I’m going to take a quick look at each team eliminated in the Summit League Tournament. Starting with the first team eliminated, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
Season Recap
7-23 Overall
3-13 Conference (9 of 9)
Year 1 under Coach Russell Springmann was a tough one and it got worse this year. The team never seemed to find a rhythm as the season went along. It took a big stretch to finally get a win against a Division 1 opponent and it never really got better. We’ve talked enough about this season though, let’s chat going forward.
We know they’re gone
Issac McBride 19ppg
Jalen Miller 9ppg
Sam Alajiki 12ppg 6rpg
Key players with Eligibility remaining
Jojo Moore (FR) 11ppg 4rpg
Darius Robinson (JR) 7ppg
Josh Jones (SO) 5ppg 3rpg
Something needs to change in Tulsa. Fresh off an NCAA tournament appearance 2 years ago, the Golden Eagles have finished 8th and 9th in the league. This is a program with maybe the richest tradition in Summit/Midcontinent history. This just doesn’t meet the basketball standards set by history. With 3 of the top 4 scorers graduating, there are immediate roster concerns going into next year. Add in the fact that during seasons like this, the door tends to be wide open when the portal opens. We could be looking at an entirely new roster at Oral Roberts next season. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There is only one direction to go for Oral Roberts and that is up. The loss of McBride hurts big, one of the best guards in recent Summit League history, but it is possible to build up at the other positions even though you won’t bring in anyone with McBride’s ability. This writer’s hunch is the whole thing could be overhauled this off-season. From the top down.