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

Let's put aside statistics, won/losses, tourneys etc for one minute. One thing BT had gifted him that JJ doesnt
was a very intense rivalry with VCU and the ability to attend great CAA tourneys in Richmond. IMO the excitement factor seriously colors our impression of BT/JJ

(08-25-2020 02:35 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 10:47 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(08-24-2020 06:30 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-24-2020 04:09 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(08-24-2020 04:05 PM)ODU BBALL Wrote:  When exactly did our current "era" of college basketball come into existence if it was a different one when Blaine was coaching? I don't see where Jeff's style has changed since he arrived. It has been a steady diet of half court defense, and slow methodical half court offense. The style is very similar to what Blaine's teams played. The biggest difference is that he had much better post players.

I can see where Marshall changed their style of play once they hired Dantoni as their coach (for example).

AGAIN, FREEMAN WAS ANOTHER OF JJ'S TRANSFERS. HIS BEST PLAYERS FOR 7 YEAR'S. VERY FEW FRESHMEN EARNED JJ ALL OF THOSE SO CALLED WINNING SEASONS, WITH A VERY VERY SOFT SCHEDULE, BOTH IN CONFERENCE AND OUT OF CONFERENCE.
Exactly. JJ's style is almost the same as BTs. Only without the inside game. I would say with better guard play, but man, Drew W was fantastic. Rugged defense, strong rebounding, physical, aggressive grind it out basketball with less than average shooting and bad free throws. The Ted is basically "the house that defense built".

There are a lot of differences. JJ's offense has a slower tempo with more 3 point shooting. The big men are typically more pick and roll guys as opposed to post up players. Defensivly JJ packs the paint more at the expense of 3 point shooting.

This is about the only thing we will agree on in this thread. I don't see their styles as similar at all other that slow pace of play and a focus defense. They go about it completely differently though. BT's defense was far more aggressive, and applied more ball pressure, while JJ is super conservative on the perimeter and wants to protect the paint at all costs. BT liked to switch defenses and try to cause chaos at times, while JJ wants to play man and force the opponent to grind. Offensively, there are almost no similarities between the two. Everything BT did was designed to get the ball into the post and get second chance points. It was also a more aggressive approach that what we see from JJ, who wants to run sets to get open jumpshots, or a pick and roll opportunity.

Do you think JJ would like to do as BT did, and get the ball into the post and get the second chance points ? I think JJs game plan is set up for this type of play, he just doesnt have the horses to do it like BT was, so we settle for jump shots. BT admitted his plan was in part due to poor perimeter shooting, and JJs teams haven't been much better there other than Freeman. Just a thought.

BT was a 10x better coach. Anyone who says otherwise isn't being honest with themselves. His personal destruction was a shame.

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(08-25-2020 07:37 PM)EverRespect Wrote:  BT was a 10x better coach. Anyone who says otherwise isn't being honest with themselves. His personal destruction was a shame.

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Not a great judge of talent though. I understand he rejected Brionte Webber and Nancy Lieberman’s son both of whom would have led to championships and tournaments.

Blaine also rejected Trey Freeman, older Stith brother, and others.

Blaine recruited Sam Harris and Anton, and Akene (spell? the big from GA). He missed as much as he hit.

A coach 10 times better than JJ does not destroy every shooter he brings in.

(08-25-2020 08:01 PM)ODU True Blue Wrote:  Blaine recruited Sam Harris and Anton, and Akene (spell? the big from GA). He missed as much as he hit.

You can afford to miss some when you don't carry empty schollies every year. When you have Hassel, Lee, and Cooper, it's ok to have Sam on the bench instead of an empty chair.

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Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

(08-25-2020 03:29 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 02:35 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 10:47 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(08-24-2020 06:30 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-24-2020 04:09 PM)monarx Wrote:  Exactly. JJ's style is almost the same as BTs. Only without the inside game. I would say with better guard play, but man, Drew W was fantastic. Rugged defense, strong rebounding, physical, aggressive grind it out basketball with less than average shooting and bad free throws. The Ted is basically "the house that defense built".

There are a lot of differences. JJ's offense has a slower tempo with more 3 point shooting. The big men are typically more pick and roll guys as opposed to post up players. Defensivly JJ packs the paint more at the expense of 3 point shooting.

This is about the only thing we will agree on in this thread. I don't see their styles as similar at all other that slow pace of play and a focus defense. They go about it completely differently though. BT's defense was far more aggressive, and applied more ball pressure, while JJ is super conservative on the perimeter and wants to protect the paint at all costs. BT liked to switch defenses and try to cause chaos at times, while JJ wants to play man and force the opponent to grind. Offensively, there are almost no similarities between the two. Everything BT did was designed to get the ball into the post and get second chance points. It was also a more aggressive approach that what we see from JJ, who wants to run sets to get open jumpshots, or a pick and roll opportunity.

Do you think JJ would like to do as BT did, and get the ball into the post and get the second chance points ? I think JJs game plan is set up for this type of play, he just doesnt have the horses to do it like BT was, so we settle for jump shots. BT admitted his plan was in part due to poor perimeter shooting, and JJs teams haven't been much better there other than Freeman. Just a thought.

JJs teams have never had posting up as an option despite having guys like Porter. its just not how his offense runs. BT's teams posted up a ton because he liked to play old school basketball.

Watch JJs sets, they are designed for jump shots (frustrating to me really bc I would rather them shoot 3s vs. elbow jumpers). Obviously there are different sets and different plays for different skillsets (Taylor was a fine passer from the top of the guy, for example), but in general they run action to get the ball at the elbow.

The lack of postups is good as its an inefficient play. But, they need to continue to improve on getting out in transition. And shoot more 3s as opposed to long 2s. Still a very good offensive rebounding team.

Kind of hard to have a post up game offense when you don't have a good enough post up game player to post up with. Since that has mostly been what Jeff's ODU teams have had, it stands to reason that he would therefore do something different offensively. I don't think that Blaine could have been successful posting up Carver last season either (for example), and probably wouldn't have tried to do it.

BTW, you never told us when this new era of basketball that you mentioned a few post ago arrived since the days when Blaine coached at ODU. Are you trying to say that 2 or 3 of Blaine's ODU teams could not be very successful in CUSA in recent years because the game has changed? If so, I would strongly disagree.

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

The CAA was definitely way more fun back then. I don't remember too much complaining about BT though except for his last 2 seasons. His recruiting tanked once he fell off the wagon, and of course the final drunk year was a total disaster. But otherwise, I remember people loving BT and his fun loving, blue-collar, hard working, silly joke telling ways. The only complaint I recall was it was slow, ugly, terrible shooting basketball. But man, we sure did win that way. And against some pretty good teams too. Most of his time here was fantastic. 3 NCAAs and one with a win, an NIT F4, a Paradise Jam championship and a CIT national championship. Thats good stuff.

(08-26-2020 08:57 AM)monarx Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

The CAA was definitely way more fun back then. I don't remember too much complaining about BT though except for his last 2 seasons. His recruiting tanked once he fell off the wagon, and of course the final drunk year was a total disaster. But otherwise, I remember people loving BT and his fun loving, blue-collar, hard working, silly joke telling ways. The only complaint I recall was it was slow, ugly, terrible shooting basketball. But man, we sure did win that way. And against some pretty good teams too. Most of his time here was fantastic. 3 NCAAs and one with a win, an NIT F4, a Paradise Jam championship and a CIT national championship. Thats good stuff.

Some of the more "popular" posters on here were on that previous board and it was relentless on how they based BT and his style of play.

Uhhh...people complained about BT, his style, and his players during the very same seasons that those same posters now prop up as "the best teams in ODU history."

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

You may be right. Even 7 years is too long, with an out dated coach. At this rate Wood will have him here, until he wants to retire. Maybe another 10 years. I am still shaking my head, how a coach that coached 18 years in the Patriot league and his last season was a blow out losing season would be Wood's choice. If he was that good, he would not have been at American U. for 18 years. Note Wood UVA connection!

(08-26-2020 11:01 AM)bluelight Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

You may be right. Even 7 years is too long, with an out dated coach. At this rate Wood will have him here, until he wants to retire. Maybe another 10 years. I am still shaking my head, how a coach that coached 18 years in the Patriot league and his last season was a blow out losing season would be Wood's choice. If he was that good, he would not have been at American U. for 18 years. Note Wood UVA connection!

Maybe he liked all the success he had at UVA?

(08-26-2020 11:10 AM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:01 AM)bluelight Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

You may be right. Even 7 years is too long, with an out dated coach. At this rate Wood will have him here, until he wants to retire. Maybe another 10 years. I am still shaking my head, how a coach that coached 18 years in the Patriot league and his last season was a blow out losing season would be Wood's choice. If he was that good, he would not have been at American U. for 18 years. Note Wood UVA connection!

Maybe he liked all the success he had at UVA?

I thought that was a different game?

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(08-26-2020 11:33 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:10 AM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:01 AM)bluelight Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

You may be right. Even 7 years is too long, with an out dated coach. At this rate Wood will have him here, until he wants to retire. Maybe another 10 years. I am still shaking my head, how a coach that coached 18 years in the Patriot league and his last season was a blow out losing season would be Wood's choice. If he was that good, he would not have been at American U. for 18 years. Note Wood UVA connection!

Maybe he liked all the success he had at UVA?

I thought that was a different game?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Success at UVA? lol

146–104 (.584 OOC) and 59–67 (.468 CONF) over 8 years...

Aside from a sweet sixteen and elite 8 not so stellar for UVA within the ACC.

(08-26-2020 12:03 PM)Mo Blue Den You Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:33 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:10 AM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:01 AM)bluelight Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  [/b]

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

You may be right. Even 7 years is too long, with an out dated coach. At this rate Wood will have him here, until he wants to retire. Maybe another 10 years. I am still shaking my head, how a coach that coached 18 years in the Patriot league and his last season was a blow out losing season would be Wood's choice. If he was that good, he would not have been at American U. for 18 years. Note Wood UVA connection!

Maybe he liked all the success he had at UVA?

I thought that was a different game?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Success at UVA? lol

146–104 (.584 OOC) and 59–67 (.468 CONF) over 8 years...

Aside from a sweet sixteen and elite 8 not so stellar for UVA within the ACC.

True, aside from the good stuff, it wasn't good.

(08-26-2020 11:33 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:10 AM)Gilesfan Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 11:01 AM)bluelight Wrote:  

(08-26-2020 07:46 AM)VB Monarch Wrote:  

(08-25-2020 08:26 PM)Gilesfan Wrote:  Its kinda silly how overrated Blane is by some posters. Fine coach, had a few great years for us; some of the best we’ve ever had. Also had a bunch of really poor seasons.

BT had a good run here. I will always appreciate what he did. But, 10 years ago, ODU fans complained endlessly about his coaching, including many on here.

That is my recollection as well. BTs coaching issues were almost identical to JJs. Again, IMO, fierce rivalrys and in state competition made his era much more fun than todays.As much as everyone griped about the big brown turd in Richmond, who wouldn't take it back in a heart beat compared to what we have now?

You may be right. Even 7 years is too long, with an out dated coach. At this rate Wood will have him here, until he wants to retire. Maybe another 10 years. I am still shaking my head, how a coach that coached 18 years in the Patriot league and his last season was a blow out losing season would be Wood's choice. If he was that good, he would not have been at American U. for 18 years. Note Wood UVA connection!

Maybe he liked all the success he had at UVA?

I thought that was a different game?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

The game is certainly played different than when he coached at UVA or American.