ORUalum Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 nice thorough preview of ORU by ESPN...lots of good quotes from Coach Sutton about each player and his expectations for the season. COACH AND PROGRAM From 2006-08, Oral Roberts earned a place in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles haven't been back since. With five starters returning, Scott Sutton thinks it's time for his team to end its NCAA drought. The monster in the East, Oakland, isn't likely to go 17-1 in conference play for the third consecutive year. Oh yeah, the Golden Grizzlies will be good again, but they lost superstar center Keith Benson. "He was so good," Sutton said. "You just don't get those kinds of players in our league very often. You talk about taking chances on kids and developing them. [Oakland coach] Greg [Kampe] did a great job. Plus, the kid grew three or four inches once he got to Oakland. "They've had really good players. I think their guard play will be outstanding. It's just that they lose a pro. But they'll always be good as long as Greg's there." FULL ARTICLE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 A pair of freshman guards will also have a chance to earn minutes: 6-1 Korey Billbury and 5-11 D.J. Jackson. Billbury played for Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School, which he helped lead to its second straight Class 5A state championship last season. Billbury was chosen MVP of the state tournament after scoring 54 points in three games. Jackson, from Archbishop O'Hara High School in Kansas City, Mo., earned all-state honors after averaging 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals as a senior. He's one of four players from Kansas City on the Oral Roberts roster (along with Pearson, Morrison and Craion). A reminder of the talent we are bringing in this season... I had forgotten how well Billbury could score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOLO_Gold Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Perhaps my favorite part: "Warren has done a great job since last season of getting stronger," Sutton said. "He gained almost 20 pounds of muscle. That will help him tremendously. He'll be able to get into traffic, get in the lane, and absorb some contact." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 TheEagleman wonders if ORU will ever win another game in the NCAA tournament....it's been over 37 yrs since that Louisville win......we are long overdue..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongTimeFan Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 LongTimeFan has been watching ORU Bball for 33 years and has unfortunately never seen ORU win an NCAA mens tourney game. We are definitely due. The secret to winning an NCAA tourney game is for ORU to capture a 13 seed or better. That means ORU will need to win about 27 games and have an RPI of about 40. The odds of winning the first round game double with a #13 seed compared to a #14 seed. Only 15% of the #14 seeds win versus 31% of the #13 seeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 here is the Rivals write-up of the summit... By Mike Huguenin Oral Roberts has finished first or second in the Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent Conference) in seven of the past eight seasons, and the Golden Eagles have made three NCAA appearances in that span. Scott Sutton and ORU are again the team to beat. This season, though, ORU looks to have its best team in coach Scott Sutton's 13 seasons at the school. Indeed, it could be ORU's best team since 1974, when the Golden Eagles lost in the Midwest Regional final to Kansas. No, we're not saying ORU is going to advance to the Elite Eight. But an NCAA tourney win, which would be the school's first since that season, looks as if it could be a possibility. FULL ARTICLE PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH 1. Oral Roberts 2. Oakland 3. North Dakota State 4. South Dakota State 5. IUPUI 6. IPFW 7. Southern Utah 8. UMKC 9. South Dakota 10. Western Illinois ALL-SUMMIT FIRST TEAM F Dominique Morrison, Oral Roberts (6-6/210, Sr.) F Alex Young, IUPUI (6-6/212, Sr.) G Reggie Chamberlain, UMKC (6-0/170, Sr.) G Reggie Hamilton, Oakland (5-11/176, Sr.) G Nate Wolters, South Dakota State (6-4/193, Jr.) ALL-SUMMIT SECOND TEAM C Damen Bell-Holter, Oral Roberts (6-9/245, Jr.) F Steven Roundtree, Oral Roberts (6-8/190, Soph.) G Ceola Clark, Western Illinois (6-3/190, Sr.) G/F Frank Gaines, IPFW (6-5/195, Jr.) G Charlie Westbrook, South Dakota (6-4/187, Sr.) PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Oral Roberts F Dominique Morrison NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Oakland G Laval Lucas-Perry (6-2/217, Sr.; transfer from Michigan) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Best in thirteen seasons? Best since 1974? Those are some pretty high expectations - I'd LOVE IT if they were true, but I'm more cautiously optimistic! I think there's still a bit to prove with this team. Not that we have a lot of unknowns, it's just that it remains to be seen how well they coalesce as a team, and how long it takes for that process to occur. But if we make it to the Elite Eight, I'll be happy . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Best in thirteen seasons? Best since 1974? Those are some pretty high expectations - I'd LOVE IT if they were true, but I'm more cautiously optimistic! If those expecations become reality, we'll have a TV game in the Mabee Center for the Bracket Buster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 That is a mighty high hurdle. The team with Green, Tutt, Bluitt, Spencer-Gardner, Michalec and Owens was a VERY talented squad. If this team approaches that unit in terms of ability and cohesiveness, it will be a special season. That remains to be seen though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 If we stay healthy on the men's and women's side, this basketball season will be one to beholden. This could be a specail winter season that will keep us from looking forward to baseball season too soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 And, in answer to Rabbit89 or someone's question in another thread, I bet we see an increase in attendence over the course of the season! IF we see the level of success predicted here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Nice to see Rivals project the Summit as Conference #18 out of 32 - addition by subtraction (goodbye, Centenary) since last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogus Smith Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Nice to see Rivals project the Summit as Conference #18 out of 32 - addition by subtraction (goodbye, Centenary) since last season. ...and maybe higher next season with the loss of SUU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Titan Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 The Rivals.com preview is one of the better ones I've read so far - with the exception of the Robert-Aery-as-back-up-point-guard snafu. My guess is senior and part-time starter Ken Holdman just might get the nod over walk-on Aery... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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