MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Macon]

An even bigger question in the ODAC is HSC.  They lose the most production to graduation.  If not Brazil returning for a fifth year, this team is a complete unknown.   Will be interesting to watch their development.

[Brian Hamilton]

In exhibition against GC, HSC up 49-23 at half.

[Tigerfan]

Long time Roanoke basketball broadcaster Rick Seidel passed away last week.  He was quite an accomplished guy, loved Roanoke and D3 sports, and he will be missed. 

https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2024/10/31/mens-basketball-longtime-maroon-basketball-broadcaster-rick-seidel-passes-away.aspx

[Pat Coleman]

Long time Roanoke basketball broadcaster Rick Seidel passed away last week.  He was quite an accomplished guy, loved Roanoke and D3 sports, and he will be missed. 

https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2024/10/31/mens-basketball-longtime-maroon-basketball-broadcaster-rick-seidel-passes-away.aspx

Oh no -- I had no idea. We worked with Rick for a long time on broadcasts from Salem. I agree with all of your assessments.

[Tigerfan]

Regarding H-SC, the Tiger faithful are optimistic about the upcoming season.  Obviously, having Adam Brazil back for his on and off court leadership is a great starting point.  We are looking for Shane Fernald to become one of the ODAC's best.  He shouldn't be a secret after his play in the NCAA tournament; he averaged 10 points, 3 assists and 15 minutes in the tournament.  I suspect that a lot of the Tiger offense will run through him.  He's a very big guy (6'7", 255) whose post moves have shown improvement over his first 2 years.  He's not afraid to put it on the floor.  However, his most interesting asset is his passing; he has great court vision and loves to set up his teammates.  One can easily observe that he put in the work to become leaner and stronger in the offseason.

I think the Tigers brought in a bunch of shooters, scorers and athletes for Fernald to hit with passes if he is double-teamed.  Since all of them are new, there's not much data to share with the exception of Colin Radcliffe.  Over 2 seasons, he averaged 16 mpg at D2 Mt Olive and shot .444 from behind the arc (67 for 151 - not a small sample).  Combine that with 86% free throw shooting, and I think its safe to say that he's a strong 6'5" shooter.  Hamilton Campbell comes from d2 Lenoir-Rhyne.  He is a point guard who can score.  He seems to be a very confident guy and has a bit of "Wow" to his game.  Whoever works hard enough to emerge from the talented pack and earn regular playing time should be quite good.

Offensively, the Tigers should be fine.  How good their defense and rebounding will be is the question.  They are loaded with guards and perimeter players.  6'9" (with an exceptional wing span) sophomore Alex Cannon is the wild card there.  If he works his way into the rotation and gives effective minutes, that will be a positive sign.

The young Tigers will be tested right from the start with a schedule loaded with ranked teams.  They start up on Saturday at Swarthmore, then play Macon in a designated non-conference game, then go to Christopher Newport.  Before Christmas, they will see Macon again, Maryville or Gettysburg, and John Carroll. 

[thescottharris]

Regarding H-SC, the Tiger faithful are optimistic about the upcoming season.  Obviously, having Adam Brazil back for his on and off court leadership is a great starting point.  We are looking for Shane Fernald to become one of the ODAC's best.  He shouldn't be a secret after his play in the NCAA tournament; he averaged 10 points, 3 assists and 15 minutes in the tournament.  I suspect that a lot of the Tiger offense will run through him.  He's a very big guy (6'7", 255) whose post moves have shown improvement over his first 2 years.  He's not afraid to put it on the floor.  However, his most interesting asset is his passing; he has great court vision and loves to set up his teammates.  One can easily observe that he put in the work to become leaner and stronger in the offseason.

I think the Tigers brought in a bunch of shooters, scorers and athletes for Fernald to hit with passes if he is double-teamed.  Since all of them are new, there's not much data to share with the exception of Colin Radcliffe.  Over 2 seasons, he averaged 16 mpg at D2 Mt Olive and shot .444 from behind the arc (67 for 151 - not a small sample).  Combine that with 86% free throw shooting, and I think its safe to say that he's a strong 6'5" shooter.  Hamilton Campbell comes from d2 Lenoir-Rhyne.  He is a point guard who can score.  He seems to be a very confident guy and has a bit of "Wow" to his game.  Whoever works hard enough to emerge from the talented pack and earn regular playing time should be quite good.

Offensively, the Tigers should be fine.  How good their defense and rebounding will be is the question.  They are loaded with guards and perimeter players.  6'9" (with an exceptional wing span) sophomore Alex Cannon is the wild card there.  If he works his way into the rotation and gives effective minutes, that will be a positive sign.

The young Tigers will be tested right from the start with a schedule loaded with ranked teams.  They start up on Saturday at Swarthmore, then play Macon in a designated non-conference game, then go to Christopher Newport.  Before Christmas, they will see Macon again, Maryville or Gettysburg, and John Carroll. 

Fernald has shades of another former Tiger in Jake Hahn with his versatility as a big man. Though from what I recall, Fernald seems to be a better fit as a five on offense while I think Hahn was better suited at the four. H[color=var(--input-txt-color)]e showed flashes here and there last year but had a bit of a breakout in the tournament. I'll be interested to see how his production translates into a higher usage role. But I sure hope he has put in a ton of time on improving at the foul line because he could end up being a liability to have on the court in crunch time if he is still a terrible foul shooter.[/color]

[y_jack_lok]

Pre-season poll:  https://odaconline.com/news/2024/11/5/110624-mbb-preseason-poll.aspx

1.   Randolph-Macon College (7)   137 pts.
2.   Guilford College (2)   129 pts.
3.   Hampden-Sydney College (2)   123 pts.
4.   Virginia Wesleyan University (2)   120 pts.
5.   Roanoke College   97 pts.
6.   Washington and Lee University   78 pts.
7.   Shenandoah University   73 pts.
8.   Ferrum College   69 pts.
9.   Bridgewater College   67 pts.
10.   University of Lynchburg   52 pts.
11.   Randolph College   29 pts.
12.   Averett University   26 pts.
13.   Eastern Mennonite University   14 pts.

[y_jack_lok]

Thinking about tomorrow's RMC vs Salisbury game up at Hood College in Frederick, MD. The Seagulls have five seniors/grad students to RMC's two. They have four juniors to RMC's six, though one of those (JoeJoe Dubrul) is a transfer and one (Liam Joyce) sat out last season with an injury, making him effectively a sophomore as it relates to game experience.

Salisbury was 14-13 last season. They lost three times to Mary Washington, once each to Virginia Wesleyan, Hampden-Sydney, and Bridgewater, and went 1-1 vs CNU. They beat Gettysburg last season. This season Gettysburg received some pre-season top 25 votes and people in the know consider them one of the favorites in the Centennial Conference, which includes Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore.

This shapes up to be a tough game for RMC and should give us some real insights into this year's team.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Thinking about tomorrow's RMC vs Salisbury game up at Hood College in Frederick, MD. The Seagulls have five seniors/grad students to RMC's two. They have four juniors to RMC's six, though one of those (JoeJoe Dubrul) is a transfer and one (Liam Joyce) sat out last season with an injury, making him effectively a sophomore as it relates to game experience.

Salisbury was 14-13 last season. They lost three times to Mary Washington, once each to Virginia Wesleyan, Hampden-Sydney, and Bridgewater, and went 1-1 vs CNU. They beat Gettysburg last season. This season Gettysburg received some pre-season top 25 votes and people in the know consider them one of the favorites in the Centennial Conference, which includes Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore.

This shapes up to be a tough game for RMC and should give us some real insights into this year's team.

Salisbury's best player, by far, is Jordan Oates.  He's a heck of a rebounder, but at 6'5" can often be limited by size.  Post defense was a weakness of RMC's last season, but more so against really big guys.  I'll be curious to see how things go in the paint, for sure.

[Tigerfan]

The preseason poll looks fair.  Randolph-Macon and Guilford have earned the respect.  Virginia Wesleyan looks a little undervalued.  They were a NCAA tournament team last year and return most everybody.  They get back Omari Deveaux; I assume he was injured last year.  The 3 teams ranked ahead lost a ton of talent and experience; its almost mind-boggling how good that class was: Tyler Dearman (National POY), Julius Burch, Davidson Hubbard, Daniel Mbangue, Ryan Clements and too many strong role players to list.  True, there were 4 and 5 year guys, but I still think of it as a class.

Washington & Lee looks a little overvalued.  They have a fine coach and program, but they also lost guys who can be included in the list above.  Robert DiSibio is now playing professionally in Europe, Jack d'Entremont is playing for the Richmond Spiders and Drew Harrell is an assistant coach at W&L.  That was a great W&L team that had the misfortune of being in the same time and place as H-SC, GC and R-MC.

You might want to buy some Ferrum.  Pat Corrigan could recruit players who want to get in on the ground floor of a D2 program (Ferrum goes D2 as of July, 2025).  He brought in a pile of D2 and CC transfers. So they are another ? in a league full of them this year.

[y_jack_lok]

Looking at the ODAC schedule for the opening weekend, the only game that stands out is Hampden-Sydney at Swarthmore. They played at H-SC last December, a game the Tigers won 67-46. H-SC is pre-season #23 and Swarthmore is among the 32 other teams receiving votes, although they are in the top 1/3 of that group.

The only other game involving an ODAC team and a highly regarded team is Averett at pre-season #20 Maryville. With Averett coming in at #12 in the ODAC coaches pre-season poll, this isn't a game that is likely to be on many people's radar as one to keep an eye on.

[y_jack_lok]

You might want to buy some Ferrum.  Pat Corrigan could recruit players who want to get in on the ground floor of a D2 program (Ferrum goes D2 as of July, 2025).  He brought in a pile of D2 and CC transfers. So they are another ? in a league full of them this year.

Interesting observation. Always hard to know how that kind of mixture of new guys will work out. The Panthers no longer have 2nd team All-ODAC Jikari Johnson or Calvin Washington, but Alfredo Abel-Rivera is back.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Looking at the ODAC schedule for the opening weekend, the only game that stands out is Hampden-Sydney at Swarthmore. The played at H-SC last December, a game the Tigers won 67-46. H-SC is pre-season #23 and Swarthmore is among the 32 other teams receiving votes, although they are in the top 1/3 of that group.

The only other game involving an ODAC team and a highly regarded team is Averett at pre-season #20 Maryville. With Averett coming in at #12 in the ODAC coaches pre-season poll, this isn't a game that is likely to be on many people's radar as one to keep an eye on.

It is an interesting game, but I don't know what we'll learn.  Both teams lost a ton from last year, so it's hard to know what the relative strength of either one will actually be.

[Seatfiller]

Long time Roanoke basketball broadcaster Rick Seidel passed away last week.  He was quite an accomplished guy, loved Roanoke and D3 sports, and he will be missed. 

https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2024/10/31/mens-basketball-longtime-maroon-basketball-broadcaster-rick-seidel-passes-away.aspx

I just saw that yesterday.  I played when Rick first started broadcasting for Roanoke.  He took that job seriously and always did research before every game to make sure that he was prepared, he never put out material he wasn't 100% ready to cover.  I talked to him a couple of times when I played and he was really nice and genuine. He will be missed.

[y_jack_lok]

Looking at the ODAC schedule for the opening weekend, the only game that stands out is Hampden-Sydney at Swarthmore. They played at H-SC last December, a game the Tigers won 67-46. H-SC is pre-season #23 and Swarthmore is among the 32 other teams receiving votes, although they are in the top 1/3 of that group.

The only other game involving an ODAC team and a highly regarded team is Averett at pre-season #20 Maryville. With Averett coming in at #12 in the ODAC coaches pre-season poll, this isn't a game that is likely to be on many people's radar as one to keep an eye on.

It is an interesting game, but I don't know what we'll learn.  Both teams lost a ton from last year, so it's hard to know what the relative strength of either one will actually be.

I agree that "interesting" is about as good as we can do to describe this game, especially relative to the teams who will be facing each other at the Sikma Invitational at Illinois Wesleyan this weekend.