Teammates ready to fill void, help Green - TW (1-13-06)

[ORUTerry]

Teammates ready to fill void, help Green

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

1/13/2006

Is Caleb Green's role for the ORU basketball team likely to expand with the injury that sidelined outstanding junior guard Ken Tutt for six weeks?

"I think he's giving everything he has the last three weeks," said head coach Scott Sutton. "Obviously, we'd like to get him more shots and more touches, but that may be impossible. The way people are going to defend him, it's going to be hard for him to get much more than he has."

Green's teammates said it's time to give him more help.

"It was obvious (in Monday's 80-60 loss at Valparaiso) that if you double- or triple-team Caleb, we're in a bind," said senior point guard Jonathan Bluitt. "It's time for other guys to step up and help fill in that void for Ken Tutt and give Caleb some help."

A big part of that means others hitting the open perimeter shots created when defenders converge on Green.

Bluitt will probably have to look to score more, and Yemi Ogunoye, Eric Fowlkes, Chris Riouse and Moses Ehambe are capable of providing meaningful contributions, not to mention An drew Meloy. Meloy sparked the team with outside shooting last year and is due back soon from a knee injury.

But none of ORU's talented role players has anything like the playing experience of a two-time all-conference player. That may be just as hard to replace as Tutt's 18.1 career scoring average.

"Ken brought a composure to this team," said senior center Mickey Michalec. "He brings a game-time exposure that most of these players haven't had who are now going to have to fill that role. We're going to have to work on that (in practice this week), getting some guys comfortable."

Sutton said the Eagles have the ability to overcome Tutt's absence.

"I think we have enough good players that this team is still going to win a lot of games and compete for a conference championship," Sutton said. "We're not going to be as good (without Tutt), but when we get him back, we may be better because of the experience (Fowlkes, Ogunoye and Ehambe) get."