MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Seatfiller]

Most of the guys you knew that played at VWC, or most of the VWC roster had terrible high school grades? Just trying to get a better understanding of your quote.

And the best job in VA is CNU no doubt. Great facilities, in a very fertile recruiting area (757, an hr away from Richmond and 2 hrs away from the DC metro area) and its also a state school. There is no reason that CNU's basketball team shouldn't be one of the best in the nation year in and year out and it seems they are on their way. The late CJ Woolum made sure they had the facilities and the current coach has them back in the NCAA Tournament.

Exactly what I meant sorry I worded it wrong, and I was pretty right with my thinking of the admissions with VWC having a 86.0 acceptance rate (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/virginia-wesleyan-3767).  I'd rather have VWC job then CNU just as nice facilities with a high admissions rate which makes it a lot easier to get kids into the school.

[donho]

Dave, didn't know it was right down the street. My intent was to let people know that the game will not be played at WPI.... So don't go to WPI!

[FISHTANKFAN]

While I cannot address all aspects of your question about coaching, facilities, or financial aid, I can state that VWC has one of the best gyms in the ODAC. Built about 9-10 years ago it is a 20 million state of the art facility. Absolutely beautiful!  Great seating, lighting and airy. It is two tiered with a track on the upper level. It is an athletic center housing 2 BB courts, weight rooms, swimming pools, rock climbing etc. Both the present staff, alumni, surrounding community and fans are very supportive. Indeed, they have a community of coaches there that support each others programs wholeheartedly. It also has a great location on the border of both Norfolk and Virginia Beach.  The airport is 10 minutes away from the gym and beaches are nearby too. There is no lack of things for students to do when not on campus. There are many large high schools within the Hampton Roads area from which many ODAC coaches recruit. It is not an "old" school and therefore their endowment is not as large as some schools (RMC/HSC/W&L) but they do the best they can in the financial aid dept. Like many other private schools it is costly to attend.   I cannot speak as to whether what gym is best as far as players are concerned but I can state that this is one, if not the best gyms in the league. Some gyms are very, very old in the ODAC. I believe Bridgewater, Guilford, RMC and Randolph could use a facelift from what I have gathered from past posts.  Of course, it is not just the beauty of the facility that is important, but many other things that would go into the judgement of a gym...lighting, flooring, seating, dead spots, the rims etc. In such a powerful conference as the ODAC, I think you will find great support by students, administration and alumni in a good deal of these schools and I believe the better the teams do, the larger support by the administrations.

[2RMCFans]

^ Just gotta let you know that R-MC's Crenshaw Gymnasium already had a VERY nice facelift in 2006 and is widely regarded as a very fine venue for basketball & volleyball games.  (Parking is sometimes an issue.)  If you ever do visit to find out how nice Crenshaw is, please be sure to also notice the beautiful new baseball park, the state of the art football/lacrosse field, a fabulous new dorm housing Freshmen & the stunning Brock Commons (student center) which is nearing completion.  Also on the facilities drawing board is a Senior dorm anchoring the south endzone set to open Fall 2014 and a multimillion dollar reno with addition to our science center. 

Given the overall quality of R-MC mens & womens athletics (in many more sports than just basketball) & the caliber of our students, in our Central VA location, we think anyone would love the chance to coach/teach here.  Maybe that's one reason why there are rarely any job openings? 

GO JACKETS!!!!  GO MARLINS!!! 

[FISHTANKFAN]

Good to hear, I wasn't aware of all the improvements. RMC has always been  top notch and respected in so many ways both academically and in it's varied sports teams.  I have always been aware that it has had some outstanding coaches. You must know that I always look forward to VWC/RMC games ever since Macedo came to VWC. It was always a feather in his cap to beat RMC especially when Mike Rhodes was there. They were 2 of the youngest coaches in the league and I believe were one reason the ODAC began to have more recognition.  Good luck to both teams on Saturday!

[marlinpg10]

The best job in VA is hands down CNU. State school with D1 facilities and in the 757 area and close to richmond and n.va for recruiting purposes. Yes vwc has traditionally been known to be easier to get into but every program gets a few kids in that others were not able to get in. CNU got a kid in around 5 years ago that VWC wasn't able to get in and i know that VWC got in a couple of kids that RMC was not able to get in. And not saying any names but HSC has a kid on their current roster that was under a 2.0 in hs and below a 760 SAT so dont try and put them in their own category. Also HSC is able to give out the Davis Fellows scholarship which covers all tuition for 4 years. They give out 1 of these each year to a basketball player. Imagine if every ODAC school had 1 full scholarship to give out every year. Say what you want but each school has it perks and each coach is finding its niche and using that to their advantage and that is why the ODAC has become such a strong conference. Good Luck Marlins and Yellow Jackets this weekend. I will be in the "Fish Tank" to support my marlins this weekend.

[Mr. Ypsi]

The best job in VA is hands down CNU. State school with D1 facilities and in the 757 area and close to richmond and n.va for recruiting purposes. Yes vwc has traditionally been known to be easier to get into but every program gets a few kids in that others were not able to get in. CNU got a kid in around 5 years ago that VWC wasn't able to get in and i know that VWC got in a couple of kids that RMC was not able to get in. And not saying any names but HSC has a kid on their current roster that was under a 2.0 in hs and below a 760 SAT so dont try and put them in their own category. Also HSC is able to give out the Davis Fellows scholarship which covers all tuition for 4 years. They give out 1 of these each year to a basketball player. Imagine if every ODAC school had 1 full scholarship to give out every year. Say what you want but each school has it perks and each coach is finding its niche and using that to their advantage and that is why the ODAC has become such a strong conference. Good Luck Marlins and Yellow Jackets this weekend. I will be in the "Fish Tank" to support my marlins this weekend.

That sounds like a clear violation of d3 rules - could you elaborate?

[Pat Coleman]

It would be if:

1. Athletics is taken into account.
2. The rest of the student body does not also receive financial aid at the same rate.

Somehow I doubt someone named "marlin faithful" is reliable on this matter.

[Mr. Ypsi]

It would be if:

1. Athletics is taken into account.
2. The rest of the student body does not also receive financial aid at the same rate.

Somehow I doubt someone named "marlin faithful" is reliable on this matter.

That's why I asked for elaboration.  IF it is true (like he made it sound) that the scholarship is designated for a basketball player (or even always seems to go to one), they'd have a problem.

I agree it is probably just sour grapes, but a clarification would be nice.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

This is really easy thanks to Google: http://www.hsc.edu/Documents/FinAid/scholarships/davisfellows.pdf

"The Davis Fellowship is awarded to one member of each class matriculating at Hampden-Sydney College. In his high school years, the Davis Fellow will have demonstrated intellectual competence, energy, competitive instincts, and passion in an area of special interest—whether that be in intellectual achievements, the arts, the sciences, student leadership positions, extracurricular activities, civic affairs, community service, or other endeavors."

In the entire document... not one word says "basketball."

[Mr. Ypsi]

This is really easy thanks to Google: http://www.hsc.edu/Documents/FinAid/scholarships/davisfellows.pdf

"The Davis Fellowship is awarded to one member of each class matriculating at Hampden-Sydney College. In his high school years, the Davis Fellow will have demonstrated intellectual competence, energy, competitive instincts, and passion in an area of special interest—whether that be in intellectual achievements, the arts, the sciences, student leadership positions, extracurricular activities, civic affairs, community service, or other endeavors."

In the entire document... not one word says "basketball."

That takes care of designated; has it been a de facto basketball scholarship, or was marlin faithful just blowing smoke?

[Pat Coleman]

Again, this is really easy thanks to Google:

http://www.hsc.edu/Davis-Fellows/Current-Fellows.html

http://www.hsc.edu/Documents/AboutHSC/AlumniAdvancement/Interesting%202008-2011%20H-SC%20Graduate%20Profiles%20-%202011.12.01.pdf -- lists class of '08 winner as member of club soccer team, among other things, none of which includes basketball.

http://readme.readmedia.com/Everton-Batista-Receives-Final-Convocation-Award/3886396

I can stop, right, Chuck?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Again, this is really easy thanks to Google:

http://www.hsc.edu/Davis-Fellows/Current-Fellows.html

http://www.hsc.edu/Documents/AboutHSC/AlumniAdvancement/Interesting%202008-2011%20H-SC%20Graduate%20Profiles%20-%202011.12.01.pdf -- lists class of '08 winner as member of club soccer team, among other things, none of which includes basketball.

http://readme.readmedia.com/Everton-Batista-Receives-Final-Convocation-Award/3886396

I can stop, right, Chuck?

Yup!  I counted one basketball player, one football player, one baseball player, three tennis players, and members of club soccer and rugby teams - sounds like about par for the student body!

Just for the record, Pat, I was more calling out 'marlin faithful' to defend his accusation than I was calling out HSC.

[Maroons07]

Greg Lewis had a great game last night, with 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Tiger fans will be happy to see him return next year as a junior.  Leon Hargrove had a great game and will also be back for 2 more years.  HSC will bring back almost everyone who got lots of playing time last night (seniors accounted for only 50 of the 200 minutes played), so the future is bright, even though we'll miss the contributions of Harrison George, Fletcher Lumpkin, Patrick Corrigan, Alex Potopov, and Randall Ward, each of whom had a solid career. 

Without a doubt, Tiger fans will greatly miss watching the play of All-American Harrison George, who is probably the most complete player that Hampden-Sydney has put on the floor in the past 25 years.  He was brilliant so many times over his career, and he had another stellar performance last night.  Against a very tough opponent, Harrison had 25 points on 8 for 14 shooting, to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals.  His was a fabulous career by any standard, with 1793 points, 738 rebounds, 216 assists, and 184 steals in 106 games.

Harrison is one of an outstanding set of current seniors that Dee Vick recruited during his first year as coach at HSC.  Harrison, Fletcher, Patrick, Randall, and Alex joined a Tiger team that was only 14-14 in the year that they were recruited, a team that remained 13-13 in their freshman year.  The Tigers have steadily improved since then!  This year's seniors improved to 17-10 in their sophomore year ... and then finished 19-8 as juniors, almost doing well enough to get themselves into the NCAA tournament ... and now the Tigers have gone 23-5 this year, finishing as ODAC regular-season co-champs, with a #16 national ranking.  This was absolutely a blowout year for the Tigers and, without any question, the best year the Tigers have had since 2003-2004, when the HSC team led by Monroe and Randall went 25-5 and lost in the final seconds of the NCAA 2nd round on that just-too-long shot at F&M.

Over the past 5 years, Coach Vick has brought HSC basketball back to where the Tigers were 9 years ago:  Hampden-Sydney is once again a nationally ranked team that is playing an NCAA tournament game in front of a packed and very loud crowd at Fleet Gymnasium.

While George's numbers speak of how good of an individual player he was, the fact of the matter is that while he was getting those numbers, H-SC's two biggest rivals (VWC & RMC) continued to put up ODAC Championship, NCAA Tournament and Final Four banners in their respective gyms.  To each their own on what is more impressive ....

[Pat Coleman]

Just for the record, Pat, I was more calling out 'marlin faithful' to defend his accusation than I was calling out HSC.

Gotcha. I felt that it wasn't an accusation that merited any attention from anyne, I guess.