MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[HSCfan]

Being at that game tonight, and now having seen Short and Henson twice each...I'm sorry hasanova, but Justin Short just won POY. In a game where his team was giving him no assistance, Short waited about as long as he could to take the game over...and take the game over he did. I have never been more impressed with a player on the DIII level.

18 points in the last 7 minutes. Unreal.

And it was the way he got those points. He hit back to back threes with his team down five with under two minutes to play...and they were both contested, pull up jumpers that demonstrated the ice water in his veins. It is quite simple to me. As talented as R-MC is, without Justin Short, this team loses tonight by 10 and probably has four or five more losses to their credit.

Henson is a fabulous player, hands down, no question. But hasanova, I think you would agree with me if you had seen this performance from Short. Doesn't matter to me if Henson locks up the scoring title and if Guilford takes the regular season, I think Short showed his value to his team and he made good on that Times Dispatch article today!

The Tigers played a great, emotional game. Turner King fouled out with 4 minutes left and that really hurt down the stretch, especially since he looked like the King of old. But H-SC was still up 5 with about 1:40 to go, and had an opportunity to close it out.

From a Hampden-Sydney fan, Justin Short, you were the man tonight and you 100% deserve the POY honor. Congrats on a great performance tonight!

[algernon]

Seeding for the tournament, as I see it:

1)  Guilford (unless they lose to Randolph at home ... highly unlikely)
2)  Randolph-Macon (unless Guilford loses at home to Randolph)
3)  Roanoke (unless they lose at home to Emory & Henry while Bridgewater beats Lynchburg, cause the Maroons win a tiebreaker over B'water)
4)  Bridgewater (unless they switch with Roanoke - see above)
5)  EMU (they have the advantage of the tiebreaker over VWC
6)  HSC, if they defeat VWC on Saturday; VWC, if they defeat HSC on Saturday
7)  W&L, if they win on Saturday; VWC, if they lose and W&L also loses
8 )  HSC, if they lose to VWC on Saturday; VWC, if they lose and W&L wins; W&L, if VWC loses and W&L also loses
9)  Emory & Henry
10) Randolph
11) Lynchburg -- even the Hornets have never finished this low before

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Being at that game tonight, and now having seen Short and Henson twice each...I'm sorry hasanova, but Justin Short just won POY. In a game where his team was giving him no assistance, Short waited about as long as he could to take the game over...and take the game over he did. I have never been more impressed with a player on the DIII level.

18 points in the last 7 minutes. Unreal.

And it was the way he got those points. He hit back to back threes with his team down five with under two minutes to play...and they were both contested, pull up jumpers that demonstrated the ice water in his veins. It is quite simple to me. As talented as R-MC is, without Justin Short, this team loses tonight by 10 and probably has four or five more losses to their credit.

Henson is a fabulous player, hands down, no question. But hasanova, I think you would agree with me if you had seen this performance from Short. Doesn't matter to me if Henson locks up the scoring title and if Guilford takes the regular season, I think Short showed his value to his team and he made good on that Times Dispatch article today!

The Tigers played a great, emotional game. Turner King fouled out with 4 minutes left and that really hurt down the stretch, especially since he looked like the King of old. But H-SC was still up 5 with about 1:40 to go, and had an opportunity to close it out.

From a Hampden-Sydney fan, Justin Short, you were the man tonight and you 100% deserve the POY honor. Congrats on a great performance tonight!

Not that I am going to get into the debate on POY since I have only seen Short in person, but what you described is very similiar to what he did against Virginia Wesleyan last weekend. He was certainly a factor for much of the game, but in the second half he put the team on his shoulders. Whether it was creating a shot by driving into the paint and hitting a fade-away with 1 second on the shot clock, hitting a shot outside when they were mounting their comeback or on two straight possessions, faking the defense he was going one way only to find a wide open Danny Jones for three on the other side of the court... Short got it done.

He is a very impressive point guard who certainly contributes in all facets of the game for the Yellow Jackets.

[2RMCFans]

We had to "listen" to the game from Fleet via WHAN.   And I do mean LISTEN... it was VERY hard to understand the announcers in that raucous environment.  H-SC certainly played the more consistent offensive game, but it sounded like R-MC came up big on defense with lots of blocked shots and by outrebounding the Tigers.

Whoever here said Justin Short has ice water in his veins must be right!  Kudos to the young man for pulling off what seemed impossible when R-MC was down by 9 more than once. 

We have simply never been prouder of a Jackets performance; despite the offensive miscues.  They kept their wits about them under intense stress.  WAY TO GO, JACKETS!!!

Congrats to all the ODAC winners last night and kudos to the close losers--- who surely don't play like losers!

[hasanova]

Good morning, everyone.  I openly acknowledge 18 points in the last seven minutes at hostile HSC to pull out the win is very, very clutch ... that's the stuff of legends!  For what it's worth, I do know my basketball!  Short is a great player ... I've seen him play in person several times.  Henson is also a great player, but he is, admittedly, streaky.  I will not be at all surprised (or disappointed) if Short's the POY ... and he'll deserve it!  I was, however, a bit taken aback by the tone of the "officially over" comment ... it seemed, at the very least, to beg a comparative response.  Besides, and I'm being absolutely serious, I think there will be at least a subconscious thought from the ODAC voters to spread this award around and not have it awarded to a Guilford player three years in a row, especially since Short is a senior and Henson is a junior.  The ODAC can't go wrong either way and both players are definitely a lock for first team.

Now, for the more important stuff:  winning championships and advancing as far as possible in the NCAAs!  Only one team can win the ODAC tournament (and it may not be RMC or GC!), but I think we'll see both squads playing after Salem.  Go ODAC!

[Brian Hamilton]

Congrats to RMC on the victory last night.  Short single handedly (as has been mentioned) won the game for RMC.  I will mention that he did get a little assist from HSC.  The turning point in the game occured when HSC was up 8 and had two shots at the foul line.  HSC misses both and then RMC goes down and hits a three.  On HSCs next possession, they throw the ball out of bounds and Macon comes down and scores a quick 2.  What could have been a demoralizing 10 point lead ( 9 was the biggest of the entire game on a couple of occassions), turns into a one possession game.  A minute or two later, King fouls out.  The Tigers played well, but it really hurt having King out at the end of the game.  The Tigers' other shooters could not get as open because obviously Rhoades switched his best defenders to the other shooters.  HSC also had some mental miscues in the final minute of the game.

As far as POY, having seen Henson twice and Short only once, I don't have a great basis upon which to make a prediction.  I would, however, say that Short probably has the edge.  First, Macon is going to finish at least tied with Guilford for the lead and while Guilford wins the tiebreaker, we must remember that Macon lost at Guilford.  What would have happened if the game had been at RMC? (Yet another problem with an unbalanced schedule and more reason that all teams should be allowed in the tourney.)  Second, a players worth is not measured just by points per game.  Second, as Hasanova already mentioned, Short is a senior and, while that is not always a factor, it will be when two players are this close to each other.  I think you could come up with other reasons that Short is deserving and probably equally as many for Henson.  I just feel that Short is the catalyst for RMC and is the reason that they win. 

[Brian Hamilton]

Algernon,

Thanks for the seeding update.  I hope that HSC can win.  A home game against Lynchburg to warm up for the tourney would be nice.  The problem is that we have to make sure we win it.  If we were to win it, then we would face 'Noke and that is a decent matchup.  I also like the 6 seed because you avoid Guilford to the final.  While I think Macon is a deeper team than Guilford, I think Guilford has a stronger core of players.  I also just like the idea of playing Macon in Salem.

On the flip side, E&H has to be hoping that VWC beats HSC.  If not, then E&H has to travel all the way to the beach on a Tuesday. 

On another note, what do some of the other posters think about the layoff that Macon has (and/or some of the other top teams)?  Is over a week (or almost a week) too long for the teams to have to wait?  I know that ODAC teams that made the NCAA tourney used to come out a little flat because they had not played a game in a couple of days.  Should be an interesting week and a half.  I am just sorry that the season is coming to a close.

[tigerfanalso]

HSCFAN

Sounds like you did an admirable job in my absence by ALMOST pulling the Tigers onto victory. Tough loss but glad to hear the game was competitive.
A few more made free throws would have been helpful.

Jacketlawyer

Congratulations on the victory. Hopefully we'll get one more shot at you guys out in Roanoke. Sounds like Mr. Short showed he is the real deal. He did not have to show off to the extent that he did, but great players usually find away to come through in big games. My vote for POY goes to Mr. Short and for COY to Coach Rhoads; I mean if I had a vote.

Hasa

I still think GC has the best team but must avoid an early exit in the tourney. If RMC & GC can at least get to the semis I think both schools will earn a berth into the national tourney. I also think both schools have a real opportunity to advance deep if given the opportunity.

Good luck and safe travels to all playing this weekend !!!!!

[algernon]

My vote for POY goes to Mr. Short and for COY to Coach Rhoads; I mean if I had a vote.

I'm in agreement that Justin Short is deserving of POY.  However, I can think of 4 coaches who seem more deserving of COY than Mike Rhoades, given that the Yellow Jackets were almost unanimously picked to finish first after losing almost no one from last year's very strong team ....

1) Coach Burgess, Bridgewater - as a rookie coach, he has taken Bridgewater to a 14-10 record, 4th seed in the tourney, and still beat EMU without Oblitey.

2) Coach Palombo, Guilford - having lost Ben Strong and 2 other very strong senior starters, he comes back to very possibly end up winning more games than ever before!

3) Coach Moir, Roanoke - having lost 5 of his top 6 players, I think, he's put Roanoke in the tournament as the 3rd seed with an 18-6 record!

4) Coach Dean, EMU - has brought the Royals from perpetual basement residers to the top half of the ODAC!

[hasanova]

I think it's pretty clear that the POY race has come down to Justin Short and Clay Henson, of which I believe that Short should and will win, however, this may be one of the toughest years in which to select first team, second team and honorable mention squads...here's my first (and probably much flawed) attempt at the first and second teams!

In the last few years, I know they have put six players on each team...

First Team
Justin Short, RMC (obvious)
Clay Henson, GC (a close second behind Short for POY)
Curtis Peery, RC (leading scorer and rebounder for a team that is now 3rd)
Turner King, HSC (would be a candidate for POY if it wasn't for the Tigers' record)
Dom Trawick, BC (great player; really sold me when he led his team to a win at W&L without Oblitey)
Tyler Sanborn, GC (he is 6-10 which is an advantage over everyone, but he is the real difference maker for the Quakers with a 15 and 12 average)

Second Team
Quinton McDuffie, VWC (hard to keep him off first team, but who is he going to replace?)
Rhett Bonner, GC (see McDuffie)
Jordan Brown, RMC (although his offensive numbers have fluxxed, his defensive numbers are great)
Mason Wooldridge, LC (hard for me to put a guy here from a 3-20 team, but his numbers are great even though he is LC's marked man)
George Johnson, EMU (the key to EMU's great season; big shot maker)
Derrick Woods-Morrow, Rand (a beast inside that is putting up great numbers against bigger players with better supporting casts)

A couple guys that I had a hard time leaving off second team: Stephen Fields (VWC), D.J. Hinson (EMU)

I like your choices, but I have a question:  do five players make each tier or do six?  If it's only five, which player do you leave off 1st team?  Then, assuming that player moves to the 2nd team, which two players do you relegate to 3rd team or honorable mention?

My 1st team, in alphabetical order:

Henson (GC), King (HSC), Peery (RoC), Sanborn (GC) and Short RMC).

My 2nd team, also in alphabetical order:

Bonner (GC), Brown (RMC), Johnson (EMU), Trawick (BC), Wooldridge (LC)

[HSCfan]

Hey hasa!

Last year, the first and second teams had six players on each. The year before, the first team had six and the second team seven! Go figure...I thought five guys were on the floor at once!

So using that info, I went ahead and chose six guys for each (made my job a bit easier!)

To answer your question, if I had to choose just five for each team, my teams would look like this:

First Team: Short (RMC), Henson (GC), Peery (RC), King (HSC), Sanborn (GC)
Second Team: Trawick (BC), McDuffie (VWC), Wooldridge (LC), Johnson (EMU), Bonner (GC)

Thus my five-man honorable mention team would be:
Brown (RMC), Woods-Morrow (Rand), Fields (VWC), Hinson (EMU), and a toss up between Ben Heller of W&L and Ben Jessee of HSC

My other awards at this point:
Player of the Year: Justin Short, RMC
Coach of the Year: Tom Palombo, GC
Freshman of the Year: (okay, I cheated!) Toss up between Quinton McDuffie (VWC) and Ben Jessee (HSC)

[rmc1982]

We had to "listen" to the game from Fleet via WHAN.   And I do mean LISTEN... it was VERY hard to understand the announcers in that raucous environment.  H-SC certainly played the more consistent offensive game, but it sounded like R-MC came up big on defense with lots of blocked shots and by outrebounding the Tigers.

Whoever here said Justin Short has ice water in his veins must be right!  Kudos to the young man for pulling off what seemed impossible when R-MC was down by 9 more than once. 

We have simply never been prouder of a Jackets performance; despite the offensive miscues.  They kept their wits about them under intense stress.  WAY TO GO, JACKETS!!!

Congrats to all the ODAC winners last night and kudos to the close losers--- who surely don't play like losers!

All you had to do was go on the HSC website and with a high speed connection you could watch it and hear the HSC announcers,who are very good.A friend of mine from RMC who lives in Farmville, Rob Stanley, does the color commentary for all the HSC football games Cannon Watson is a very good announcer,not that our guys aren't but the HSC guys are very good and on the web feed you can HEAR them...Next time go on their website and watch...It looked as good as it sounded,I'm sure!!

[hasanova]

Hey, HSCfan.  +1 for your analysis.  I think the ODAC usually has five players on each all-conference team, but last year there were ties for the last spot(s) ... so, more players got 2008 post-season honors. 

[2RMCFans]

Thanks for the tip RMC1982.  Since we live in Ashland we're partial to WHAN, so we made the sacrifice to listen to them without being able to hear/understand much of what they said.   Maybe next time we'll catch that H-SC feed, but we didn't want to jinx the team by switching up mid-game.

Best of luck to all the teams playing this weekend but we think the Jackets have really earned a weekend off.  They started in mid-Nov. with a very tough road trip tournament, and of course, had that big preseason game against GMU even before that.

GO ODAC TEAMS!!!!

[smithgraham77]

Hey, HSCfan.  +1 for your analysis.  I think the ODAC usually has five players on each all-conference team, but last year there were ties for the last spot(s) ... so, more players got 2008 post-season honors. 

No, six players make each team from now on. That started last year...