MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[rmc1982]

MACON and Y_JACK_Lock- Check your PM! In addition to the other stuff one cool thing Josh always lists is emails and majors /career interests of his players so we alumni can assist them in career decisions and leads for jobs. I remember when we were at the Final Four victory party after the National Championship and one of my friends is a retired Virginia State Police Captain and we were talking with players and their parents and Josh Talbert '23 was telling us he was having trouble getting his foot in the door with the FBI for an internship .Josh is from Va Beach and my buddy was stationed for a bit in the Hampton Roads area and he knew A LOT of people in law enforcement and in the FBI and he assisted him with a phone call or two to help him with his career. THATS whats so great about our alumni system!! Most other schools have the same but thats why Josh lists that stuff- he cares about our kids and its a life long committment to them to come and play for us! He, just like Pedro Arruza and every coach in our athletic department, builds strong young men and women of character who turn into productive citizens that we're ALL proud of as alumni!

[rmc1982]

Ok fellas- INFO SENT!

[y_jack_lok]

RMC 24-25 roster is posted. Newcomers include three freshmen and one junior transfer (Joe Joe Dubrul from Norwich University in Vermont). Liam Joyce, who sat out last season with an injury, is back. Four of last season's freshmen do not appear on the roster.

https://rmcathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

One from my town (Middletown, DE)!  He went to a private school out of town.  I guess that's why I wasn't aware of him.

[Macon]

Lok, thanks for the roster.  However, I see three freshmen from last year not on the roster.  I also noticed that HSC lost 4 of their 7 freshmen from last year.  That level of turnover seems high for both programs.

Additionally, RMC has only two players from Virginia.  I've got to believe that's a new low for RMC program.  Not a good thing or bad thing, just an observation.

[y_jack_lok]

Lok, thanks for the roster.  However, I see three freshmen from last year not on the roster.  I also noticed that HSC lost 4 of their 7 freshmen from last year.  That level of turnover seems high for both programs.

Additionally, RMC has only two players from Virginia.  I've got to believe that's a new low for RMC program.  Not a good thing or bad thing, just an observation.

The four are Brannen, Hellams, Margad C., and Tuffour. But, I see what you are saying, because in the archived roster Margad is not listed. But, there's no doubt he was on the roster last season and in fact played more minutes (500) than any of last season's other freshmen. Stats are here: https://rmcathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats?path=mbball

[Macon]

You are totally correct.  Margad is a big loss, I had totally forgotten him.  That is totally disappointing that he's gone.

[y_jack_lok]

The 24-25 RMC roster is probably the overall youngest and least experienced in many years, with only two seniors, one of whom plays very sparingly. The three most experienced players are senior forward Vincent Payne and junior guards Jabril Robinson and Keishawn Pulley, Jr.

The transfer, Dubrul, started 23 of 26 games and averaged 26 minutes for Norwich as a sophomore last season. Sophomore Malcolm Hodges averaged 14 minutes for the Jackets as a freshman.

This is the closest RMC has been to a "rebuilding" season in a long time.

[Macon]

RMC is #7 preseason.   I'm  a huge fan, but that's a surprise.   I was not expecting them to even  be in the top 25.  Am I missing something?

[y_jack_lok]

RMC is #7 preseason.   I'm  a huge fan, but that's a surprise.   I was not expecting them to even  be in the top 25.  Am I missing something?

Many (not all) of the voters are clearly not fully aware of how different the Jackets will be this season. They have to evaluate a lot of teams and just can't keep up with all the changes to rosters, so the tendency in pre-season voting is to vote for historically good teams, then wait to see if they fulfill expectations before ranking them lower or not at all. As the saying goes: "Past performance is not a guarantee of future results." But when it comes to pre-season voting, past performance carries a lot of weight.

Also, the pre-season ballots are due before most conferences have released their coaches polls. If the voters had access to how the coaches in each conference rated the teams, you'd surely see them voting differently on a number of teams. I expect the ODAC coaches to have the usual suspects of Guilford, H-SC, RMC, and VWU in the top four spots, but where they each land seems up for grabs.

[Macon]

You're right, preseason evaluations are minimal in DIII.  HSC moves from #2 last year to #23, but I assume their graduating losses were more publicly known as a finalist team.

If Margad was back, I'd be more positive.  I think the depth inside will be thin.  But, one thing we can always count on is that Coach will place a competitive team on the floor.

[Pat Coleman]

You're right, preseason evaluations are minimal in DIII.  HSC moves from #2 last year to #23, but I assume their graduating losses were more publicly known as a finalist team.

If Margad was back, I'd be more positive.  I think the depth inside will be thin.  But, one thing we can always count on is that Coach will place a competitive team on the floor.

Every voter got info on about 50 schools. Even the ODAC voter, who would know much better than the other 24, placed Randolph-Macon 13th, so it's not so far out of whack.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

You also have to factor in that RMC was significantly better last year than most anyone expected, especially the voters early on.  When a team shows performance above expectations on a consistent basis, they get the benefit of the doubt.  This was largely a crap-shoot after the top 4-6 teams.  Consistency is often a good barometer.

[y_jack_lok]

Thanks Pat and Ryan. I definitely understand the "benefit of the doubt" at play here.

Out of curiosity, Pat, can you share where the ODAC voter placed other ODAC teams on his ballot?

[Macon]

Thanks for the insight, guys.  RMC lost a lot to graduation.  But, there will be 5 new contributors, including Liam.  The most important returner is Coach.  Hoping for a great season.