MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[thescottharris]

Caleb Kimbrough's first full recruiting cycle is going to have a really bright future at H-SC. Watched most of the game at Roanoke, worked the game at Lynchburg, and have watched most of this game at Macon and there are three in particular that look like good foundation pieces in DJ Wright, Josiah Hardy, and Adam Brazil. Not sure how they'll work the Brazil and Wright combo going forward since they are both under six-feet though, but man Wright is going to score an absolute ton of points.

H-SC looked really good in the game against R-MC yesterday. Quick, tough close out defense, good offensive movement and spacing. If Ian Robertson hadn't been hitting threes (8 of 13) for the Jackets the Tigers probably would have won.

Tigers need to get Jack Wyatt going. Second-Team All-ODAC last year and this year he is just a straight up bad basketball player that's playing very soft. Already matched the # of single-digit scoring games he had all last season, and they've only played three games so far. His four-point performance against Roanoke was the worst game he had since he was a bench warmer as a freshman. It's been so bad that he has been losing minutes from game one. His 19 minutes against Roanoke are by far the fewest he's had since his freshman season. He only had four games last year where he played fewer than 29 minutes, thus far he's done that in all three games.

I also don't particularly like the decision to put Ryan Clements off ball. He can't shoot at all and doesn't need to have a shot contested outside of the paint, so the defense can sag way off of him on the weakside to help out in the post and cut off driving lanes. He's at his best with the ball in his hands attacking off the dribble and creating. He needs to go back to running the point and have DJ Wright playing at the off guard spot to provide better shooting and floor spacing to start each half. Brazil can come in off the bench and run the point.

As it is now, there are four guys starting that aren't reliable scoring or shooting options (Wyatt, Turner, Clements, Brazil) with either how they are being utilized or with how they are playing. I don't really see how that's a sustainable model of basketball in 2021 without huge production from the bench like they got last night, and even then the second half was a 10+ point margin for most of the way. They didn't get that huge bench production in the other two games and the games were not competitive (at least in the second half of the Lynchburg one).

[Macon]

Caleb Kimbrough's first full recruiting cycle is going to have a really bright future at H-SC. Watched most of the game at Roanoke, worked the game at Lynchburg, and have watched most of this game at Macon and there are three in particular that look like good foundation pieces in DJ Wright, Josiah Hardy, and Adam Brazil. Not sure how they'll work the Brazil and Wright combo going forward since they are both under six-feet though, but man Wright is going to score an absolute ton of points.

H-SC looked really good in the game against R-MC yesterday. Quick, tough close out defense, good offensive movement and spacing. If Ian Robertson hadn't been hitting threes (8 of 13) for the Jackets the Tigers probably would have won.

No doubt that HSC is a much improved team.  Not sure if the Jackets lose without Robertson 3s.  Convert most of those possessions to 2s and you still win.  Also, a few HSC made 3s were likewise very tough shots.  A couple of close charging calls against the Jackets with HSC heals in the circle.  (I had the benefit of replay!).  But, again I give HSC a lot of credit for a very good game.  I think this is the eighth straight win over HSC, don't see the next 8 going all for the Jackets.

[Seatfiller]

Roanoke beat SU in a close one last Saturday 61-59. There was only 2 referees the entire game and they never explained why there wasn't a 3rd, I'm guessing Covid stuff though. Roanoke plays Emory and Henry (for right now) tomorrow which is going to be a interesting game since this is E and H's first game of the season.

[thescottharris]

FYI Lynchburg is now on pause for two weeks as well.

[Macon]

The Jackets certainly looked like the #1 team at SU.  Doubling up SU by 51 points.  RMC scores more points in first half (56) than SU for the game (51).  FC continues to look strong over HSC.  I thought HSC would do better against FC, but FC is stronger than expected having played RC and RMC close.  RC dominates EHC.  EHC move to DII still befuddles me.  I realize that they'll recruit a different athlete, but I predict the overall results will be the same.   However, I do wish them luck.

[Seatfiller]

The Jackets certainly looked like the #1 team at SU.  Doubling up SU by 51 points.  RMC scores more points in first half (56) than SU for the game (51).  FC continues to look strong over HSC.  I thought HSC would do better against FC, but FC is stronger than expected having played RC and RMC close.  RC dominates EHC.  EHC move to DII still befuddles me.  I realize that they'll recruit a different athlete, but I predict the overall results will be the same.   However, I do wish them luck.

I saw that score last night and it's incredible how well RMC is year in and year out along with the different coaching changes they've had.  RMC is still top dog in the conference from what I've seen so far this year. With that being said Guilford and W and L haven't played a game yet so who knows how good they are at this point. 

I viewed the RC and EMH game yesterday and EMH's offense baffles me. It kind of reminds me of aau basketball. Either they throw it into the post who goes 1 on 1 or they just drive 1 on 5. Very interesting to watch, when they're hitting 3s (like last year when we lost) it's good, when they aren't it's not too good to watch. It was a 20 point game at halftime and only got worse after and let me say this E and H made RC look a lot better than we are.

[Macon]

The Jackets certainly looked like the #1 team at SU.  Doubling up SU by 51 points.  RMC scores more points in first half (56) than SU for the game (51).  FC continues to look strong over HSC.  I thought HSC would do better against FC, but FC is stronger than expected having played RC and RMC close.  RC dominates EHC.  EHC move to DII still befuddles me.  I realize that they'll recruit a different athlete, but I predict the overall results will be the same.   However, I do wish them luck.

I saw that score last night and it's incredible how well RMC is year in and year out along with the different coaching changes they've had.  RMC is still top dog in the conference from what I've seen so far this year. With that being said Guilford and W and L haven't played a game yet so who knows how good they are at this point. 

I viewed the RC and EMH game yesterday and EMH's offense baffles me. It kind of reminds me of aau basketball. Either they throw it into the post who goes 1 on 1 or they just drive 1 on 5. Very interesting to watch, when they're hitting 3s (like last year when we lost) it's good, when they aren't it's not too good to watch. It was a 20 point game at halftime and only got worse after and let me say this E and H made RC look a lot better than we are.

Sounds like EHC was lazy on offense, that won't win many games in DIII.  This was also EHC's first game, so may have also contributed to their play.  I think that teams that haven't played yet are at a huge disadvantage, given that real game experience is valuable.

[Macon]

Why are COVID make-up games against ODAC teams not counting as conference games?  RMC already has two non-conference ODAC games so far, against HSC and BC.  Seems to me that given the uncertainty of schedules, why not count as conference games?  In a normal season, I get it, such as RMC/HSC playing a secondary non-conference game last year.  But, all the rules are out the window this season, so why not count them?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

DIII Championships are official canceled: https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2021/02/committee-decides-championships-fate

[Seatfiller]

DIII Championships are official canceled: https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2021/02/committee-decides-championships-fate

Not a fan of this. Sucks for really good teams like RMC who don't get the chance to go for a championship.

[Macon]

DIII Championships are official canceled: https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2021/02/committee-decides-championships-fate

Not a fan of this. Sucks for really good teams like RMC who don't get the chance to go for a championship.

Let's just declare a champion based on DIII Hoops final poll.

[Macon]

But, honestly, this sucks, especially for the players, mainly the seniors.  Will be interesting to see if any seniors come back next year, however I doubt any will.  Let's hope the ODAC championship happens, for a small consolation for the players.

[Seatfiller]

DIII Championships are official canceled: https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2021/02/committee-decides-championships-fate

Not a fan of this. Sucks for really good teams like RMC who don't get the chance to go for a championship.

Let's just declare a champion based on DIII Hoops final poll.

That's not a bad idea. Better than nothing. 

In other odac news yesterday, Randolph beat Bridgewater 91-81.

So here's a question for everyone. Who picks the 4 best teams in the odac to play for the odac tourney? With Guilford and Washington and Lee not even playing a game yet it's going to be interesting to see the 4 teams that get chosen.  I'd at least like to know the criteria they're going to use to select the 4 teams.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

But, honestly, this sucks, especially for the players, mainly the seniors.  Will be interesting to see if any seniors come back next year, however I doubt any will.  Let's hope the ODAC championship happens, for a small consolation for the players.

Talking to schools around the country, there will be a good contingent of seniors who return as much as there will be a good contingent that don't. Some saw this was going to be the reality and already took a gap year (Swarthmore will likely look like the team we expected to see this year next season) and others may try and play out a fifth year (some schools offering free tuition to all of their students, as long as they are fulltime currently, to get a fifth year).

But there are so many factors. There are some who are trying to play professionally and feel a year more to showcase themselves is important. There are some who have jobs lined up and returning just isn't an option. And everything in between. We shall see when it happens.

More importantly for a lot of institutions, they will have two classes of recruits that haven't played a meaningful game when things, hopefully, get started next season. And how this impacts recruiting will be fascinating. Not only maybe not having enough room, but DI and DII are already showing signs of not having enough scholarships due to students returning that a lot of good talent may come to DIII to keep playing. Plus other things ... it will be a few years of some interesting ripple effects from all of this.

[Macon]

But, honestly, this sucks, especially for the players, mainly the seniors.  Will be interesting to see if any seniors come back next year, however I doubt any will.  Let's hope the ODAC championship happens, for a small consolation for the players.

Talking to schools around the country, there will be a good contingent of seniors who return as much as there will be a good contingent that don't. Some saw this was going to be the reality and already took a gap year (Swarthmore will likely look like the team we expected to see this year next season) and others may try and play out a fifth year (some schools offering free tuition to all of their students, as long as they are fulltime currently, to get a fifth year).

But there are so many factors. There are some who are trying to play professionally and feel a year more to showcase themselves is important. There are some who have jobs lined up and returning just isn't an option. And everything in between. We shall see when it happens.

More importantly for a lot of institutions, they will have two classes of recruits that haven't played a meaningful game when things, hopefully, get started next season. And how this impacts recruiting will be fascinating. Not only maybe not having enough room, but DI and DII are already showing signs of not having enough scholarships due to students returning that a lot of good talent may come to DIII to keep playing. Plus other things ... it will be a few years of some interesting ripple effects from all of this.

All excellent thoughts.  Had not considered the 'trickle down' effect of DI and DII talent.  Will definitely be an interesting couple of years.