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TU beats Southeastern in OT...


Guest EagleBackr

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Huge and I noticed some interesting stats from that game ...

- TU's starting guards COMBINED to shoot 3-15 from the field in 70 minutes of play

- Senior Chris Wallace commits a foul on a three-pointer with less than 30 seconds left that gave Southeastern a chance to tie the game

- Only 19 fouls were called on TU in 45 minutes of game time. Either A) they aren't very physical or B) the zebras were helping out the Golden Hurricane cause.

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Guest TetrisKid

They lost their collective heart with Jarius Glenn (who was a truly great player) and haven't found it yet. They might but I seriously doubt it. Too many lazy players. T-minus 8 games till the mob turns on Wojcik.

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Now that we've seen UCO play, we'll be able to measure TU will a comparable opponent when they play UCO next Saturday.

UCO had some decent players, but we were playing at a higher level than they were capable of keeping up with.

Let's hope TU can put it together for next Saturday.

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Hope the fans will stick with the players and coaches. It's gotta be tough when you step into an big arena full of people that have a certain level of expectation. Your coach hasn't done this as a main guy before, and you're supposed to go in and perform right away. It's gonna take some time, but they'll be allright.

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Guest EagleBackr

For the record, it's "UCO", not "OCU". OCU is Oklahoma City University, UCO is University of Central Oklahoma, our opponent Saturday night and TU's next moral victory...

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Guest Rob Marshall

I recall Coach Self's FIRST Tulsa team struggling in their exhibition opener against a team ORU had drubbed by 30+; TU fans were going nuts and saying they had made a huge mistake in hiring Self; less than a month later, Bill's team beat ORU in the Mabee Center in one of the ugliest games I've ever seen (57-52, I believe), but TU did what it had to do to win that game.

Take away from this point, little should be made from comparing scores against common exhibition opponents. IF ORU doesn't prepare well and take TU seriously, TU COULD pull another "upset" at 81st and Lewis on December 3rd.

Golden Eagle basketball is really flying high and expectations are starting to rise which is a good thing; so let's just hope going forward we don't fall asleep at the wheel. Given we are an experience team, we need to be more focused and prideful about taking care of the basketball than we were last night, because committing 20 turnovers will lose a lot of games.

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Guest Rob Marshall

For one additional reminder of the fact that the better team doesn't always win the Mayor's Cup game, let's reflect back to December 1999 and Nate Bynam's three pointer that hit everything around the Mabee Center goal before going through the bottom of the net. The 1999-2000 TU team lost five games that season on its way to the NCAA's elite eight, and one of the five losses was to down and out ORU.

:idea: Word of encouragement, let's stay humble and act like we've been "there," before because we have.

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Guest Rob Marshall

What does it mean that ORU is supposedly returning its best team in more than twenty years and finds its game story hidden on page nine of the sports section in today's Tulsa World while the thrilling TU game story is not only on the front page but its program and new head coach is clearly the cover story of the World's college basketball special feature?

Thoughts or opinions? It appears it SHOULD be ORU's day (or season) in the sun, so what's the deal?

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Guest TetrisKid

I love it! Get those chuckleheads on board and build their hopes up! We're used to the disrespect at ORU. We'll let the game on Dec. 3rd do the talking not the Tulsa World. Perfect bulletin board material. Almost as good at the infamous Eric Perry front page photo. Every ORU player should see it.

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Guest EagleBackr

This may be the first time in 25 years that ORU, by Vegas standards, would be a double-digit pick against TU. How will we perform as the overwhelming favorite? Our recent history in that position is less than stellar (read that as: Oakland). How we handle that role this time around is up to the guys and Coach Sutton. But, Rob, I seriously doubt any ORU fan needs a lecture about taking TU, or any other opponent, for granted. No one knows better than us that ANYONE (Oakland) can beat ANYBODY (us) on ANY DAY (the Mid-Con final last year).

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Allright, now that we've all gotten the lecture and smack on the wrist by Rob, what is next on the Golden Eagle's Docket?

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Rivalry games are difficult to figure out.... many times it does not matter who is the better team as the 'underdog' plays with passion and determination - and aa a result plays beyond their talent level. Before last year the ORU -TU series had become a closely fought contest with the result typically coming down to the last possession. Don't be surprised if the game on December 3rd is closer than people think.

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Ya' just gotta love 'em.... You would think that with a local kid - on a local team - who is a pre-season All-American, that they would make that a focus of their pre-season college basketball coverage. Small matter, but telling.

BTW, I saw the video that precedes the player introductions last night - very impressive. It definitely got the crowd fired up.

Also, the article in the Tulsa World today (in the college basketball preview) mentioned three players being considered for red-shirt status:

Sylvester Spicer

Daren Jordan, and

Moses Ehambe

I assume the writer (Mike Brown?) would not have mentioned this without some guidance from the coaching staff. What do you think?

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Guest EagleBackr

I would redshirt Ehambe before Spicer - nothing against Moses, but Spicer gives five more fouls down low, and he's a beast on the boards. Plus, he's left-handed and manages to get his shot off underneath against taller guys...

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I hate to lose him for a year (when he might only play 3-5 minutes a game) when he is going to improve so much in the next several years. Don't you think he is a bit like Jarius Glenn - plays taller than he is?

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Here is the article mentioend above:

Stardom, confidence

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

11/6/2005

'It's been fun' to watch ORU's Green mature the last two years

Memorial basketball coach Eric Savage saw a side of Caleb Green he didn't remember from high school when Green spoke at Savage's summer basketball camp.

Green signed autographs, conversed easily with the aspiring athletes and discussed the work ethic that helped him become one of the best mid-major college basketball players in the land.

"He's more comfortable with people," Savage said. "In high school, if he had to talk in front of the student body or at a pep rally, you wouldn't get a lot out of him. It's been fun to watch him mature in the way he carries himself. I think the whole college experience has been good for him."

Green is growing into his 6-foot-8 body. The basketball ability has always been there, at least since he led Memorial to the 2003 Class 6A state title. But Oral Roberts University insiders are seeing a new maturity level in the 2005 Mid-Continent Conference player of the year.

"He's come a long way," said senior center Mickey Michalec. "He's starting to realize how teams key on him and how he has to change up his game. His jump shot has come along unbelievably. I used to just push him off and let him shoot jump shots all day. Now,

he's a threat everywhere. The kid's got an arsenal of weapons, and it just depends on what he wants to use at the time."

Green was a leader in the weight room during the offseason, and the Golden Eagles made substantial strength and conditioning gains.

"He always wants to get better," said senior guard Jonathan Bluitt. "There wasn't a day this summer when he didn't come to the weight room with that mind-set."

Green's attitude is obviously fueled by the Eagles' last-second loss to Oakland (Mich.) in the final of the conference tournament. As a recent television commercial featuring Green suggests, all the all-conference accolades won't matter if he can't get the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.

"I never leave the gym feeling like I've proven myself, especially if we haven't won the Mid-Con (conference tournament) title," Green said.

ORU won almost everything else last season, claiming an outright Mid-Con regular-season title for the first time and finishing with 25 wins, the most in men's basketball since 1972.

Green and junior teammate Ken Tutt received all-conference honors for the second straight year, and Green received honorable mention on the Associated Press All-American team.

ORU's star has been rising since Green and Tutt arrived on campus two years ago. Green was sensational on the court, but shy in the interview room and uncomfortable around adults he didn't know.

"Personally, he's matured in the two years he's been here as much as anybody I've been around," said head coach Scott Sutton, "from a guy who was very uncomfortable talking in front of cameras to a guy who is going out and making speaking appearances."

Green said he used to shy away from public speaking because he "didn't think I had done anything that people would have wanted to hear about."

After two all-conference seasons, he has more to say.

"I tell mainly about my experiences and what I've been through, just like any players here at Oral Roberts, what we go through every day," he said.

"Everybody grows up some when they go to college. You get new responsibilities. I grew up under a lot of the older players, and now I am one of the older players, so you just be yourself and the younger players will understand what they need to be."

Green has been working on his outside shot since he arrived at ORU, but more so in the recent offseason.

"I took a lot more jump shots than layups in pickup games, but I know (playing close to the basket) is still my bread and butter," he said.

Getting to the NCAA Tournament is important, but don't push it.

"People are trying to put all kinds of pressure on us," Green said. "The most important thing is for us to get out there and play hard and have fun. If we do that, things will take care of themselves."

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Mid-Con Preview

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

11/6/2005

POWER POLL

1. Oral Roberts: Best talent, best team, should repeat as regular-season champ.

2. Valparaiso: Crusaders won or shared nine league titles in 10 years (1995-04).

3. Indiana-Purdue: Jaguars' fast-paced style has worked for 57 wins the past three years.

4. Western Illinois: Fifth-place finish was Leathernecks' best since 1999.

5. Missouri-Kansas City: Terrific guards return, but powerful post players must be replaced.

6. Oakland: Grizzlies may field better team than the one that upset ORU.

7. Southern Utah: Losing season was Thunderbirds' fourth straight since 2001 NCAA trip.

8. Chicago State: Cougars lost top players to transfer, expired eligibility and NBA draft.

9. Centenary: New coach has to rebuild talent level after last-place finish.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brandon Cole

6-6, Sr., IUPUI

Led the Jaguars in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) last season.

Quinton Day

6-1, Jr., UMKC

The league's top backcourt defender

in 2004-05, ranked second in assists and steals.

Caleb Green

6-8, Jr., ORU

On pace to become ORU's second 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound player.

Dan Oppland

6-8, Sr., Valparaiso

Consistent inside/outside scorer is almost unstoppable in the low post.

Ken Tutt

6-1, Jr., ORU

Clutch outside shooter has won six games in the closing seconds over two seasons.

TOP NEWCOMERS

Mohamed Kone

6-11, Jr., Valparaiso

Top-rated junior college center led Southern Idaho to a third-place national finish.

James Mahorn, 6-7, Jr.

Western Illinois

Led Coffeyville (Kan.) to NJCAA fifth-place finish as a freshman.

Calvin Wooten

6-1, Jr., Oakland

Speedy transfer guard showed star potential as a Rutgers freshman.

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