MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[oldfish]

Id put Ron Yuhasz/Peter Warren/Jason Nickerson on that list as well.  Not sure...but I think Rick Chalk was closer to 6'5".  For those of you that never saw Chalk play at VWC he was unstoppable when healthy.

[tigers]

Oldfish...those three are good, although I do think Yuh. and Nickerson were really exceptional.  I was trying to remember him...there was a significant cheer in the Tiger locker-room following Nickerson's final game w/vwc.

[algernon]

I think Coach Vick returning to H-SC is going to be a bigger deal than most non H-SC fans think.  Coach Smith had a nice run, but his two most successful seasons (barring his first year with Jeff Monroe, Brandon Randall, etc) were the two seasons he had an amazing recruiter (Chad Warner) bringing in the class.  Vick is at least as strong a recruiter as Warner and after his years playing for and sitting beside Tony Shaver he should know something about X's and O's as well.  He has some work to do this summer before anyone should get too excited about next year, but there should be a significant change in the type of play coming out of H-SC before too long.

I believe that Chad Warner recruited last year's freshmen and sophomore classes at HSC.  So, if what you say is true about Warner as a recruiter, HSC should have a good nucleus already. 

Actually, Chad Warner helped persuade Matt Green to transfer from Dartmouth and also recruited last year's senior class (Prehmus, Murray, Kaase, et. al.) and last year's freshmen class ..... remember that Warner was here for just 1 year (2003-04) and then gone for 2 years (to coach with Tony Shaver) before returning for a second year (2006-07).

The class of 2004 (Monroe, Randall, Holman, Thompson) was recruited by the Coach / Asst Coach of Shaver/Aldrich in 1999-2000, with Grimes, Fox, Harris, and Jirak helping to get them here.  What a great class of guys!

The class of 2005 (Gunn), plus Willson transferring in as a sophomore, was recruited by Shaver/Smith in 2000-01.

The class of 2006 (Guill) was recruited by Shaver/Smith in 2001-02.

The class of 2007 (Edwards, Forrester), was recruited by Shaver/Smith in 2002-03.

The class of 2008 (Kaase, Prehmus, Murray, A.J. Dowell, Szuch), plus Green transferring in as a sophomore, was recruited by Smith/Warner in 2003-04, with Monroe, Randall and other players helping to get them here in 2003-04.

This coming year's senior class (Lawton, Laakso, Robertson, Phillips) was recruited by Smith/Garst in 2004-05.

This coming year's junior class (King, Trops, Medlin, Croom) was recruited by Smith/Garst in 2005-06.  IMHO, Turner King was second only to Ben Strong as POY last year .... and is probably the best player that HSC has put on the court since Russell Turner (1988-1992).

This coming year's sophomore class (Matthews, Dillard, O'Neill, et. al.) was recruited by Smith/Warner/Thomas in 2006-07.

This coming year's freshman class ( ? ? ? ? ) has been recruited by Smith/Blaine/Green .... although it will be interesting to see whether Dee Vick will yet be able to persuade anyone to join the HSC team.

[HSCfan]

It is true that Chad Warner is a very skilled recruiter. I've heard that Dee Vick is just as exceptional. If that's the case, Tiger basketball is in good hands on the recruiting front!

[algernon]

It is true that Chad Warner is a very skilled recruiter. I've heard that Dee Vick is just as exceptional. If that's the case, Tiger basketball is in good hands on the recruiting front!

No doubt about the fact that Dee Vick is an exceptional recruiter.  As assistant coach at HSC from 1994 to 1999, he was involved in the recruiting of the entire 1999 DIII National Finalist team  of Garst, Hobbs, Robbins, Grimes, Harris, Jirak, and Fox, etc..  In 1998-99, he helped recruit Brooks, Gregory, and the other seniors that went on to play in the Final Four in 2003.  So it's understandable that, when Tony Shaver went to William and Mary, his first hire was Dee Vick.

[algernon]

I'm wondering whether the incoming 6'8" player from Christchurch is Josh Johnson.  He fits the description that others have given, although http://www.squirebball.com/ reports that he's going to Randolph-Macon, so that leaves me wondering ....

[tigerfanalso]

Sounds like Dee Vick helped recruit the best two classes ever to enroll at HSC. Sounds like we hired the right guy.

Christchurch had two big men and I don't know which one is coming our way.

[HSCfan]

Yes, Josh Johnson is the player committed to Hampden-Sydney. Ben Jessee from Cosby is the guard also signed on to double-duty (soccer and basketball).

[algernon]

Yes, Josh Johnson is the player committed to Hampden-Sydney. Ben Jessee from Cosby is the guard also signed on to double-duty (soccer and basketball).

At Cosby (AAA Dominion District), Jessee was First Team All-District (All-Academic team as well) and Second Team All-Region in basketball, averaging 19.0 points per game in his senior year.

Jessee was also Second Team All-State in soccer. 

Jessee apparently has some good moves both ON -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Q5FQ58wlI&feature=related
- and OFF the court: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0PmXvyCkgM     

[1775]

So what do the experts think Vick can do this year?  Who will be his key players?

[algernon]

Time will tell what will happen this year for the Tigers ....

Among the guards, I expect that Byron Lawton (SR) will start at point and Turner King (JR) will play nearly 40 minutes a game.  It seems likely that Brent Dillard and Paul Matthews will get lots of playing time as sophomores ... and maybe Ben Jessee is good enough to get some time as a freshman.

Under the basket, I expect that Karlis Trops (JR), Jyri Laakso (SR), and Lane Medlin (JR) will get much of the playing time.  I wonder if Josh Johnson is good enough to get time as a freshman.

[LCasid]

Time will tell what will happen this year for the Tigers ....

Among the guards, I expect that Byron Lawton (SR) will start at point and Turner King (JR) will play nearly 40 minutes a game.  It seems likely that Brent Dillard and Paul Matthews will get lots of playing time as sophomores ... and maybe Ben Jessee is good enough to get some time as a freshman.

Under the basket, I expect that Karlis Trops (JR), Jyri Laakso (SR), and Lane Medlin (JR) will get much of the playing time.  I wonder if Josh Johnson is good enough to get time as a freshman.

Unless Turner King's endurance is Lance Armstrong-esque, it would be a recipe for disaster to play King 40 minutes a game.

[algernon]

Unless Turner King's endurance is Lance Armstrong-esque, it would be a recipe for disaster to play King 40 minutes a game.

I was joking, of course.  I expect that he won't play more than the 33 minutes a game he played last year.  But he's too good to play less than that.

[tigerfanalso]

Algernon

The lineup you outlined sounds fairly competitive .... if the incoming freshmen can help at all the Tigers should be fairly competitive in the ODAC which would be a really good starting point for the Dee Vick era. It took Tony several years to jump start the program. The Tiger supporters need to be realistic with expectations and give Coach Vick time to recruit and to implement his style of play (whatever that is going to be). Exciting times on The Hill !!!!!

[HSCfan]

Algernon,

Let's not forget young Colin O'Neill...Colin played some key minutes late in the season for Hampden-Sydney, and at 6-6, being long and athletic, he can be a defensive force. He worked hard on his offensive game in the spring and with the development of a 15-foot jumper, he might cause match up issues on the offensive end as well.

Always nice to have long athletes in the ODAC!