MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

http://annex.ncwc.edu/athletics/mens_basketball/2007-08/news/7guil.htm

A late 11-0 run pushed Guilford over NC Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, NC.  Ben Strong had 35 points and 12 rebounds.  Three other Quakers in double figures (Belkoski 15, Henson 14 and Sanborn, who had his second career double double, at 10 and 14).  The Battlin' Bishops hit 13 three's in 29 attempts, but the Quakers went a terrific 26 of 28 from the FT line.  The Quakers dominated the boards, as expected, 52-27, but it's disappointing to see only 1 of 10 behind the arc.  It's wonderful to have Ben and Tyler's size for the inside game, but the Quakers can be a truly great team if their outside shooting improves.

For the Bishops, Lenny Hall and Trey Drake each netted 21 points, while Jarmel Arrington came off the bench to contribute 18.  Hall also dished out a game-high seven assists.

GC's now 4-1, while NCWC falls to 4-3 with their first home loss of the season. 

[hasanova]

Lynchburg earned it's first win of the season, beating Randolph 74-70.

As you and I discussed, Scottie, a game I thought LC could win.  Congratulations!

[mybleedinghands]

Lynchburg earned it's first win of the season, beating Randolph 74-70.

As you and I discussed, Scottie, a game I thought LC could win.  Congratulations!

The WildCats are a heck of a team for a first-year program. I expect them to bring in another solid recruiting class and with the great head coach they have, I wouldn't be surprised if they make some noise in the ODAC next year.

[tigers]

Probably beating a dead horse here...

FUMA/Hargrave whomever...for years they've all had great D1 players (Olden Polynice, Harold Deane, Shamond Williams, etc.).  This is not a new phenomenon.  Every year the top prep programs have these types of players.

Point is there is a BIG difference b/w those programs that try to gel 15 all-stars in less than 6 months as opposed to a good D3 college hoops team that have older, smarter, wiser players. (And, I'm talking about GOOD D3 programs, not the 8-10th ranked teams in the ODAC).  Frankly, guys, its one of the principal reasons that mid majors are doing better and better these days agains the BCS schools.  Older players with better experience, used to a system, developed chemistry etc. can often times compete with superior raw talent.  The MVC (and CAA to a lesser extent) is a great example of that principle in action.

Scottie, no offense pal, your sample size is pretty small.  5-6 years tops?  Have you been following FUMA/Hargrave hoops much longer than that???  Fletcher Arritt (FUMA) has been around a lot longer than Kevin Keatts (Hargrave)...and his success dwarfs that of Hargrave, but for the very recent history. I'd be careful on the generalizations. 

I think if you'd ask most coaches or most prep coaches (including my best friend who coaches at a Top 25 PG program in Pa.), they'd share similar views. 

[mybleedinghands]

I never said Hargrave was more successful than FUMA, never said Keatts was more successful than Arritt. I agree the Arritt is more successful. He's puts out a solid or very good team every year and he's been doing it for probably close to 40-50 years now? A person would have to be insane to say Keatts is more successful. But compare the talent FUMA has gotten to the talent Keatts has brought in since he's been the coach at Hargrave. It's pretty clear Hargrave has gotten superior talented players in my opinion.

[sludge]

Probably beating a dead horse here...

FUMA/Hargrave whomever...for years they've all had great D1 players (Olden Polynice, Harold Deane, Shamond Williams, etc.).  This is not a new phenomenon.  Every year the top prep programs have these types of players.

Point is there is a BIG difference b/w those programs that try to gel 15 all-stars in less than 6 months as opposed to a good D3 college hoops team that have older, smarter, wiser players. (And, I'm talking about GOOD D3 programs, not the 8-10th ranked teams in the ODAC).  Frankly, guys, its one of the principal reasons that mid majors are doing better and better these days agains the BCS schools.  Older players with better experience, used to a system, developed chemistry etc. can often times compete with superior raw talent.  The MVC (and CAA to a lesser extent) is a great example of that principle in action.

Scottie, no offense pal, your sample size is pretty small.  5-6 years tops?  Have you been following FUMA/Hargrave hoops much longer than that???  Fletcher Arritt (FUMA) has been around a lot longer than Kevin Keatts (Hargrave)...and his success dwarfs that of Hargrave, but for the very recent history. I'd be careful on the generalizations. 

I think if you'd ask most coaches or most prep coaches (including my best friend who coaches at a Top 25 PG program in Pa.), they'd share similar views. 

Interesting that that whole thread was started by the mis-interpretation of a Hargraves victory over a Guilford JV team.  Not much substance to the conversation.

Nice comeback road victory for Guilford over NC Wesleyan.  Great spirit, I admire it. 
I would have loved to see the game, but we were doing something even better than Guilford basketball.

[tigers]

And, Scottie, you're missing the point.  A TEAM beats talented individuals more times than not...

As I said in the initial post, these prep programs have been getting top quality players for years (hence the Olden Polynice reference).  The point is, a bunch of all-stars who are thrown together for one year will not (and have not) fared very well against good D3 competition.  That's all. 

Sludge, not sure why we can't engage in a discussion about D3 hoops v. top pg programs on this board...especially since many of our conference members do or have (in the past) played their JV squads against them. 

But...carry on.

[hasanova]

I just noticed the 76-75 NNA win over VWC in the Batten Center.  Sounds like the Builders held the lead for much of the game and thwarted a late Marlins comeback by stealing an inbounds pass and getting a basket.  At 4-2, I wonder if Virginia Wesleyan will keep their Top 10 spot in this week's poll - my guess would be no.

[GP05]

I just noticed the 76-75 NNA win over VWC in the Batten Center.  Sounds like the Builders held the lead for much of the game and thwarted a late Marlins comeback by stealing an inbounds pass and getting a basket.  At 4-2, I wonder if Virginia Wesleyan will keep their Top 10 spot in this week's poll - my guess would be no.

It was the second time NNA outplayed VWC with the late-game heroics falling short this time.  The Marlins missed a lot of free throws; the percentage wasn't horrible but only because Balenga was 8-8.  I doubt Macedo was happy with anything about that game.  His team looked bad shooting, rebounding, and even on defense at times; they finally showed how much they miss the horse they had in Adair.  He could cover up for a bad shooting night.  That protection is gone now and VW has to find a way to be consistent without it.

I'm sure VW will fall out of the top 10; there's no justification for keeping them there.

[baselinejam]

From what I've seen the past few years a well coached group of 19 year old top-tier D-1 prospects would beat any D-3 team I've seen. The talent level is that much better.

[tigerrat]

you'll are not talking about the best 19 year olds in the country, you'll are talking about FUMA and HMA. I can promise you D-3 teams would walk the dog on both these teams. Lynchburg would beat the crap out of them. You can't be ignorant enough to believe 19 year olds can hold up to 22 and 23 year olds. End the conversation and talk about something other than this!

[mybleedinghands]

you'll are not talking about the best 19 year olds in the country, you'll are talking about FUMA and HMA. I can promise you D-3 teams would walk the dog on both these teams. Lynchburg would beat the crap out of them. You can't be ignorant enough to believe 19 year olds can hold up to 22 and 23 year olds. End the conversation and talk about something other than this!

you might want to do your research first before making such statements...

[tigerrat]

already have--try to find out when one of those two programs beat a d3 school other than the JV. HMA won't schedule d3 varsity teams because they consistently lose. Don't be so blind. The best 19 year olds could win but HMA and FUMA don't have the best 19 year olds.

[mybleedinghands]

already have--try to find out when one of those two programs beat a d3 school other than the JV. HMA won't schedule d3 varsity teams because they consistently lose. Don't be so blind. The best 19 year olds could win but HMA and FUMA don't have the best 19 year olds.

It's not being blind, you clearly haven't done your research. There are very good facts to disprove your last two posts, if you would have done your research like you claim you did, you would have figured that out...

Also, the D3 teams won't schedule Hargrave for a varsity regular season game, so the only time Hargrave gets to play any D3 varsity teams is in scrimmages. D3 teams only get two scrimmages, and most teams won't schedule such a team in a scrimmage because it will not replicate the type of action a D3 team would face in the regular season.

[tigerrat]

You are getting close in your closing paragraph to the point I have been trying to make. D3 teams don't scrimmage HMA or FUMA because they can't match the competition level seen in the year.