MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[odacfan1225]

i think rmc is as good as advertised   i think it was honestly just an off   game        even the 2005 national unc champs lost their first game to santa clara

[Jacketlawyer]

RMC loses tonight by 7 to washington and jefferson b/c of zero bench productivity    justin short with 30                hopefully the jackets use this as motivation and start playing the way they are capable of

Whew. . . . .

[badcall!]

I was privileged to watch EMU play very well on Saturday in the BC tournament this past weekend....then completely implode on Sunday.  I truly felt sorry for Coach Dean and his staff as his players one by one felt that they could "get theirs" and go one on one.  They very trounced by a less talented but well coached Ferrum squad.  It was difficult to watch.

Kudos should go to the past recruiters at BC...namely Coach Weller and Coach Simmers under head Coach Leatherman.  How could they get anyone to play in that "dump"....the floor apparently has some real issues that should have been taken care of during the summer...the locker room that I visited was unsightly to say the least.  Ricky Easterling, Clay Michael, Dom Trawick, Michael Oblitey and promising rookie Ennis Whatley all deserve a better place to play.  Come on, BC!!!!!!

The Eagles and Royals both had some quality minutes during the weekend...the Eagles let Sunday's game get away with some bad shot selection.  The good part of their schedule is now coming up.  Go Eagles, Go Royals!

[baselinejam]

i think rmc is as good as advertised   i think it was honestly just an off   game        even the 2005 national unc champs lost their first game to santa clara

Was RMC's starting point guard benched for the game - Felton was.

[Ralph Turner]

Thanks again, Ralph.  Your discussion of OWP/OOWP gave me a lot of insight.  I doubt you'd ever seen Guilford play before, but this year's team is drastically different from the last two years (both 24-5).  In 2007, we graduated starters Thomas Burge and Jordan Snipes and, in 2008, we lost the remaining three:  Ben Strong, Eric Belkoski and Caleb Kimbrough.  Strong and Kimbrough, respectively, are now playing professionally for the Haifa (Israel) Heat and the Washington Generals (Globetrotters' opponent).

Guilford was picked third (of 11) in the ODAC preseason and I think that's probably about right.  RMC and VWC both slipped some over the weekend, but I expect them to be very strong in conference play.  Our starters are still, in my opinion, a work in progress.  Sanborn and Henson started last season, so they were obvious choices.  Neville, now a senior, started about 7-8 games as a freshman, but has been the Paul Silas-type sixth man forward ever since (remember him from the old Boston Celtics?)  Bonner came in mid-season from Presbyterian, so he's the logical choice at the point.  It appears, however, that Senior Mat Stanley is being rewarded for being a senior and his perseverance (which I applaud), so I'm unsure whether Coach Palombo plans to keep him as a starter or if he's just waiting until the underclassmen get some more college game experience. 

Yes, everyone was talking about life after Ben Strong.

It looked like everyone was still searching for his role.

Thanks for the insight into Neville.  He looked good in that role.  In fact, I think that the Quakers got as much production from Neville in his role as anyone!  (Neville also has a great dad, whom I met!     )

[kramsay]

I was at the H-SC/LaGrange game on Saturday and was impressed with the Tigers.  It's a new look and feel from last year (the new faces being the least of that), but there seems to be a lot to look forward to.  The first half was an impressive show, and - although no one expects them to average 74% for the season- it wasn't a fluke.  The Tigers had good ball movement, open shots, and Jonathan Mudd brings a new element to the Tigers offense that brings back memories of Marcus Gregory.  They slowed down some in the second half, but once the team gets more comfortable with the new system it should be a lot of fun to watch.

On another note, I hope VWC can get it together this season.  I don't like to see any ODAC team struggle, but the Marlins certainly did against Maryville.  They are young, but look like there is some real talent that could cause some trouble for the rest of the conference later in the season; however, this could also turn out to be a rebuilding year.

It looks like thats the end of the ODAC season in Georgia, but I hope to make it up to VA to see a few games early in 2009.

[stillfamily]

EMU was night and day this weekend. They had a let down game Sunday, although you can't take anything away from Ferrum who is extremely athletic, Including the former FOTY down low. Sometimes thats the way it goes. EMU has played very well thus far in this early season, including Sat again Davenport. It will be interesting to see if they can shake a bad game and come back and get after it as they did in the first 4 games.

Bad Call   It's part of the game I wouldn't feel sorry for EMU or their staff one bit, nobody will play well every game... As far as anybody going one on one, to get theirs. Thats not exactly what you call it when you are down 20 with less than 10mins to go. It's more like speeding up shot selection in order to try and get back into the game. To be honest with you, the played to unselfish and passed up many shots as they continued to run the offense late in the game. I feel like they should have jacked it up earlier.... Weller and Simmers did do a good job recruiting at BC,
BC played great both days, and will be able to put them in a situation to win every night with Trawick and Oblitey.. ODAC SHOULD BE INTERESTING

I hope Simmers brings that to EMU, and I have already heard many positives things about Coach Simmers at EMU from many top people.

[odacfan1225]

i think rmc is as good as advertised   i think it was honestly just an off   game        even the 2005 national unc champs lost their first game to santa clara

Was RMC's starting point guard benched for the game - Felton was.

obviously not as justin short had 30   i was just trying to make a point    with or without felton that team should not ahve come close to losing the game   but that doesnt matter  i do think this will be a wake up call and rmc will storm back  again its just an opinion   but i have seem them play a few games already this year    i honestly just dont think short and rhoades will let that kind of play continue

[DeWayneCarter]

VWC knocked off CNU tonight 88-78 in front of a good crowd in the Beach. Both teams shot the ball extremely well but VWC showed enough toughness to pull out the win. The Marlins shot very well against CNU's 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones tonight also. Stephen Fields had 20 while Travis Meyers and Norman Hassell each had 16. Julius Carlton scored 4 points, dished out 5 assists, had 4 boards, 2 blocks and a steal in his first game this season.

[hasanova]

The Quakers knock off a good Averett team in Danville tonight, 73-63.  I read a short recap on the AU site, so I don't have a boxscore.  Sounds as though AU jumped out to 5-0 and 19-9 leads before GC went on an 11-0 spurt to go up for good.  GC led 39-35 at the half.  AU closed a 56-48 GC lead to 56-55 with about 6 or 7 minutes to go, but junior Clay Henson answered with back-to-back three-pointers.  Speaking of Henson, he hit seven treys and finished with 33 ... he's on target for all-ODAC if he can maintain his 5-game pace and the Quakers keep winning.  Rhett Bonner added 18 and Neville 10.  It's a little worrisome that 3 guys scored 61 of 73, but, for now, a win is a win.   The Quakers improve to 4-1 (& 3-0 vs the USAS), while the Cougars drop to 3-2.

[FortyFour]

Good win for the Marlins tonight in the Fish Tank.  This was my first chance to see this year's team, so it was my first time to see some of the new faces for the Fish.  McDuffie is a beast.  There's really no other word for him, he has quite an ability to impose his will in the paint and score in traffic.  Meyers made some clutch free throws down the stretch, and looks to have a solid perimeter game. 

This team is young, and it showed at times (letting a 14-point lead evaporate to 4 in the final minute).  As DeWayne mentioned, they did get Julius Carlton back tonight, so they are getting close to being at full strength going forward.

[hasanova]

Due largely to geography, there's a lot of interleague play in all sports between the ODAC and the USAS.  Partly as a measure of my late Thanksgiving day boredom (now updated through Friday), I looked up the 2008-09 tally so far:

ODAC leads MBB 13-5 with a few more games to go ...

BC 2-1 Wins over GCP/FC, loss to AU
EMU 3-1 Wins over GCP/AU/SU, loss to FC
E&H 1-1 Win over MU, loss to NCWC
GC 3-0 Wins over MU/GCP/AU
HSC 0-0
LC 0-0
RaC 0-1 Loss to FC
RMC 0-0
RoC 2-0 Wins over FC/CNU
VWC 2-0 Wins over MU/CNU
W&L 0-1 Loss to FC

[CNU85]

Hasa,

I've seen two ODAC teams play CNU this year. The ODAC seems to be a conference that is tough as a whole. With RMC beating GMU earlier, and seeing RC and VWC, I'd say that it must be fun to watch ODAC games when conference play starts. Maybe I'll catch a game or two at VWC on my way home from work.

Take a look at the CNU/RC game recap as written by RC. Pay particular attention to the drama ("hostile crowd"). And sentences like.... "The win ends a two-game skid against the CNU and is now 2-3 against the Captains." WTF? I hope this guy is not a journalism major (or professor) at RC. 

http://www.d3hoops.com/game-releases/2008/Nov/28/Christopher+Newport-vs.-Roanoke/h9sf576bfmd50fmx/26181

Gotta run - have to check out the schedule for CNU and hope they don't play any more ODAC teams this year! 

[hasanova]

Hasa,

I've seen two ODAC teams play CNU this year. The ODAC seems to be a conference that is tough as a whole. With RMC beating GMU earlier, and seeing RC and VWC, I'd say that it must be fun to watch ODAC games when conference play starts. Maybe I'll catch a game or two at VWC on my way home from work.

Take a look at the CNU/RC game recap as written by RC. Pay particular attention to the drama ("hostile crowd"). And sentences like.... "The win ends a two-game skid against the CNU and is now 2-3 against the Captains." WTF? I hope this guy is not a journalism major (or professor) at RC. 

http://www.d3hoops.com/game-releases/2008/Nov/28/Christopher+Newport-vs.-Roanoke/h9sf576bfmd50fmx/26181

Gotta run - have to check out the schedule for CNU and hope they don't play any more ODAC teams this year! 

Hey, good to be seein' you 85.  I just read the RoC/CNU game recap you attached and there is a) drama and b) a strange (lack of) language command.  Perhaps the writer is a graduate of The Ohio State University?  Well, were you hostile?  Maybe those pompom shakes were just a little too aggressive.  lol

A quick look at the CNU schedule shows the Captains still have EMU, LC and RMC.  Guilford will finish their play versus the USAS with NCWC on Dec. 2.  Until this season, the ODAC had 18 conference games per team, so that only left seven non-conference matches.  This year, with the 16-game unbalanced schedule, there are now nine non-conference games.  It seems like more ODAC/USAS meetings this year and maybe that's why.  With only 12 conference games each, the USAS teams have to fill 13 other slots.

The ODAC play is generally a lot of fun.  Our match-ups with most ODAC teams are usually very competitive.  VWC is particularly intense, but all the others are often tight too.  The Quakers were picked 3rd (of 11) and it appears as though we have another good team this season.    Perhaps I can see the Captains this year when they play GCP.

[HSCfan]

Tigers defeat Shenandoah 89-67 tonight in Rocky Mount, NC. King turns in his normal performance with 20 points on 8-of-10 from the floor, but the surprises were Matt Partsch and Byron Lawton who each scored 15 points. Partsch did so by going 5-of-5 from three (he also had 7 rebounds) while Lawton went 5-for-6 from the floor.

Although he only had 6 points, Shane Payne filled up the stat sheet again with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Hampden-Sydney held Shenandoah to 34% shooting in the second half and really switched up defenses well in keeping the Hornets off balance. When H-SC hits shots, they are a really tough team to beat, as has been the case the past two games, because they do not give up many easy looks and the offense really spreads the floor and creates open shots for a lot of different guys.

Still, the lack of a bigtime inside presence early on has been one major concern for me, personally. Lane Medlin played well today, but I think down the stretch the Tigers will need to be able to score more easily on the block to keep the defense honest.

True test tomorrow, however, as the Tigers take on undefeated NC Wesleyan in the Bishops' gym. The Bishops will be a big test, and I am excited to see if Hampden-Sydney will continue their hot shooting against an aggressive defensive team (H-SC shot 58% today).