to Coach Mills.  He certainly left the campsite better than he found it on so many different levels.  The investment that followed the Sweet 16 run has been transformational for all sports but especially for basketball.  When Tim Johnson joined us for lunch at DBU he described in great detail the Mike Carter center.  It is a game changer for recruiting and athlete experience.  The talent level is also significantly better.  Even if we take an initial step back because of his departure, his successor should be able to reload the roster with the world class facilities we now have.  So thank you Coach Mills, and all those big money donors, for that.

So I’m grateful but I’m also disappointed…in myself for being so gullible.  I’ve seen this movie before and it never turns out like I thought this one would.  I should have known better.

[Otis 83]

16 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Possibilities I am now hopeful for in 2023-24:

• Scheduling no more than two non-D1 opponents at home.
• Scheduling no fewer than two P5 opponents anywhere.
• Holiday tournament play.  Preferably somewhere nice.
• A two-guard line-up.  Heck, maybe even a 1-guard line-up.
• A 2-guard over 6'4" tall.  Might settle for anyone over 6 feet.
• At least occasional screening away from the ball.
• At least occasional post-up play.
• At least occasional timeouts before a double-digit opponent run.
• At least occasional full-court pressure defense.
• At least occasional light-hearted humor.
• More than 3 questions asked/answered in post-game radio interviews.
• At least 90% attendance by head coach in post-game radio interviews.
• At least 75% attendance by head coach at the weekly coach's show.
• Fewer sugar-coated, obscure, misleading metrics.
• More plain-spoken, relevant, insightful observations.
• Embracing the annual post-season trip to Sioux Falls as the well-run event it actually is.
• Neckties.

Agree with most....except the neckties lol

Would like to add one to your list

• Giving freshman the opportunity to earn minutes with talent and hard work rather than allowing them to rot at the end of the bench and consider the transfer portal

[Eaglefan 21]

4 minutes ago, ORob2 said:

https://twitter.com/orumbb/status/1638663828098494464?s=46&t=sWe4wycHTzGaKN6ut6Q4wg

Good! They handled that well, no reason to wait. Springman is the man for the job. Let’s keep this roster together and keep climbing

[titansforever]

Thank you, ORob2!

[Dr. Cornelius]

I split @ORob2's post into it's own announcement topic

 

[theeagleman5]

Thanks to Paul Mills but he is now yesterday's news....out with Mills and in with SPRINGMANN.....TheEagleman has gone from violated to very happy within a 24 hour period.....LOVE THIS NEW HEAD COACH!!!  

[Old Titan]

 

Boy, oh boy - good luck, Coach... 

 

 

[vcboy2000]

11 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Wish I could share your magnanimity, and I don't begrudge anyone feeling that way, but with this being such a lateral move I find it hard to do so. 

Wichita State is a rival, both on the floor and in recruiting.  I do not wish them success with our former coach at the helm, for the obvious petty but sincere reasons you might imagine.

I'm an ORU guy so I definitely want the Golden Eagles to win when we go head to head in recruiting and playing each other. Guess I should have clarified that. 

[ORUTerry]

 

[Otis 83]

21 hours ago, Old Titan said:

Fantastic insight in the first 10 minutes of this Wichita talk radio snippet re: their fanbase and what Paul Mills can expect from - and be expected to provide - the Shocker faithful.

"Play Angry" as a mantra?

Will Coach Mills be willing and/or able to embrace The Dark Side that Shocker fans relish?

 

Given the cloud of controversy surrounding Gregg Marshall's exit and the accusations of verbal and physical abuse, I found it interesting that they still refer to Marshall and his "play angry" mantra with such fondness.  I would think they would want to distance themselves from that but I guess not.  I think it also came up in that interview Miss Hines did with the Roy Firestone of Wichita, KS.