The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(11-13-2017 09:50 AM)blewbyu Wrote:  To say "Clearly Towson is one of the best rebounding teams in the country" is a bit of a stretch. The only thing clear about the Towson game was ODU at this point in the season is a very poor rebounding team.However one game into the season does not mean much. We have a lot of work to do. I don't think you are going to be able to tell much from tonight's game because JMU is not very good and it will be an ugly game. Thursdays game with Temple and Friday's game with either Indiana State or Auburn will tell a lot more as to where we stand and if we are any good this year. At this point we are only 7 deep. It will be interesting to see if Huett or Godwin can rise to the occasion or not and be the 8th man we need...badly. I don't see us being a good rebounding team this year because we are too small. Losing the Wake transfer and Kah is really going to hurt us. At this point I don't see much improvement over last year....I hope I am wrong...These injuries are going to hurt us big time.

Towson was 11th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage last year and 32nd in rebounding rate. They are among the best rebounding teams in the country.

(11-13-2017 10:07 AM)mac Wrote:  Caver has simply got to make his foul shots. With him being the point guard and how much he handles the ball, he will be going to the line a lot. 5,6,7 points more he can have every game if he would just shoot 70% or so from the line.

I agree. Like rebounding is important and one of the key abilities to have for a center, the ability to go to the line and knock down foul shots with 70% (minimum) accuracy is required if one is going to be labeled a good point guard. In close, late game situations, the point guard is the one handling the ball and easiest to foul and put at the line. He can be the difference maker in who wins or loses by what he does there. Caver needs to consistently shoot 70+% every game when he has more than just 2 or 3 attempts.

(11-13-2017 09:50 AM)blewbyu Wrote:  

(11-12-2017 08:08 PM)ODUCoach Wrote:  3 Observations

1. While two of the best defenders graduated and have moved on, it is clear that a Jeff Jones team will always play defense. Trey Porter, if he can stay out of foul trouble, has the tools to be the Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. He changes everything at the rim. With Trey and Brandan (and our athletic guards in BJ and Randy), teams are going to have to make outside shots against us, as it will simply be too difficult to get anything in the paint whatsoever.

2. Caver and Brandan clearly struggled. We won't see many 1-8 from deep, 1-5 in FTs from Ahmad. The Monarchs can't afford to have Brandan struggle as much as he did. Thankfully, both players have shown that they are better than they played on Friday, and the Monarchs were able to get the W despite their struggles.

3. Xavier Green is so smooth and is going to be a star before he leaves Hampton Boulevard. He seems to be a natural basketball player. Glides all over the court. Has shown an ability to shoot the ball (the pull-up jumper in the first half was so sweet), but most importantly seems to let the game come to him. For a freshman, you can usually expect a couple of forced plays each game. He did none of it on Friday night. His offensive efficiency was off the charts. On defense, he got beat on an baseline out of bounds play once, but seemed to heed the correction and put himself in better defensive position the rest of the game and even had a couple of steals.

Two Questions

1. Are the Monarchs going to struggle to rebound all season or was it a combination of Towson's excellence on the glass and the Stith/Porter foul trouble that caused such a rebounding advantage for the Tigers? Clearly, Towson is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. And, clearly, foul trouble kept Brandan and Trey from getting into any sort of rhythm, but who is going to step up. BJ is a better rebounder than he showed on Friday and AC is going to have to grab more than 2 rebounds in 22 minutes (although, he was really solid overall).

2. Will Ahmad Caver set a new record for minutes played in a season? He played a full 40 on Friday, and I expect he will average 35+ for the season, but at some point, Jeff Jones will have to find a way to get him some rest. What is the lineup going to look like when he does that? Will Pinckney get the time filling in for Caver or will Jones choose to play without a traditional PG?

One Prediction
1. The Monarchs hit 64 West tomorrow for an evening tilt against the old rivals from JMU. JMU has something like 11 new players. While it's difficult to win on the road, this Monarch team has the experience and talent to pull it off. I'd be disappointed in anything short of a double digit victory for the boys from Norfolk. My prediction: 68-52 Monarchs.

To say "Clearly Towson is one of the best rebounding teams in the country" is a bit of a stretch. The only thing clear about the Towson game was ODU at this point in the season is a very poor rebounding team.However one game into the season does not mean much. We have a lot of work to do. I don't think you are going to be able to tell much from tonight's game because JMU is not very good and it will be an ugly game. Thursdays game with Temple and Friday's game with either Indiana State or Auburn will tell a lot more as to where we stand and if we are any good this year. At this point we are only 7 deep. It will be interesting to see if Huett or Godwin can rise to the occasion or not and be the 8th man we need...badly. I don't see us being a good rebounding team this year because we are too small. Losing the Wake transfer and Kah is really going to hurt us. At this point I don't see much improvement over last year....I hope I am wrong...These injuries are going to hurt us big time.

Towson is one of the best rebounding teams in the country