MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[ladyeagle]

Bridgewater returns only 4 players averaged at least 15 minutes a game. Of those 4, only ONE averaged more than 7 points a game! I know they have some freshmen and transfers that are supposed to be good, but what ahve they proven? Nothing! They lost 6 players to graduation (including 3 of their top 4 players) along with harry moore, meaning they lose 4 of their top 5 players. They also only have 2 seniors.

Just because BC hasn't proven anything yet doesn't mean that their standing in the poll isn't any less credible.  What had the guys proven last year?  Sure they had Ricky returning and good amount of other players, but none of these guys were huge all-stars.  I think Leatherman put it right in his interview when he said something about how last year BC has a bunch of average players step up and played great ball.  Sure, the experience is definitely lacking.  Yet I think these guys will be well prepared with Leatherman's coaching. 

Which brings me to another reason why I think BC was voted above some of their fellow ODAC schools.  Bill Leatherman.  The ODAC knows not to underestimate BC because of Leatherman. 

And yet in the end...we all know the preseason poll means nothing.

[baselinejam]

Speaking of cool things - I can listen to W&L on the internet. Do any ODAC schools have Video web casting o f games?

[mybleedinghands]

congratulation to the LC women's soccer team for winning the ODAC Championship today and to the damned W&L generals for taking down LC field hockey [one of the hottest teams in america, and no, i'm not talking about the physical appearences of the ladies!] to win the ODAC championship.


Bridgewater's roster is now available http://www.bridgewater.edu/Sports/Mens_Basketball/roster.html
Justin Reavis is listed as six feet tall and 223 lbs, i've never heard of a 6 foot basketball player ever weighing that much, except for that short fat guy on the and1 team.

[stillfamily]

 well the preseason polls are indeed up.. They do indeed mean nothing, but give us something to type about.. How close will it be to the end result..well its a long way off, but i would imagine there will be some kinks in the poll, this league is so competitive there are no gimme nights out there... even a 1-8 matchup isnt a give me, as LC has proven in the tournament... I just hope EMU has a great year for its been a long time since we have seen them up there this high!!!! Maybe so in 98 with Cary Keyes at that Point!!!!

[algernon]

1.         Virginia Wesleyan                95 (6)
2.         Randolph-Macon                  90 (3)
3.         Hampden-Sydney                75 (1)
4.         Roanoke                             56
5.         Eastern Mennonite               55
6.         Guilford                               49
7.         Bridgewater                         48
8.         Lynchburg                           36
9          Emory and Henry                 30
10.        Washington and Lee            11

I'm normally not the one to criticize preseason polls much since they are basicalyl pointless, but picks 6-8 is just bull****. I agree wholeheartedly with picks 1-3 and 9-10, can't argue with those, and picks 4-5 are reasonable even though I don't necessarily agree with them, but picks 6-8 are ridiculous.

Some of the point differences between teams in the preseason poll are so small that they have little meaning ...

If you ignore differences that are less than 10 points, we get clusters of teams in various spots, with the poll (for what it's worth) looking like this:

1.         Virginia Wesleyan, Randolph-Macon

3.         Hampden-Sydney

4.         Roanoke, Eastern Mennonite, Guilford, Bridgewater

8.         Lynchburg, Emory and Henry

10.        Washington and Lee

These clusters look reasonable to me, even though I think the Tigers will do better than expected ....

[jeloesel]

Algernon,
So, you saying that Hampden-Sydney and Washington & Lee each is in a class by itself?

[DenbowsRoomie]

I'll take that!

[mybleedinghands]

Roanoke finally has their roster on the website now. http://www.roanoke.edu/athletics/sports/roster.cfm?sport_code=mbball&acad_year=2005-2006 Talk about a young team! Only two seniors and three juniors. Looks like they brought in plenty of size to help with the loss of Hunter.

Same goes for W&L's roster. http://athletics.wlu.edu/mbasketball/ros0506.htm

[baselinejam]

No one's younger than W&l, zero seniors. They're the only team in the conference like that and the Generals only have 14 men on the team. That makes them the smallest contingent in the ODAC. Still, we're hoping for an improved season.

[mr_divac]

Guilford plays the Italian Junior National Team this wends. here at Guilford. it will be a great test for the Quakers, they came in here last year and jumped out to a 12 or 13 point lead, they were long and quick, and jumping out of the gym. i took a charge that was dangerously close to be dunked on, luckily he couldn't get through this frame of mine. they will have revenge on there minds this time, so i expect a good game!!!

[jeloesel]

Page Moir has decided to drop several players from last year's roster.  Senior  forward Mike Zurek is gone; junior forward Curtis Killen is gone; junior guard Chad McComas is gone; junior guard Clint Zimmerman is gone.  Together with the graduation of Kevinn Hunter and Robbie Winfield, the six departures opened spots for five freshmen and transfer AJ Dowell.  Page expects some contributions from the newbies at the guard and forward positions, but I'd be surprised if any saw much action at the post.  Page reports that Ty Sigmon has looked good so far, making him the likely backup to Ben Lawler.  We'll see how the freshmen/transfer mesh with the returnees, but I have a good feeling about the prospects of the Maroons this season.

[mybleedinghands]

Page Moir has decided to drop several players from last year's roster. Senior forward Mike Zurek is gone; junior forward Curtis Killen is gone; junior guard Chad McComas is gone; junior guard Clint Zimmerman is gone. Together with the graduation of Kevinn Hunter and Robbie Winfield, the six departures opened spots for five freshmen and transfer AJ Dowell. Page expects some contributions from the newbies at the guard and forward positions, but I'd be surprised if any saw much action at the post. Page reports that Ty Sigmon has looked good so far, making him the likely backup to Ben Lawler. We'll see how the freshmen/transfer mesh with the returnees, but I have a good feeling about the prospects of the Maroons this season.

It's interesting that he decided to drop a senior of all people!

[algernon]

Algernon,
So, you saying that Hampden-Sydney and Washington & Lee each is in a class by itself?

Sounds good to me!     

[steelyglen]

Jim that's one thing that makes college sports so different. No guaranteed contracts. You've gotta come to play EVERYDAY! Everyone was a high school star that puts on an ODAC uniform. College is a different set of rules! Sounds like freshmen and transfers may play significant roles at a number of ODAC schools this year!

[jeloesel]

Steelyglen,
Page, like many of the veteran ODAC coaches, is inclined to the maturity and stability that upper classmen bring to the game.  He's very patient with fellows who have great attitude but need development.  Robbie Winfield was a good example of a project that finally paid dividends in his fourth year.  I can imagine the difficulty Page faced in deciding to drop upper classmen from the roster.  Yet, after looking at what the freshmen/transfer brought to the team, he decided they would stay and the veterans would go.   I think the move will improve team chemistry and improve the prospects for the Maroons this year and for years to come.