THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240194
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
As the basketball season was about to start, Old Dominion's starting lineup remained in flux.
Coach Jeff Capel did not expect to know until shortly before game time which players would be introduced as starters when the Monarchs opened their season early this morning against Duke.
And the first five could be radically different tonight when ODU plays in second-round action at the Great Alaska Shootout, either in the winner's bracket at midnight or the loser's bracket at 6:30 p.m.
``We're concerned about some matchups,'' Capel said. ``We'll see how we feel. I think that will be the case the whole year. One of the luxuries we have is we can put different people on the floor.''
When Capel wants to go small and quick, he can put 5-foot-11 Brion Dunlap at point guard, 5-9 Duffy Samuels at shooting guard, 6-4 E.J. Sherod at small forward, 6-6 Joe Bunn at power forward and 6-9 Odell Hodge at center. If size is what he craves, it might be Bunn and Hodge along with Sherod at the point, 6-6 Mark Poag at shooting guard and wiry 6-10 Cal Bowdler at small forward.
The combinations somewhere in between the extremes seem limitless. Returning starter Mario Mullen, a senior, is likely to be the starter at small forward, although Capel said even that was no lock. Freshman Mike Byers, who is 6-2 and extremely athletic, can play either guard spot, as can Samuels.
Capel has at least three and in some cases four players available at each position.
``We have the luxury of looking at an opponent and making a decision based on the opponent,'' Capel said. ``If I'm smart enough to handle all that, we'll be OK.''
Bunn and Hodge are the only exceptions to this game of musical chairs.
``There's a clear separation and definition between those two guys and the young post players,'' Capel said. ``But that could change in January as those young guys develop.''
Backing up the big guys will be a pair of freshmen, 6-9 Reggie Bassette and 6-8 Skipper Youngblood, along with 6-9 senior Derrick Parker, who has had probably his best preseason practice since he's been at ODU.
The five freshmen, who Capel said could challenge for a national title before they are through at ODU, along with transfer Bunn, completely change the complexion of the team.
``These guys bring great athleticism to our program and great ability to get off the floor,'' Hodge said. ``I think before the year is out, each of the freshmen will help us on some night to win a game.''
The problem Capel could face is keeping everyone happy. The Monarchs have 12 scholarship players, and at this point it's difficult to figure out which ones will see only limited playing time. At least one or two will have to.
``You always can't please everybody,'' Hodge said.
It's preferable to the problem Capel had last year, when after Hodge went down with a knee injury the bodies were scarce.
All five starters averaged 28 minutes of playing time or more, and ODU only had eight players who could contribute. Another injury or foul trouble would have put the Monarchs in a bind. Senior stars Petey Sessoms (36 minutes) and Mike Jones (33) combined to score 1,275 points, almost exactly half of ODU's 2,548 for the season.
``Last year, we weren't deep at all,'' Samuels said. ``Basically only two people did the scoring for us. We can play more people this year. We're more deep, and everyone's versatile.'' ILLUSTRATION: Odell Hodge, left, and transfer Joe Bunn appear to be the only
two Monarchs assured of starting spots.
LATE GAME
The ODU-Duke game starts too late to make the Virginian-Pilot
press run. A complete account will run in Saturday's editions.
SHOOTOUT SCHEDULE
[For a copy of the schedule, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB