THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507090026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
Odell Hodge may soon return to the basketball court.
Hodge, Old Dominion's star center, has not been able to play all-out since he tore his anterior cruciate ligament Dec. 3 at Southern Illinois. After surgery and months of rehabilitation, Hodge may receive clearance soon to return to competitive basketball.
ODU trainer Scott Johnson said Hodge likely will be examined this week by orthopedic doctor John Schaffer, who performed the surgery in December. If Schaffer gives the OK, Hodge will start playing pickup games with ODU teammates.
``The knee is fine, the knee is great,'' Johnson said. ``The rehab has come along perfect. There were no hitches along the way.
``His strength is good and his agility is good. He just has to get himself back into shape and drop a few pounds.''
Johnson said Hodge weighed 270 when he was injured, but he would like to see him play at 260 next season to reduce stress on the knee.
Johnson said it's unlikely Hodge will appear in the Hampton Roads Pro-Am Summer League, but rather will just play at ODU, where Johnson can monitor him.
``He's itching to go, it's hard to hold him back,'' Johnson said. ``He hasn't played competitive basketball in (seven) months. There's going to be a big adjustment.''
STAR SEARCH: College basketball recruiters were allowed to hit the road Saturday, and have until July 30 to look for talent. ODU has three seniors on next season's team, but coach Jeff Capel doesn't expect to fill all three available spots.
The Monarchs have six incoming freshmen next season, plus sophomore transfer Joe Bunn as well as returning sophomore Brion Dunlap. Of those eight, only two are guards.
``They're going to be playing for a couple years,'' Capel said. ``We're going to be very selective. With Duffy (Samuels) being a senior this year, another point guard is something we definitely have our eyes on.''
Capel said he and his coaching staff have contacted a number of the nation's top 100 rising seniors already, and are looking for quality athletes who can fit in with ODU's current players.
INEXACT SCIENCE: Since last November and up until a couple weeks ago, recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons has steadfastly repeated in interviews Old Dominion would be rated among the nation's top 25 recruiting classes. So where does Gibbons have the Monarchs in his final rankings?
Thirty-six.
``It's certainly no disgrace to be among the top 36,'' said Gibbons, noting he ranked ODU ahead of the likes of Duke, Purdue, Iowa State and Memphis.
Agreed, but what happened to the top 25?
Gibbons said some of the schools that slipped ahead of ODU had more immediate impact players. Only center Reggie Bassette, at No. 82, rated among Gibbons' top 100 players. He rated Cal Bowdler and Skipper Youngblood among the nation's top 250 high school seniors.
INEXACT SCIENCE II: Five rising sophomores are at the Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis. Among them are Indian River's 6-foot-7 Jason Capel, the son of ODU's coach, and Hampton High's 6-2 Ronald Curry.
The campers, selected by Gibbons, consists of 95 rising seniors, 30 rising juniors and the five rising sophs. Gibbons said he can't remember ever inviting five sophomores to the Nike Camp.
``Certainly not in the past seven or eight years,'' Gibbons said. ``It's the five best sophomores that we're aware of. They're the most advanced and prepared. They're exceptional for their age.''
Capel the coach will be at Nike, along with just about every other coach in the country.
``I'll be watching Jason, but I'll be watching him with a recruiter's eye,'' Capel said. ``The daddy's eyes will be closed. I'll be evaluating him like I will all the other players there.''
Then, Capel shifted into daddy mode.
``Sometimes you wonder if it's too early,'' Capel said of his son's exposure. ``But it's something he's earned and is deserving of. He belongs there.''
COACHING CAROUSEL: Bobby Collins, Old Dominion's restricted-earnings basketball assistant last season, has moved into a full-time position on new Hampton coach Byron Samuels' staff. Capel coached Collins at Pinecrest High School in North Carolina.
``It's a great opportunity for Bobby and a perfect match,'' Capel said. ``We'll miss him, but they have to grow up and leave home.''
Milan Brown, 24, replaces Collins as ODU's third assistant - now known as the part-time assistant because the NCAA removed the restricted-earnings provision. This is Brown's debut in college coaching.
Brown played college basketball at Howard, graduating from the university in December 1993. He is a graduate of Kecoughtan High, where he worked as an assistant coach last season. He also has helped coach Boo Williams' AAU teams.
Brown worked Capel's basketball camp earlier this summer, but the two have known each other for more than a year. Brown said Capel has been trying to help him break into coaching.
``Coach Capel might be one of, if not, the hottest coaches on the East Coast,'' Brown said. ``I'm thrilled to death to get a chance.''
COACHING CAROUSEL II: Tim Parenton, the ODU baseball program's No. 1 assistant, has rejoined former Monarch coach Pat McMahon as an assistant at Mississippi State. Parenton worked five years at ODU, the first four under McMahon.
``To lose him is just devastating to me because I leaned on him so much,'' said ODU coach Tony Guzzo, who was hired a year ago when McMahon left. Guzzo said final details of Parenton's departure haven't been worked out, but he's certain enough that it's going to happen that he is already looking for a No. 1 assistant.
Guzzo also lost his restricted-earnings coach, pitching coach Mike Bowers. Bowers accepted a coaching position at Georgetown, where he hopes to attend law school. by CNB