NCDS: Jeremy Ballard, Asst. Coach - Tulsa
By: Jeremy Ballard, Asst. Coach - Tulsa
We are amidst exciting times at The University of Tulsa. Under the tutelage of 5th year Head Coach Doug Wojcik, Tulsa has experienced back-to-back 25 win seasons as well as back-to-back Conference USA Championship game appearances. Due to this recent success and the players we have returning, the Golden Hurricane has received a fair share of publicity and media attention for this season. Our players are excited about the attention and preseason accolades, but also fully understand that preseason rankings all go out the window once the season begins.
The excitement stems from the fact that we return two All-Conference players in senior point Guard Ben Uzoh and senior center Jerome Jordan. While Ben and Jerome are the focal points of what we do both offensively and defensively, the strength of our team truly lies in our balance. This balance is reflected in the return of 5th year senior Bishop Wheatley, who brings versatility, toughness, and experience, junior sharp-shooter Justin Hurtt, who is primed for a breakout season after averaging 12 points per game in Conference play last year, and the emergence of 6'10 Sophomore Steven Idlet, who brings passion, toughness, and skill to our low post play. While these five are sure to grab their fair share of the headlines, our staff is expecting major contributions from Sophomore forward Joe Richard, as well as our Freshman recruiting class which includes point guard Donte Medder, guard Bryce Pope, and forward Kodi Maduka.
Our team is sitting at 3-0 and entering Saturday's (November 21st) game versus South Alabama with a lot of momentum. We opened our season with a game against St. Mary's (TX), and then played Florida International in our second game. We were sharp in both contests and ended up winning by a combined score of 153-98. With only a day's rest in between each of those games, we entered last Tuesday's contest with Arkansas-Little Rock interested in how our team would handle playing 3 games in 5 days, or if you include our exhibition and scrimmage, 5 games in 9 days. We were fortunate and excited to be one of the teams featured on ESPN's 24 Hour Tip-off Marathon, but the game time of 1:00 pm CT on a Tuesday was unique to our team.
All of our concerns were alleviated early Tuesday morning after we witnessed the energy and enthusiasm that our team brought to our early morning shoot-around. A team could not have had a more spirited and lively morning practice and as a coaching staff we immediately felt positive and confident heading into the game. Although we definitely did not play up to our capabilities offensively (in particular, shooting the basketball), we put forth a great defensive effort and beat a very physical, well-coached Arkansas-Little Rock team, 59-45.
While we are defending very well and holding opponents to 47 points per game on 32% field goal shooting with a rebound margin of just over eleven a game, we realize that we must shoot the ball better from the 3-point line to achieve all of our goals. As a staff we are not overly concerned because we feel that we have good shooters who are diligent in working on their shooting and have merely experienced a couple of off nights. We are hoping that the cold spell ends Saturday, November 21st versus South Alabama. South Alabama is a talented, hard-working and dangerous team. They will definitely be ready to play, but after two very good days of preparation, I feel that our team is ready for the challenge.
I am very excited not only about our season but also about being a part of this Diary Series. There are so many respected coaches who are writing for the Series and I feel fortunate to have been selected. I hope that you all enjoy both the Diary Series and the college basketball season!
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