ORU notebook: Hot shooting nothing new for Niles?
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2012
11/15/12 at 3:01 AM
Senior guard Warren Niles missed only one shot and scored 29 points in 24 minutes of court time in a home opener against St. Gregory's.
"He does that every day," teammate Shawn Glover said.
Every day?
"He does that every day," Glover repeated. "He's one of the best shooters I've ever seen. I'm glad to have him on my team. It's a luxury to have him."
Lineup change: Damen Bell-Holter and Steven Roundtree combined to shoot 4-of-17 in ORU's season opener, a 69-49 loss at UTEP. But that wasn't the reason they failed to start against St. Gregory's.
"Tree and Damen, (it's) nothing major about why they didn't start except they need to take care of their business off the floor a little bit better than they did last week," coach Scott Sutton said, adding that they are two of the Golden Eagles' most experienced players and they need to be more responsible.
Junior guard Mikey Manghum and freshman center Jorden Kaufman replaced them in the starting lineup. Three reserves got playing time before Bell-Holter and Roundtree debuted midway through the first half.
Fast starts: Niles scored 15 of ORU's first 19 points in a season opener. He scored 16 of the first 32 in the home opener.
"I just feel like I play better when I come out and play aggressive early," he said.
Play better, or else: Glover said he and his teammates responded well after a loss at UTEP. Why did they respond well?
"After the practices we had... we didn't have any choice, really," Niles said, adding that he and his teammates chose to go all-out so they wouldn't be subjected to exacting practices.
Said Sutton, "I told them before the game, if they want to keep practicing like we have, go out and play poorly. Play without any effort and without any toughness and we'll keep doing what we are doing."
Sutton indicated he will have to stage lighter practices so players will have fresh legs before embarking on a West Coast swing to University of the Pacific and the Great Alaska Shootout next week.
Ascending: Niles entered the game with 200 career 3-pointers. He matched a career-high with seven 3-pointers and moved past Josh Atkinson and Clarence Thompson into fifth place on ORU's all-time list. Niles needs seven more to catch fourth-place Eric Perry.
