Preseason Thoughts from the Head Coach

All of us as athletes have certain figures in the sports world that serve as role models for us. We see their level of success and then study their behaviors and habits hoping to achieve similar status. In our sport, young players want to duplicate the abilities of LeBron, Kobe, Dwayne Wade, or Steve Nash to name a few. Their elite level of success has separated them and placed them atop the basketball world. An important element of development is to learn the processes that set great people apart from average people. Ironically, I look to role models within the coaching world and one of the coaches that I readily follow is former NFL coach Tony Dungy. In Coach Dungy’s latest book titled Uncommon, he speaks directly to young men about the path to significance in life and what success means. “Success is UNCOMMON, therefore not to be enjoyed by the common man.” This is a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that stayed with Coach Dungy throughout his career and life. We have adopted this as a foundational principle of our program and strive to apply it as we begin the rigors of preseason work. Being UNCOMMON is not easy and at most times is far from comfortable. A tremendous amount of sacrifice and physical work are necessary for any team to have SUCCESS. It is our job to approach preseason workouts in an UNCOMMON way in order to deserve the benefits during the season!

Tony Dungy Web Page

Bowling Anyone?

On Saturday the OBU Men’s Basketball squad took a trip back to Hot Springs to compete in the second event of the Olympic Games. The competition was fierce and at the end of the day Scott Day lead his team to victory bowling a 164! Another notable score was freshman Matt Velek leading all freshmen with a stellar 190! OBU Basketball wants to thank Central Bowling Lanes & Family of Hot Springs for the great time we had at the lanes. After two events we have a three way tie. Stay updated and check back this week to see what Tiger will lead their team to victory in event #3. (Pictured Above: OBU Men's Basketball Team enjoying a day at the lanes!)

Matt Velek Bowling MVP

Tigers Hit the Greens!

On Wednesday the Tigers took their golf games to Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf in Hot Springs. Miniature golf was event #1 of the 5 events that will take place in our team Olympics. The games will be a great team building experience and something that the guys will really enjoy. Congratulations to Austin Mitchell for leading his team to victory and capturing the first event. We will have to see if Austin can lead his team to victory in our second event which will take place on Saturday.(pictured above: the Tigers on th 18th hole)

After a long day on the greens the Tigers headed to Coach Price’s house to enjoy a great BBQ! OBU Basketball wants to thank Kara Price for all the hard work she put into making an amazing meal for the team as well as Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf for the great time we all had at the course. Stay tuned for updates on the OBU Men’s Basketball Olympics!

Click Here to see Miniature Golf Pictures

Click Here to see BBQ Pictures

WHERE ARE THE TIGERS FROM?

Click on the link below to see the hometowns of the 2009-2010 OBU Tigers Men's Basketball Team !

Tiger Basketball Map

2009 Jimmy V Award

This year Coach Don Myers broke an amazing record but his name is one that is not known by all. On Saturday Jan. 10th, 2009 Northern State University beat Mary 82-62. Coach Meyer passed Bobby Knight for first on the men's basketball all-time wins list (by wins, four-year level, men’s, all divisions) with 903. Coach Myers won the 2009 Jimmy V Award not only because of his amazing accomplishments on the court but for his amazing triumph of will and his love of coaching. Enjoy this amazing story of not only one of the greatest coaches in the game but one of the best people in the game today. Enjoy!

Don Meyer, Winner of Jimmy V Award 2009

An update from Coach Price:

It’s a great day to be a Ouachita Tiger! I hope all of you are having a productive summer and feel as blessed as I do. Our first two and a half months here have been productive and we are anxiously awaiting the return of our team to campus for the fall semester. First things first! We are winding down the recruiting class of 2009 and have been out on the recruiting trail evaluating the recruiting class of 2010. We are anxious to have some of these talented guys on campus for visits over the next couple of months! Along these lines I wanted to take a minute to share with you the three primary components that we look for in a prospective student athlete! The first, and most important, is character. Teams of high character win, and talent without character is useless. Secondly, we need student athletes that excel academically. Ouachita is a highly reputable and very challenging academic institution. ONLY young men that are ambitious in the classroom will succeed! Lastly, we are looking for the “right” basketball players. Our players must be able to SEE and FEEL the game. They must also possess the ability to battle through adverse situations! As time goes on I will share more about “toughness” as it pertains to basketball. We will recruit tough young men that have high basketball I.Q.! I am posting a picture of one of my former players Moussa Diagne from Furman University. Some of you know him as he is now playing professionally, but he fits all these criteria and is a prototype of the young man we are looking for!

Congratulations!

I just wanted to congratulate two of our incoming freshman for participating in All-Star games this summer! Landon Parker was selected to participate in the Arkansas East vs. West All-Star Game and represented the West team. Julian LaDay was selected to play in his 3rd all-star game since his senior season came to a close. LaDay participated in the 77th Annual Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game this past week in which he recorded 6 points, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. . (pictured above: Landon Parker)