ORUTerry Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I am posting this as an indication of what can happen in college basketball. You recruit a player for several years, sign him, get him on campus, teach & train him, expect him to contribute to the team..... and he leaves. Whether because of homesickness, playing time, disgruntlement, or whatever - it leaves a hole in the program. But if a player does not want to be on the team, you are better off without him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TU: McLean parts ways with Tulsa by ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer 5/3/2007 The team's blocked shots leader won't return next season. Jamel McLean is leaving the Golden Hurricane after just one season. McLean told Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik of his decision a few weeks ago, and the second-year coach confirmed the forward's departure Wednesday. "It is unfortunate that Jamel has decided to leave the University of Tulsa and his freshman classmates," Wojcik said. McLean's decision was believed to have stunned the coaching staff initially, but Wojcik is now looking toward the future. "We're excited about our returning team and the progress we are making," Wojcik said. "We will continue to build this program with student-athletes whose goals are consistent with the values and standards that we have established." Attempts to reach McLean were unsuccessful. McLean averaged six points and 4.8 rebounds a game. He played in all 31 games and his rebound totals were second best on the team. He also led the Golden Hurricane in blocked shots. Sources have indicated that McLean wants to play in a high-profile conference. Pittsburgh and the University of Miami were among the schools that recruited McLean out of Bethel (Va.) High School. McLean seemed to have a favorable upside and was part of a youthful foundation that reached its peak at midseason. He joined freshmen Mark Hill, Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan in the starting lineup against Memphis in a nationally televised home game. McLean's best game came in that February contest, when he had 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks against the Tigers. He also had a 14-point outing at Arkansas and ended his TU career with a 13-point, 11-rebound performance against Tulane in the C-USA Tournament. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IT MEANS Jamel McLean's choice to leave the University of Tulsa may leave some scratching their heads. McLean seemed to be a key component to a TU team that was building a solid foundation with McLean and fellow freshmen Ben Uzoh,Mark Hill and Jerome Jordan. McLean is a 6-foot- 8 forward who used his athleticism to grab rebounds. The TU coaching staff also was working to perfect his outside shooting and make him a complete offensive threat. McLean's best game came against nationally-ranked Memphis, when he had 16 points and eight rebounds. Combined with forward Justin Butler's release from his letter on intent, the staff's focus may turn to signing a frontcourt player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I play hoops a couple of times week with a guy who is pretty dialed in at TU, who says Mclean is a real prima donna who feels like he should have been starting from the get go. I guess from our standpoint, it doesn't hurt for them to lose a frontcourt player - they've got some big ol' boys over there, and we're looking pretty smallish right now. But it does illustrate how, in this "me-first" day and age, even good contributors can bolt on you sometimes. OSU and OU have also lost key players this off-season. We've been fortunate in recent seasons, especially considering the challenges of the ORU lifestyle, to not have more players leave for supposedly greener pastures. Come to think of it, have we had anyone leave unhappy in the last 10 years that we were truly counting on? Cameron Tragardh is the only one that comes to mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 And from what I heard, Tragardh was not unhappy.... he just went home and got enticed to sign a professional contract with the Aussie professional league. Wonder if he is happy with that decision? I know he has done okay in Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I know several schools made runs at Caleb and Ken after their freshman years at ORU, but to their credit neither of them wavered in their commitment. Another example of just how classy they both were, in comparison to some other ORU stars from years past who flirted with transfering to so-called "better" programs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 I know several schools made runs at Caleb and Ken after their freshman years at ORU.... But.... that would be against the rules. Surely, no one does that kind of thing. Just another feather in their cap. Would have been interesting for them to turn those schools in; more than likely the overtures were made very discretely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 The Tulsa world ran an article the summer after their freshman year, with some of the details. Seems Ken Tutt's high school coach was approached all summer long by coaches from other colleges, curious to know "if Ken was happy at ORU or not". Other methods are to have players from that school make it obvious to the prospect - in a summer league or some casual situation - that "there would be a place for him at that school if he wanted it". Or, in some scene reminiscent of an elementary school playground, a "well-meaning" friend or former coach is enlisted by the college to let the player know "that so-and-so (insert school) really likes you." The head coach, meanwhile, is allowed to operate under the same premise that over the years has saved heads of corporations and heads of state alike: plausible deniability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Minyard Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Personally, McLean was the player that jumped out at me the most for TU. I didn't get to see the ORU-TU game, or any other early games of TU. I watched him against Memphis, and watched him in person against OU. He had the most "upside" on the team. I think this really hurts TU, and I'm actually going to defend McLean on this one. He arguably has the best stats per minute on the team. It's going to be hard to keep a team happy when 10 guys average 13+ minutes a game. Sometimes you just have to tell your players to earn their playing time in practice, and just play eight or maybe nine guys. He won't be the last player to leave because of not enough minutes. These guys want to play, but it's insane to have 10 guys average between 13.6 and 26.6 minutes per game, and throw in a guy that averages 7.8 over 23 games. McLean was seventh in minutes!!! He got Kelvin Sango type minutes when he should have been playing about 28 minutes a game. Who cares if he is a freshman. He's the future! TU was just so worried about winning 20 games against nobody. I hate the fact that we were their only win against a top 100 RPI team. Coach W is going to brag about a 20 game win season and say that the future is bright. Kansas was our only win... don't get me wrong... it's a great win. I would have hoped that we could pull out maybe a win or two against Akron, Arkansas or Utah State. I'm drifting from the subject... McLean was a stud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 MM, are you just trying to bait the TU trolls? As if they needed encouragement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU_Ed Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Mike's right though. Can you imagine if we had sat Ken & Calebmore than half of each game. Even as freshmen. Once they show they can handle the minutes and have the talent, you've got to play them more than others. This isn't 8year old peewee basketball leagues where the parents will yell at you if you don't play their little johnny enough. All is not created equal in sports. If it were, I'd be playing in the NBA, and I'm 5'11" and have a ton more knowledge of the sport than I do talent to play it. "You know Michael Jordan, I know you're the best player on our team but if we as the Bulls franchise want to be successfull we've got to give you and Rodney McCray equal time" How long would Michael have stayed a Bull? Not long. I'm not saying by any stretch that I know for sure that Mclean would have been a star for TU but he had shown great stuf when I did see him and I fully understand why he would have been frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 I'm reminded of the famous adage regarding "the only man to consistantly hold Michael Jordan to under 20 points a game": Dean Smith, whose manic substitution patterns were similar to Wojcik, and are also emulated by Roy Williams at North Carolina and Bill Self at Kansas. Memo to Rotnei Clarke: want to play 38 minutes a game, EVERY game, for your ENTIRE career? Forget about TU, OU, etc. - come to ORU and break Caleb Green's new school record for career games played and started!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Memo to Rotnei Clarke: want to play 38 minutes a game, EVERY game, for your ENTIRE career? Forget about TU, OU, etc. - come to ORU and break Caleb Green's new school record for career games played and started!! . . . and career points scored in the Mid-Con. Man, would I love to see two ORU players beat Michael Watson's record! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 We obviously don't know the true dynamics behind McClean leaving the Golden Hurricane, but playing time probably had a factor in his decision. I only saw the team play a few times, but I thought McClean showed good skills; he is athletic and moved well for a big man. Could not understand why he did not play more minutes. He and Uzuoh were going to make a pretty good tandem. I would have played the young guys (McClean, Uzoh and Hill - as well as Jordan) as many minutes as it took to give them experience. Losing McClean will hurt TU, but they have other talent on the bench. (I'm not sure how much stamina Jordan has though). It's hard to replace good big men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Uzoh and Jordan have the most upside. NBA scouts love Jordan (as Terry noted, the issue is his stamina, which should improve after not playing the year before last). McLean was talented, but, as OT said, if you are going to be a cancer to chemistry, better to be done with you (there's a lot more to the story on the TU pay board and actually a lot that hasn't been posted). McLean did start. He could have played more, but got serious minutes -- sixth highest average on the year (he sat out a game or two, I think). His offense needed work. A loss, but hardly the end of the world. Walls will put up similar numbers next year -- he came on strong at the end of the year, and while the the athlete that McLean is, actually has a better chance of making his shot fall on offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted May 8, 2007 Share Posted May 8, 2007 Personally, McLean was the player that jumped out at me the most for TU. I didn't get to see the ORU-TU game, or any other early games of TU. I watched him against Memphis, and watched him in person against OU. He had the most "upside" on the team. I think this really hurts TU, and I'm actually going to defend McLean on this one. He arguably has the best stats per minute on the team. It's going to be hard to keep a team happy when 10 guys average 13+ minutes a game. Sometimes you just have to tell your players to earn their playing time in practice, and just play eight or maybe nine guys. He won't be the last player to leave because of not enough minutes. These guys want to play, but it's insane to have 10 guys average between 13.6 and 26.6 minutes per game, and throw in a guy that averages 7.8 over 23 games. McLean was seventh in minutes!!! He got Kelvin Sango type minutes when he should have been playing about 28 minutes a game. Who cares if he is a freshman. He's the future! TU was just so worried about winning 20 games against nobody. I hate the fact that we were their only win against a top 100 RPI team. Coach W is going to brag about a 20 game win season and say that the future is bright. Kansas was our only win... don't get me wrong... it's a great win. I would have hoped that we could pull out maybe a win or two against Akron, Arkansas or Utah State. I'm drifting from the subject... McLean was a stud! First of all, players leave any school if they aren't getting minutes. We lost Sean Coleman, who never played. Seems like you guys lost a couple as well. That's how it works. UCF was top 100 when we beat them. Think there was one more somewhere in there. McLean was an athlete, no doubt, but you don't know any of the facts on this one. PT was hardly the only issue. If you look, McLean was second on the team in minutes for the bigs, behind Ramsdell, a senior who lost PT late in the year. The guy that you claim they were "insane" to play is Jerome Jordan, who NBA scouts love and who dominated late in the year. After we lost to Southern Miss, Wojcik pulled out all the stops and started JJ. He came on strong. His offense needs work, but he did sink a 15 footer late in the year that made some eyes pop out. Larry Brown personally called Wojcik to note Jordan's ability. My understanding is that if you bring up McLean with the team, they start talking up Jordan. A loss, but not the end of the world, either. If it was Uzoh, then I'd freak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.