THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512030235
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
One concern Jeff Capel had about his basketball team this season was its youth.
But it's the veterans that are at the core of Old Dominion's problems.
Southern Illinois stymied the Monarchs (2-3) with its zone defense as ODU dropped a 73-65 decision at Scope. Afterward, Capel's consternation with his veterans bubbled over.
``Our upperclassmen killed us,'' Capel said. ``Our veteran players are not giving us anything, and they've got to give us something. It's just embarrassing. I don't know where their heads are and what they're feeling, if they're feeling sorry for themselves or what.
``We've got three guys who played a lot of minutes for us and we've got another guy who was player of the year two years ago. He's rusty and all that, but we're just not getting anything from our veterans. We've got to get something from those guys.''
Capel didn't identify the foursome, but it's a safe bet this is it: junior Odell Hodge was 1 of 6 from the field for four points with four rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes; senior Mario Mullen - pulled as a starter in favor of freshman Mark Poag - was 0 of 4 from the floor, no points, two rebounds in 13 minutes; junior E.J. Sherod was 0 of 2, no points, three rebounds in 13 minutes; and Brion Dunlap, a sophomore but a starter last year, didn't shoot and had two assists and six turnovers in 22 minutes.
``When you're a junior or senior, you can't make the same mistakes the freshmen make and expect to help your team,'' Capel said. ``I'm very disappointed with our upperclassmen.''
Capel said there is no rift between the newcomers and veterans and the Monarchs are a close team. But he said the veterans are pouting when they aren't playing and are not mentally prepared when they get on the floor.
``I don't know if they're feeling sorry for themselves because they're not starting or pouting about that. I don't play guys because they're upperclassmen. I play guys that produce when they go on the floor.
``With this team, one of the things we can do is put somebody else in there. We don't have to let you not play well and not play hard and live with that. If those guys aren't going to keep their heads together and give this basketball team something, then they're not going to play.''
Mullen declined to talk to reporters after the game. Hodge, who was on the bench the final 5 1/2 minutes of the game, said he couldn't put his finger on the problem.
``I know I'm not playing well and I shouldn't be in there until I do start playing well,'' Hodge said. ``It's very frustrating.''
Southern Illinois won't often be mentioned in the same sentence as North Carolina, but they shared a distinction Saturday. They are the only two visitors to beat ODU in the Monarchs' last 16 home games.
``We beat a fine Old Dominion basketball team in their back yard,'' Southern Illinois coach Rich Herrin said.
ODU got big nights from freshmen Poag (18 points, eight rebounds) and Mike Byers (17 points), who combined to make 13 of the Monarchs 18 field goals.
``We started Mark because we feel like we need some offense,'' Capel said. ``I really thought he played a good game.''
But Southern Illinois played good zone defense most of the night, mixing in some man-to-man at times. The Monarchs struggled with 19 turnovers and a 40.9 percent shooting night, compared to the Salukis' 11 turnovers and 48 percent shooting.
``The zone was good to us,'' Herrin said.
The Monarchs led 33-32 at the half and were up 44-40 with 14:49 to play, but then the Salukis (2-0) went on a 17-5 run that included three 3-pointers to take a 57-49 lead with 9:02 to play.
ODU cut the margin to 64-62 on a Duffy Samuels 3-pointer with 4:14 left, but that would be the Monarchs' only field goal of the game's final 6 1/2 minutes. The Salukis made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 66 seconds to seal it.
Jaratio Tucker led five Southern Illinois players in double figures with 18 points.
ODU plays its final home game for almost a month Tuesday when it hosts South Florida at 7:35 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
Old Dominion's Skipper Youngblood scores over Southern Illinois'
Damon Jones Saturday night.
by CNB