The Oral Roberts Titans put on a show that had to be watched to be believed.  Coach Trickey brought with him from Tennessee his ‘WRAG’ (We run and gun) style of basketball and most importantly the players who could fit that style.  He has assembled a group of high scoring studs that fit his fast-paced tempo to a T.  The Titans led the nation in scoring and had more oohs and ahs than a one-legged tight rope act.  The fans of this Evangelical college got more than they bargained for and their heads were continually looking up and not on divine intervention but on another alley oop or spectacular play.  The Titans under Trickey may have been the success story of the season and earned every highlight they got from the Talking Heads. 

For a program that just started the Titans have done everything a school of about 4000 could do to get the attention they seek.  Jumping through NAIA in on season they have hopped quickly into the major leagues grabbing a table at the Mid-Continent. In just one year have become the odds on cofavorites to win the conference title.  Of course this is not the Mid-Continent anymore as this conference which has the same quest for attention have rebranded themselves the Summit League.  The Titans have already decided to build a brand-new arena dubbed the Mabee Center (after a local oilman) that will open this fall and seat over 10,000 local fans. They would like to be able to fill it up every night and then take their show on the road as Roberts attempts to recruit more to his flock.  And then take that show to the national stage of the Big Dance and perhaps even show those locals they do belong.  That is if they could survive one of the craziest out of conference schedules any one every dreamed.  It looks like everything is turning up roses in Tulsa but it all started when Trickey decided to bring along his best pupil with him as he built this program.

‘It was kind of like the Harlem Globetrotters coming to town’ is the terminology some said when Trickey took his team on a barnstorming tour of the Midwest two summers ago.  This was exactly what Trickey wanted as he had actually toured with the Globetrotters (on the opposing team of course) for a few years and picked up some things from that and like every great coach brought it with him.  One of these things was recruiting black players which he started when he coached down at Middle Tennessee State (tell me that wasn’t hard in the 60’s?) and continued when Roberts brought him to Tulsa.  Trickey has developed a pipeline with the help of Chattanooga High School Coach Dorsey Sims.  Trickey and Sims struck up a conversation during a high school game they were both watching a high school tourney games a few years back. The two men realized they liked each other which was quite un common in the South for a black man and a white man to be friends at all. Ironically Sims had graduated from an all-black school in Tulsa and found out he and the white kid from Illinois but had went to Middle Tennessee and gained a reputation as kind of a showboat.  But these two friends had the same interest of getting kids a college education by way of playing this wonderful game. Trickey’s first recruit was a kid named Richie Fuqua who was heavily sought after by much bigger schools as he was a scoring stud but he chose the Titans primarily due to the fact Sims was his coach and Trickey was his friend.  And he trusted him to take care of him which he did and on the way made the sweet shooting wing a legend in Tulsa.  The players kept on coming from the basketball hot bed and though not all of them were as big of a catch as Fuqua (Trickey claims Mabee Center was built because of the success of Fuqua who averaged 25 points a game in his first year at NAIA and over 20 last year in their first Division One year) but he filled up his quota and his boat fairly easily with some studs nobody else wanted. All of this starts with the recruitment and the play of the great Mr. Richie Fuqua.  When Sims allowed his star player to come to Tulsa it changed everything.  He was not the only one that came to Oklahoma but he was the key.  His ability to shoot from just about anywhere on the court was perfect for Trickey’s style and when they decided to implement the three-point line well let’s just say this kid was made for the long range bomb.  Fuqua is a high volume shooter which as Trickey says ‘the only bad shot you take is one you can’t make.’  So as you can see these two were meant for each other.  Fuqua is not a tremendous athlete but at six four he can get his shot off especially against lesser competition which is what he was used to until that unbelievable nine game stretch to open the season.  If anyone struggled against this completion it was Fuqua as these teams had just of big of shooting guards who could jump out of the gym and really defended him well.  Fuqua only averaged a little over 12 points a game and shot barely 30 percent against this elite competition but Trickey never batted an eye because he knew this was the guy that made it all happen for this program.  He came on strong the second half against the lesser competition of the Mid-Con and ended up averaging over 15 a game in just over 26 minutes a game for one of the highest per minutes scoring averages in the country.  Yes, Fuqua might not be able to jump over a broom as some naysayers have said but when he gets lined up from long range this kid loves to fire away and as Trickey said those long-range bombs built Mabee center. 

Fuqua was not the only kid who came from Chattanooga who can light it up.  Fellow Junior wing Anthony Roberts is a scorer.  Period!  He has the innate ability to put the ball in the hole.  He is great at posting up and drawing fouls and even better at getting his shot in a half court set.  This six five rail thin forward had one of the best mid-range games you will ever see.  He is adept at getting the ball on the angles and taking a dribble or two and then going up high over his defender for one of the softest shots in the country.  If you guard him too close he will drive right by you.  He can also run which you must do if you are going to play for the Titans.   Roberts, with one of the funkiest afros you will ever see took over the scoring leadership from Fuqua last year after being a role player his first year and loves being the man at ORU.  He averaged almost seventeen a game and unlike Fuqua had a pro style game and athleticism to match.  He does not play much defense and is not a great rebounder because of his skinniness but will go down low and can jump above for some easy boards.  Roberts is not a selfish player (actually a good passer) as he did not mind being a number two or three option but he knows how good he is and Trickey understands that this kid can get his short off against anybody and unlike Fuqua makes more than he misses.  For a kid to shoot over 50 percent at his volume of shot is ridiculous but that shows how good he is.  And remember in this offense Trickey preachs that players shoot often and that they do not need a screen to get off their shot.  This fits Roberts game better than anyone on this team.  He is just not the guy that shares the name of the University anymore, Anthony Roberts is the player that defines Titan basketball and the style Trickey has brought here more than anyone and is as symbolic of his program as the Big O is to Cincinnati to the Magic is to Michigan State.  Yes, folks he is that good. 

If you are going to score this many points you must have some guys underneath who can get the board off the glass and start the fast break.  Junior power forward Eddie Woods is the king of this.  Woods is a tremendous board man who knows his role and likes it.  He may not score a lot but was as valuable with his board work and out let passes as anyone on the team.  Another Chattanooga kid Woods is only six seven but is a tremendous leaper who loves to go up and grab boards over bigger guys.  He is skinny too but muscular enough to hang inside with the big boys.  Woods is a terrific shot blocker who has a soft touch around the basket though scoring is not his number one priority.  He lost minutes this year a freshman phenom who is much more of an offensive force than Woods but still got plenty of minutes and shined as he always does doing the dirty work in the paint.  Woods still started most of the time as he is such a good jumper that he jumped center over David Vaughn and Mark Acres who both go 6’11. Trickey loved having him and his blue-collar style in with his offensive studs. 

Another junior and yes another Tennessee kid (this time from small town Cleveland Tennessee) Alvin Scott gave the wings some quality relief.  Scott has his own set of skills that helped the Titans. ‘T-Bone’ is a great shot blocker and defender and can really run the court and seemed to always lift the team to a more intense level when he entered the game. A fan favorite due to his energy, Scott is a wing who can rebound and gave Roberts some quality minutes off the bench and a completely different style of player. This duo (Scott and Woods) are the closest thing that the Titans have to ‘role’ players as they emphasized defense and rebounding and let the other guys get all the offensive numbers.  You got to have guys like this if you are going to have a great program and Trickey and the fans at Mabee fully appreciated them.  Speaking of the bench, Scott’s nickname is the ‘Splinter’ due to his long stints on the pine. He has even started a group of splinters that include fellow juniors Al Boswell, Antonio Martin, Haywood Hill and Arnold Dugger.  This scout team came up together and have bided their time together but they can play.  They actually make a pretty good team and have supposedly beat the starters on many occasions.  Trickey loves having this quality of depth and believes that it makes the whole team better, which it does, but how do you keep all of these studs in town in the modern era of transfers and portals.  There must be some kind of higher commitment.

The Titans have a stellar combo at center that could match up pretty well with teams. The aforementioned Junior Vaughn and sophomore Acres are big guys who have game.  Acres got the majority of minutes and produced great numbers.  Vaughn is also from Tennessee and came in as the starter and has as much potential as anyone on the roster and that is saying something here. Vaughn is a gifted shot blocker and gave the Titans a much-needed presence underneath.  He can also score and sometimes makes the game look too easy.  Vaughn may be the most talented player on the team but missed several games due to injuries and personal issues.  Acres is the opposite of Vaughn in that he is Mr. Consistent and really showed up for the bell every game and produced solid overall numbers.  Acres actually led the team the team in minutes played as he took over for Vaughn as the starter when the big man got hurt in a car accident. Ironically this was the game after he had one of the great games of the year against Memphis (who he had committed to out of Nashville after leading the team to two state championships but switched to ORU when the ‘man’ himself paid him a visit) with 20 points and 20 boards.  Vaughn did come back and played as a backup down the stretch but was nowhere near the player he was before as he admittedly fell into a depression after the car accident had hurt his legs.  Acres was so consistent while Vaughn was gone that he may have been the most important of all with his ability to score down low and board.  At six eleven but thin he will block a shot but is nowhere near the intimidator of  Vaughn.  Acres is the only white kid of the primary players on this team and being from California (Palos Verdes Estates) he sometimes looks like a fish out of water but he fit in well with this team.  Acres actually followed his brother Jeff to Tulsa and had every intention of playing limited minutes.  Well, his brother got hurt a few games in and missed the majority of season and it was next man up.  This combined with Vaughn’s issues opened the door for the first-year kid and Trickey had to go with the freshmen which is something this dynamic coach does not like to do. When his time came he was ready to take over a huge leadership role on this team.  Acres kind of got lucky as he missed the bulk of the competitive part of the schedule and is not quite up to snuff against better competition but boy does he dominate lesser players and in the Mid-Continent er Summit there are many less talented big men. 

The Titans also have a solid point guard to run this show.  Sophomore Haywarde Workman took over the starting role early on from junior Arnold Dugger and the Titans never looked back.  Workman is a big point guard who can really pass and runs a half court set well.  He can also get out on the break and uses his size to his advantage.  Dugger still got some minutes and is more of a pure passer than Workman but he lost his backup role as the season progressed to a transfer from Florida.  Junior Sam McCants did not play at the first of the year after his transfer and missed way too many games but when he was on the court he was electric. This smooth shooting lefty was a legend in high school at Pensacola and can score all day with great range on his jumper which he can get create on his own without the benefit of screens which is part of Trickey’s philosophy.  Get the ball up the court and shoot quick (definitely not the Norman Dale four passes before you shoot mentality) and take the first good shot because you can’t score if you don’t shoot.  McCants is the symbol of this as he can create a shot for himself with a quick crossover and even quicker lift off the ground.  He is also a terrific passer who loves to get his teammates involve and can flat run.  If he can handle his off the court issues he could be something special as he showed in his limited time.  There tag team was beneficial in this teams ability to keep the heat on other teams with their marvelous up tempo game.   To be able to have a combo that complements each other as well as the supernatural McCants and Mr. Consistent Workman (who by the way is a stickler for the rules of the game) is every coaches dream.  There is depth here as well as Dugger and sophomore Gary ‘Cat’ Johnson can run this fast-paced offense too.  They split time on JV but Dugger got called up when McCants missed some games and was outstanding.  He was the starter two years ago so knows the team and the system but his nowhere near as dynamic as the Florida high school legend. 

The Oral Roberts Titans play in a small conference that does not get much attention.  Coach Ken Trickey decided to get attention the old fashioned way.  This kid born on the Mississippi River in Illinois made his name in Mississippi with his Harlem Globetrotter antics and his ability to score.  When Oral Roberts was putting together his University he wanted a basketball team that would entertain as much as does in the pulpit.  He loved the style of this Coach and his attitude and brought him back to Tulsa to build his basketball program.  Trickey implemented a fast break system that included quick shots (over 90 a game by far the most in the country) and then went back to his base to get some talent.  This devoutly religious University with an honor code entertained with some of the freewheelingest players in the country (and some of the best afros on the planet) who loved to run and gun. The Titans still play in the weak Summit League and will be lighting up the scoreboard on a nightly basis.