WBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[bballfan20]

my knowledge of these programs comes from talking to parents and other fans. regardless of what you say this is a forum, so for you to attack me for having an opinion is wrong honestly. but like me, your also welcome to your opinion.

[whitecaylxx]

Bammer - I don't think W & L gets a recruiting pass just because they demand high SAT scores.  More and more females (and males ) are playing AAU and League Ball.  There is a ton of talent out there - plus the players have the added bonus of brains to go with the brawn.  You have to play to your strengths.  I agree, though, that playing a basketball season and maintaining good grades at a school like Washington and Lee would be a definite challenge for any athlete.

[RVAHokie]

[
The Marlins had played most of regulation from behind, and finally took the lead with two minutes to go in regulation.  I think the game plan was to still get after it defensively, even when it became a four point game.  It cost them a couple critical fouls that the Eagles turned into points, and then the wheels came off for VWC in OT.
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Tough way to lose a game.  Come all the way back from 10 down with 10 to play, take a 4 or 6 point lead and then watch it slip away.  That would hurt, I can understand the momentum shift in overtime...

[bballmom4]

You are correct, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but lets not get hostile.  LC had some unforseen issues, as far as everyone is concerned.  However, unless you were in the room with the Coach/AD/Player when things happened, you shouldn't surmise what happened.  Four Starters left to begin with and forwhatever reasons.  No one will know exactly what happened unless you were in the room.  So lets leave issues alone and stick with basketball and what we are on this site for.  We are not here to trash coaches, players, programs, so lets leave it at that and just play basketball.  Just remember, Basketbal is suppose to be fun and when the fun and heart is no longer there, then you have to evaluate why you are there, and I think that is what happened. 

[Bammer]

Bammer - I don't think W & L gets a recruiting pass just because they demand high SAT scores.  More and more females (and males ) are playing AAU and League Ball.  There is a ton of talent out there - plus the players have the added bonus of brains to go with the brawn.  You have to play to your strengths.  I agree, though, that playing a basketball season and maintaining good grades at a school like Washington and Lee would be a definite challenge for any athlete.

Not a pass just a tougher job than the rest of the league's coaches have to perform.  Lots of talented high schoolers and many current ODAC players could not get into W&L.  Also I do not recall 1 transfer suiting up for the Lady Generals ever.  The availability of transfers has certainly helped out the Maroons this year.  I am not complaining, just pointing out what an outstanding job that Coach King and Coach Pyzik have done and continue to do.  This team is in third by 1 1/2 games late in the season.

[bballfan20]

They deff did a great job at getting good athlete that know that school comes first, deffinately a very talented team, and your right most other players couldnt get into that school

[dukeofargyle]

Bammer - I don't think W & L gets a recruiting pass just because they demand high SAT scores.  More and more females (and males ) are playing AAU and League Ball.  There is a ton of talent out there - plus the players have the added bonus of brains to go with the brawn.  You have to play to your strengths.  I agree, though, that playing a basketball season and maintaining good grades at a school like Washington and Lee would be a definite challenge for any athlete.

Not a pass just a tougher job than the rest of the league's coaches have to perform.  Lots of talented high schoolers and many current ODAC players could not get into W&L.  Also I do not recall 1 transfer suiting up for the Lady Generals ever.  The availability of transfers has certainly helped out the Maroons this year.  I am not complaining, just pointing out what an outstanding job that Coach King and Coach Pyzik have done and continue to do.  This team is in third by 1 1/2 games late in the season.

Bammer, I am going to have to agree with you, despite caylxx's excellent point that so many more students are now playing extracurricular sports. Even so, numbers don't lie. From a strictly mathematical point of view, it's a widely known fact that those students who are presently applying to college in the USA are made up of roughly 60% women and 40% men.

For a college that admits, let's say, an 80% of its applicants (the average of the acceptance rates for 9 of the 11 ODAC colleges), the pool of possible talented athletes is pretty deep, and the recruiting coach can be relatively secure that his/her often highly decorated high school athletic prospect who is a good 3.0-3.5 GPA student will be accepted and come to play in his/her program.

On the other hand, if there is a college which admits only 20% of its applicants, (W&L's approximate acceptance rate) this issue is even more complicated by the fact that the top academic schools in the country can skim off the top academic women to achieve their 50% ratio of women to men.  Which they do.

Do the math. At W&L, which does have a student gender ratio of about 50%/50%, men would then be getting in at a rate of about 25% to the 16% of women who gain acceptance to make up that total average of 20%, because of the higher number of women that apply.  Which leaves the women's coach in schools such as these recruiting the necessarily smallest number of academically qualified athletes.  

The statement that the players "have the added bonus of brains to go with the brawn" is a good one, except that it begs the point of the original post: which is whether or not the W&L coaches have a harder time recruiting and placing 11 very athletically gifted young women on the floor to field every position in basketball or in any in other sport than do the other coaches in the ODAC.  

Further, I agree that Coaches King and Pyzik have done an exceptional job with this team.

[BH2OFan]

New poster, long time reader. My user name exposes where my allegiance lies. Two opinions to get me started: First, if W&L can finish third in the league with the four matchups looming in front of them, mad props for a job well done. Lots of parity this year when seeds 3-8 are wide open with 10 days left in the season.
Second, with the admittedly limited information I possess, I believe a lot of Lynchburg's woes fall on the coaching. As stated here by others we don't know why so many former starters left the program, but everything else being equal it seems odd a program would lose so many at once. I think the ladies there are plenty talented, but having experienced their game at Bridgewater firsthand I can say that there were occasions coming out of timeouts that they reacted very negatively to the tougue-lashings rather than responding with any kind of creative energy.
With regards to the Eagles, they are playing some very good ball lately. Burkholder only had 4 minutes in the first half last night against VWC due to foul trouble, yet they lead at the half. Any kind of serious tournament run hinges on Barnett coming back from injury.
Lastly, I  know the snow is making everyone a little nuts but I implore everyone here to keep it civil and make it an enjoyable read.

[dukeofargyle]

New poster, long time reader. My user name exposes where my allegiance lies. Two opinions to get me started: First, if W&L can finish third in the league with the four matchups looming in front of them, mad props for a job well done. Lots of parity this year when seeds 3-8 are wide open with 10 days left in the season.

Good Point, BH20. I think W&L is fully capable of taking 2 out of those 4; - maybe more, but that is why we play the games. As I said, this is the strongest middle field I have seen yet in the ODAC. IMO, it would not be too rough to fall to #4 in the standings. I think that W&L matches up better with Roanoke.

As far as your last statement: "Lastly, I  know the snow is making everyone a little nuts but I implore everyone here to keep it civil and make it an enjoyable read."  I entirely agree!

I know the team dynamics are not the best at LC and I have to say that I regret that is the case. Even so, the forum is not the place for this level of hostility to another poster. Good sportsmanship begins at home. Play with class or don't play.

[dukeofargyle]

...and yea washington lee is a very good school, and their ability to field good teams despite their very high academic standards is quite amazing. And may i add they have a very nice campus compared to many schools in the area, or the country for that matter.

Thanks for the props, bballfan20.  I have to say that they are both good kids AND great students.

[bballfan20]

no problem duke, ive been to 4 games there this year so far and the first time i didnt know where the gym was so i drove around campus for a while and i was very impressed.

[RVAHokie]

Tough weekend coming up for VWC.  Three games in 4 days coming off the loss in OT to Bridgewater.  EMU tonight, Lynchburg on Saturday and Roanoke on Sunday.  All 3 on the road on the other sides of the Commonwealth.  I am new to d3 and the ODAC - will VWC drive back and forth on I-64 three times or stay in either Lynchburg or Roanoke on Saturday evening?  By Monday we'll have a pretty good feel where VWC is going to end up most likely.

Looks like Bridgewater is sitting pretty for the third or fourth seed in the Tournament.  They have four conference games left with only one (W&L) against a team with a winning conference record.  So can the Eagles stay hungry and not get over-confident - finish winning 3 out of 4 or all 4 and finish in the top 3?

Saturdays contest in Lexington certainly could have an impact on the final standings.  A win by King and the Gennies would be a huge step toward securing 3rd place.  Don't think there are enough games left for W&L to catch RMC but then again, that's why they play the games.....

Let's hope weather does not create any more issues with the roundball season.

[RVAHokie]

One question for the ODAC veterans - where do you get Basketball Tournament Tickets?  It doesn't look like the Salem Civic Center has them on sale yet.

Thanks,

[wmjofva]

thor=BH2OFan link=topic=1077.msg1173687#msg1173687 date=1265836754]
I can say that there were occasions coming out of timeouts that they reacted very negatively to the tougue-lashings rather than responding with any kind of creative energy.
[/quote]

I engage this only to help so another player isn't seriously injured.   Lynchburg has Channel 7 that does show on the local games and they provided disk of last year's 1/20/2009 game between Randolph Macon and Lynchburg College..Jet-Alive Sports shows the game in which a very strong RM team was beating Lynchburg...nothing the Lynchburg players go do with Reisbeck,Ariel team.  Lynchburg coach is in the face of all the players as they came off the floor, then she got T, it was a 'postal T not a smart T you sometimes ask for.

Fast forward to this years game with RM.. what happens a competitive player under this treatment can go over the line.  #23 being defended/ is 1-6 with 3 to, reacts and wildly throws her elbows and fractures the eye socket and beaks the nose of the RM player that was guarding her.

Postive correction will help players play better, tongue lashing will work for a while, but only for a season or two.  It isn't about x's and o's, how you attack a zone, but the approach you take.  If the coach , when she was a player was treated this way, she might think this is the way to go...not today.

In PRACTICE you correct, stomp your feet...whatever...GAME..play or sit.  Watch Roanoke coach or some of the other coachs with long time records..they are not embrassing the players verbally all the time during the games.

The approach should change so  1. no other players gets hurt  2. Lynchburg players can enjoy the game 3. Keep you job.

[wmjofva]

Watching the live stats on the VWC-Bridgewater game, I became very confused.  Up by 4 with just over 1 minute left, VWC kept fouling.  Was anyone there that can explain what was going on the final 2 minutes or so?  It became a foul shot contest and BC took advantage and took it to overtime.

Went to the RMC game, if Molly hadn't been plagued by foul trouble, this game would not have been close.  O'Briant's right shoulder had a healthy dose of k-tape on it and she was noticeably favoring it but she played tough in pain.

You saw a typical RM game of this year.  There is the 2 foul rule, if you get two fouls you sit the rest of the half, Molly was lucky that the 2nd foul came 2:18 of first half.  They play a lot of people regardless of the score.

EMU has done a wonderful job with loss of their center.  With 8 + to go they are ahead, then Coach Lehay got the T (for a number of games Molly A hasn't gotten the calls on the contact, no doubt due to her strength)  After the shots EMU at 8:15 is ahead 41-47; shortly after that, the defensive team was on the floor and with :41 sec left the score was 58-49 RM; they allowed 2 pts in last 8 mins..I love that!   I'd rather win by 4 with defense than lose by 1 with offense (Roanoke).

A coach can have a positive effect on the game and the way it is called.  At VaW normally the guards bump and run with their press until the visiting guards loses ball or thows it away, and at some point in the game they will come back from being down, as there will be a number of calls that take the offensive possession away from the visiting team.

I am sure there is no way Bridgwater's coach allowed that to happen, plus Jordan has made a living from 8th grade, thur AAu onward to getting the fouls at the end of games and converting.
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