Oct. 18, 2005

Tulsa basketball is in transition. The past two seasons haven't been anything what Golden Hurricane fans have become accustomed to since the 1980-81 basketball season when Nolan Richardson took a whole new team to the NIT Championship.

In the next 23 years, Tulsa basketball became synonymous with success. Winning over 500 games, capturing eight conference titles, winning five conference postseason tournament championships, advancing to the NCAA Tournament 13 times, the NIT five seasons and winning the NIT Championship one more time.

Since 1994, Tulsa basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times, the NCAA's "Sweet Sixteen" three times, the "Elite Eight" once, has an 11-8 NCAA Tournament record, won the 2001 NIT title, had five first-place league finishes and won the conference tournament twice.

However, the past two seasons produced just 18 wins. Enter new Head Coach Doug Wojcik. Wojcik comes to Tulsa after assistant coaching stops at Notre Dame, North Carolina and Michigan State. He brings a new attitude and confidence that has Golden Hurricane fans encouraged and anticipating a return to the elite of college basketball.

In 2005-06, the Hurricane has eight newcomers joining a cast of five returning players, including three starters. Among the newcomers, two are junior college transfers while six true freshmen will also compete for playing time.

"We basically have seven upperclassmen - with Darold and Rod - and eight underclasssmen, so we're not as youthful as you may think," said Wojcik. "It's a matter of putting a new staff, new team, new concept, new style of play and new philosophy together in a quick amount of time."

Leading the way for the Hurricane is senior center Anthony Price (6'8), who returns as Tulsa's leading scorer and rebounder with a 13.3 scoring average and 4.7 average on the boards.

"I'm very pleased with the work ethic from the time I got here, academically and basketball-wise, of our returning guys," said Wojcik. "Anthony Price has been very consistent in his efforts, and I expect big things out of Anthony. I want him to work to be an all-conference player, and a doubledouble guy."

Wojcik and his coaching staff will utilize the athleticism and versatility to maximize the potential of this Hurricane team.

"I think we will be very versatile and interchangeable and we'll be fairly deep, although youthful, Wojcik said. " Our concerns are the youth and inexperience, and size and girth. Size and girth are great, but I don't want that if the player cannot help us. So I'd rather have smaller kids where we can be a little more versatile and skilled inside and out, and also try to create mismatches." Another transition for the Hurricane is Tulsa's move into Conference USA. The new league will renew some old rivalries with the likes of Memphis and Houston, and continue newer rivalries that had been established in the Western Athletic Conference with Rice, SMU and UTEP.

Backcourt
Tulsa returns three letterwinners to the guard position and those three will be joined by a junior college transfer and a true freshman.

Sophomores Brett McDade (5'11") and Deion James (6'1") started the majority of the games a year ago. McDade started 24 games, while James was in the starting lineup 15 times. McDade, as a red-shirt freshman, averaged 9.6 points and 2.6 assists. With his 270 points on the season he ranks fourth on the school's all-time freshman scoring list.

McDade showed his ability to score last year for the Hurricane, as he had 14 double-figure scoring games and over the final 15 games of the season averaged 14.2 points. James averaged 5.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists while playing in 27 contests. He had season-bests of 19 points and 7 rebounds in a road game at Boise State.

McDade led Tulsa in assists in eight games, while James was the team leader in assists in seven contests. McDade also had the team lead for steals eight times and James five. Senior Chris Wallace (6'2") played valuable minutes in the past two seasons and will be counted on to provide leadership and stability for the Hurricane. A year ago, Wallace averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds, while shooting 36-percent from three point range. He had 11 double-figure scoring games last year and scored a career-best 17 points in the season finale against Boise State. Twice on the year, Wallace converted on five three-pointers in a single game. The newcmers to the guard position are junior college transfer Roderick Earls (6'2") and freshman Antonio Hanson (6'2').

A year ago, Earls led his Paris Junior College team to an overall 28-9 record and the NJCAA National Championship . The point guard was named the NJCAA National Tournament Most Valuable Player as well as earning first-team all-tournament team merits. In four tournament games, Earls averaged 13.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists, while shooting 54-percent from three-point range and 75-percent from the free throw line.

Earls led the Dragons to a two-year mark of 54-16 while averaging 7.5 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds. As a sophomore, he turned in averages of 8.8 points and 3.6 assists.

Hanson, a left-handed shooter, also has the ability to play both the point and off-guard position. He averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 steals his senior season while leading his team to a 17-5 record. Hanson shot 56-percent from the field, 36-percent from three-point range and 78.3-percent from the free throw line. He scored at a a18.1 clip as a junior.

The Hurricane backcourt appears to be a versatile and interchangeable, yet smallish group, that has the ability to move the ball up the court quickly and score.

Frontcourt
Two returning players return to the frontcourt for the Hurricane, while an influx of newcomers bring athleticism to the roster.

Anthony Price (6'8") enters his senior campaign as Tulsa's leading returning scorer and rebounder. He scored at a 13.3 clip last year, grabbed 4.7 rebounds and blocked one shot per game. Price became a scoring force inside for the Hurricane a year ago. He had 18 double-figure scoring games and four 20+ scoring games, while leading Tulsa in scoring in eight games and in blocked shots nine times

Price tallied a career-best 39 points vs. SMU, and added 8 rebounds a year ago. His 39 points was the most for a Tulsa player since the 1962 campaign. Price has played in all 91 games since coming to Tulsa, while starting 53 career games. He has 34 career double-figure scoring games and three double-digit rebounding games.

One more returning player in the Hurricane front court is 6'10 junior Charles Ramsdell. He has the ability to play around the basket and possesses a solid perimeter shot.

A year ago, Ramsdell averaged 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds while playing just over six minutes a game. As a freshman though, Ramsdell scored at a 3.7 clip and grabbed 2.4 rebounds, while averaging 14.6 minutes per game. What numerous players may not accomplish in a four-year career, Ramsdell accomplished in just his 13th game in a Tulsa uniform. In a 58-57 home win over Boise State, Ramsdell scored the game-winning basket on a last second tip-in.

Ramsdell, who also lettered in track the past two seasons, finished in second place at the 2004 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the high jump with a jump of 6-feet, 10-inches. Although the Hurricane hasn't added bulk and girth to the frontcourt with the incoming class, the group of newcomers provide talent and athleticism, and all come from a program that has experienced winning.

Junior college transfer Darold Crow (6'7") averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds while starting 30 of 60 games in his two seasons at Seminole State. As a sophomore, Crow averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds while leading his team to a 23-13 record and the NJCAA national tournament. Crow was rated as the No. 4 prospect at the national tournament by Hoopmasters.com. Tulsa has three newcomers similar in build standing six-feet, six-inches tall in the likes of Ashton Hall, Ray Reese and Bishop Wheatley.

Hall was a four-year starter at Kountze (Texas) High School and led his team to back-to-back state titles with identical 36-2 records as a junior and senior. In four years, his prep team amassed 134 victories. As a senior, Hall averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots. He was a twotime TABC Class 2A first-team all-state selection and was rated as the 28th top senior in the state of Texas by TexasHoops.com.

Reese played for the nation's fourth-ranked team last season at Westchester (Calf.) High School . He scored 11.0 points and had a team-leading 8.5 rebounds, while adding over four assists and three steals per game as a senior. Reese helped his team post a 28-3 record and win the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I state championship in 2004-05.

A three-year starter at Cedar Hill (Texas) High School, Wheatley helped guide his team to an overall three-year record of 93-12 record. As a senior he averaged 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.2 steals in his senior season. Wheatley was ranked among the top-130 seniors in the state of Texas earning a ranking of No. 53 by TexasHoops.com.

Tulsa's two remaining freshmen bring some heighth to the Hurricane roster. Sean Coleman stands at 6'8", bu needs to add size to his frame. He, too, is an athletic player who has the ability to score from the perimeter. As a senior at Westbury Christian High School in Houston, Texas, Coleman averaged over 12 points and six rebounds while helping his school post a 34-6 record and win the Class 5A State Championship.

He showed his ability to shoot from long range as witnessed by his three-point field goal percentage of 43-percent.

Sam Mitchell (6'9') possesses great potential for the Hurricane. Last year, Mitchell was a starter at Bartlesville (Okla.) High School and helped lead his team to a 25-3 record and the Class 6A state runner-up finish. He averaged 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 59-percent from the field as a senior.

What to Expect
The Hurricane will feature a young and athletic team in 2005-06, and will be looking for leadership from its two capable seniors -- Anthony Price and Chris Wallace.

Tulsa possesses the talent to make steady progress and improvement in the standings from a year ago, and start the transformation of Tulsa basketball back into a program that garnered national respect in the 1980's, `90s and up through 2003.

"A goal of ours will be to be better today than yesterday and where that takes us based on wins and losses will be determined on how quickly we grow as a team," said Wojcik.