MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[steelyglen]

Saturday Night, despite the loss to Guilford, it was a great night for Bridgewater College Men's basketball. After the game, about 30 past Eagle players, wives, girlfriends, assistant coaches and friends of the progam all attended a reunion surprise party for Bill Leatherman in Harrisonburg. There stories from 7:30 til well past midnight and the fun could have lasted for days. The night culminated with the players presenting a Las Vagas trip to Bill and his better half, Nancy, flight, hotel, limos the works! It was a small token to an outstanding man who has touched the lives of so many people and I know for a fact has played a major role in the life of a certain former ODAC POY. What a great night! I mean it was great to see Ramsey Yeatts, Dan Rush, John Curry, Chris Ihle, Jermain Reed, Brad Harrington just to name a few! What a great night...ah the stories that were told...outstanding!

[algernon]

I pretty much agree with your take, EagleSlam.

Lynchburg has lost two to both Roanoke and EMU and cannot get a tournament bid over either team.  Their only long-shot hope is to win the next 3 while Bridgewater loses the next 3.  In that case, they would win the #8 seed over Bridgewater by virtue of the point system.

Washington & Lee's only long-shot hope is to win the next 3 games while either Roanoke or Eastern Mennonite lose the rest of their games.  They could win on the point system, given such a scenario.

Obviously, both Lynchburg and W&L are highly unlikely to be in the tournament, given the long-shot quality of the above mentioned scenarios.

VWC is very likely to be #1, although could fall to #2.  RMC is very likely to be #2 but could theoretically move up to #1 or fall to #3 (if they lose their final 3 games while the Tigers win their final 4 games).

If Guilford beats the Tigers on Wednesday and gets the win against W&L, they'll finish 11-7 or 12-6 and get the #3 seed.  On the other hand, if the Tigers beat Guilford on Wednesday and get the win against Lynchburg, they'll finish with 10-12 wins and probably get the #3 seed.

Emory & Henry and Roanoke could finish anywhere from #3 or #4 to #8.  I doubt E&H will be seeded lower than #5, given the schedule they face, or that Roanoke will be seeded lower than #6, as EMU and Bridgewater have tough schedules to finish the season, with both teams playing both VWC and RMC.  But anything can happen!

In 6 days, tournament seedings won't be finalized, but they will be much clearer.

[Jeremybozz]

  Uncle Colbert is in Steelers Front office. Congrats from BC nation!

[jeloesel]

The Andy watch continues.  Although he didn't get any steals against Roanoke, he had four in the W&L game.

http://athletics.wlu.edu/mbasketball/stats0506/WLUMBB20.HTM

Tough kid.  You should see the other fellow.  

[hasanova]

hasanova...saw your Quakers over the weekend and came away very impresed with the job Tom Palombo has done over in Greensboro.
Guilford is very well coached and does the "liittle things" that make them sucessful.Let's see...where to begin...first I was VERY impressed with Guilford's guard play. They are physical and are aggressive on the defensive end of the floor. They out hustled BC players for loose balls, did a great job of stepping into passing lanes creating tournovers and shot the ball very well. There was no hesitancy in making the extra pass to find the open player. Ben Strong was very impressive. Soft hands for a big man and shoots the ball very well. Does a good job of letting the game come to him and plays very good position basktball. Bridgewater was lazy, particulary in the first half, settling for jumpers instead of attacking the basket, way to many times. The Eagles were not stepping to the ball on receiving passs and the help defense was just terrible. Guilford won every facet of the game Saturday. I was particularly impressed with Eric Belkoski. The young man gives great effort will do what every he can to contribute. His 7 points and 7 rebounds were just pure heart.

Today was different. The circus came town (which is always fun)and ring master Bob Johnson has his work cut out for him.  He played 16 players today and no one played over 16 minutes. I'm not quite sure why a quality player would want to play in that system...where a basically it seeems someone keeps a stopwatch and at a certain point you are out and someone else is in...no matter what has just happened. 75 three pointers hoisted today by E&H...75...The Wasps made 24 of them and STILL got beat by 12. At some point you've got to at least pretend to play defense. Strotman has 29, Michael 22, Fox and Cathlin 14 each and Oblitey 12. A much needed win for BC today.

Thanks.  I'm sure the Quakers also appreciate your positive comments.  I'm also impressed with Coach Palombo.  He's a fine coach and a good man - the college is fortunate to have him.  I think he's a good fit for Guilford in the DIII era.

I'm sure Coach Palombo would be the first to point out that his charges don't always do the little things that help them win.  I do believe they are a very unselfish team, but sometimes to the point that they overpass in my opinion.  The Quakers do hustle and I love that about them.  If you're 20 years old and you can't dive for a loose ball, when are you ever going to do it?  lol  They do have a weakness on FT's at times and I know that drives Coach Palombo nuts.  I'm sure they practice it, but 55-60% FT shooting will cost you games and it did multiple times in 2004-05.

Ben Strong is, as you pointed out, the real deal.  If he continues to develop, he will also be a "strong" force in the ODAC for the next two years (sorry, Ben's last name just makes it too easy lol ).  When the Quakers need a basket, he is the "go to" guy and usually delivers.  I really like to see him shoot a 10 foot jumper from the left side - very soft - but he is getting stronger and can power inside at times.  His entire game has come around - rebounding, blocks, passing, defensive positioning, FT's.  I also like Eric Belkoski.  He was injured the first half of the season, but has really come on the last ten games.  He may not have the most size or talent, but his intensity is infectious for the rest of the team.  Playing shirts and skins, I want him on my side. 

I hope the Quakers can finish well in 2006.  I predicted the Quakers would go 12-6 in the ODAC and they'll have to win out to do that, but they still can (I thought they would win at least one when HSC, VWC and RMC came to Greensoro last week - oops).  I think they are a dark horse in the ODAC tournament and, with everyone returning, should be a top echelon team in the ODAC next season.  Go Quakers! 

[Jacketlawyer]

Thanks Justafan02 and Fishtank--when examining the play-by-play transcript on R-M's web site, I didn't count 20 turnovers, but it was close.  Just can't do that against VW, or really, any other team, for that matter.

I hope we meet again in the tournament.  Love to see a little payback!

[ladyeagle]

On Saturday Guilford played an impressive game and Bridgewater decided not to show up.  When you're down by 19 points to start the second half, the future doesn't look to great.  Steelyglen paints an accurate picture of the Eagle's laziness. 

Although a lot of that laziness seemed to return the first half of the game on Sunday, Bridgewater thankfully is a second half team and stepped it up enough to pull out over the Wasps.  Jay Strotman was almost unstoppable in the second half, with 18 of his 29 points coming from the second half alone.  Clay Michael also had an impressive 22 points and 17 rebounds.  He made his 1,000 career point early in the first half.  I have a hard time watching Emory & Henry play ball.  Watching 5 subs go in every minute in the first half added onto the 75 3-point attempts is a little much.  This system isn't going to cut it if a team is only making 30% of their shots.  I feel bad for announcers everywhere. 

The fan base however was really up these two games.  It was great to see many alumni there...besides Steely and "a certain former ODAC POY", last years graduates, Ashby Tarkington, Jared Chalk, Matt Fitzgerald, and Nick Stewart were spotted in the crowd. 

This year's crowd is really hurting without last year's senior class.  It really could use some added personality.  I miss the days when Adam Miller would light up the scene.  Not sure why the other classes aren't as enthused about the games, but hopefully it will pick up.

[tigerfanalso]

Don't let the officiating get to you .... The ODAC officials are not very good and have been for sometime.... but the ODAC can do something about that if they decide to do so; pay more $ than other conferences and attract the better refs.
It absolutely amazes me that the refs will let the play under the boards go; I mean in some games nothing is a foul underneath; but than they will call touch fouls out front when there is very little contact. My hat is off to the coaches in the ODAC for showing the restraint they have shown. Hopefully no games have been decided by bad calls or lack of calls. The ODAC needs to do a better job in the selection of officials. Pay more money, select the better officials and be done with it..... it will only improve the quality of play in the conference.   

[tigerfanalso]

Congratulations to VWC on their outstanding performance this past Saturday. I had RMC beating them; I admit when I'm wrong as I was REALLY wrong. Hopefully VWC can continue it's run and represent the ODAC well in the NCAA's. Good luck the balance of the season, in the ODAC tournament, unless you play HSC (my only exclusion) and into the big dance.   

[Pat Coleman]

Thanks Justafan02 and Fishtank--when examining the play-by-play transcript on R-M's web site, I didn't count 20 turnovers

I did just now and counted to 20.

[Jacketlawyer]

Thanks Justafan02 and Fishtank--when examining the play-by-play transcript on R-M's web site, I didn't count 20 turnovers

I did just now and counted to 20.

Hmmmm, maybe the denial factor kicked in and caused me to miss the last two.  I knew it was close.

OUCH.

[ODACfan1]

Today was different. The circus came town (which is always fun)and ring master Bob Johnson has his work cut out for him.  He played 16 players today and no one played over 16 minutes. I'm not quite sure why a quality player would want to play in that system...where a basically it seeems someone keeps a stopwatch and at a certain point you are out and someone else is in...no matter what has just happened. 75 three pointers hoisted today by E&H...75...The Wasps made 24 of them and STILL got beat by 12. At some point you've got to at least pretend to play defense. Strotman has 29, Michael 22, Fox and Cathlin 14 each and Oblitey 12. A much needed win for BC today.

I was unable to watch the game or get any updates this weekend.  But once again there is someone bashing the WASPS.  Take into account that this is not a very good road team but they beat EMU the previous night and from the posts I saw online were beating Bridgewater for 3/4ths of the game yesterday.  Anyways, I think the Wasps host W&L and Lynchburg this week before finishing up at Roanoke.  Win all 3 and we may have anywhere from a 3 to 5 seed.  Good luck to all teams as they scramble for tournament seedings.

[tigerfanalso]

I don't think the poster was bashing the Wasps as much as he was questioning the system. He raises a very good point; why would a quality player want to sit the bench for 2/3's of the game just because the system requires so many players. PT is important and most quality players don't want to sit the bench and watch lesser players get equal PT. That is a problem, that the system creates; especially when E&H routinely finishes in the bottom half of the conference. Two factors that must have a negative impact on recruiting quality D3 players.

[Jacketlawyer]

I don't think the poster was bashing the Wasps as much as he was questioning the system. He raises a very good point; why would a quality player want to sit the bench for 2/3's of the game just because the system requires so many players. PT is important and most quality players don't want to sit the bench and watch lesser players get equal PT. That is a problem, that the system creates; especially when E&H routinely finishes in the bottom half of the conference. Two factors that must have a negative impact on recruiting quality D3 players.

Amen, TFA.  Here we are a week later, same subject, and E&H is STILL .500. 

[algernon]

especially when E&H routinely finishes in the bottom half of the conference.

E&H has finished in the bottom half of the conference only 7 of the last 20 years.  It's true that the Wasps have finished in the bottom half 6 of the last 10 years, so maybe that's what you're referring to, although I'm not sure that 6 out of 10 qualifies as a routine.  The Wasps finished in a tie for 3rd place only 2 years ago and will almost certainly finish in the top half of the conference this year, perhaps as high as the #4 seed in this year's ODAC tourney.