Media release...
Tulsa Men’s Basketball Opens Practice for 112th Season
TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men’s basketball team began practice on Monday afternoon in preparation for the 112th season of Golden Hurricane basketball.
Head coach Eric Konkol is set for his first season at the helm of the Hurricane. It’s a mixture of new and old for Tulsa with eight returners, including starters Sam Griffin and Anthony Pritchard, and five newcomers.
“I told the guys, the biggest thing we wanted to see today was a high level of enthusiasm and effort and a high level of attention to detail, but for the longest period you’ve ever done with us,” Konkol said. “I thought they did a pretty good job of that. We’re trying to install a number of things now and get that retention over time. I thought their energy, their effort was really good. There’s some good physical play and things we can build on.”
Tulsa lost its leading scorer from a year ago, forward Jeriah Horne (16.1 points), who also was one of the top rebounders in the conference, pulling down 6.9 boards per game. The Hurricane will also miss the leadership of Darien Jackson, the 2021-22 American Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award recipient and 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year. Rey Idowu, LaDavius Draine and Curtis Haywood II are three other departures who saw significant time last season.
Junior Sam Griffin enters the season as one of the team’s leaders. He was second on the team in scoring a year ago, putting up 14.6 points per game. Starting point guard Anthony Pritchard also returns to help lead the Hurricane. Pritchard was having a solid freshman season before a foot injury cut it short. He finished the year with a team high 80 assists.
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson returns as the team’s lone senior after missing the latter half of last season. Nikita Konstantynovskyi and Tim Dalger bring plenty of returning experience to the lineup while Sterling Gaston-Chapman will look to build off the momentum he had at the end of last season.
A mixture of transfers and incoming freshman will bolster the Tulsa basketball squad in 2022-23. Junior guard Brandon Betson comes in after spending the past season at Chicago State. The Hercules, Calif. native was a second-team All-WAC selection after averaging a team-high 14.2 points with 2.8 assists per game. He also knocked down 79 3-pointers at a 37.1 percent clip.
Bryant Selebangue averaged a double-double at Florida Southwestern Community College last season, averaging 12.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 30 games. The Canadian big man was named to the FCSAA All-State and NJCAA All-Region VIII teams.
Freshman Charles Chukwu will provide depth on the interior, while freshmen BB Knight and Jesaiah McWright will add firepower on the perimeter for the Hurricane.
The Golden Hurricane will continue practices leading up to its season opener on Nov. 7 at Oregon State. Tip-off for the game against the Beavers will get announced at a later date.
Tulsa Men’s Basketball Opens Practice for 112th Season
TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men’s basketball team began practice on Monday afternoon in preparation for the 112th season of Golden Hurricane basketball.
Head coach Eric Konkol is set for his first season at the helm of the Hurricane. It’s a mixture of new and old for Tulsa with eight returners, including starters Sam Griffin and Anthony Pritchard, and five newcomers.
“I told the guys, the biggest thing we wanted to see today was a high level of enthusiasm and effort and a high level of attention to detail, but for the longest period you’ve ever done with us,” Konkol said. “I thought they did a pretty good job of that. We’re trying to install a number of things now and get that retention over time. I thought their energy, their effort was really good. There’s some good physical play and things we can build on.”
Tulsa lost its leading scorer from a year ago, forward Jeriah Horne (16.1 points), who also was one of the top rebounders in the conference, pulling down 6.9 boards per game. The Hurricane will also miss the leadership of Darien Jackson, the 2021-22 American Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award recipient and 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year. Rey Idowu, LaDavius Draine and Curtis Haywood II are three other departures who saw significant time last season.
Junior Sam Griffin enters the season as one of the team’s leaders. He was second on the team in scoring a year ago, putting up 14.6 points per game. Starting point guard Anthony Pritchard also returns to help lead the Hurricane. Pritchard was having a solid freshman season before a foot injury cut it short. He finished the year with a team high 80 assists.
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson returns as the team’s lone senior after missing the latter half of last season. Nikita Konstantynovskyi and Tim Dalger bring plenty of returning experience to the lineup while Sterling Gaston-Chapman will look to build off the momentum he had at the end of last season.
A mixture of transfers and incoming freshman will bolster the Tulsa basketball squad in 2022-23. Junior guard Brandon Betson comes in after spending the past season at Chicago State. The Hercules, Calif. native was a second-team All-WAC selection after averaging a team-high 14.2 points with 2.8 assists per game. He also knocked down 79 3-pointers at a 37.1 percent clip.
Bryant Selebangue averaged a double-double at Florida Southwestern Community College last season, averaging 12.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 30 games. The Canadian big man was named to the FCSAA All-State and NJCAA All-Region VIII teams.
Freshman Charles Chukwu will provide depth on the interior, while freshmen BB Knight and Jesaiah McWright will add firepower on the perimeter for the Hurricane.
The Golden Hurricane will continue practices leading up to its season opener on Nov. 7 at Oregon State. Tip-off for the game against the Beavers will get announced at a later date.
