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2023-24 Roster


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44 minutes ago, Kruse 33 said:

You can now add my freshman son Seth Kruse to that Roster as a new walk on. 👍

Don't feel old enough to have a college kid. Seems like yesterday I was playing on the Mabee Center floor at ORU. 

That IS great news!  It does seem like yesterday when we were watching you.  Now I really feel old! 🤣  Looking forward to seeing Seth play (but for now he's going to be practice fodder for the team!).

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1 hour ago, Kruse 33 said:

You can now add my freshman son Seth Kruse to that Roster as a new walk on. 👍

Don't feel old enough to have a college kid. Seems like yesterday I was playing on the Mabee Center floor at ORU. 

"KRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE!!!!"

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The ORU sports website now has 17 guys on the ORU roster for next year.  Smith and Kruse were added along with an old familiar name: Jonathan Alexandre.  Some may remember that Jonathan was a walk on during the Sweet 16 run.

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On 7/7/2023 at 4:51 PM, Bogus Smith said:

That IS great news!  It does seem like yesterday when we were watching you.  Now I really feel old! 🤣  Looking forward to seeing Seth play (but for now he's going to be practice fodder for the team!).

You were from the east coast right?

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On 6/28/2023 at 2:46 PM, ORUalum said:
  1. DJ Weaver
  2. Kareem Thompson
  3. Issac McBride
  4. Trey Phipps
  5. Jalen Miller (Transfer - Rutgers)
  6. Jailen Bedford (JUCO)
  7. Sir Issac Herron
  8. Ashton Smith (Transfer - Texas A&M)
  9. Demari Williams
  10. Cam Amboree
  11. Braedon Moore (Transfer - BYU)
  12. Josh Jones
  13. Pablo Navarro (ESP)

So now that we have the roster mostly finalized, what are your thoughts on how minutes will play out and who the starters will be? I think there are only two locks, possibly three, to start and the rest of the roster is open for minutes

Here is my guess

PG-Mcbride- a lock to start- only reason he isn't the starting PG is because Miller is the PG and Mcbride plays the shooting guard role.

SG- Jalen Miller-could be Phipps as well but if Miller's defense is as good as we've heard it would be hard to keep him off the court.

SF-Demari Williams- Could be Kareem as well. Demari looks like a guy who can contribute this year. He's athletic, defends, and shoots well.

PF- Kareem Thompson- a lock to start- I would love to see him at the 3 but I think that he played so well as a small 4 that Springman will keep him in the same position.

C- DJ Weaver- I honestly have no clue who the starting 5 man will be. Weaver is far and away the most experienced but would always be 20 to 30 pounds undersized. His shooting is a game changer. Ashton Smith, Herron, and Josh Jones all have potential to start.

This starting group would have the best defensive guard tandem that we have seen in a while. Mcbride is a quick and pesky defender and Miller is listed at 220 pounds on the Rutgers roster from last year so he could be a real bulldog. Demari and Kareem are similar in stature and weight. They could be interchangeable 3 and 4 positions. I think Kareem needs to be a guy who averages 15 points a game this year. I believe Demari could average double digits as well. Weaver has so much experience I would be surprised if he comes off the bench and the fact that he is in the top 10 all time in blocks gives him the edge to start.

6 through 10th off the bench- Phipps, Herron, Ashton Smith, Braden Moore, Cam Amboree. Phipps and Herron could be starters. Phipps is a nice offensive piece off the bench and he's crafty enough to be a reliable scoring threat. Herron could start at the 4 or the 5. If he's healthy, I can't imagine a scenario where he doesn't see extensive court time. I think he is the player I am most interested in seeing develop this year. Amboree might be relegated to the end of the bench if Jalen Miller doesn't start or he gets time as the backup PG His time is coming once Mcbride moves on. Braden Moore is exciting and I've heard he can play the 3 or 4. Ashton Smith could start or be at the end of the bench. He looks like a taller Lufile but I don't know if he has any post game besides put backs. Honestly, that's ok, we need strong rebounding.

11th, 12th, and 13th guys- Josh Jones, Jailen Bedford, and Navarro. It was said elsewhere but I think Navarro is a red-shirt candidate. I have no idea what we have in Bedford. Is he a juco ready to play like Kareem was or does he take a year to develop? Josh Jones could be the starting center or he could be redshirted for the year. He looks to have lost a lot of weight, I'm guessing he cracks the rotation, maybe even ahead of Ashton Smith.

 

The starting lineup I want to see but probably won't happen is ....

Mcbride, Demari Williams, Kareem Thompson, DJ Weaver, and Herron. I don't think there is a more athletic group +shooting potential in the Summit. Lots of height and defensive potential for switches.

What do you all think will get playing time/start? Who do you think could be a surprise starter and who might be riding the pine? It's July, no better time to speculate!

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  • McBride
  • Thompson
  • Weaver
  • Herron
  • Smith

my uneducated guess at the starting lineup...

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  • McBride
  • Williams
  • Thompson
  • Weaver
  • Herron/Smith/Jones

The only two locks in the starting lineup for me are McBride and Thompson. I would like to see Williams because of his size and defense.

Weaver plays a lot better at the 4 than the 5. If Herron, Smith, or Jones can give the team a solid post presence by committee that will help a lot.

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Hey if Phipps is reading this....how come you didn't go to Wichita State??......we were just hoping......                      😉:hc_mills:😉                 Just joking, Trey......we still love ya! 😍

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With ORU having 3 of the first 4 games on the road, I would expect Coach to go with experience in the starting lineup: McBride, Phipps, Kareem, DJ, and Herron.  They have all been with the Eagles for 2 or more years and have 16 years of D1 experience between them.  That may change as the season progresses.  Miller has the best chance of breaking into the lineup as he has 2 years experience in the Big Ten.  Usually ORU brings the new guys along very slowly unless there is an injury or someone leaves the team.

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I think McBride, Thompson, and Weaver are locks to start.

 

If Coach Springmann likes a bigger starting lineup, then McBride starts at point, Williams is at the 2, and Thompson at the 3. Weaver would start at the 4 and Smith or Jones at the 5. My guess would be Smith.
 

A smaller starting lineup would give Williams a chance to start at the 3, and Weaver starts at the 5 with Thompson playing the 4. McBride could slide to the 2 spot, and Amboree could start at the point. 
 

I’m really curious about Moore. I feel like he could be a guy we overlook in the summer that ends up being a contributor in the conference season. He was a pretty highly recruited player out of high school and has good size, but didn’t play any for BYU. He’s just an intriguing player to me. If he can shoot the ball, then I think he will get opportunities to play. 

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I wouldn't be surprised to see Kareem get a lot of time at the point, running the offense...Just sayin'.

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On 7/14/2023 at 3:14 PM, ORob1 said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Kareem get a lot of time at the point, running the offense...Just sayin'.

Would really like to see that.

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It goes without saying that guys 1-8 or 9 on the roster (basically those who will see the court) all need to step up this year.  Is that asking too much?  Maybe but it is a chance for all of these players to improve/shine for ORU.

McBride- He will need to be the star and lead the Eagles.  Could he be the best player in the Summit this year?  I would put him second behind Mayo at SDSU.  You never want to put the emphasis on just one player but he is the key to the car that makes ORU go.  It is time for him to come out from behind Max's shadow.

Kareem and DJ-  In the past they were role players but will need to be consistent double digit scorers this year.

Trey, Williams, and Herron- Mainly they have been mop up players who will need to step up and be glue guys/role players.

Miller, Smith and Moore-  New faces that need to play defense, rebound, and score when needed.  Who will step up or prove in the non conference season that they belong on the court?

 

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Just for fun and it is really slow this summer, here are Jalien Bedford's stats vs Kareem's in Juco play.  Not saying Bedford will be as good as Thompson but just saying he had some pretty solid numbers last year:  

Kareem: 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Bedford: 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 steal per game.

Even if Bedford is just half the player Kareem is, then he can still be a role player off the bench.  He has good size at 6'4 but could use some extra weight/strength to play at the D1 level. He reminds me of a former ORU guard Bobby Word, who was a streaky shooter.

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3 hours ago, Keenan Henderson said:

Just for fun and it is really slow this summer, here are Jalien Bedford's stats vs Kareem's in Juco play.  Not saying Bedford will be as good as Thompson but just saying he had some pretty solid numbers last year:  

Kareem: 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Bedford: 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 steal per game.

Even if Bedford is just half the player Kareem is, then he can still be a role player off the bench.  He has good size at 6'4 but could use some extra weight/strength to play at the D1 level. He reminds me of a former ORU guard Bobby Word, who was a streaky shooter.

Bobby Word....that's a name we haven't heard about in a while.  Played two seasons with ORU in 2012-2014 and then transferred to Cleveland State for his last two years of eligibility.  He was streaky, but a decent defender, too.  Had more steals at CSU than he had at ORU and played a little more at Cleveland State, starting all the games for the Vikings.

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On 7/10/2023 at 7:22 PM, jmg1984 said:

You were from the east coast right?

I was. Boston born and raised.

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20 minutes ago, Kruse 33 said:

I was. Boston born and raised.

The real question is....are you still a BoSox and Patriots fan???  🤣

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