As a VWC alum I am hoping that Bethany takes care of St. Mary's and gets to travel to the beach!  For those that don't know, Bethany Head Coach Andy Sachs was the Assistant Coach as VWC in the mid-90's.  He is a great guy and I wish him the best. 

I'm not sure how VWC was overrated...and who was doing the "rating"?  They were picked to finish 4th in the conf and it looks like that would be the lowest they can finish.  They were 20-1 leading up to this past week and despite the 16-0 start I don't recall anyone on here saying that the Marlins were world beaters...merely winning ALL their games.  In fact I think most VWC fans expected this to be a down year as some of the new guys gained valuable experience.

And Algernon...Maybe I'm not looking at it correctly but it sure seems like you are trying to prove how overrated the Marlins are by saying that they only went .500 against the other top 3 teams in conf.  However, your support for this is that the yellow jackets went .500 against the same teams???

And ANOTHER thing...Guilford IS boring and the only reason they are having any success in basketball is due to their VWC trained head coach! Dont worry Lynchburg I'm sure we will train another winner that you can have someday soon!

(tongue firmly in cheek for those of you that think I might be serious)

I agree with JWW on a number of his points regarding the VWC/HSC conduct issue.  However, I don't really have a major problem with the on the court talking, flag fouls etc...but the bench guys need to keep their mouths shut.  If the events unfolded as have been described by multiple people...well...the bench guys (from any team) cannot respond.  As someone who sat on the bench for four years(are rarely left) I am familiar with the types of things fans (and especially the HSC fans) can throw at you.  It can get very ugly and very personal in any rivalry game.  My suggestion to VWC...win games, thump your chest and point to the ceiling (that's where our national championship banner hangs) but leave the debating to us old guys here on this board.

And lastly...Isn't it more fun to follow ODAC basketball with an easily identifiable villain?  If we had a league full of Guilford's (sorry hasa) I'm not sure I would waste my time following! I LIKE that I don't like HSC/RMC (and miss hating Roanoke too!) and that they don't like us.  So I hope the Marlins continue to be cocky, the Tigers continue to be snobs, the quakers continue to be boring and the yellow jackets continue to be stuffy aaaaahhnnyway.  Go Marlins!!!

Anyone know what's going on with Brandon Adair and Ben Strong's pro careers?

Hey ODACHOOPS relax...I'm pretty sure the little smiley face after the post meant that you shouldn't take it too seriously.  And as much as we would all like to get back into the argument regarding the status of the ODAC member schools I will go ahead and concede on behalf of VWC.

You're smart....we're dumb
You're good looking...we're ugly
You're classy/honorable/godly...we aren't

The strongest evidence of your benevolent nature is the fact that you allow the lowly Marlins in YOUR conference.  For that Sir, we thank you.  May HSC's light shine on us all.

As a VWC alum/fan/x-basketballer, I am very content with the way in which Coach Macedo and President Greer have "leaded" us over the years.  That being said, I think VWC need an ODAC finals appearance to get into the dance.

Discuss.

wpspencer22-

Please don't take offense but the people on this board don't get too worked up over statements about any DI transfer.  I hope that EMU is competitive this year and that your cousin plays well but we have seen this situation a hundred (if not more) times.  There have been many players who transferred to an ODAC school from DI programs who failed to live up to the hype. 

People love labels and being a DI guy sounds great but doesn't make you a better player.  If your cousin comes into the ODAC thinking it won't be extremely competitive then he will surely fail.  There is a laundry list of transfer guys who made that mistake.  Also, almost without fail, any DI transfer who played in the ODAC will tell you that it was far more competitive than they ever imagined. 

Congrats to Guilford!!! 


So has anyone elso thought about the possibility of a Palumbo vs. Butterfield match-up in the elite 8?  For those that dont know, Terry Butterfield (now the UTD coach) was the mens coach at VWC when Palumbo coached the VWC women.

Despite what either one of those guys might say...That loss would be tough to take.

Im having a hard time finding any good info in Widener.  Can anyone provide some insight into this match-up?

Part 2 of my rant...

(Full disclosure: I typed up a longer version of this post yesterday but my second rate VWC education didn't teach me how to type and I accidentally hit something on the keyboard which erased all of my hard work. I KNEW I should have gone to RMC!!!!) 

Q:  Why do the VWC fans have such a problem with the "thugs from the beach" label when it's so clearly true?

I have a problem with the label and the way that VWC is perceived and treated because I don't believe it's warranted. 

thug  NOUN:
1. A cutthroat or ruffian; a hoodlum
2. One of a band of professional assassins formerly active in northern India who worshiped Kali and offered their victims to her.

If anyone thinks that the "thugs form the beach" moniker started with coach Macedo or when Brandon Adair got to VWC hasn't been around the ODAC very long.  My association with VWC began in 1992 and I have close friends who were there beginning in 1990.  Since that time, there has been a general lack of respect for VWC.  Have VWC players had lapses in judgment over the last 20 years...yes.  Is there occasional grandstanding (sticking out the tongue, looking at the bench)...absolutely.  But the only truly regrettable event in my mind was the 2007 handshake incident...that's it.  Did that show a temporary lapse in judgment and at worst poor sportsmanship...YES.  Was that "thuggish"...no.

I'm really interested to know how many of you who characterize VWC as the "Thugs from the Beach" (TFTB) have ever had a negative face to face encounter with a VWC player. You know, David Doino and his fashion choices seem to get a lot of attention when this is brought up.  The fact that he wore an NFL jersey in warm ups is at worst comical!  Hardly Thuggish!  If you take off David's Jersey and put him on HSC you all would have typed your fingers off about how hard he plays the game and his win at all costs attitude. It is amazing that another school would hire a "thug" like David and put him in charge of their basketball recruiting...NC Wesleyan is hard core like that yo!

When an RMC player gets T'd he is just being "demonstrative"!!!!  The same conduct from a VWC player makes them a poor sport.  I was at the VWC/HSC game a few weeks ago and a certain HSC star player repeatedly dropped the F bomb as loud as he could when something didn't go his way...but that's just because he cares!

And lastly...Anyone who thinks that VWC is successful because it's "easier" to win there is just an idiot.  In my life I have been fortunate to spend some time with people who are unbelievably successful at their chosen profession.  Not one of those people has ever implied that someone else achieved success because they were "lucky" or it was "easier".   Anyone who suggests that someone else has success because they have it easier just comes off sounding jealous and bitter.

Just my 2 cents (the last 2 in my 401K)

Q: Is there a correlation between the current success of VWC/GC and the past success of HSC and/or RMC?

I feel very strongly that the answer to this question is....maybe.  As someone who played (sparingly) in the ODAC and was recruited (using the term loosely) by multiple DIII schools both in and out of the ODAC, my overall impression of the leagues played a minor role in my decision making process.  At a maximum I would say that I was aware that multiple teams in the ODAC had the opportunity to be ranked nationally which in turn gave me the impression that it was a top tier conference in DIII.

The best analogy that I can come up with in the D1 world is Memphis and Conf-usa.  While this is a far more extreme version of the disparity that existed in the ODAC in the 90's I think that the situation is somewhat similar.   It's my humble opinion that a school like UCF may get additional consideration from a recruit based on the fact that they are in the same conf with a school that regularly "plays on the big stage".  I'm just not sold on how applicable this is to the DIII level.   

Part 2 to follow....

I'm a little shocked to see such animosity towards VWC.  I would be interested to know where this stems from as I (and most other posters) always rooted for the other ODAC teams in NCAA play.

I would like to think that this hostility stems from a healthy respect that the schools have for each other and knowing how difficult it is to have prolonged success at this level.  Unfortunately, the tone of the negative posts does not reveal ANY respect for what VWC has accomplished

Anyway, I wish Guilford and VWC the best of luck in the NCAA's!  Interesting that the only two teams that made the NCAA's out of the ODAC are VWC and a school coached by a VWC grad?

Interesting post Donho...So are we to guess that you wont be cheering for the fish? 

Someone please explain to me what just happened?

I was up in Marlinville for the HSC game 9 days ago and the Marlins did not look good.  In fact, I contemplated posting my thoughts on the game (not good) and writing this year off as a rebuilding year where youngsters were getting some quality minutes.  For the first year since I left VWC (over a decade ago) I didnt even follow the ODAC tourney!  When I checked the scores last night I couldnt believe what I saw...VWC - ODAC Champs???

My only concern is that the new kids will think its OK to just turn it on at the end of the season.  The team I saw vs. HSC was a middle tier ODAC school at best.  Did VWC really turn it around or would those of you, in the know, attribute the win to something else?

Also...Is there a better "big game" coach in the ODAC than Macedo...I dont see how.