MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

...as I will be surprised if anyone goes undefeated in this conference. 

Well, at 2-0, RMC and EMU are the only two of eleven left without a loss.  I agree - going 16-0 is very unlikely.

[bigrips77]

Will the Richmond Times-Dispatch ever give the Jackets more than an inch of ink?  They can't even get the scoring right - showing that it was local favorite Adam Desgain with Danny Jones' 27 points last night.   

Come on, T-D sports writers, what's it going to take?  R-MC is arguably the most consistently 'good' basketball program (men & women) in the Richmond region for the past 50+ years!  It's tough to be the only undefeated team around Richmond and see your game reported under local teams that are losing in the "State Men" column every time.  Yesterday, Virginia State (1-8) grabbed the headline. 

You and the Jacket Nation writing letters to the editor would be a good start in getting their attention.  It doesn't help that newspapers around the country are depleted in terms of man-power, but I feel that is more of a result of newspaper staffs being out of touch with their readership.  That has a lot to do with the fact editors would much rather fill up column space with AP wires than send man-power into the field – it's much less costly and time-consuming.

These folks want to sell papers, and if their readership wants to read more about R-MC, then they'll write more about it.  They know people locally want high school football, VCU basketball, etc. because people are coming out to those events in droves.  Granted, you guys do a great job of filling up Crenshaw, but even then, there are times when that gym is half-empty.  Voicing your opinion in large number will provide them incentive in wanting to cover the Jackets.

Then again, you could boycott the T-D print version and just read their articles online.  The biggest mistake newspapers collectively made was putting their stories on the web for free – totally devalued their print version.

[2RMCFans]

Thanks for the tips, bigrips77... the Jacket nation may not be big enough to pull off a letter writing campaign, but we have been known to send some! 

You would think that the lone undefeated college team in the Metro area would be news in and of itself, regardless of size of readership from that college!

[hasanova]

The lack of news coverage by many local papers (and TV) for small college sports is a recurring theme.  Greensboro and Guilford County have seven colleges that field sports teams and DIII ranks below all the ACC, Southern, Big South and even high schools in the area.  Over the last 3 1/2 years, Guilford MBB is the 2nd winningest program in NC behind the Tar Heels, but we barely get a mention.  Anything that does appear is probably a reprint of what Guilford's fine SID, Dave Walters, releases.  I cannot begin to tell you the number of times there is absolutely no fact-checking by the Greensboro News & Record.  To be blunt, I don't think many of the people at the paper understand what DIII is, where Guilford is, that it's a different school from Greensboro College, who's in the ODAC versus the USASAC and that Guilford's nickname is the Quakers and Greensboro's is the Pride (I have seen the nicknames reversed in print more times than I can remember).  It's doubly sad when you realize that Guilford College (1837) and Greensboro College (1838) have been here longer than the newspaper itself!   

Someone at the paper once told me that "you can get all that small college stuff on the internet" to which I replied "so why should I subscribe to your paper?"  Newspapers are fast becoming an anachronism as doomed as the dinosaurs.  They'll probably no longer be thrown in your driveway by the end of my lifetime. 

[2RMCFans]

^ it's nice to know we are not in the only newspaper market with a big school bias, but we're sorry you experience the very same thing in Greensboro!

[hasanova]

^ it's nice to know we are not in the only newspaper market with a big school bias, but we're sorry you experience the very same thing in Greensboro!

Thanks, but it's just the nature of the beast.  With an NFL team, an NBA team, an NHL team, about four minor league baseball teams within 25 miles, four ACC schools, ECU, Appalachian, Elon, High Point, Western Carolina, Davidson, UNC-C, UNC-W, NC A&T, Winston-Salem State, NC Central, Campbell, UNC-P, the CIAA, the SAC, the Southern, the Big South, Carolinas/Virginia and other conferences, it's tough for the seven NC DIII's (four coed, three all women) to get much press.  In the modern era, I am very thankful for each school's website and sites such as d3sports.com!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Same all over.  With NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL teams, plus Michigan and Michigan St., even the other d1 teams get largely squeezed out in Michigan papers.  d2, d3, and NAIA teams get a couple of sentences (maybe a couple of paragraphs when Grand Valley wins a national football title in d2 ).

[3sdown]

Glad to log on and see the news of RMC pulling out 2 victories, especially the apparent mental toughness displayed in the 2nd game against Williams.  Now it is into the heart of the ODAC schedule...Every night is a battle!  And, as Donho stated, I am beginning to really believe...

Also glad to see the success of some other local D-1 programs in Virginia that have ODAC roots in one way or another.  Tony Shaver at W&M making a huge difference...Sounds like he has built in many ways another H-SC, just in the CAA.  He has a senior laden team that plays smart and can shoot.  After losing their opening 2 games they are undefeated I believe with upset wins over Maryland and Wake Forest.  And played UConn close at the beginning of the season.  They also beat VCU in Richmond.  Impressive.  

VCU is also having a good season...Of course, Coach Rhoades is now part of that staff.  They have lost 2 games (W&M and Western Michigan) and have an upset win over Oklahoma and wins against Richmond and Nevada.  

And there is Richmond where Jamal Brunt is part of the staff.  10-4 with loses to VCU, W&M, Wake Forest, South Carolina.  They look to be promising in the A-10 this year.  

[hasanova]

RMC has 15 more games on its regular-season schedule (all ODAC except CNU).  The Yellow Jackets are certainly having a great season so far, but I see several potential roadblocks to remaining undefeated:

Jan. 4  7:00 PM  at Bridgewater (Va.) •      
Jan. 6  7:00 PM  at Hampden-Sydney * •      
Jan. 9  4:00 PM  Christopher Newport •      
Jan. 13  7:00 PM  at Eastern Mennonite •      
Jan. 16  2:00 PM  Emory and Henry * •      
Jan. 20  7:00 PM  Virginia Wesleyan * •      
Jan. 23  1:30 PM  at Randolph * •      
Jan. 27  7:00 PM  Washington and Lee * •      
Jan. 30  4:00 PM  Guilford * •      
Feb. 3  7:00 PM  at Roanoke * •      
Feb. 6  2:00 PM  Lynchburg * •      
Feb. 8  7:00 PM  at Washington and Lee * •      
Feb. 10  7:00 PM  Bridgewater (Va.) * •      
Feb. 13  2:00 PM  at Virginia Wesleyan * •      
Feb. 17  7:00 PM  Hampden-Sydney * •

In my mind, with RMC, GC, VWC, EMU, W&L and Randolph all off to such great starts, I see 13-3 (or maybe 14-2) winning the regular season in 2009-10.  It's no longer full home-and-away round-robin play, but all these schools have to play each other at least once!    

[donho]

  Nova, you can have the regular season.  No Team in the ODAC good enough to go 16-0 this year. I want the ODAC Tourney Title!!

[hasanova]

  Nova, you can have the regular season.  No Team in the ODAC good enough to go 16-0 this year. I want the ODAC Tourney Title!!

The Quakers want it, too!  Obviously, with only one tournament title (2008), it's been an elusive goal for Guilford.

[RealtorGuy]

EMC 88  H-SC 71  - strong game by EMC - H-SC down 5 at half and then 3 - after that all EMC - King had 21

[hasanova]

Other ODAC games on Jan. 2:

BC let the Marlins off the hook at VWC, 77-73.
Randolph Wildcats nip E&H in Emory, 79-72
W&L outflanked Swarthmore in Lexington, 59-48
Hornets stung Averett in OT at Lynchburg, 71-69

[Seatfiller]

Roanoke loses to Ferrum today 78-70, this is a tough year for roanoke(4-7)

[baselinejam]

W&L beats Emory. Point guard Jason Cimino had a great day! I'm a big fan of the point guard from NJ.

Big game against the EMU's this week! Now we're into the ODAC schedule