The Curse Has Been Lifted!!! Sorry for the long post, but read on if interested in some recent ODU History.
For those who didn't follow ODU much before we came to CUSA, this is what happened the last time we were in the NCAA Tournament in 2011:
I can finally watch that video after 8 years without the heartache. Of course, anytime a team loses in that fashion, it is crushing. But it was especially devastating for the ODU Program. Leading up to that moment, ODU has just won back to back CAA titles. This was our 4th NCAA Tournament since 2005, and we had just beaten Notre Dame in the previous season before losing a tough one to Baylor.
This ODU team was primed for a deep NCAA run. They were Top 30 in RPI and had beaten several P5's and top notch G5's during the season. It seemed that Coach Blaine Taylor was using this moment to audition for the Clemson job, and was hoping that a deep run into the tourney would cement his calling.
But it wasn't to be. The Butler tip-in changed everything. It was painful enough to have our own NCAA hopes dashed. But the pain was intensified by watching this same Butler squad run all the way to the NCAA Championship game. On top of that, we watched a VCU team that we pounded twice in Richmond get to the Final Four, finally to be crushed by that same Butler team that narrowly beat us. What could have been!!!. 2011 turned from a high-flying year of hope into a crushing year worth forgetting.
But that was only the beginning of the fall. Coach Taylor did not get the Clemson job, so he auditioned for the Wyoming opening. He didn't get that either. Due to his efforts to land other gigs, he took pretty much a 2 year hiatus from recruiting for ODU, as he apparently did not intend to remain long. He then lost his top recruit (4-star forward) and top recruiter to Virginia Tech. He has some personal issues, losing a close friend as well as some family troubles.
In 2012, he still has a couple of solid seniors (including current Atlanta Hawks guard Kent Bazemore). But there was a lot of talent graduating from that 2011 team, and it wasn't replaced adequately. The 2012 ODU team still managed a top 4 CAA finish and a trip to the CBI Tournament. Then, just before the first CBI game, Bazemore gets arrested on the court for failing to show up for a court appearance regarding a DUI. ODU mentally checked out of that game and the season ended.
Then comes the nightmare 2012-13 season. ODU has announced that it was leaving the CAA for CUSA. It was exciting, but the CAA rules were such that ODU was banned from the CAA Tournament. We did get a big man transfer from NC State, and had some talented freshmen (Aaron Bacote) for the first time since the Bazemore class.
Unfortunately the previous few years had been hard on Coach Taylor, who had past issues with alcoholism. He fell back into alcohol that year, even coaching a couple of games while inebriated. ODU suffered through a 5-25 season (they were 2-25 when the fired coach Taylor). It was a season that couldn't end quickly enough. (The team wasn't totally lacking in talent as one of those 5 wins was over UVA.)
Enter coach Jeff Jones and the new CUSA. ODU has been fighting to get back to form for 8 years. Now, finally, the curse has been lifted, and the ODU Basketball Program has fully recovered. Thank You Jeff Jones and let's make some history tonight. Go Blue!!!
(This post was last modified: 03-21-2019 09:50 AM by ODUBB35.)
