MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

Thanks for all the sincere comments about the POY question.  I genuinely respect all opinions, but, honestly, no one has changed my mind.  May the best player win, but I just don't want to see one player get a psychological edge because of what happened "last year."  To be truly fair, the 2005-06 awards should be completely erased when considering "this year's" 2006-07 choice.  We'll see later this week ...   

[jdubyadubya]

By my count, Brandon Adair needs 36 points to reach 2000 career points. If he has a big game against W&L, he might do it Thursday afternoon but most likely on Saturday. Go Marlins! Let's bring home the 3rd ODAC Championship in a row!

[hasanova]

By my count, Brandon Adair needs 36 points to reach 2000 career points. If he has a big game against W&L, he might do it Thursday afternoon but most likely on Saturday. Go Marlins! Let's bring home the 3rd ODAC Championship in a row!

That's quite an accomplishment.  What's the VWC record? 

[jdubyadubya]

I believe that would be it!

[tigers]

'Nova,
Not trying to change your mind.  I agree with your view that historic performance should earn awards last year.  I just honestly don't see how you can believe that it is clearly Strong's year this year.  Again, I think you have to look at more than stats. 

It is truly remarkable how far Gford has come and they have much to be proud of...I enjoy your posts/knowledge of the program, I just think you might be a bit guilty of "crimson/garnet" colored glasses on this one.   

[hasanova]

'Nova,
Not trying to change your mind.  I agree with your view that historic performance should earn awards last year.  I just honestly don't see how you can believe that it is clearly Strong's year this year.  Again, I think you have to look at more than stats. 

It is truly remarkable how far Gford has come and they have much to be proud of...I enjoy your posts/knowledge of the program, I just think you might be a bit guilty of "crimson/garnet" colored glasses on this one.

tigers, I've seen Adair play about five times and he's truly a "WOW" kind of player, no doubt about that.  He's clearly one of the biggest reasons VWC won it all in 2006.  I am a Guilford alumnus and attend as many games as I reasonably can, but I also take great pride in not wearing glasses that are always tinted with my school's colors.  I just honestly think Strong had the better, more impactful, year.

[hasanova]

I believe that would be it!

I figured it would be, but didn't want to jump to any conclusions.  Playing over 30 games last year certainly helped his cause, but what a great accomplishment.  Kudos!

[Jacketlawyer]

Hampden-Sydney defeated Randolph-Macon this afternoon by an insane margin.  Ahead by 17 at the half, the Tigers proceeded to increase their lead to 36 points with about 4 minutes to go.  The Yellow Jackets reduced the final margin to 29 points:  82-53.

The Tigers hit 12 of 19 of their 3-pointers (63%), while the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 17 times.  Very one-sided game. 

Mike Edwards had 27 points, to put him at 988 for his career.  We're expecting him to break the 1000-point mark in the tournament.  Freshman Turner King added 19 points and a game-high seven rebounds, finishing the regular season with 12.1 points and 4.5 rebounds a game.  He hit over 48% from behind the arc during the course of a great freshman season.

It was nice to beat the Yellow Jackets after losing 7 straight.  The Tigers hadn't beat the Yellow Jackets since the 2nd regular season game in 2004, at Hampden-Sydney.  (There wasn't a 3rd game that year in the ODAC tournament, as there often has been, because RMC was upset by Lynchburg in the #1 vs. #8 quarterfinal game.)

It was a beat down; we got worked.  Congrats to the Tigers, who were focused, breathing fire, and who deserved to win.

[Pat Coleman]

By my count, Brandon Adair needs 36 points to reach 2000 career points. If he has a big game against W&L, he might do it Thursday afternoon but most likely on Saturday. Go Marlins! Let's bring home the 3rd ODAC Championship in a row!

That's quite an accomplishment.  What's the VWC record? 

Brandon Adair re-sets it with every point he scores.

[hasanova]

By my count, Brandon Adair needs 36 points to reach 2000 career points. If he has a big game against W&L, he might do it Thursday afternoon but most likely on Saturday. Go Marlins! Let's bring home the 3rd ODAC Championship in a row!

That's quite an accomplishment.  What's the VWC record?

Brandon Adair re-sets it with every point he scores.

Yep, JWW gave me the scoop in an earlier post.  Depending on how far the Marlins go in the postseason, he's sure to top 2000 and might even eclipse 2100. 

[coopersharpe]

Although Mr. Adair and VWC have had remarkable years, I believe the player of the year goes to Strong.  If Adair wins it I believe it will only be because of his previous year.  Ask any coach in the ODAC who they scout pre game harder, Adair or Strong and I believe all of them will tell you the answer is Strong.  He puts the numbers up with double teams every possesion.  It is tough to double Adair as his team is loaded with deadly shooters.  And please dont forget about the blocks.  No one is even close in the blocks category...well honeslty no one is close in blocks, points, or rebounds.  Mucho respect to Adair and I hope to see these two meet again in the finals, with different results.

[hasanova]

Cooper!  Good to see you with a post every so often.  What are your predictions for all four games in Thursday's quarterfinals?

[allsky7]

Hasanova .... I certainly respectfully disagree with your thinking that Strong will almost certainly be the POY this year.  He's up against some mighty tough competition in Adair and I have little doubt that Adair will get a number of the coaches' votes, if not the majority of them.  Strong is a super player who deserves serious POY consideration, but I think that a good number of ODAC fans are more impressed by Adair's play.  Only time will tell how the coaches vote.

Numbers quantify what's happening, to some extent, and if you look at something other than points and rebounds, it's a real mixed bag  -- with Adair clearly hitting a much higher percentage of his shots, getting more assists and steals, and turning the ball over less.

We could look at last year, when Adair wouldn't have been a First Team All-American on the basis of just points and rebounds:  He had 18.8 points / game .... 71st highest point total in DIII ..... and only 6.4 rebounds / game .... which put him at #9 in the ODAC and nowhere close to being among the Top 75 rebounders in the country.

Only 3 of the top 5 scorers in the country (each with 27 to 33 points) were All-Americans (one a 1st-teamer, one a 4th teamer, and one an HM).  Adair was a First Team All-American last year even though his point total was much lower.

      We had a POY discussion/debate on the GSAC board a week or so back. It depends on what the criteria are for selection of the POY. Are there any established criteria for making this selection?

[allsky7]

Hasanova .... I certainly respectfully disagree with your thinking that Strong will almost certainly be the POY this year.  He's up against some mighty tough competition in Adair and I have little doubt that Adair will get a number of the coaches' votes, if not the majority of them.  Strong is a super player who deserves serious POY consideration, but I think that a good number of ODAC fans are more impressed by Adair's play.  Only time will tell how the coaches vote.

Numbers quantify what's happening, to some extent, and if you look at something other than points and rebounds, it's a real mixed bag  -- with Adair clearly hitting a much higher percentage of his shots, getting more assists and steals, and turning the ball over less.

We could look at last year, when Adair wouldn't have been a First Team All-American on the basis of just points and rebounds:  He had 18.8 points / game .... 71st highest point total in DIII ..... and only 6.4 rebounds / game .... which put him at #9 in the ODAC and nowhere close to being among the Top 75 rebounders in the country.

Only 3 of the top 5 scorers in the country (each with 27 to 33 points) were All-Americans (one a 1st-teamer, one a 4th teamer, and one an HM).  Adair was a First Team All-American last year even though his point total was much lower.

      We had a POY discussion/debate on the GSAC board a week or so back. It depends on what the criteria are for selection of the POY. Are there any established criteria for making this selection?

Below is part of the GSAC discussion. Again, what are the criteria for making the selection? Even with criteria, sometimes it is tough to chose.....without any criteria at all, even more difficult.  8)

Quote from: old_lion on February 06, 2007, 03:02:25 pm
Quote from: allsky7 on February 06, 2007, 02:00:50 pm
IMHO, I think it is Ok to give the POY award to someone that is not on the top team in the conference. BUT...I think their stats (and intangibles?) have to rise about the crowd. If it is borderline, then give it to the guy on the top team. To the victor go the spoils.   
I guess too it depends on what the criteria are for making the selection.  The MVP is not always the best player statistically.

Well said, allsky. I agree on both counts, especially if you throw the word, intangibles, in there.


    Good point on the intangibles. A hard thing to measure quantitatively.
    I always use my HS baseball team as a good example of the MVP vs Best or Most Outstanding Player. Player X (shortstop, best athlete on the team by far, signed with Clemson) Player Y ( 30 and 1 as a HS pitcher, good bat, good athlete but not same caliber as player X. ) Would we as a team have had the success we had without player X?....probably not. Would we as a team have had the same success without player Y?....ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, NO WAY!!! Without player X, we are not the same team but still a pretty darn good team. Without player Y, we are an average ball club.
     Relating it back to the GSAC POY.....guess it depends on your measuring stick. 
     Sorry for the baseball analogy but that's my gig!! 

[sludge]

It was a beat down; we got worked.  Congrats to the Tigers, who were focused, breathing fire, and who deserved to win.

Don't feel too bad, though.  63% on three-pointers will cause problems for any team!