ORU Dream Team

[Cletus]

If I vote with my heart, it's Scott Sutton hands down.  However, if we confine our criteria to success at ORU the choice is Ken Trickey based upon the number of wins and the 1974 trip to the Elite Eight.   

Though I was at ORU in the late seventies and early eighties--saw great games, like the Kansas game we won in overtime, the heart-breaking loss to Brigham Young and the NIT game at the Mabee Center with the Acres...I would agree--Scott Sutton has grown on all of us.  We are fortunate to have a coach like him (and his staff) at ORU.

[jmg1984]

center mark acres -did it all at oru left school high on the lists in scoring rebounds and blocked shots

power forward caleb green-scoring and rebounding machine

small forward anthony roberts-still holds the record for most points in the post season

point guard haywoode workman-could score,pass and steal the ball

shooting guard richie fuqua-scorer and he put oru on the map

others ray thompson,antonio martin,greg sutton,tim gill ,eddie woods,calvin garrett

[Chris]

Great to see this post; thanks so much for letting me relive so much!

I was at ORU during the mid-70's, and here are some of my thoughts:

Anthony "Woosie" Roberts - The best flat-out shooter and scorer. True, he scored 66 against North Carolina A&T (outscoring them by himself I might add; they only had 64), but he also did it on 25-35 shooting from the floor and 16-16 from the line. (And remember, this was before 3-pointers and dunks.) He torched Greg Ballard and Oregon in the NIT for 65. But some don't remember what he did in the Far West Classic, where he played against North Carolina, Oregon State and Bowling Green and scored over 40 against each of them (and this was the year NC went to the NCAA title game, with Walter Davis, Phil Ford and Tom LaGarde). I remember that game very well, because at the time he was the second leading scorer in the nation. Folks were saying Woosie was only getting his points again inferior teams. On his first shot, LaGarde blocked his 20-footer into the stands, and some wondered if it was true. However, Arnold Dugger gave him the ball on the inbounds, and, with LaGarde on him again, Woosie step back and DRILLED one from about 27 feet. Walter Davis (when he was with the Phoenix Suns) said it was one of the most awesome displays he had ever seen; said he was unstoppable. Another thing about Woosie is that for a career, he shot over 50% from the field!

As for Alvin "T-Bone" Scott, he was a incredible and prolific role player. He wasn't "overshadowed" by Woosie (or Arnold Dugger, who was an amazing ball handler who honed his game at Rucker Park in NY). Bones just played his game. He was a great defender and rebounder, though his stats didn't always show it. The NBA understood this too, drafting him in the 7th round in 1977, though he averaged less than 10 points a game, yet played in almost twice as many games as any other player in ORU history. He was the "quiet man's Draymond Green." Even while at Phoenix, his assignment was to guard whoever the other team's top player. (Oh, and he could touch the top of the backboard while in college, until he had to beef up in the NBA to handle the banging!)

Richie Fuqua, I never saw him play in an ORU game, but I did get a chance to play with him once (well, kinda!). He and some of the other former players were in the practice gym at Mabee Center and one of them went down with an injury. They asked me to fill in. I brought the ball upcourt, passed it over to Fuqua, not realizing it was going to be an assist as he put up a 30-footer like it was nothing! I quickly realize that, though I was not a slouch, they were (as Jack Nicklaus said about Tiger Woods) "playing a game with which I was unfamiliar"!

Thanks again for the post, and for giving me a chance to dribble down Memory Lane!

[Old Titan]

Major props to Doc Cornelius and ORUTerry for maintaining this forum for so long and so well that a twelve-year-old thread can be resurrected for long-time ORU fans like Chris (and props to Chris for his contribution).

Wistfully chuckled at seeing so many great posters from the past - we need their contributions again!

Sadly, I can't think of any players since 2007 who might crack this list today.  Maybe Obi Omegano or Dominique Morrison?

[Dr. Cornelius]

On 9/25/2019 at 8:55 AM, Chris said:

Great to see this post; thanks so much for letting me relive so much!

I was at ORU during the mid-70's, and here are some of my thoughts:

Anthony "Woosie" Roberts - The best flat-out shooter and scorer. True, he scored 66 against North Carolina A&T (outscoring them by himself I might add; they only had 64), but he also did it on 25-35 shooting from the floor and 16-16 from the line. (And remember, this was before 3-pointers and dunks.) He torched Greg Ballard and Oregon in the NIT for 65. But some don't remember what he did in the Far West Classic, where he played against North Carolina, Oregon State and Bowling Green and scored over 40 against each of them (and this was the year NC went to the NCAA title game, with Walter Davis, Phil Ford and Tom LaGarde). I remember that game very well, because at the time he was the second leading scorer in the nation. Folks were saying Woosie was only getting his points again inferior teams. On his first shot, LaGarde blocked his 20-footer into the stands, and some wondered if it was true. However, Arnold Dugger gave him the ball on the inbounds, and, with LaGarde on him again, Woosie step back and DRILLED one from about 27 feet. Walter Davis (when he was with the Phoenix Suns) said it was one of the most awesome displays he had ever seen; said he was unstoppable. Another thing about Woosie is that for a career, he shot over 50% from the field!

As for Alvin "T-Bone" Scott, he was a incredible and prolific role player. He wasn't "overshadowed" by Woosie (or Arnold Dugger, who was an amazing ball handler who honed his game at Rucker Park in NY). Bones just played his game. He was a great defender and rebounder, though his stats didn't always show it. The NBA understood this too, drafting him in the 7th round in 1977, though he averaged less than 10 points a game, yet played in almost twice as many games as any other player in ORU history. He was the "quiet man's Draymond Green." Even while at Phoenix, his assignment was to guard whoever the other team's top player. (Oh, and he could touch the top of the backboard while in college, until he had to beef up in the NBA to handle the banging!)

Richie Fuqua, I never saw him play in an ORU game, but I did get a chance to play with him once (well, kinda!). He and some of the other former players were in the practice gym at Mabee Center and one of them went down with an injury. They asked me to fill in. I brought the ball upcourt, passed it over to Fuqua, not realizing it was going to be an assist as he put up a 30-footer like it was nothing! I quickly realize that, though I was not a slouch, they were (as Jack Nicklaus said about Tiger Woods) "playing a game with which I was unfamiliar"!

Thanks again for the post, and for giving me a chance to dribble down Memory Lane!

Thanks for contributing Chris! Always great to get perspective from new posters.

This post breaks the record for the oldest post resurfaced by three years!