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Omar's Number Should Be Retired
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bubbadog57 Offline
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Post: #1
Omar's Number Should Be Retired
There is no doubt in this observer's mind that Omar Prewitt's uniform number should be retired and hung from the rafters at Kaplan.

He was a singularly great player at William and Mary, playing 126 games and never missing one, on Tribe teams that won more games over a four year span than any others and had more conference victories.

Despite playing with another great, Marcus Thornton, who dominated for two years, Prewitt's career stats clearly define his all-time career at W&M:

*He is our fifth all-time scorer with 1831 points,,, playing 3823 minutes
that means Omar averaged nearly 1/2 point per minute (.482) for every one of those minutes, a remarkable number.

*His 118 steals ranks him #11 all-time at W&M, a staggering statistic
when you consider his role on the team

*He is #10 all-time at W&M in blocked shots with 78, again a number you wouldn't think of

*He shot 46.7% from the field, a great Top Ten figure, and a respectable
35.2% from three-pointland.

*We all used to moan about Omar's four-shooting, yet he chalked up a good 70.3% for his career at the foul line.

These numbers, plus his intangible attributes on the court while never missing a game despite all kinds of ankle and leg injuries, combined with the success of the teams for which he played, make him a lock to have his number go along side his teammate, Marcus Thornton.

I know this discussion is currently going on within the athletic department and, hopefully we will hear it announced at the Basketball Dinner April 7th.
03-22-2017 06:47 AM
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hktribefan Offline
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Post: #2
Omar's Number Should Be Retired
Aren't numbers usually retired a few years after someone leaves? For instance Marcus' number has still not yet been retired.
03-22-2017 07:04 AM
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zablenoise Online
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Post: #3
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
I disagree here. Omar was never even the best player on the team (Marcus, Marcus, Terry, Daniel). I think his numbers reflect when he played and who he played with more than anything else.

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03-22-2017 07:07 AM
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nj alum Offline
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Post: #4
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
Men's basketball has no booster club (it's 2017 ... let that sink in ... really let that sink in).

Men's basketball can't afford a $75K pre-season trip.

Men's basketball can't afford a decent OOC home schedule.

Men's basketball doesn't even honor prior championship teams with banners from the rafters.

No problem. Let's discuss retiring Omar's number and hanging his number from the rafters.

This is so sad.
03-22-2017 07:30 AM
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TribeNiner Offline
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Post: #5
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 07:04 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  Aren't numbers usually retired a few years after someone leaves? For instance Marcus' number has still not yet been retired.

Nobody's should be until Thornton's is.
03-22-2017 07:39 AM
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WMInTheBurg Offline
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Post: #6
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 07:39 AM)TribeNiner Wrote:  
(03-22-2017 07:04 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  Aren't numbers usually retired a few years after someone leaves? For instance Marcus' number has still not yet been retired.

Nobody's should be until Thornton's is.

Love Omar, but this is correct. I'd also argue for Daniel and Omar at the same time rather than one of them.
03-22-2017 07:48 AM
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TribeToTheEnd Offline
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Post: #7
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 07:48 AM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  
(03-22-2017 07:39 AM)TribeNiner Wrote:  
(03-22-2017 07:04 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  Aren't numbers usually retired a few years after someone leaves? For instance Marcus' number has still not yet been retired.

Nobody's should be until Thornton's is.

Love Omar, but this is correct. I'd also argue for Daniel and Omar at the same time rather than one of them.

Let's not get crazy with the retired numbers. This should be reserved for generational talents; Omar and Daniel were never real conference POY candidates, only each made the first team once, and (as was stated above) Omar was never the best player on our own team.

Good players and great careers, but our success was more of a team effort than the result of Herculean individual efforts.
03-22-2017 08:03 AM
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TribeNiner Offline
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Post: #8
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 08:03 AM)TribeToTheEnd Wrote:  
(03-22-2017 07:48 AM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  
(03-22-2017 07:39 AM)TribeNiner Wrote:  
(03-22-2017 07:04 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  Aren't numbers usually retired a few years after someone leaves? For instance Marcus' number has still not yet been retired.

Nobody's should be until Thornton's is.

Love Omar, but this is correct. I'd also argue for Daniel and Omar at the same time rather than one of them.

Let's not get crazy with the retired numbers. This should be reserved for generational talents; Omar and Daniel were never real conference POY candidates, only each made the first team once, and (as was stated above) Omar was never the best player on our own team.

Good players and great careers, but our success was more of a team effort than the result of Herculean individual efforts.

Agree. This is in no way a slap to either of those players. They were great members of the Tribe and had stellar careers, but retired jerseys should be reserved for truly rarified air. Going too crazy with it forces you to go to a two-tiered system like NCSU has. They have "honored" jerseys, but the only retired jersey is David Thompson's.
03-22-2017 08:46 AM
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B_Hawk06 Offline
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Post: #9
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
I know this is a bit out of my realm as a Seahawk fan, so I won't comment on whether his jersey should be in the rafters or not. However, I was lucky enough to watch him his junior season at every WM home game that season. Yes, he was playing behind Tarpey in terms of talent level, but man he was fun to watch. I commented at the beginning of the season in the conference talk threads about if I could have any conference player from another team on my team this year, I picked Omar. I like his drive, his style of play, and his versatility.

I will say one thing. You all do need to get Thornton's jersey up there in Kaplan immediately. That should have been done last year. He was absolutely unbelievable. Sadly, I was still on the west coast and was never able to see him play in person.

Hoping your boys are able to get the money to go on that foreign trip too. A high quality William and Mary team is very important for the conference.
(This post was last modified: 03-22-2017 08:55 AM by B_Hawk06.)
03-22-2017 08:55 AM
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bubbadog57 Offline
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Post: #10
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
The announcement of the retiring of Thornton's number. as some have forgotten, was made immediately after the end of his senior season, not years later...the only reason it isn't up in Kaplan right now is that Marcus has been overseas both basketball seasons since he left.

It will be hung from the rafters when he's here for a game during basketball season, hopefully sometime next season...if he's in the USA.

Hopefully, Omar's will follow afterwards. I haven't seen anyone refute his remarkable all-round career marks. They are irrefutable.
03-22-2017 09:56 AM
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zablenoise Online
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Post: #11
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 09:56 AM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  Hopefully, Omar's will follow afterwards. I haven't seen anyone refute his remarkable all-round career marks. They are irrefutable.

I refute them. His numbers and career do not merit retiring his jersey.

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03-22-2017 10:00 AM
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Tribal Offline
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Post: #12
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
I hate to disagree with Big Tribe about anything so this is very difficult for me. We should not retired Omar's number because, although great, he was *only* #5, #10, and #11 in three categories. I think it takes an all time great...a #1...to earn that right or a player who was ridiculously dominant and got us to the NCAAT.


One Tribe. One Family.
03-22-2017 10:19 AM
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wml33t Offline
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Post: #13
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 09:56 AM)BigTribe3 Wrote:  The announcement of the retiring of Thornton's number. as some have forgotten, was made immediately after the end of his senior season, not years later...the only reason it isn't up in Kaplan right now is that Marcus has been overseas both basketball seasons since he left.

It will be hung from the rafters when he's here for a game during basketball season, hopefully sometime next season...if he's in the USA.

Hopefully, Omar's will follow afterwards. I haven't seen anyone refute his remarkable all-round career marks. They are irrefutable.

Can you point me to this announcement please?
03-22-2017 10:50 AM
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Tribe Fan Offline
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Post: #14
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
(03-22-2017 07:04 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  Aren't numbers usually retired a few years after someone leaves? For instance Marcus' number has still not yet been retired.

John Lowenhaupt's 42 and Keith Ceplicki's 14 were retired at during their Senior night tributes. They were each given their respective jerseys in a frame. I witnessed both ceremonies . The actual rafter banners bearing their numbers hung from the rafters before the next season began.

I applaud Omar for an excellent career and deserves a great deal of respect but not enough to warrant a number retirement. If he had been a POY then it would have boosted his chances. He was not even 1st team all-conference his Sr. year.
03-22-2017 10:56 AM
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Tribe32 Online
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Post: #15
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
Omar isn't even close in my opinion. His stats are high because he played a lot of games/minutes. I never considered him to be a clutch performer, although could score at will when he was on. Jersey retirement should only go to those players who truly made the team better and were the key performer for most of their tenure with the Tribe. If Tarpey had similar statistics he would have been a lock. It is the intangible stuff and leadership that matters most to me. I go back to the early 70s watching Tribe hoops and Omar wouldn't even be in my top ten list let alone putting his jersey at the top of the Kap
03-22-2017 11:04 AM
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NC Tribe Offline
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RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
Some schools have waiting periods before retiring jerseys, just like the pro sports do. I think that you need a few years to put a player's career in perspective. If Marcus's jersey has been retired, than I have seen two Tribe players whose jerseys have been retired. Omar isn't in the same zip code of Keith and Marcus in my opinion. I would put Bracey and Quinn as high or higher than Omar.
03-22-2017 11:24 AM
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TribePride91 Offline
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Post: #17
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
Wow, this Board is so negative on so many topics lately. It is almost like we just lost to Elon in football. Perhaps I can go over to the JMU board cannabalizing each other over going FBS and then I will feel better. Omar and Daniel both had excellent careers. We should leave it at that, for now.

Had Omar made the front end of the one and one his freshman year against Delaware, he would have been a lock just based on his performance in that championship game 2nd half alone. No one probably wishes he had more than Omar himself. Both Daniel and Omar has some amazing highs during their careers with the Tribe and some painful lows. The 15 minutes in March of 2014 that led up to the final 1 minute 30 seconds of the championship game were among the best Tribe basketball I have seen. Once the Tribe wins the CAA tourney, I will look at that game differently than I do now.
Hopefully, he and Daniel have a great next few months, a great time at graduation and are very successful in whatever they do following this. They were both fun to watch and we enjoyed a higher level of success than we did before, but not quite to the level they or us hoped for. Hopefully, they will like so many other Tribe former players continue to be involved in the future of the program going forward. A player's legacy gets shaped by the hole in the program after. There was a definite hole following Thornton's and Tarpey's graduations. It remains to be seen how much we feel the loss of Omar and Daniel. Either way, it is too early to consider a jersey retirement for either of them.
03-22-2017 11:38 AM
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Sitting bull Offline
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Post: #18
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
I will defer to the experts on this one.

Omar though was one of my favorite Tribe players in over 40 years of watching Tribe basketball. Watching him drive in the lane - then dunk - was a beautiful thing to witness. He was fearless.
03-22-2017 11:50 AM
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Post: #19
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
IMO, retired jerseys should only be granted to All-Americans or, in the case of Thornton, a program transformative player. The fact that their is no debate on his status speaks for itself.

I'd prefer an alternative. Rather than exclusively retire a jersey, how about honor the greats in the rafters like UNC does.
https://www.google.com/amp/keepingitheel...eys-2/amp/
Obviously our criteria would have to be a little different. Perhaps banners reflecting all of the 1st team all conference performers as a criteria? It would dress up our empty rafters and encourage involvement from former tribe greats.
(This post was last modified: 03-22-2017 12:52 PM by mrjoolius.)
03-22-2017 11:55 AM
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bubbadog57 Offline
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Post: #20
RE: Omar's Number Should Be Retired
From today's Tribe announcement of Omar and Daniel making the All-District team (second paragraph). Please note the final line..."Prewitt finished up his Tribe career as only one of two players in program history with career totals of more than 1500 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 100
steals." ONE OF ONLY TWO PLAYERS!...that remarkable career performance alone qualifies him for number retirement. Plus without Omar for the past four seasons we would not have won close
to 77 games...


"Prewitt tallied 1,831 career points, which ranks fifth in program history. He also ranked among the top 15 in Tribe lore in games played (fourth at 126), field goals made (seventh at 626), 3-pointers made (seventh at 189), free throws made (10th at 390), blocked shots (10th at 78), assists (11th at 320), rebounds (13th at 640) and steals (14th at 118). Prewitt finished up his Tribe career as one of only two players in program history with career totals of 1,500 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals."

And everyone appears to have forgotten that Terry Driscoll announced Thornton's number retirement
at the Basketball Dinner following Marcus' last game two years ago. I hope we may see Omar's announced at this year's event.
03-22-2017 11:56 AM
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