THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9512300488
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SACRAMENTO, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
How much consolation can Old Dominion fans take from the Monarchs' consolation-game victory over Cal-Sacramento in the Sacramento Holiday Classic on Thursday night?
On the surface, there doesn't appear to be much to be had. The Hornets were ranked 263rd of 305 teams in this week's Sagarin computer ratings, and ODU needed overtime to pull out a 69-62 win.
But if the Monarchs are to be believed, their Left Coast excursion left them with a valuable lesson. It's nothing profound. In fact, it's disarmingly simple. But it's something the Monarchs say was hammered home by the Sacramento trip.
``What I learned is that if we come out and play hard, we're a pretty good team,'' coach Jeff Capel said. ``If we don't, we're terrible. It's as simple as that.''
Facing Idaho in the tournament opener Wednesday night, ODU was as flat as the trajectory on a Manute Bol 3-pointer.
``We didn't show up to play, and we got drilled,'' guard E.J. Sherod said.
Why? Capel said the lack of a team shoot-around Wednesday morning didn't help.
The Monarchs reached Sacramento in the wee hours Tuesday morning and had a full day of activities. They shot around in the morning, had a reception in the afternoon and attended the Sacramento Kings game Tuesday night.
They had an 8 a.m. shoot-around scheduled for Wednesday morning, but Capel decided to skip it.
``I've never, ever given them a morning off like we did (Wednesday),'' Capel said. ``We thought it was too early because of the time they got out here. But we found that having a whole day of them just playing a game is not good.''
For whatever reason - maybe a spirted one-hour practice Thursday morning - ODU came out with much more intensity Thursday and took a 12-point halftime lead.
``We played about as well as we can play,'' Capel said.
ODU's letting the Hornets back in the game didn't bother Capel as much as the Monarchs' continued hard play pleased him. Capel laid the blame for the Cal-Sacramento comeback on poor ODU free throw shooting (16 of 27 overall) and that home teams will often make a run.
As forward Joe Bunn put it: ``This is their tournament. They wanted to make a good showing. They made their run.''
ODU finally ended it with some clutch play from Sherod and Brion Dunlap. Sherod was fouled driving the lane with 3.9 seconds left in regulation and hit two free throws to send the game into overtime. He also scored four of ODU's eight overtime points.
Dunlap's best game - he had four points, five assists and five steals - helped ODU avoid a winless journey of 3,000 miles. Instead, the Monarchs were able to salvage a victory, and something Capel hopes they can build on.
``I think our players finally understand what we mean when we say that if we play hard we're pretty good, because we played hard tonight and they see the result,'' Capel said.
The Monarchs say they understand. The remainder of the schedule will determine whether that's the case.
``A lot of times you live on what you did before,'' Sherod said. ``We did that. We've got ourselves together now.''
Filmmaker Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of life is just showing up. The Monarchs have tested that theory and found it lacking.
``We thought all we had to do was show up,'' Sherod said. ``That doesn't work.'' by CNB