TU Loses At Missouri State

[Old Titan]

You know, I really wanted to believe TU was a legitimate contender for big things this year, I truly did, but after watching them play UALR a week or so ago, I started to have my doubts.

Last night's loss at a barely-better-than-mediocre Missouri State, in TU's first venture away from the cozy confines of the Reynolds Center, only seems to cement my concerns that the Golden Hurricane simply haven't improved that much, at least not yet.

Right now, they are basically the same team they were last year, maybe not even as good after losing senior and glue-guy Ray Reese: it's still "The Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh Show", but even as seniors, they each still have maddening spells where they disappear on offense, especially Uzoh.

As a team, TU often looks slow-footed, they don't have good perimeter shooting, their fast break is little more than a jail break following steals, and they are once again a terrible passing team. Their half-court offense many times consists of nothing more than whipping the ball around the horn while the shot clock winds down, then if they can't get it inside to Jordan or have Uzoh go one-on-one, they chuck up a three and hope for the best.

That all being said, they play spirited defense most of the time, they have a big, strong front line that loves to crash the boards, and at times Jordan and Uzoh can take over a game, especially Jordan with his shot-blocking. They may yet upset Oklahoma State on Wednesday night in Tulsa, and they will likely be the popular favorite in January at the Mabee Center against ORU, when they should be improved from where they are now.

But, I'm now convinced that even without Rod Pearson, our quickness and athleticism could give them fits in that game (ala MSU last night), and if Rod was healthy, I wouldn't have a problem at all picking this ORU team to win it.

As it is, it could still be a much more competitive game than casual observers may expect, and a fascinating contrast in styles.

[theeagleman5]

TU has to win a big game on the road before they can be considered for a shot at the Top 25....it's easy to win when you schedule a bunch of low mid major patsies at home....can't wait until they come into Mabee Center in January....TheEagleman will go out on a limb right now and say ORU wins that game....DBH will be much improved by then....

[ORUTerry]

I have seen TU play and they are a nice team.... but they are not top 25 material. Jordan is a good big man and has worked on his shooting. He still displays a tendency to 'disappear' during a game though. Uzoh is also a good player - they make a nice tandem. He has to play point guard at times and that is not his natural position. TU has some talent but they did not appear to be quick or smooth on offense. Coach Wojcik has them playing the Big 10 style of grind-it-out basketball with tough defense. That will typically keep them in ball games. Wish we had Pearson to push the ball up the court against them when they visit the Mabee Center in January.

[Gold*]

Uzoh in foul trouble in the first half against OSU, Jordan on bench with an injury (bruise) in the second. And we still won by 21.

I don't think we are a bad passing team at all. We are doing something weird where we play three bigs and that certainly affects the flow of things. But, OSU pressed us into oblivion last year and it just didn't work this year. I was actually yelling to put Medder in with Uzoh, but our "wings" in Richard/Wheatley handled it well. We may be an average ball handling team -- Hurtt and Pope get a lot of travels -- but both those guys can pass pretty well.

The SMS game was weird. They were hot, especially after JJ went to the bench with foul trouble. Patterson will never have another game like that ever again. There was an epic thread a couple of years back about Patterson on our pay board where there was an argument about why we didn't recruit him; even though he beat our butt, I still wouldn't have taken him over any of our bigs or walk-ons. We deserved to lose to SMS and we're vulnerable to hot shooting teams.

Medder looks pretty good and I'd wager he'll start eventually. Joe Richard has come on; he's the closest thing to Jarius Glenn/EricColet/David Shelton we've had in a long time. The TU board has a nickname for him I can't post over here.

[tmh8286]

I was there last night, also saw several other posters from this board - got to say, TU looked impressive.

[ORUTerry]

I was at the game last night and TU looked impressive. Jordan was aggresive on both ends of the court and the team played very good defense throughout the game. TU controlled the boards and shot lights out. They completely dominated the Cowboys.

[Old Titan]

Uzoh in foul trouble in the first half against OSU, Jordan on bench with an injury (bruise) in the second. And we still won by 21.

I don't think we are a bad passing team at all. We are doing something weird where we play three bigs and that certainly affects the flow of things. But, OSU pressed us into oblivion last year and it just didn't work this year. I was actually yelling to put Medder in with Uzoh, but our "wings" in Richard/Wheatley handled it well. We may be an average ball handling team -- Hurtt and Pope get a lot of travels -- but both those guys can pass pretty well.

The SMS game was weird. They were hot, especially after JJ went to the bench with foul trouble. Patterson will never have another game like that ever again. There was an epic thread a couple of years back about Patterson on our pay board where there was an argument about why we didn't recruit him; even though he beat our butt, I still wouldn't have taken him over any of our bigs or walk-ons. We deserved to lose to SMS and we're vulnerable to hot shooting teams.

Medder looks pretty good and I'd wager he'll start eventually. Joe Richard has come on; he's the closest thing to Jarius Glenn/EricColet/David Shelton we've had in a long time. The TU board has a nickname for him I can't post over here.

C'mon, Gold: where were you with all this before the game?

Truth be told, a quick glimpse of the TU message board heading into last night's contest showed as many - if not more - TU fans worried that their guys would lose last night, some even predicting a blowout by OSU.

Instead, to the relief of Golden Hurricane fans everywhere, TU turns in it's most dominating and complete performance in the Reynolds Center since their similar steamroll of ORU in Caleb Green and Ken Tutt's senior year. Still think OSU was the quicker team, but TU's complete dominance of the boards allowed their guards (especially Hurtt) to get out and convert some fantastic break opportunities. I may have said TU's starters were "slow of foot" (as in, "not quick"), and that their approach to fast-break basketball wasn't at all creative, but last night they had so many run-out opportunities from all the rebounds, they would have been foolish not to get out and run the floor, and they did so with great results. And the "pass-it-around-the-horn-while-the-shot-clock-runs-out" offense in the half-court set works pretty good when it ends with Uzoh draining a "3" from the top of the arc any time the clock wound down.

I also thought OSU was pretty bad most of the time last night - had no idea they couldn't shoot the three anymore (29% coming into the game), and after getting swatted by Jordan a couple of times on some makable drives to the basket, their bigs got overly timid in the paint, even when Jordan was on the bench. It's also time for Travis Ford to get off the "Napoleon" Kool-Aid and put Keiton Paige back on the bench in crunch time where he belongs - he just doesn't warrant so many minutes. On the other side, I LOVE Joe Richard of TU - dude's got anaconda arms, and loves to finish underneath. Just a great performance from EVERY player on the TU side, as far as I could tell.

No doubt, if this TU team is the one that shows up at the Mabee Center in January, ORU will likely suffer a similar fate as the Cowboys in what may be a watermark year for TU and Doug Wojcik. But, we shall see - I still think ORU has some weaponry (although depleted by injury) to throw at the Golden Hurricane to make it an interesting game.

[ORUTerry]

From what I saw last night, the Cowboys are the 4th rated team in the state. TU was running on all cylinders and OSU played a bit lethargic. Interesting that they stayed with Page and that zone defense for so long. TU shot well and OSU could not rebound out of it. BTW, does Oklahoma State have a height limitation for their basketball team?

[Old Titan]

From what I saw last night, the Cowboys are the 4th rated team in the state. TU was running on all cylinders and OSU played a bit lethargic. Interesting that they stayed with Page and that zone defense for so long. TU shot well and OSU could not rebound out of it. BTW, does Oklahoma State have a height limitation for their basketball team?

I have never seen a diminutive coach - in any sport - who didn't share an affinity for players of a similar stature.

[tmh8286]

I have never seen a diminutive coach - in any sport - who didn't share an affinity for players of a similar stature.

Barry Hinson??

[Gold*]

C'mon, Gold: where were you with all this before the game?

Truth be told, a quick glimpse of the TU message board heading into last night's contest showed as many - if not more - TU fans worried that their guys would lose last night, some even predicting a blowout by OSU.

Instead, to the relief of Golden Hurricane fans everywhere, TU turns in it's most dominating and complete performance in the Reynolds Center since their similar steamroll of ORU in Caleb Green and Ken Tutt's senior year. Still think OSU was the quicker team, but TU's complete dominance of the boards allowed their guards (especially Hurtt) to get out and convert some fantastic break opportunities. I may have said TU's starters were "slow of foot" (as in, "not quick"), and that their approach to fast-break basketball wasn't at all creative, but last night they had so many run-out opportunities from all the rebounds, they would have been foolish not to get out and run the floor, and they did so with great results. And the "pass-it-around-the-horn-while-the-shot-clock-runs-out" offense in the half-court set works pretty good when it ends with Uzoh draining a "3" from the top of the arc any time the clock wound down.

I also thought OSU was pretty bad most of the time last night - had no idea they couldn't shoot the three anymore (29% coming into the game), and after getting swatted by Jordan a couple of times on some makable drives to the basket, their bigs got overly timid in the paint, even when Jordan was on the bench. It's also time for Travis Ford to get off the "Napoleon" Kool-Aid and put Keiton Paige back on the bench in crunch time where he belongs - he just doesn't warrant so many minutes. On the other side, I LOVE Joe Richard of TU - dude's got anaconda arms, and loves to finish underneath. Just a great performance from EVERY player on the TU side, as far as I could tell.

No doubt, if this TU team is the one that shows up at the Mabee Center in January, ORU will likely suffer a similar fate as the Cowboys in what may be a watermark year for TU and Doug Wojcik. But, we shall see - I still think ORU has some weaponry (although depleted by injury) to throw at the Golden Hurricane to make it an interesting game.

Hey, I picked TU to win. I did think it would be close. OSU has a lot of talent, but they are young in the back court. I thought their bigs would give us more trouble. Pilgrim destroyed us when we played Hampton a couple of years back. Not sure where that press that destroyed us last year went. You're right most TU fans on the board thought we'd lose, including a couple of very credible posters -- that's what happens when you're only significant wins over the last couple of seasons are against UAB.

I'll admit I was pretty down after the SMS game -- though, it was more from being weirded out with a run-in at a bar with the three hour SMS post-game radio show and a very long drive back to Tulsa. SMS has talent and a good coach, but they played out of their minds. It happens.

The Mayor's Cup always has the potential to be a battle royale and more often than not it is. I know you guys will be glad to get some of the kinks worked out after the injuries (tough luck there) and I know I'll be glad that maybe more TU fans will show up with a more basketball seasonal date (most Okies don't think basketball starts until football ends). Ford and Bell-holter have the potential to be really good and give us trouble. If the Uzoh that dribbled off his leg at crunch time in the SMS game shows up, it'll be scary.

[Old Titan]

Memo to SDSUJacks, Grizz, Eagleman, Ron, et al: "Gold" and I have for years waged a Hatfield-and-McCoy's blood fued, spanning two message boards, when it comes to all things ORU and TU.

And, I can't really tell you that either of us has toned down our rhetoric that much if the other one says something stupid.

But, let this prior thread stand as testimony to the fact that even I - a grumpy, stubborn, old windbag; and Gold - a hyper-sensitive, legalistic know-it-all, can be civil, even respectful, from time to time.

...as long as the posts aren't idiotic.

[Gold*]

LOL. So, you're saying you've made idiotic posts?

I think the boards have mellowed over the years. TU's big intertron smack rivals have become Rice, Houston, ECU, and UTEP. Obviously, TU-ORU is always a big deal. I just think after all the change at ORU, most of crazy TU interwebs fans would rather mess with those other fans. You guys are clearly headed in a good direction and it's not fun to use some of the old lines, at least for me.

But, we'll see where things are in January . . .

[Old Titan]

LOL. So, you're saying you've made idiotic posts?

If I denied it, the influx to this thread of posters contradicting my assertion might in fact be massive enough to bring down the entire world wide web...