THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512180119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Conventional wisdom a month ago was that Old Dominion's basketball team had a can't-miss formula for success this season:
Two starters and two key reserves return from a 21-12 NCAA tournament team;
Former CAA player of the year Odell Hodge back after missing last season with an injury;
Powerful sophomore Joe Bunn becomes eligible after transferring in from North Carolina A&T;
And five talented freshmen figure to have an immediate impact.
Mix those elements and in four months they should produce, oh, about 25 victories - maybe including a couple in the NCAA tournament.
It made sense in theory. But there's been an explosion in the lab.
The Monarchs are 2-5 - one win over Division II Alaska-Anchorage, the other over Hampton, which just joined Division I. The five losses are by an average of 9.4 points.
``It's a shock to us to be losing this way,'' said forward Mark Poag, who along with guard Mike Byers has had the biggest impact of the freshmen.
The Monarchs could easily be 2-7 when they break for Christmas on Thursday. They play tonight at Texas Tech (5-0), which was picked to win the Southwest Conference and has won 20 straight at home. Wednesday they are at Wyoming (4-2), which has lost only to No. 12 Cincinnati and Iowa State, who are a combined 12-1.
ODU coach Jeff Capel insists he is neither shocked nor terribly worried. With six new players and Hodge's return, there were adjustments to make.
But there have been times Capel was utterly disgusted. After losing to Southern Illinois he railed about veterans not producing and sulking about diminished playing time. Following a loss to Toledo, he walked into the locker room and said nothing more than ``get dressed and let's go home.''
What can you say about a team that is a victim of high expectations?
``There's no question the elements are there,'' Capel said. ``It's just a matter of mixing it right and pushing the right buttons.''
Yet the Monarchs have struggled for two key reasons: an absence of chemistry and leadership.
The Monarchs turn the ball over a lot and never seem to click both inside and outside offensively at the same time. That's chemistry.
The defensive effort is often suspect and there is no consistent intensity. That's a lack of leadership.
Bunn has a unique perspective on last year versus this year. As a transfer, he couldn't play last year but practiced daily with the Monarchs.
``I don't think we have the killer instinct that team had,'' Bunn said. ``We're working on that. Everyone has to play whatever role coach asks them to play. As long as everyone does that, we'll be all right.''
Defining those roles has been a struggle. Capel has used five starting lineups in seven games.
On a team dominated by underclassmen, no leader has emerged. Hodge, the go-to guy as a sophomore center, is still rusty after a year of rehabilitating his damaged knee.
Mario Mullen is the best example of the adjustment required by the introduction of the new players. Mullen, who played three years at power forward, was moved to small forward to accommodate Bunn.
It hasn't worked. Mullen doesn't handle or shoot the ball well enough on the perimeter, and isn't quick enough to guard many opposing small forwards. His playing time has been sliced by more than one-third and his scoring is almost half what it was last year.
It's been a frustrating year for Mullen. After starting every game last year, Mullen opened his senior season on the bench on national television against Duke. Mullen admitted he fretted about the way things were going until he talked with Capel two weeks ago.
``At one point in time it was very frustrating and I didn't understand why,'' Mullen said. ``Nobody likes it, but I have to deal with it. The last few games I've been productive and have been getting more minutes.''
This week Capel said Mullen will play more at the power forward spot, which he has the last couple games because Bunn has been injured.
``The more the freshmen develop, the better this team will be for January and beyond,'' Capel said. ``The only way to do that is to give them more minutes. That's a commitment we made coming out of Alaska. It's going to hurt you at times, but you have to do it in order to be battle-ready in the real part of the season.''
There have been no outward signs of acrimony between the newcomers and the veterans, no freshmen freeze-outs or disrespect for elders. It just takes time for players to get used to each other.
Capel's scheduling philosophy - play the best teams possible early - offers another challenge for a team trying to find itself.
Keep one thing in mind: Last year ODU was 5-8 and had lost five in a row by an average of 13 points when it began conference play. The Monarchs won 16 of their next 20 games, including the triple-overtime, NCAA tournament thriller over Villanova. by CNB