The Summit League is the home of the iron man in 2023-24. But don’t just take my word for it, look at the cold, hard stats. 
 
Per kenpom.com, the national leaderboard for percentage of minutes played (%Min) is packed with Summit players. That stat tracks just what it says: the percentage of minutes available that a player is on the court for his team. 
 
By mid-December, Isaac McBride was atop that leaderboard by playing in 98.5 percent of the Golden Eagles’ minutes this season. A familiar face followed right behind him, with teammate Kareem Thompson (98.2%) the second most-relied upon player in the country. League rivals are not far behind, with the South Dakota State duo of Zeke Mayo (92.5%) and Charlie Easley (92.5%) tied at 11th nationally. 
 
And with players like those four, why would you not keep them on the court?
 
The Golden Eagle duo 
The Oral Roberts backcourt duo has been the strength it was expected they’d be before the season. Before the season, first-year Golden Eagle head coach Russell Springmann lauded the experience McBride and Thompson would bring having both been integral parts of ORU’s 30-win team in 2022-23. 
 
For McBride, it might have seemed written in the stars that he’d step in for a program icon and flourish as a primary scorer (18.5 ppg). That’s just what he’s done, and while it’s impressive that he’s done that against a schedule that’s included three Big 12 teams and an SEC team, it’s even more impressive he’s done it so seamlessly. 
 
Thompson has been as influential. 
 
The Golden Eagle stalwart, who is fourth nationally in the more traditional minutes per game stat (38.3 mpg), has had a career season virtually across the board. He’s even managed to maintain his trademark efficiency from distance (40% 3P) despite shooting much more this year. 
 
Springmann ran through Thompson’s on-court accolades during Summit League Media Day in October: three-year starter, a big part of a Sweet 16 team, a conference champion. But he also honed in on something else. 
 
“He’s done a tremendous job leading,” Springmann said. “We’re excited about his role and continued development.” 
 
That leadership may explain how ORU, which has been more impressive than its 4-6 record would suggest, has been able to integrate a handful of new players in key roles – including Jailen Bradford – and compete against a difficult schedule. 
 
The Jackrabbit duo
SDSU has found itself in a similar position. 
 
Though he said he’s been dealing with a shoulder injury in a postgame interview following the Jackrabbits win over Mayville State, Easley has shrugged off an injury-riddled 2022-23 season to have a career year (12.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.0 apg). He’s been a consistent source of offense, yet maintained that all-around production and effort that has marked his time in Brookings. 
 
That doesn’t surprise Eric Henderson. 
 
“There’s a lot of ways he impacts games. He rebounds for us, he usually gets one of the hardest guards, and he’s always up for the challenge,” the fifth-year coach said in that same interview. “We talk in practice that 50-50 balls aren’t 50-50 balls when Charlie is involved. He’s going to come up with it, and that’s how he plays.” 
 
For his part, Mayo has, like McBride, lived up the lofty preseason expectations placed upon him. The junior has played at a Player of the Year level (18.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and drew the praise of his coach following the Mayville State game, where he and the other starters sat on the bench more than usual in a lopsided win. 
 
“He’s so much more efficient now than he’s ever been,” Henderson said. “I love that he’s able to score 17 points on 10 shots, that’s really important to our team.” 
 
And while that may have been a ho-hum, take-care-of-business home game against an NAIA opponent, it came on the heels of their biggest win to-date at Wichita State. In that game, Henderson mentioned that his team was as connected as it has been all year, and that’s reflected in the stats. 
 
The SDSU offense is assisting on nearly 50 percent of its made shots this year, which is a big uptick in ball movement over where it was a year ago (41.8%).
 
Continuity on the court likely plays into that, and that’s something that both ORU and SDSU have been able to rely on this season with their respective iron men duos.

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