Coach's belief in miracles gains strength - TW (12-7-05)

[ORUTerry]

Coach's belief in miracles gains strength

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

12/7/2005

Missouri State's Barry Hinson saw his father nearly die from heart ailment.Line is overdrawn

Barry Hinson always believed in miracles, even before he was head coach at Oral Roberts University, where "Expect a Miracle" is painted on the floor.

The son of a retired Baptist minister, the Missouri State coach believes now, more than ever.

Hinson considers it a miracle that his father didn't die after collapsing in a Jonesboro, Ark., locker room 10 days ago. It came in the aftermath of a 97-80 win at Arkansas State.

The Rev. Robert John Hinson's heart stopped from a condition called cardiac arrhythmia, and required six electrical shocks to get it started again.

He was out nearly an hour before being revived.

Hinson was told his father stood no more than a 50-50 chance of survival. But his father did survive. After undergoing surgery to implant a pacemaker and defibrillator in his heart, and five days in a critical care unit, he is being cared for in Hinson's Springfield home.

"I've had a great week. I can't remember a time that I've been happier, and it has nothing to do with basketball," said Hinson, even though his Bears are 4-0.

The ordeal of nearly losing a parent "puts

a lot of things into perspective," Hinson said.

For that reason, Hinson hasn't dwelled on Wednesday's game at ORU, his first return to the Mabee Center as the Bears' head coach since leaving the Golden Eagles seven years ago.

"It hasn't been at the forefront of my mind," he said.

Still, Wednesday's game promises to be emotional for several reasons. Hinson remains grateful to ORU president Richard Roberts for giving him his first collegiate head-coaching job.

Hinson was hired in 1997 after serving four years as Bill Self's lead assistant. He guided the Eagles to a 36-23 two-year mark and tied for the Mid-Continent Conference title in 1998-99.

Scott Sutton assisted Hinson before replacing him as ORU's head coach, and they are close friends. Sutton was one of the first to contact Hinson after hearing about his father's ordeal.

Sutton said Hinson played a huge role in ORU's turnaround at the D-I level in the '90s.

"He was coach Self's first hire, and nobody promoted ORU basketball more, or worked harder. Our fans appreciate what coach Hinson did for the program. I'm sure they will show him the respect he deserves," Sutton said.

ORU (4-2) will try to extend a three-game winning streak by beating Missouri State for the second time in 10 months. The Eagles won 86-76 in Springfield last February as forward Caleb Green tied a career high 33 points.

But Missouri State is probably more dangerous now. Hinson said his players forged a deeper bond from sharing his father's ordeal.

"I'm so proud of our players, I can't even explain how good they were," Hinson said. "It happened right in front of them, and they were awesome. We had kids that were on their knees praying and kids who were trying to get other people out of the way, so the (emergency medical technicians) would do their job. I've had parents call and tell me they've seen their kids grow spiritually from going through this."

Hinson's assistants conducted practice while he spent most of last week at his father's side in Jonesboro. Before playing in a tournament last weekend, the Bears dedicated their efforts to Hinson's father, then blew out two opponents to win their own Price Cutter Classic.

Hinson said his father may have other problems related to a bad heart, but the recent surgery corrects the irregular heartbeat, which causes the heart to pump blood less effectively.

"When people say, 'You're in our thoughts and prayers,' I don't take those things for granted anymore," Hinson said. "I felt prayers being answered. I felt people's thoughts."

[ORUTerry]

ORU Notebook: Familiar turf

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

12/7/2005

Wednesday's game will be a homecoming for Missouri State senior guard Deke Thompson, who played high school basketball at Jenks.

Thompson is in his second year with the Bears, averaging 10.5 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Before joining the Bears, he played a year each at the U.S. Military Academy prep school in West Point, N.Y.; Division I Coppin State in Baltimore; and Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, where he was part of a 32-5 team.

Thompson starred on a 19-7, Class 6A state semifinal as a senior at Jenks, averaging 18.7 points per game.

Missing link: Are the Bears a better team with a healthy Tyler Chaney? They had won seven straight before the 6-foot-5 Chaney got hurt last February, and lost both games he missed, including ORU's 86-76 win.

"I'd like to think (his injury) made a difference. He was our best overall player. We'll see Wednesday night," said Missouri State coach Barry Hinson.

Chaney is Missouri State's second-leading scorer at 13.5 points per game.

Man to watch: Junior guard Blake Ahearn scored 55 points in the Bears' two wins in the Price Cutter Classic and was named Missouri Valley conference player of the week.

The 6-foot-2 Ahearn leads the Bears in scoring (25.3 ppg) while shooting 58 percent from 3-point range.

He led the nation in free-throw accuracy for the second straight year after setting an NCAA record by shooting 97.5 percent (117-of-120) as a freshman.

Fast breaks: Larry Owens' seven steals against Tulsa were the most by an ORU player since Hall of Famer Heywood Workman in 1989. . . . Ken Tutt's next 3-pointer will be his career 200th.