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Achilles and the 100,000 Free Throws
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Women's head coach Jerry Finkbeiner, at least, has not forgotten what he describes as his team's Achilles' heel: free throw shooting. That's why, he said, "We're going to throw 100,000 free throws as a team this summer. Each girl is going to shoot 513 free throws a week." And on the day they return for the start of the fall semester, he said, "we're going to shoot 100 free throws" to finish off the 100,000.
Finkbeiner, men's head coach Scott Sutton, and baseball head coach Rob Walton talked about the past and the future at a Coaches Luncheon on May 19, held at Mazzio's. Finkbeiner summed up '08-'09 by saying "it wasn't supposed to be a transition year," but losing some key players made it difficult to find a winning groove.
That was then.
"We're not going to be rebuilding" in '09-'10, Finkbeiner said. "Don't feel sorry for us. We learned a lot this year. We'll be back."
Five new players are coming in, including Oklahoma's most decorated player, Kevi Luper, Jaci Bighman, Savanna Buck, and Alex Adekunle. Brittany Eskridge, a transfer, will sit out until 2010-11.
"This could be the first team that goes from an 8 seed to a championship game the next year," Finkbeiner said.
Sutton's team didn't have the kind of year he thought they would have, but his hopes are high for '09-'10.
Can we say POINT GUARD? Without a true general on the floor to lead the troops, the Eagles struggled last year, at least during non-conference play. Now, however, there are two true point guards coming in: Roderick Pearson, who sat out last year, and a young man from North Carolina named Hunter McClintock. "He's got a chance to be a special player," Sutton said of McClintock. "His maturity and personality will remind you a lot of Luke Spencer-Gardner. I think he'll be hard to keep out of the lineup at the start of the season."
Also coming in is the highly anticipated Damen Bell-Holter of Alaska, Javier Nasarre, and Michael Craion, who Sutton describes as a "Larry Owens-type player."
"I'm excited," Sutton said. "I wish basketball season started tomorrow. I'm as motivated as I've been in a long, long time."
It won't be an easy year. The Eagles open on the road at Wake Forest, play Virginia and Stanford on the road in the same week, travel to Cancun for two games, and play New Mexico, Missouri and TU at home, along with other as-yet-unannounced games. And you never know how the Summit League will shake out. North Dakota State's Fab Five are gone, but Oakland promises to be as tough as nails.
Baseball coach Rob Walton had his own stories to tell about the current season--losing twelve players to the draft before the season started, losing his entire starting outfield to injury and having 12 scheduled games rained out.
Despite the challenges, ORU finished the regular season at 28-13. While Walton wasn't predicting another sweep by ORU in the upcoming Summit League tournament, he could look at his team's track record--11 straight Summit League titles--and feel fairly confident. Although, as he said, "You never know what can happen. Right now, we're staying focused on this week."
With the upcoming conference tournament on his mind, Walton was nonetheless happy to talk about next year. He said he has signed the Player of the Year in both California and Arizona and a high school player who is outstanding. There is always the chance that one or more players could be drafted and go on to the majors. If the team he has assembled remains intact, however, 2010 could be another banner year for ORU.
(ORU won the conference tournament, held May 21-23 at ORU, and was the #2 seed in the Tucson Regional, which opened on May 29. The Golden Eagles defeated Cal Poly in the first game, lost to Arizona State in the second game, beat Kent State in the third game, and were eliminated following a loss to Arizona State in the championship game.)
