2007-08 Men's Basketall Predictions

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Okay, since I brought it up in another thread, let's see what expectations are for ORU basketball next season among the twenty-five (25) or so of us "experts" that frequent the message board.  Obviously there is a big void to fill with the loss of Green and Tutt, but there still seems to be quite a bit of optimism among the posters.  This will be interesting, not to mention very fun ... also feel free to add on your own who you think will be ORU's head coach at the beginning and at the end of next season.

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Scott Sutton will be ORU's head coach in 2007-08, but a third straight NCAA tournament appearance might be enough to get Scott a deal he can't refuse (possibly Arkansas IF they don't fire Stan Heath tomorrow - which the rumor is out there), especially if he can win the league after losing Green and Tutt.  Now THAT would be a pretty terrific story to tell in an interview setting.

[ORUIsbig]

There is just no reason with ORU's success should not translate to consistant success in the Mid-Con. Though Green and Tutt will be missed, we are loaded with talent.  It will take time to gel, but ORU hits thier second wind in conference and wins Mid Con again.  New teams (dakotas) provide a new challenge but ORU wins with experience.  

20 wins

Mid con regular

Mid con tourney

NCAA first round.

[vcboy2000]

Don't you guys want to wait til we see the final roster and the schedule?

[tmh8286]

Scott Sutton will be ORU's head coach in 2007-08, but a third straight NCAA tournament appearance might be enough to get Scott a deal he can't refuse (possibly Arkansas IF they don't fire Stan Heath tomorrow - which the rumor is out there), especially if he can win the league after losing Green and Tutt.  Now THAT would be a pretty terrific story to tell in an interview setting.

Would it be enough to get him Mid-Con Coach of the Year?  More on that question later

[Old Titan]

Don't you guys want to wait til we see the final roster and the schedule?

I agree - I would like to defer until August, when the schedule is done, and everyone who is supposed to be on campus has actually enrolled.

...but I do think we will win the Mid-Con tournament again.

[ORUTerry]

You beat me to it vcboy2000.... hard to make realistic predictions without knowing what other (possible) additions there might be to the lineup. Rob is correct in saying that there should be 3 to 4 non-conference wins - notwithstanding the trip to Utah State and a tough contest against TU early in the year. As someone mentioned, we owe games to Louisiana Lafayette and Lamar and we evidently are playing in a tournament. I expect that we will see a couple of cupcakes - I hope - on our schedule. The conference schedule will be interesting. I expect Oakland to be the early favorite and IUPUI to get some votes with the return on George Hill. It seems everyone has lost a portion of their team and must re-build somewhat. A lot will depend on how strong the respective recruiting classes are.

I like Rob's math (4 non-conference, 13 conference and 3 tournament wins = 20).

Depends on how we jell together without our two go-to guys. I think we have nice talent with the two red-shirt transfers. I also think we will be decent on defense.... just have to replace the scoring. We'll see how things shake out from a line-up perspective....

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Don't you guys want to wait til we see the final roster and the schedule?

What, and make a more "educated guess" then?   

Sure, let's see if anyone gets hurt during pre-season practice heading into the season opener, and then let's actually wait until after the two (2) exhibition games, especially if the opponents play TU or OSU or Arkansas in their exhibition games too so we can do the old score comparison thing to make a more sound prediction. 

Here's the deal guys, this isn't a life or death decision, it's a fun and games poll.  We can (and I guarantee you we will) do another poll or four at later dates closer to the season.  Point is, based on what we know to be true today, how well do you think ORU will do next season.  To me, it is completely fair and reasonable to believe ORU wins 4+ non-conference games (that means they go at worst 4-8 in non-conference games) and that ORU wins 13 of 18 conference games and the three (3) most important games at the UMAC next March.  Do that, and at least option B above is true and possibly option A.

[ORUalum]

...choice D got my pick because I just don't think you can plug in two guys to replace caleb and ken.  no one on the current roster has shown they can be depended on to score consistantly.  none of them has any experience as the go-to-guy at the D1 level.  l look for ORU to be down next year and expect the following year they will be competing for the mid con crown after all the new pieces have had a year to play together and develop in their new roles.

As for Coach Sutton, I really thought he would try to move on after this year, because if he doesn't I think he could be stuck at ORU for a few more years.

[ORUTerry]

We are going to miss Caleb and Ken - there is no doubt. We depended on them when we needed a score. I agree t hat none of the current players have shown that they are "go-to" players.... but that is because we did not expect that of them. In fact, I assume the coaches did not WANT them to fill that role. That is what Green and Tutt did. Now we will find out what Ehambe, Vealy and King - and even Liberty can do. Not to mention Lewis and and Allen. We may be pleasantly surprised with how these players respond - though it may take a while.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Stokes comes in as a freshman and repeats the performance that Tutt had his freshman year? And Jarvis is obviously used to carrying the load on his juco (Seminole) team (23.3 ppg).

[ManiacVP]

Speaking of coming chemistry... lets not forget. Lewis and Allen played 4 years of highschool ball together. You know they'll do some stuff right on the court when they're both in.

[EasyE112]

I think that the team will perform next year, but I would wait until the schedule and final roster come out first, then make a choice on how they will perform.  I think that a lot of people, however, will not be looking at us with high regard, since we are losing our stars.

[ORUTerry]

We obviously lose a lot of firepower (+50% of our scoring), but could arguably be a better defensive team. You still have to score to win though. The key will be how the various players (Ehambe, Vealy, King, Liberty, Allen, etc.) do now that they have the green light to shoot. The key will be finding the right match-ups and chemistry.

[Old Titan]

Wow, and I thought this WAS life or death.  What a relief.

But, my choice wasn't listed:

4-8 non-conference

12-6 in Mid-Con (tie for 2nd)

16-14 regular season

3-0 in conference tournament

19-14 total

#16 NCAA Seed

...and then we can all argue about whether the season was a "success" or not...

[Guest Rob Marshall]

Scott Sutton will be ORU's head coach in 2007-08, but a third straight NCAA tournament appearance might be enough to get Scott a deal he can't refuse (possibly Arkansas IF they don't fire Stan Heath tomorrow - which the rumor is out there), especially if he can win the league after losing Green and Tutt.  Now THAT would be a pretty terrific story to tell in an interview setting.

I love it when my sources are right!!! 

[Old Titan]

I love it when my sources are right!!!   

That rumor's been out there a while, especially since Heath's meeting with Broyles kept getting postponed, most recently this past Friday.

The Gillispie-to-Arkansas rumor is the real corker...

[ORUTerry]

I had a meeting Friday with an Arkansas customer (who is also an alum/contributor to the Hogs) and he said the rumor was that Heath would not survive the Monday meeting with Broyles. He also said that Broyles would not pull the trigger until he had a successor in hand. The two mentioned were Gillispie and Self (!!?).

The Hog message boards are saying the ESPN (Andy Katz) analysts are hammering Arkansas over the firing (Heath is well liked in the coaching and media circles). Katz evidently called Heath with the rumor last night and Heath was 'stunned'. If they don't have a successor lined up, the Hogs could be in for a wild ride.

[Old Titan]

The Rivals.com website for Texas A&M has been overrun by Arkansas fans since last week, predicting this exact scenario. 

Not a lot of love between the factions.  I guess the old Southwest Conference rivalries die pretty hard...