News and notes from the local sports scene this week:
The final nonconference opponent of the 2012-13 Oral Roberts men’s basketball schedule has been announced. As a part of the Ramada Worldwide BracketBuster pairings, ORU will host Weber State on Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mabee Center.
ORU and the Wildcats have faced off four times, with both teams having won twice. The first meeting came on Dec. 26, 1973, when ORU won 82-79 as part of the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. Most recently, ORU traveled to Ogden, Utah, on Dec. 16, 1991, and suffered a 115-80 loss.
The last time these two teams played, I was there as the radio play-by-play broadcaster. There was a funny story that came out of that visit to Ogden.
I went for a walk around downtown Ogden the morning after we arrived in town and the game was scheduled for that evening. As I had just passed one store front, I heard people behind me shout, “Hey, there’s Elvis.”
So quickly I turned around to see who they were talking about, and wouldn’t you know it, here came a guy walking past me who looked just like Elvis Presley. Of course it wasn’t, since Elvis had died 14 years earlier.
Later that day, Coach Ken Trickey asked me if I saw the singer in the hotel lounge the night before, to which I answered “No, I guess I missed it.”
Trickey said, “Elvis was performing, but he wasn’t himself.”
Ever since then, I’ve joked many times that I saw Elvis in Ogden, Utah, and he walked right past me down the street.
ORU BATTLING
When the ORU men’s basketball team last played at the Mabee Center on Feb. 2, the team defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 65-58, to move into a first place tie in the Southland Conference standings. It was the Golden Eagles’ ninth win in 10 games.
However, after a pair of road losses, ORU has dropped to third in the conference. ORU is now 14-10 overall, 9-3 in the Southland Conference.
The Golden Eagles lost 85-73 at Northwestern State, and 77-67 at Stephen F. Austin.
SFA leads the league with a record of 11-1, followed by Northwestern State, 10-2.
ORU will open a four game home stand Thursday as Sam Houston State visits the Mabee Center for a 7:30 p.m. game. Texas A&M – Corpus Christi will be in town on Saturday. The ORU women will tip-off against Texas A&M – C.C. at 5 p.m.
LUPER AWARD FINALIST
ORU senior guard Kevi Luper has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award. Luper is the lone Southland Conference player on the list.
Luper leads the Golden Eagles with 17.8 points and 2.4 steals per game. The three-time Summit League Player of the Year currently has 2,632 career points, 31st-best in NCAA Division I history, and 427 steals, 11th-most in the Division I record books.
Off the court, Luper sports a 3.58 GPA in business, with a perfect 4.0 mark for the fall 2012 semester. The Adair native was a 2012 Capital One Academic All-District selection and a five-time Golden Eagle Scholar.
Luper also volunteers her time both locally and globally. She is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes events, has participated in three international mission trips and serves with the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Clubs and Upward Basketball.
To be eligible for the Senior CLASS Award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Nationwide fan voting is currently underway to select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website (seniorCLASSaward.com) or on the Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through March 25. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.
The women’s Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the NCAA Women’s Final Four in New Orleans April 7 and 9.
D-LEAGUE ALL-STARS
Former University of Tulsa basketball star Jerome Jordan has been named to the NBA D-League All-Star team. Jordan, who plays for the Reno Bighorns, will be on the Futures Team during NBA All-Star weekend in Houston this week. The D-League All-Star game is scheduled for Saturday, 2 p.m. on NBA-TV.
Jordan has some NBA experience and appeared in 21 games last year with the New York Knicks.
Representing the Tulsa 66ers on the Futures Team will be Jeremy Lamb, currently on assignment from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In all, there are 14 players in the D-League All-Star game with NBA experience.
[Jeff Brucculeri is the author of several books, including "Powerful People Are Inspired by Powerful Athletes," available at www.tunedintosuccess.com. Contact; jeffb@tulsabeacon.com.]
