THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 27, 1995 TAG: 9511270138
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Comment
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Old Dominion's Alaskan adventure came within a point of being dubbed the Great Alaska Shutout.
The Monarchs opened the Great Alaska Shootout with a humbling loss to Duke, nipped Division II Alaska Anchorage by a point and dropped a wrenching double-overtime game to Ohio. It would be labeled a disappointing showing by anyone who imagined a national ranking and rare losses for the Monarchs.
``I'm not disappointed at all,'' ODU coach Jeff Capel said.
Capel expected to win every time the Monarchs stepped on the court. But with the infusion of five incoming freshmen plus transfer Joe Bunn and Odell Hodge with his rehabilitated knee, Capel has been preaching patience with this team from the first day the balls were rolled out at practice.
``We're going to be pretty good,'' Capel said after the Ohio game. ``It's going to be later rather than sooner, but we'll be a good basketball team down the road.''
Capel has a track record of teams like that.
He took a North Carolina A&T team that was barely better than .500 to the NCAA tournament. His first year at Old Dominion will always be remembered for the 21-12 record, Colonial Athletic Association championship and triple-overtime NCAA tournament upset of Villanova. Who remembers the 5-8 start and five-game losing streak before conference play?
So ODU played poorly and lost on national TV to Duke by 20, the Monarchs' most lopsided defeat since Virginia beat them by 22 in 1992. So what? Most of the nation was asleep by tipoff time, and Duke - which beat nationally ranked Indiana and Iowa to win the tournament - proved it's not bad.
Division II Alaska Anchorage, meanwhile, almost beat Indiana, then Old Dominion and finally did get Texas Christian.
The Ohio loss would have been telling if ODU had not fought back from the 19-point hole after a lackluster opening 20 minutes. It was a tough loss, but is a reference point for the coaches whenever ODU is in a fix. You know, the old hey guys, we were down by more than this once and came back, so if we can do it once ...
But let's not sugar coat things, because the Monarchs come out of this trip with concerns beyond a 1-2 record. Foremost is Hodge, who is not yet close to the player who tore his anterior cruciate ligament 51 weeks ago. That's no surprise.
``He was away from competitive basketball for nine or 10 months,'' Capel said. ``You get clearance from the doctor saying you can play, but everything's not the same when you walk back on the court. It's going to take a little while for Odell to be the Big O everyone knew.''
Hodge rushed his shots (15 of 35 from the field) and frequently was off balance. He lacked fluidity and often got beat defensively. He's a few pounds heavy. It could be half a season before he's comfortable playing.
Interior defense, outside shooting - which started to come the second half against Ohio - and making smart decisions with the basketball are also areas of concern for ODU. You rarely win averaging 19.3 turnovers per game while shooting 42 percent from the field and 63 percent from the free throw line, ODU's cumulative stats.
On the plus side of the ledger, power forward Joe Bunn was a moose in Alaska, averaging 21 points and 10.7 rebounds. He worked feverishly inside and was rewarded with 34 foul shots, exactly half of ODU's 68 attempts.
And the freshmen played pretty well. Mike Byers (12.3 points average) seems likely to retain the starting shooting guard job.
But you can raise questions about Capel's rotation. First impressions indicate Capel will go with 10 players - senior Derrick Parker and freshman Cal Bowdler played the fewest minutes. That's a lot of bodies shuttling in and out, particularly when most are unaccustomed to playing with each other. Achieving continuity could be like playing a 10-string violin - excess quantity doesn't necessarily make for better music.
``We're going to find that chemistry and be a heck of a basketball team,'' Hodge said.
Later, not sooner. Jeff Capel would like you to remember that. by CNB