SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – This March, things look very different for Elijah Lufile. For one, the Oral Roberts redshirt senior is at the heart of the on-court action for the Golden Eagles, something that’s been a long time coming.
Lufile missed the entire 2020-21 season due to injury and, until this November, hadn’t logged significant game action since before the pandemic began in February 2020. In between were 20 months that saw highs for the Golden Eagles as a program – a Summit League Tournament title, a Sweet 16 – but all with the Canadian big man watching from the sidelines.
That, however, has all changed.
Though Max Abmas is still the star, Lufile has emerged as one of ORU’s most important players down the stretch as it seeks to cut down the nets in Sioux Falls and return to the NCAA Tournament. That included a booming 18-point, 14-rebound performance in a quarterfinal win over Western Illinois on Sunday night, Lufile’s fifth double double in the last four weeks.
Paul Mills talked about what Lufile had gone through after the game.
“Can you imagine not doing something for 20 months?” the ORU coach said. “He had to sit on the sidelines and wasn’t allowed to play, but he showed up everyday and watched. He wasn’t able to walk on a treadmill, wasn’t able to be on a bicycle. For that kid just to come in extremely motivated, he wanted to get it done day in and day out. What you’ve seen is an emergence in the last three weeks.”
In that time, Lufile tied a career high in minutes (31 against Kansas City on Feb. 12) and has moved into the starting lineup in the past two games. That’s allowed the Golden Eagles to add a bruising, interior element that they did not necessarily have a year ago. That was on full display against the Leathernecks, as Lufile’s six first half offensive rebounds helped pace ORU despite early struggles from beyond the arc.
Mills was quick to highlight Lufile’s NCAA-leading offensive rebounding rate (21.9%), which notably puts him ahead of Kentucky’s interior force Oscar Tshwiebe. For Lufile, rebounding has become a craft.
“The coaching staff, they do a great job in telling me to block out, high hands, get under [the opposition] early, using your hips and having leverage,” he said after the WIU win.
The technique has helped Lufile grab more offensive rebounds (92) than any other Summit League player this season, despite averaging just 15.9 minutes per game. The Canadian big man now faces a big North Dakota State front line in the semifinals, and a team with whom the Golden Eagles had a post-game altercation with just a few weeks ago.
ORU will now seek to beat the Bison for the first time this season, and Lufile is grateful to be a part of that effort after missing last year’s tournament run.
“This means a lot to me, I’m very thankful,” he said. “I give glory to God because honestly without him I wouldn’t be here right now. It means so much to me and my family to be able to represent the school and my family with my last name on my back.”
The game pits the Golden Eagles against an NDSU team that limited its opponents on the offensive glass at the second-best rate in the Summit this season. Preparing for how to deal with Rocky Kreuser, Grant Nelson, Sam Griesel and Co. was at the forefront of Mills mind as he stared down an all-nighter after the WIU win, which wrapped up around 11 p.m. local time.
“Our coaching staff, we don’t sleep,” he said. “We’re anxious to see what adjustments we make. On a normal night I usually fall asleep around 4 a.m., but tonight it’ll be around 6 a.m. and we’ll meet as a staff at 8 a.m. so we’ll figure it out then.”
Unlike last year, those plans now include a healthy and surging Lufile, who has emerged as one of the Golden Eagles most important players.
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