MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Jacketlawyer]

Yeah big win for the Gennies.  I listened to what I could of the RC game on the radio.  Good game.

As for Carl Hutchinson, life just got really tough for the guy.  Anytime the Feds are after you, start praying.  As a guy who does Federal and state defense work, I actually feel bad for the man.

[jdubyadubya]

Here's my take on the EMU and VWC game. I'm renaming the Marlins, the "Kardiac Kids!" This was an amazing game, completely controlled by the Royals in the first half and somewhat controlled by the Fish in the second half. In the first half, EMU dominated, hustled and took over. The Fish shot around 20%, turned the ball over too many times, and looked disorganized. Coach Macedo was looking to his bench for any help he could get. TonTon was sitting at the far end of the bench where he remained all night. Adair was sitting at the end of bench wishing he could play(he'll probably be back against Apprentice). Then in the second half, things started to turn around. Hassell, Fantin, and Paschal started to hit. The three free throws by Fantin were the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Talk about pressure. The Fish escaped with a win but I've got to tell you that EMU is hugely improved. If they could have closed it better, it would have been a different story. Congratulations to Sager for getting his 1000th point last night. It was one of the best games I've ever seen. Of course, the best game I've ever seen was last season's ODAC championship game!   

[ladyfan]

JW is right. The game EMU played against VWS was a good game. What it boiled down was that VWS won a game that teams that are at the top of their division should win. EMU lost a game that teams lose that are trying to get the top of the division. I am convinced that before you win games like that, you have to lose a couple. EMU played with heart and intensity, but couldn't close out when needed. The 2-3 minute stretch when VWS had 5 3pt plays killed the emus. People are going to comlpain about the phantom call at the end of regulation on the 3 pt shot or the "no call" under the basket when Sager went for the last shot, but you can't let a game come down to the last possession and expect to come out on top.

EMU has improved and so has the expectations. In years past
the crowd at Yoder would have been pleased with the "moral" victory. Last night everyone was PO'ed and dissapointed that one they should have won slipped away.

[ODACfan1]

Wanted to get a take from the Lynchburg fans about this weekends game against Emory and Henry.  How do the two teams matchup with one another?

[ladyeagle]

Roanoke played very well last night.  Their shots were just making it in.  If the Eagles had stepped up their play sooner than the second half, they would've had a game, but they really didn't light up until then.  They did however look much better than they did at EMU.  Congrats to Roanoke.  They really had a well executed game. 

[mybleedinghands]

Wanted to get a take from the Lynchburg fans about this weekends game against Emory and Henry.  How do the two teams matchup with one another?

I think we have a good chance to win this game, and I'm not just saying it to be saying it, i'm being realistic here. As long as the Hornets are going for layups and high percentage shots instead of putting up long range shots, I believe we will come out on top as long as we limit E&H to only one shot each possession. That seems to have been the formula for the teams that have beaten them, based on what people have said and what the box scores say. I can't really comment on how we match up with E&H. I missed the game last year when they came to Lynchburg after adopting their "speed game", I was extremely sick (almost had to go to the hospital because my fever was so high!) and dfelt my health was more important! I'll be lloking forward to seeing the style of play that has been so heavily criticized on this board here rcently.

[mybleedinghands]

Yeah big win for the Gennies.  I listened to what I could of the RC game on the radio.  Good game.

As for Carl Hutchinson, life just got really tough for the guy.  Anytime the Feds are after you, start praying.  As a guy who does Federal and state defense work, I actually feel bad for the man.

I feel bad that a man can actually be that stupid, unethical, and immoral!

[3sdown]

Scottie-

But, isn't LC just playing the game for the revenue from admission to the game? 

And be careful about calling Mayor Hutchinson stupid, unethical, and immoral...You can do that only after he is found guilty in a court of law on these charges.  And besides, given the man's faults, he has done much for many in the City of Lynchburg, although if I were him I would be looking for a plea agreement...B/c it is serious when the Feds are after you!

[mybleedinghands]

Scottie-

But, isn't LC just playing the game for the revenue from admission to the game? 

And be careful about calling Mayor Hutchinson stupid, unethical, and immoral...You can do that only after he is found guilty in a court of law on these charges.  And besides, given the man's faults, he has done much for many in the City of Lynchburg, although if I were him I would be looking for a plea agreement...B/c it is serious when the Feds are after you!

What revenues from admisstion? LC games are free for all sports, except ODAC Tournament and NCAA Tournament games.

And if his reputations is "ruined" by some kid calling him names on a message board, then he is in even deeper trouble than I ever knew! If Johnny Cochran were alive, he would have no chance of getting off unless the investigation is done improperly!

[jeloesel]

Since scottie is clueless about how Lynchburg and E&H match up, let me give it a try:
--Lynchburg may not have the depth to play at "system" speed.  Lynchburg plays better if the game is played at a deliberate pace.  If E&H plays 13 or 14 players for at least 10 minutes each, Lynchburg will wear down.  However, E&H has been playing fewer players for the last two games than were playing earlier in the season.  I don't know if this is because of injuries or just a change in substitution patterns, but the it takes lots of fresh bodies to keep up the intensity of the "system".
--Lynchburg doesn't rebound well, and E&H is likely to collect a ton of offensive rebounds against the Hornets.  When you shoot the 3 ball a lot, you get a lot of long rebounds that are difficult for the defensive team to snare.  The "system" depends on getting second chances, and I don't think Lynchburg will prevent these second chances.
--Lynchburg fouls more than their opponents.  I expect E&H will outscore Lynchburg at the line.  Foul shots slow down the game, which would help Lynchburg, but not enough to offset the scoring differential.
--Lynchburg players like to shoot the 3, and I don't know that coach Swickwrath can prevent his players from taking wide-open threes. 
--On the other hand, we know that "system" success depends on hitting threes.  The game will hinge on E&H making a respectable percentage of their long-range shots.  Lynchburg doesn't defend against the "three" very well, and I'd expect the Wasps to have lots of uncontested threes.  That should help improve the percentage.
--Johnson is much more experienced than Swickwrath.  Advantage E&H.
--E&H has better managers than Lynchburg.  Advantage Wasps.   

[jeloesel]

A shot of the Roanoke bench, which may have most coaching experience depth in the ODAC.

[mybleedinghands]

--Lynchburg may not have the depth to play at "system" speed.  Lynchburg plays better if the game is played at a deliberate pace.  If E&H plays 13 or 14 players for at least 10 minutes each, Lynchburg will wear down.  However, E&H has been playing fewer players for the last two games than were playing earlier in the season.  I don't know if this is because of injuries or just a change in substitution patterns, but the it takes lots of fresh bodies to keep up the intensity of the "system".
-As far as the style of the game and what we have to do offensively, I don't think depth will be an issue. As long as we run the court well to get high percentage shots we can outscore them. Last year (yes I know last year isn't this year, but E&H is giving up similar statistics), we shot 63.9%compared to 32.6% for them. This is similar to what is occurring for E&H games.

--Lynchburg doesn't rebound well, and E&H is likely to collect a ton of offensive rebounds against the Hornets.  When you shoot the 3 ball a lot, you get a lot of long rebounds that are difficult for the defensive team to snare.  The "system" depends on getting second chances, and I don't think Lynchburg will prevent these second chances.
We did show improvement is the Hampden Sydney game, with both team having 29 boards in that game. Hopefully we will show the same effort on the boards again Saturday. I know E&H is going to get offensive boards given that they are obsessed with the 3 pointer, which means second chance opportunities, but if they aren't making their shots, then they probably won't be converting many second chance opportunities. Last year we gave up 34 offensive rebounds, and we still won by 16.

--Lynchburg fouls more than their opponents.  I expect E&H will outscore Lynchburg at the line.  Foul shots slow down the game, which would help Lynchburg, but not enough to offset the scoring differential.
-On the season, E&H is committing 34.8 fouls a game while their opponents are committing 20.6 a game. On the season, LC is committing 21.4 fouls a game while our opponents are committing 19.6 fouls a game. I'd have to say, given these stats, E&H has a significantly bigger problem with fouls than Lynchburg does, and we shoot the foul shot better than E&H

--Lynchburg players like to shoot the 3, and I don't know that coach Swickwrath can prevent his players from taking wide-open threes.
-I know that coach can prevent the players from shooting the wide open 3. Last year when E&H came to town after they employed the "speed" system, we only attempted two 3 pointers. Even shot happy Manos only took one 3 pointer in that game! If you can convince him not to take any 3 pointers, you can convince just about anyone on the team to not take three pointers.

--On the other hand, we know that "system" success depends on hitting threes.  The game will hinge on E&H making a respectable percentage of their long-range shots.  Lynchburg doesn't defend against the "three" very well, and I'd expect the Wasps to have lots of uncontested threes.  That should help improve the percentage.
-I can't guarantee you that we will defend the 3 pointer better, but since their whole game plan relies on it, I imagine that it will be the main thing being stressed on defense for us, along with rebounding. If some of the players aren't doing it well, I expect they will get pulled from the game.

--Johnson is much more experienced than Swickwrath.  Advantage E&H.
Can't argue anything here!

--E&H has better managers than Lynchburg.  Advantage Wasps.   
Psh! E&H wishes they had a manager as good as me!  I just simply produce!

[hasanova]

Scottie writes longer posts than E&H.  Advantage Wasps.

[3sdown]

Scottie-

LC doesn't charge admission to the games?  Oh, I forgot you have to win in order to have people at the games to charge admission...Sorry, I had a brain lapse.

[ladyeagle]

ouch 3sdown.