MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[sludge]

In regard to the VWC at Guilford MBB game on Jan. 16, I've noticed several places on the d3hoops.com site where this is incorrectly listed as a 3 pm start.  If anyone's planning to attend (and it's shaping up to be a huge game!), it's actually part of a double-header with the men tipping off at 2 pm and the women, also versus VWC, at 4.  I hope there will be a capacity crowd - these squads deserve it!

Go Quakers!

Thanks for the tip about the 2pm tip for Guilford-VWC, hasanova.   I hope to make that one.  EMU is at the top of the ODAC standings so far.  The ODAC is about to tear itself up.

Even a team like W&L, which is well down in the standings at the moment, is dangerous.  W&L just has to work on the end game to become good.

Heck, even Lynchburg is dangerous!

[hasanova]

In regard to the VWC at Guilford MBB game on Jan. 16, I've noticed several places on the d3hoops.com site where this is incorrectly listed as a 3 pm start.  If anyone's planning to attend (and it's shaping up to be a huge game!), it's actually part of a double-header with the men tipping off at 2 pm and the women, also versus VWC, at 4.  I hope there will be a capacity crowd - these squads deserve it!

Go Quakers!

Thanks for the tip about the 2pm tip for Guilford-VWC, hasanova.   I hope to make that one.  EMU is at the top of the ODAC standings so far.  The ODAC is about to tear itself up.

Even a team like W&L, which is well down in the standings at the moment, is dangerous.  W&L just has to work on the end game to become good.

Heck, even Lynchburg is dangerous!

You're welcome, sludge.  It would be great to see you there!  I just didn't want anyone thinking about attending to be disappointed and miss the first half.  The ODAC, indeed, is about to "tear itself up" - starting Wednesday night with EMU & RMC.  Only one team will still be standing with an unblemished ODAC record as soon as that game's over!  W&L, HSC and LC are all teams, among others, that I believe can wreak some havoc to the anticipated top teams.  HSC's tight game versus RMC and W&L's most recent game with VWC are prime examples!

[donho]

 Algernon , you said you think this freshmen class at HSC is the best in the ODAC. With that statement being out there, do you think any of HSC freshmen would be getting the floor time they are getting at HSC if they were at say, VWC,EMU,GC or R-MC.

[algernon]

Algernon , you said you think this freshmen class at HSC is the best in the ODAC. With that statement being out there, do you think any of HSC freshmen would be getting the floor time they are getting at HSC if they were at say, VWC,EMU,GC or R-MC.

It's a good question, donho.  I don't know that Harrison and Ward would be getting quite as MUCH floor time as they do at HSC, but I think that they would be getting plenty of floor time and that Harrison George would be getting at least 20 minutes and very possibly start for some of the teams you mention.

There are some games where George and Randall Ward have played toe-to-toe against the best teams in Division III and fared well.

For example, HSC lost to Guilford by 5 points and, in that game, George played 31 minutes, scored 10 points, and had 6 rebounds -- not bad against a Final Four contender -- and, if he were playing for Guilford, he might be starting instead of Martin Stephenson.  Randall Ward didn't start but played 20 minutes and did well, with 6 points and 3 assists ...  and it's possible he might be getting about as much playing time for Guilford.

Similarly, HSC lost to Randolph-Macon by 1 point.  George got 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals in 33 minutes of action against the #1 team in the country, so I think he might also be starting for the Yellow Jackets, possibly taking the place of Kevin Voelkel, who had 11 points and 2 rebounds in 33 minutes of play.  I realize that Voelkel's a junior, but that doesn't seem to have given him any advantage over George in the HSC-RMC game.  Randall Ward couldn't hardly hit a shot in 32 minutes of play against the Jackets, but Calvin Croskey DIDN'T hit a shot in 26 minutes of play ..... so maybe Ward would be getting 20-25 minutes a game if he were playing for the Jackets, to the expense of Croskey and other RMC guards.  

I don't mean to be offensive to Stephenson, Voelkel, or Croskey.  They are each, obviously, very fine players!  Otherwise, they wouldn't be starting for teams that are Division III Top Ten teams.  I'm just very impressed by how George and Ward have played this year, even in games against DIII Top Ten teams, and think that they would be getting almost as much time if they played for either the Quakers or the Yellow Jackets.

I'd like to hear Palumbo's and Davis' thoughts on the question, of course!  

[hasanova]

Palombo's philosophy and coaching style tend to lean toward not starting freshmen.  I think it's partly because he has loyalty to upperclassmen who've stuck with the program for three or four years (think of Mat Stanley in 2008-09, for example) and partly because he prefers to bring freshmen along slowly and pick the spots they're put in the games.  This year's more talented sophomores and freshmen seem to get in the games about 10-17 minutes each.  If you look at the mpg for the starters, most are in the mid-twenties, so that leaves a lot of room for 5-6 other guys to get some valuable experience.

[2RMCFans]

Not to speak for Coach Davis, but he came in with a team he didn't have much if any choice in selecting - Asst J. D. Byers was critical to this year's recruiting efforts and Mike Rhoades recruited all 9 of the key players on this team. 

I'm sure Davis has great things to say about the H-SC duo mentioned above, but it looks like he's pretty happy to be playing the guys he's got.  (Not to mention the probably excellent recruiting seasons that lie ahead after this great start and reaching #1 at midseason!)

Hopefully, the Jackets are going to withstand the tough test by EMU on Wed!

GO JACKETS!!!

[hasanova]

As if things weren't already tough enough for the 2-12 E&H Wasps, their next three games are, in order, Guilford at home, at RMC and at EMU.  Ouch - that stings! 

[Swish3]

algernon,

What happened to Sherwood?

Swish3

[badcall!]

Kudos to EMU, RMC, Guilford and VWC for their great starts.  The league is looking great at the top so far this year.  As many on here have already mentioned, the records will now start to blemish as we enter league play.  That was the main reason the league coaches favored the unbalanced league schedule originally.  They felt that beating up on each other during the regular season hurt their chances in the end for an at-large bid.  Think of the records of these 4 teams if they each had to play each other 2 times yet.  I guess we'll see how it all pans out in the end.
Also congrats to Randolph, W&L and LC for surprisingly good starts. 

[badcall!]

On a different topic, more bad news for BC.  Billups is gone for the season due to academics.  Second time in his career he has done this to the Eagles.  Things seem to be getting worse in a hurry there at BC with embarrassing losses already to Randolph, Ferrum and LC and the schedule only gets tougher from there.  Morale problems are starting to show also.  Although I know the stats sometime are skewed or misrepresented, BC is at the bottom in attendane for home games-that was never the case in the past.  I am not the type to judge a situation or person quickly but Coach B better get things in gear at BC sooner rather than later.  They graduate a lot again this year and then the cupboard is bare and the schedule gets even tougher next year in the odac.  I know the present lame-duck administration may not care about winning but I sure hope the new one does.  More importantly, they need to keep the players eligible and in school and graduating.  With the loss of Billups, that makes 3 key players for the Eagles that have become academically ineligible since Coach B took over-Oblitey, Whatley, Billups.  From the talk around campus and the games-the fans and even administration are finally starting to really appreciate the incredible job that Leatherman and crew did to keep the Eagles competitive year in and year out.

[stillfamily]

BadCall is this rumor true that you are an official named Steve?

[hasanova]

Poll's out - 1, 6, 8 and 18.  It's crowded at the top, so RMC and GC add points, but no change in positions from last week.  VWC, however, up four notches from 12th and EMU up six spots from 24th!  RMC at EMU Wednesday and VWC at GC on Saturday - can't wait! 

[rmc1982]

Poll's out - 1, 6, 8 and 18.  It's crowded at the top, so RMC and GC add points, but no change in positions from last week.  VWC, however, up four notches from 12th and EMU up six spots from 24th!  RMC at EMU Wednesday and VWC at GC on Saturday - can't wait! 

WOW!! 3 ODAC Teams in the top 10 and EMU @ 18!! What a great time it is to be an ODAC basketball fan! Great work guys!

[baselinejam]

Poll's out - 1, 6, 8 and 18.  It's crowded at the top, so RMC and GC add points, but no change in positions from last week.  VWC, however, up four notches from 12th and EMU up six spots from 24th!  RMC at EMU Wednesday and VWC at GC on Saturday - can't wait! 

WOW!! 3 ODAC Teams in the top 10 and EMU @ 18!! What a great time it is to be an ODAC basketball fan! Great work guys!

How will inevitable intra-conference blood bath turn out? I'm too lazy to see who has the advantage of playing the other ranked teams only once at home.

[Hugenerd]

Recent release by NCAA.com about Division III basketball:

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011210aaa.html

It mentions Eastern Mennonite.