It's disappointing to see ODAC fans that know the game genuinely wish the Marlins to lose.  I understand not enjoying their style of play.  I even understand objecting to the attitudes of individual players.  I don't, however, feel it reasonable to wish losses on a team that has represented the conference through a National Championship and a National Runner-Up.  The ODAC is respected more nationally today than they have been in the 10 years I've been following the league.  Ben Strong and the improved play throughout the conference deserves partial credit.  However, the variable that has driven our conference forward into the national spotlight the most has been the Marlins making back to back championship appearances and the heroics of Adair and Balenga.  When I come across basketball fans that happen to know of the ODAC, these are the events and names I hear.

I'm not making this point to convince everyone to love Virginia Wesleyan.  Rather, I would only hope that ODAC fans would respect the team.  I would never route against an ODAC team in postseason play, let alone the team that has recently brought the conference further respect and notoriety.  It's disappointing that other so-called ODAC fans can do so.  I can assure you that the Virginia Wesleyan campus, students and faculty alike, would have been pulling for any ODAC teams in the coming weeks... thugs or not.      

I guess conference loyalty isn't important to some.  In some cases it doesn't even appear to be as important as loyalty to fun teams to watch.  I don't agree but to each his own.  

Here's to being an ODAC fan.  Go GC and VWC!

VWC 80  WPI 75

Balenga, Tonton 6/9 FG  5/6 3PT 14/15 FT 31 PTS


I remember that guy; he comes around every March or so.  Congrats to the Marlins and good luck to Guilford tonight.  Let's keep on rollin..

VWC easily over LC.  For a significant part of the first half LC had more fouls than points, 9-7.  Halftime count was 48-16.  Balenga and Fantin both had big games on senior day. 

So the refereeing was poor and the sportsmanship was questionable.  That sounds like nearly every ODAC game.  The refs are not the best by any means, period.  TonTon and a great deal of other players in this conference, division, country, sport, and world talk trash; very few get T'd up.  It sounds like an intense game; had the result been different I expect we'd have seen trash talking the opposite way, likely from both the fans and players.  Good or bad, it happens.  I won't get into "culture" but all those institutions you mentioned have plenty of trash talking and instinctual "I told you I was better" reactions; they're just a bit quieter and without such fanfare.

Is there a report on the basketball game at all (beyond the refs and antics)?  I'd love to hear basketball details about a very important game in our conference.

Quote from: DenbowsRoomie on February 11, 2008, 12:49:16 PM

When I surmise W&L's chances in the tourney against the rest of the conference, I can't help but get a feeling that the Generals match up best with the Quakers.  VaWes's athleticism and running style always seems to give W&L a nightmare game.  I haven't followed the Jackets enough to know whats up with them.  The Gennies vs Quakers match-up is a frontcourt-dominated half-court style of play.  I'm looking forward to seeing what W&L does with Guilford in Lexington next week...then we'll see how I feel about this hypothesis.

I think just about any team that makes the tournament has the potential to make a run.  It's all about 1) getting hot at the right time and 2) getting a decent draw.  A team like W&L definitely doesn't want to see VWC again; that style is difficult for them.  Every team has styles they're strong and weak against.  There won't be an easy road to the ODAC championship by any means, but for some teams a certain path may be substantially less difficult.  I'm looking forward to it.

Another ridiculously good defensive effort led VWC to about a 25 point win over W&L.  VW held down the paint, something I doubted they'd do, and shot fairly well.  The quickness of the Marlin guards really got to the Generals.  Another very solid game for Tyler Fantin, whose company down low, Hassell and Carlton, also played well.  Perhaps the level of competition is deceiving me but the back to back convincing wins over Roanoke and W&L have me thinking VWC has finally hit its stride.  The defense and guards who have been there all along are now being accompanied by solid inside play.  They could be a scary draw come tournament time.  W&L is talented and provided Greg has better performances down the stretch, I wouldn't look forward to playing them.

VWC easily over Roanoke.  Balenga did play but this was a team effort.  VW showed a lot more energy than they have recently and their defense was superb.  Poor officiating made it an aggravating game to watch but a good win for the Marlin's confidence regardless.

Quote from: GuilfordAlum on February 04, 2008, 04:31:47 PM
WnL has to have alot of kids from outside the state.... It simple because as a Coach, with those kinds of unbeleivable academic standards, you have to open up your recruiting grounds to basically anywhere and everywhere. If I were the coach, I'd be thinking about big time private high schools. More the reason why I believe Hutchinson has done an unbelievable job there. It is easily the hardest coaching job in the ODAC(in my opinion), just because purely of the academic standards his kids have to meet. Not to say that there aren't many other fine schools in the ODAC, and that other coaches don't have to meet standards (I know Guilford does for sure), but I dare anyone to take a look at WnL's players highschool SAT/ACT scores and compare them to somebody like.... Va Wes, .... guarantee that would be interesting. .....                   Then of course, theres other schools out there that are getting in done on the hardwood and the classroom, Wash U etc etc...   We played Johns Hopkins last yr who has one of the finest medical facilities in the country, and they were certainly able to compete on the hardwood as well.   All in all, recruiting in DIII is interesting, you dont have the clearing house (I dont think), and each school has their standards that the players have to meet.

...and Notre Dame can't get football recruits. Oh wait, they're the most storied football university on earth.  Good recruiting is good recruiting and each school comes with unique advantages and challenges.  At the D3 level, where there are no scholarships and a high school player's college decision is based more on academics, a reputation for academic excellence is a great recruiting tool. 


I won't throw fuel on the fire over the Virginia Wesleyan comment.. but it probably deserves it.

Anyone have any analysis or details relating to the game? I'm not all that concerned what fans were chanting.

Congrats to Guilford on a very good weekend, one that builds important confidence for a little further down the road.

VWC knocked off E&H this afternoon.  I forget the exact final but it was around 110-99.  It was the kind of game you'd expect if you envisioned these 2 teams playing.  VW dominated inside, shot fairly well outside, and played so-so against the press.  E&H went on some runs to keep it close (tied at half) and played hard.  The Marlins were clearly the better team but E&H always makes you work.  It will be interesting to see how all the running effects the Marlins in the Guilford game tomorrow.

I also think Fields can be better than Balenga. Compared to Balenga as a Sophomore, he's at least nearly as good. Balenga's leadership on that team, however, makes him special.  You can argue 1st team/2nd team regardless but it has never been statistics that really separated Balenga.  It's nice to see Fields showing signs of leadership and clutch shooting somewhat reminiscent of his senior counterpart who shot his way to a ring in his own soph season.  I'd love to see a Field's imitation of Mr. Balenga come tournament time.

I've learned to stop doubting Balenga based on statistics and what I see with my eyes.  He's the leader of that team.  If you mention otherwise to any of the Marlins they'll laugh and explain to you the level he plays at, especially on the practice court.  Fields may look better but defense's often keep a closer eye on Balenga, opening up some shots for the younger guard.  Fields is definitely talented, though; he may be better than Balenga at his age, maybe even by the numbers now.  I look forward to watching Fields the next couple of years.  There are definitely times that, like you said, I swear he's the most capable guard on the floor.

Teams shoot very poorly often but almost always score more than 38 points.  There was a lot more to it. That 18-5 turnover to assist ratio for RMC was key.  I guess you can always make the argument that a team should've shot better etc but those 18 turnovers were forced by the Marlins.  They played the kind of defense that has perplexed some very good offenses the past couple of years.  Every ODAC team has seen it at least once.  I'm not saying 38 is characteristic of RMC, they're generally much better.  However, on this night it was that classic Marlin D that forced 18 turnovers and put several key players (Short, Dixon, especially Carlson) out of their games.  I feel like every ODAC team has tasted that tenacious pressure defense at one time or another.  It had been missing; it finally showed up. 

RMC did hold VWC to 56 and I was the first to say there were 2 great defensive efforts in that game, not just one.  Both teams played well on that end of the floor.

rmc, I'm definitely not saying VWC is a lot better than RMC.  The first half proved the teams are close.  It was that one single VW run to start the second half, that's it.  Don't mistake my admiration for the defensive effort that finally showed up yesterday for any disrespect of the RMC team.  I don't look forward to playing them again, quite honestly. 

Quote from: rmc1982 on January 27, 2008, 12:03:00 AM
That being said ,however,although you played good defense[as we did-we held you way below where you like to play]we also shot 20% in the 2nd half[28% for the game]and if you saw the same game i did,not alot of it was the marlins defense-we just shot badly.

RMC certainly could have shot better but I would actually say the opposite, a lot of it was indeed Marlin defense.  Every shot was contested and VWC was physical enough to never let the Jackets get into a rhythm.  RMC played great defense as well, you're right.  It was just that one run that did it for the Marlins.  Most games VW is going to shoot better also.  Even shooting poorly, they still pulled away.  Give credit where credit is due; there was great defense played tonight on both sides.

I mentioned that I felt Marlins D would be the wild card in the RMC game today. It was. RMC may have laid an egg, gave up, etc but it was because of a tenacious VWC defence.  Both teams played well on that end of the floor; it was 23-21 at the half I believe.  VW just has too much talent not to go on at least one decent run offensively and it came in the first 5 minutes of the second half.  The Marlins scored 23 the entire first half and then 18 in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second.  During that run, they held the Jackets to 2 points or so.  Very competitive games with two aggressive defensive minded teams often come down to a single run and that was it.  Hassell and Fantin can almost make you forget how much they miss Adair when they're playing well.  Unfortunately they aren't as consistent but they are stepping up more and more.  This win is certainly huge for the Marlins.  They need to keep playing that sort of D.  As for RMC, I'd expect the loss to motivate them.  They're a very, very gifted team.

I remember rmc hyping Rhoade's coaching as better than Macedos.  I decided to keep an eye on it in the game. After watching, the coaching edge certainly went to the Marlins in my mind.  The right substitutions kept creating the right match-ups and VW appeared motivated even when RMC threatened to run away in the first half.  RMC didn't show the same resolve.  My personal opinion is that they're two of the best coaches in the country, probably about equal.  I certainly can't see rating either as significantly better.