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'Shot' remains motivation for Golden Eagles - TW (2-27-06)


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'Shot' remains motivation for Golden Eagles

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

2/27/2006

It has been a year, and the one thing that has not changed is the painful memory of the shot.

It has driven workouts and made Oral Roberts more determined.

But the shot Oakland hit at the buzzer in the Mid-Continent Conference finals, to beat ORU and keep the Eagles out of the NCAA Tournament, has never been far from the Eagles' minds.

It isn't a revenge thing. It is motivation.

Regardless of what happened this season, Oral Roberts is determined to not let something like that happen again.

The Golden Eagles can be the first area college team to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament when the Mid-Con Tournament gets under way Saturday at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center.

ORU would appear to be the best bet of the four state schools to earn an automatic bid. Oklahoma is a virtual lock for an automatic bid if the Sooners fail to win the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas in two weeks.

Oklahoma State and Tulsa must win conference tournaments to get slots in the Big Dance. The Cowboys played good enough at times recently to make some believe that's not out of the question.

Still, the safe bet at this point in Oral Roberts. It has won eight of its last nine conference games. It got deluxe shooter Ken Tutt (out 10 games with an injured foot) back for the final four games and he looks to be at full strength.

Caleb Green has never looked better. Larry Owens has moments of brilliance. The Golden Eagles are getting contributions from their bench.

All that is left is for Oral Roberts to play to its capability, a feat it did not accomplish at last year's Mid-Con Tourney.

"I think we've played some really good basketball in the past few weeks, but I think you'll see us elevate our game even more for the tournament," said ORU coach Scott Sutton. "I think what happened to us last year helps us. It makes our guys realize that this tournament is what is really important.

"I have a good feeling about this team. I like what I've seen from them. I think they are ready to play."

A year ago the Golden Eagles won 25 games and were an overwhelming favorite to win the tournament.

By contrast, this team has shown signs of that type of dominance, but has also suffered some lows.

Sutton, knowing he had an experienced and talented team, upped the nonconference schedule.

He figured, correctly, the only chance ORU had to get some notice from the NCAA Selection Committee was to win some statement games.

He also figured, correctly, that if the Golden Eagles did not win those big challenges the experience would be great for his team.

ORU did not win any of those games, losing tight games to Marquette, Oklahoma, Minnesota and twice to Utah State.

Those games may have proven to be missed opportunities, but the Eagles learned from the experiences.

"It wouldn't matter if we were 0-25 right now," Green said. "All that matters are these next three games. We played a great nonconference schedule to try to get some notice for an at-large bid.

"We didn't win those games, but I look at them as great practice games. We have got to play against the type of teams we could face in the NCAA Tournament."

Green is the major reason the Golden Eagles are a good bet to win the Mid-Con. He has played like an All-American all season. Even though he does not face the type of daily challenges as players do in the major conferences, the way he played in those games against national powers and the way he has dominated his league should land him on some All-American teams.

But he cannot play timidly, as the Golden Eagles did a year ago, in the conference tournament.

On most nights, ORU is the best team in the league. The Eagles just didn't always play at that level this year.

"We've had kind of a tough season," Tutt said. "We've had some injuries and tough losses.

"We know this conference tournament will not be easy. We just have to go out and play three great games. We can do that. We're capable of winning three straight games."

So, the memory of the shot lives in the minds of ORU's players. It does not have to be a bad thing.

It is time to erase what happened in 2005 and make a new ending to the story in 2006.

"To be honest, that shot has been on my mind all year," Tutt said. "It is time for us to move ahead.

"I think it has made us want it even more this year. I think we're all excited to get into the tournament. This is what we've been playing and practicing for the past year."

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I hope the team, coaches and fans realize that it was not the "shot" that killed us - it was allowing an inferior team like Oakland to stay in a game that they didn't belong in. The Eagles failure to take control of the game (with several opportunities) allowed Oakland to be in a position to make the miracle shot. We need to enter the Mid-Con Tourney with a mind-set to play (at least) 40 minutes of solid basketball each game, and never let the opportunity for a "shot" to become a reality. It's all about FOCUS!

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I hope the team, coaches and fans realize that it was not the "shot" that killed us - it was allowing an inferior team like Oakland to stay in a game that they didn't belong in.

While what you say is true, Blue, let me paint a picture of what it was like to be in the UMAC last March 8th, at about 7:50 in the evening.

Imagine blowing a ten inch balloon up to about twelve inches. Then, just as Dukes' shot goes through the hoop, poke the balloon with a nice, sharp pin. That gives you a pretty good idea of what it felt like in the UMAC last year. It may not have been the shot that killed us, but it FELT like it was the shot that killed us!!

On a related note, I had lunch with rlh (Stl VU Fan and TD as well) on Saturday, and rlh said he'd never seen a home crowd exit an arena as quickly as the Tulsa crowd did last year after Oakland's win. I wouldn't know - I was in shock. My surroundings were a blur.

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It really does hurt everytime I thank about it. I'm glad I'll be at the UMAC and not watching the championship game on ESPN so I won't have to watch it again.

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I guess I'm not the only one who still hasn't gotten over it.

Go ask TU fans how many have gotten over the 3 point shot by Wisconsin 3 years ago to secure the 61-60 win.

Tulsa was up by 13 with 4:08 to go ready for the Sweet 16 vs Kentucky.

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