Bucket...

I have not posted in years on here, but follow discussions on a regular basis.  I busted out laughing at your Billy Old comment!  Ole' Bill Old is a great guy and would be laughing his tail off as well!

emufan...

You said you wanted to know what other facts were not true.  To be technical, all facts are true.  It is what makes them facts!  So what other "statements" are true would be the proper terminology.  But enough grammar!

I checked the Charleston Southern website out of curiousity.  Harrison was stated as being in the class of '05, but is not on the stat sheet for the 05-06 season at Charleston Southern.  He his on the stat sheet for the 06-07 season.  He played in 16 games, shot 4-17 from the field, and averaged less than a point a game.  He avaergaed 3 minutes a game for a team that went 8-22.  

I agree with other people who have posted about transfers.  More times than not, they have not worked out.  The three exceptions I can think of are Ramsey Yeatts, Dan Rush (went to BC from a D-2 school and was a beast) and Shane Payne (wasn't able to matriculate at H-SC because of personal issues, but made a great impression while there).  Most of the time they transfer because they find out they are not stars at the D-1 level and want more playing time.  Being closer to home or maybe they get a better financial aid package from a D-3 school if they are a walk-on at the D-1 school are the other top 3 reasons.  Brett Childers at BC was like this and he was a solid player as well.  They bring a lot of arrogance and self-entitlement with them if all they are looking for is shots and a bunch of points.  This is not necessarily the case with this particular transfer.  Eli Crawford is another one that is in a similar boat.  If Kirby Dean gets all these new hearlded recruits to play as a unit, they should finish higher than 4th if they are as good as advertised.

wpspencer... I hope things work out for your cousin.  You have put him out on a pedastal, and if things do not go as you say they are, you have set both of you up, to put it nicely, for some harsh criticism.

Yesterday, on their website, H-SC announced Shane Payne will be transferring.  The statement said he needed to be closer to home to deal with some personal issues.  Certainly, he needs to make decisions based on what he thinks is best for him.  Fomr a basketball standpoint, however, this is a blow to the Tigers.

According to this article it is not official, but Eli Crawford has applied to EMU and will play there if admitted.  If this kid has turned the corner with his academic struggles, it is a great story and he will provide EMU with an even more potent backcourt.

http://www.dnronline.com/sports_details.php?AID=38138&CHID=3&sub=

Congratulations to Guilford.

I'm sure it didn't seem like it at the time, but I think the loss to W&L in the ODAC Tournament was a blessing in disguise.  I think it took some pressure off them.  Transylvania had won 13 of their previous 14.  Averett had won 14 of 15 and had just beaten the host team so they had to have a lot of confidence.  John Carroll was the host team and had won 21 in a row.  And UT-Dallas had won 12 of their last 14.  All those teams won their conference championship.  I don't think it would have been a huge surprise if Guilford lost to any of those teams.  Coach Palombo had the ideal "Guys, we have no pressure to win, so let's go have fun and see what happens" situation and took advantage of it.

Great play and great coaching by GC.  Best of luck in Salem.

Algernon...

Have to disagree with your post.  First off, the ODAC had some publicity from the early 90's when R-MC joined the league after leaving D-II with a team considered pretty good at that level.

Secondly, H-SC did not start getting noticed in the mid 90's, it was the 1991-92 season, when they beat William & Mary and made it to the Sweet 16.  They played a memorable game, in Fleet, during the NCAA, against Centre if I recall correctly, that earned Bat Barber a place in the Faces in the Crowd section of Sports Illustrated. 

Thirdly, I do not think H-SC brought national attention to the ODAC as a whole during the mid-90's, although they certainly brought national attention to themselves.  I would say BC helped bring attention to the ODAC in 1995-96 making the NCAA Tournament and then in 1996-97 making it to the Sweet 16 by winning two road games.  The ODAC, as whole, started getting national attention when Macon and Wesleyan started to make their mark, thanks to the hirings of Rhoades and Macedo.  Now Palombo is getting, if he hasn't already gotten, Guilford there.  With Strong playing in Europe, and Sanborn likely to follow, if I were a 6'10"-6'11" kid that wasn't D-I talent, Guilford is a place I would look at.

I do not believe that one team can bring a conference, at any level, in any sport, "real attention".  Other team were looking at H-SC in the mid-90's, but not the whole ODAC as you stated.

Just getting caught up...

1.  It is fine if you do not prefer VWC's "antics".  Personally, I do not like some of the things they do.  Some things they do I couldn't care less about.  Doino wore a jersey.  If this was when the players were in warm-up lines, I could see it as immature.  But, as I have interpreted it before, he wore it during a shootaround before warm-ups.  If that is the case, so what?  If you think trash-talking is wrong, then you should stop following sports.  If you dislike them so much, there is a solution... stop going to see them play.

2.  Macedo may not have a huge recruiting budget, but he doesn't need one either.  The Virginia Beach area is a hotbed for talent.  Richmond and Northern Virginia are as well, but nothing like the beach.  Maybe the entrance standards are not as high, but they still have to make the grades once they get there.  Didn't Norman Hassell just get booted because he didn't?  Maybe some of the player's "attitude" comes from the area where they live?  If you don't show a little "attitude" around the playgrounds and during in-season games at the beach, you are considered weak.  I have helped run summer team camps that have had a lot of teams from that area.  Every single one of them had an "attitude".

3.  Lastly, no one has to directly root for an opposing team, but you shouldn't directly root against them, either.  At least during this time of year.  If you think that your team's success, especially in recruiting, is helped by other team's notoriety, why would you root directly against them?

emufan...

You're right in that credit needs to be given.  I mentioned EMU did very well going 5-1 against H-SC, VWC, and W&L.  My point was that would their record be as good if they had a tougher schedule?  Suppose they played the teams playing Tuesday three less times and the top 4 teams three more times.  That could mean a 6-10 finish as opposed to 9-7, and they would be playing Tuesday.  I know it is all conjecture, but I think it begs the question is EMU really, I mean really, a top 5 team?  Not because of thei record, but because of their personnel.  I would say no.  They did nothing against the top four teams in the league this year.  That being said, I do think EMU should beat BC on Thursday.  The Eagles seem to be struggling without Oblitey.   

Now that the regular season is over, it is time to take a look at the unbalanced schedule.  It will be interesting to see how often the results turn out like this, but I think it will probably be often.  I broke this down into the top five teams that received a bye to Salem and the other six teams that have a play-in game.

Guilford and R-MC were the only teams to play the other top four teams 5 times, thus they were the only teams to play the other six a total of 11 times.  GC played Roanoke twice and Macon played BC twice.  The other teams they played once.  They got to play the teams playing Tuesday twice each with the exceptions of W&L and LC

Roanoke, BC, and EMU played the other top four teams 6 times and the other six teams 10 times.   Roanoke was a very good 4-2 against the other four, and BC a respectable 3-3 against the other four.  EMU was 0-6 against the other teams.  They went 9-1 against the six teams playing Tuesday.  

H-SC, VWC, W&L, and LC played the top five teams 9 times.  The Marlins were 3-6, the Tigers and Generals were 2-7, and the Hornets 1-8.  The Tigers were 5-2 against the other six, W&L and VWC were 4-3 and LC 1-6.

E&H and Randolph actually had the most "balanced" schedule, as each played eights games from both groups.  Both were 0-8 against the top, while the Wasps went 5-3 against the other teams and Randolph went 3-5.

I don't think the schedule mattered much to Guilford and Macon, as they were the class of the league this year.  I will give credit to the Maroons as they finished 4-2 against the othet top teams.  But it could be argued that if BC and EMU had the tougher schedule, then one, if not two, teams in the H-SC, VWC, and W&L trio would be packing for Salem instead of getting ready for Tuesday.  I know BC went 3-2 versus the three and EMU was even better at 5-1.  The Eagles were three games up on H-SC and VWC and the Royals were three games up on W&L in the end.  BC and EMU played 10 games versus teams playing Tuesday.  H-SC, VWC, and W&L played 7 games against the same teams.  

I think it is safe to say the top teams will be on top no matter what, and the bottom teams will be there no matter what.  But the middle of the pack, teams 4-8, will be heavily influenced by the strength of schedule.

Jacketlawyer...

J.J. Redick used to come to H-SC with the Cave Spring team for team camp.  I worked some of those camps around his sophomore and junior years, and needless to say, he was the best thing there.  I can remember in the camp three point contest, he won going away... shooting from NBA range even then.

It's bound to start at some point.... so....

GC and R-MC have clinched a spot in Salem.  Even if they lose out, they are 10-2 and at worst will be 10-6.  VWC, currently 6th, is 6-7, so the best they finish is 9-7.

Roanoke, BC, and EMU are 8-4 for a 2 1/2 game lead on VWC.  It will be hard for any team to catch them, but even at 5-8, H-SC could still sneak in.  I think all of the current top 5 teams will stay there, but you never know. 

E&H with 4 wins, Randolph with 2, and Lynchburg with 1 are guaranteed a play-in game.

Also, it will be very, very interesting to see how everyone did with the unbalanced schedule and how they finished in regards to opponents records.

Speaking of spelling and grammatical errors, eagleslam is as amphibious as you can imagine

hasanova...

I meant to clarify, but obviously forgot.  I meant on this particular board.  Jimmy did have some game though!

And let's not forget the King of the Third Person Talking.... Ricky "Today, I am the greatest" Henderson!!

I think badcall! is the first person to refer to himself using the third person point of view. 

badcall!...

Make sure your spelling and grammar issues are solid before you tell someone to take care of theirs.  Also, rooting for both teams?  Seriously?  I find that more offensive than any grammatical error you could ever make!

J-Dub...

I think the game will be competitive.  BC has more experience, but are still learning a new system.  VWC freshmen are still learning the college game.  I think the game will come down to which teams upperclassmen (Rice, Oblitey, and Trawick vs. Hassell, Fields, and Dixon) play better.  The Fish get a break playing them when the students are not there, so the freshmen should have an easier time. 

I think if BC can get on the freshmen early, they might be able to frustrate them.  It seems, from the play-by-play, EMU was able to get on them early in the OT and Guilford got on them early in the game.  That's why the upperclassmen have to produce for Wesleyan.

The last thing I would say is that Eagles need to attack the rim.  The Marlins already have 8 foul-outs and are giving up 21 free throws per game.  Four of those foul-outs are from McDuffie and Hassell, with two each.  I am guessing those two are VWC's main two in the post, and one or both of them in foul trouble gives the Eagles a big advantage.

It will be an important game for both teams, but it may be more so for the young Marlins.  Going 0-3 in the ODAC, even with all three on the road, is never a good thing.