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LOCATION: Tulsa, OK
CONFERENCE: Western Athletic (WAC)
LAST SEASON: 23-10 (.697)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-5 (t-1st, Mountain)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 4/1
NICKNAME: Golden Hurricane
COLORS: Old Gold, Royal Blue & Crimson
HOMECOURT: Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,300)
COACH: Bill Self (Oklahoma State '85)
record at school 42-22 (2 years)
career record 98-75 (6 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Norm Roberts (Queens College '87)
Billy Gillispie (Southwest Texas State '83)
John Phillips (Oklahoma State '73)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 24-22-24-19-23
RPI (last 5 years) 16-42-18-96-24
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in NCAA second round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Give Tulsa credit. The Golden Hurricane won the games it needed to win for an NCAA Tournament berth. Going into the final two weeks of the regular season, Tulsa had to beat Rice and sweep Southern Methodist and Texas Christian on the road to ensure a tie for first place in the WAC Mountain Division. The Hurricane won all three. Heading into the WAC tournament, Tulsa was on the NCAA tournament bubble with Fresno State, New Mexico and TCU. The Horned Frogs were done on the first day when they lost to Brigham Young. Tulsa faced Fresno State in a quarterfinal. The Hurricane won by 29. Tulsa lost to Utah in overtime by three in a semifinal, but the statement had been made: The Hurricane belonged in the NCAA Tournament. Tulsa earned a No. 9 seed and it appeared the Hurricane was easy fodder for No. 8 College of Charleston. Not so. Tulsa beat the Cougars and set up a second-round game against Duke. The Golden Hurricane was overmatched, but ending up in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was a success for this team. The Hurricane lost its most rugged player and rebounder in Michael Ruffin. He was never a go-to player, but he was as reliable an interior defender as a team could have in today's instant gratification time.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH B
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES B
This is a solid team with the only question being Brandon Kurtz' consistency and a proven power-forward scorer, especially when Coley isn't on the floor. Tulsa should be in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid, and obviously the WAC title, all season. Marcus Hill, Tony Heard, Eric Coley, Greg Harrington and Kurtz are as solid a foursome as any in the league. The key is getting the sixth player in the mix, like David Shelton, DeAngelo McDaniel or Kevin Johnson. The depth along the perimeter is young, but more athletic than the Hurricane has had in the past. Look for Tulsa to surprise in Puerto Rico and be a team people are talking about in late February. Beating Fresno State by 29 and hanging with Duke was no fluke. |
Tulsa coach Bill Self, who had preliminary involvement with openings at Missouri, Minnesota, Baylor and San Diego State, has a chance to get the Hurricane back in the NCAA Tournament. He has the talent, but if he can get the wins, Tulsa can earn a second straight berth and sixth since 1994. Without an automatic berth, Tulsa must pick up key non-conference wins. The Hurricane has a few shots at power-rating games with games at Rhode Island and at St. Joseph's, in addition to the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic, which includes Massachusetts, Tennessee and UNC-Charlotte. Realistically, the Hurricane needs to go 13-3 or no worse than 12-4 in non-conference games. If Tulsa can do that, the Hurrican has a shot. Tulsa shouldn't lose more than a handful of WAC games in competing with Fresno State, TCU and SMU for the title. If Tulsa has under 10 losses on Selection Sunday, it should get in the field. "We'll be better offensively," Self said. "We've improved individually and have more of a scoring punch. But the negative thing is trying to find a physical presence to replace Ruffin. He covered up for so many people's mistakes by his ability to rebound and alter shots. We still don't have that somebody yet." The Hurricane needs 6-10 senior center Brandon Kurtz (11.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg) to develop more of an offensive personality. He may have been second-team all-WAC Mountain and all-Newcomer team but he didn't produce when it mattered most in the season. Kurtz wasn't a factor in the win over Fresno State, the loss against Utah or the loss to Duke. Self still sees Kurtz as a the best low-post offensive center in the league. Fresno State's Melvin Ely and TCU's Marquise Gainous may disagree. "He was inconsistent last year," Self said. "He also had Ruffin covering for his mistakes. Now he's got to be the inside guy for us. He's got to get stronger and be better conditioned so he stays out of foul trouble." Kurtz' help inside has to come from either 6-7 redshirt freshman Kevin Johnson or 6-9 sophomore DeAngelo McDaniel. Johnson (24.3 ppg, 11.0 rpg as a senior in high school) wasn't ready a year ago. McDaniel (2.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg) missed 14 games with a back injury. "We don't really know yet on Kevin," Self said. "He's a tremendous athlete and could be an impact guy for us. If he plays up to his potential, he could be a good rebounder and shot blocker. McDaniel will be a defensive force and by far is our best athletic big guy. He's got to be a major contributor." David Shelton, a 6-6 junior from Independence (Kan.) CC, could sneak into the starting lineup, too. He averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds for Independence last season. "He'll have the biggest impact of any of the newcomers," Self said. "He can produce as evident by his numbers. He can be a double-figure scoring guy for us." If Shelton does that, it'll take immense pressure off Kurtz and Self. The Hurricane hasn't had a productive low-post scorer that it could count on every game. If Self had to go to a fifth forward, 6-7 freshman Charlie Davis (Grand Prairie HS/Texas) could get the call. He's still too inexperienced to be reliable inside. The strength of this team is on the perimeter. Self may move 6-foot senior Tony Heard (8.1 ppg, 2.4 apg) to shooting guard and start 6-2 sophomore Greg Harrington (8.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.0 apg) at the point. If he does that, then he'll go smaller with 6-5 junior Marcus Hill (11.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg) at one wing and 6-5 senior Eric Coley (9.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.9 spg) at the other spot. Hill and Coley are locks to be on the floor. Self said he needs to get more shots for Heard. He shot 39.1 percent from three-point range and Self believes he's the team's best shooter. He's as good a defender on the ball as anyone in the league. He can knock down the open shots and should be a sleeper all-league candidate. Harrington, the WAC Freshman of the Year, stepped in as a freshman and played the point as if he were a senior. He had court vision and a savvy about his game that led the Hurricane to a first-place finish. "He just needs more of a consistent stroke from the perimeter," Self said. Hill was a hit on a foreign traveling team that toured France in late August. He barely missed on threes. Hill came alive in the WAC Tournament, nailing his first four three-point shots against Fresno State. "He's gotten even better beating his man off the dribble," Self said. "He can be a solid double-figure scorer for us." The X factor is Coley. "If he plays like he did the last few games of the conference (20 against TCU, 22 against Fresno State), then he could be one of the most dominant players in the league," Self said. "He needs to raise the level of play for the team." Self may use Coley the way Jerry Tarkanian uses Terrance Roberson at Fresno State. Coley is really a wing, but has to play power forward. That's the same as Roberson. Both can post-up and score inside as well as hit the three-pointer. The depth along the perimeter got stronger with the arrival of 6-4 shooting freshman guard DeMario Hooper (Texas HS/Texarkana, Texas), 5-10 point Dante Swanson (Wagoner HS/Wagoner, Okla.) and 5-10 freshman point Antonio Reed (Booker T. Washington HS/Tulsa, Okla.). "At least one of them will play significant minutes," Self said. "All three are talented but young. Hooper and Swanson are the better shooters, but Reed is a true point."
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