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Just out of curiosity I'd like to see how these same kids play under a better coach.

(02-29-2024 10:29 AM)Old Dominion Wrote:  Just out of curiosity I'd like to see how these same kids play under a better coach.

And on a team with all of the necessary positions needed for winning basketball. A team made mostly of shooting guards doesn't stand much of a chance. So many of these guys are undersized and playing out of position so its hard to put all the blame on them. The coaches set them up for failure.

(02-29-2024 09:29 AM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Def. looking forward to a better brand of basketball next year. I hesitate to call the players a bunch of names because they cant control that we would lose 2 starters, but Im not going to be upset over anyone leaving besides maybe Ceaser, Jenkins, and Pounds. Fixing the defense is priority numero uno.

I actually like RJ, Pounds, Caesar, Odiahi, and am interested to see if Jenkins can be a better team guy with good coaching. I would be happy to see all of them back.

I know a lot of people aren't that excited about Odiahi, but I think he is exactly the type of guy you could keep around for 4 years and have develop into somebody that really impacts the game. Is he ever going to be a star, probably not, but he is 6'11", fairly athletic, has pretty good instincts as a shot blocker, and in my opinion can develop into a force as a rim protector and a guy that you can dump it off to for a dunk when guards get to the rim. For everyone who wants to see a team grow and develop over time with continuity, he is the kind of player that you do that with. I think Pounds could be that type of guy too, btw.

Clean house. Totally. Coach, players, assistants, everything.

I should have added Odiahi. Not sure he ever gets there, but has the chance to develop into a serviceable big.

I like Blakney and he could probably have a decent last year in the right situation, but his inability to make shots or rebound makes me less likely to want him back.

(02-29-2024 10:59 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 09:29 AM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Def. looking forward to a better brand of basketball next year. I hesitate to call the players a bunch of names because they cant control that we would lose 2 starters, but Im not going to be upset over anyone leaving besides maybe Ceaser, Jenkins, and Pounds. Fixing the defense is priority numero uno.

I actually like RJ, Pounds, Caesar, Odiahi, and am interested to see if Jenkins can be a better team guy with good coaching. I would be happy to see all of them back.

I know a lot of people aren't that excited about Odiahi, but I think he is exactly the type of guy you could keep around for 4 years and have develop into somebody that really impacts the game. Is he ever going to be a star, probably not, but he is 6'11", fairly athletic, has pretty good instincts as a shot blocker, and in my opinion can develop into a force as a rim protector and a guy that you can dump it off to for a dunk when guards get to the rim. For everyone who wants to see a team grow and develop over time with continuity, he is the kind of player that you do that with. I think Pounds could be that type of guy too, btw.

I really like Leeroy, he is extremely coachable and is a hard worker. But he only has 1 year left, so that development will need to occur this offseason.

Dani could be a monster at the 4 spot. He can jump through the roof, run like a deer, and we saw after he was challenged/benched by the staff that he can be a really good rebounder and defender if he's playing aggressive. He also has a good touch, so he can stretch it out if that's what is asked of him.

Odiahi is listed as a junior. Not sure how much eligibility he has left. If only one year, then his developmental potential is very limited.

(02-29-2024 11:05 AM)Monarchist13 Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 10:59 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 09:29 AM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Def. looking forward to a better brand of basketball next year. I hesitate to call the players a bunch of names because they cant control that we would lose 2 starters, but Im not going to be upset over anyone leaving besides maybe Ceaser, Jenkins, and Pounds. Fixing the defense is priority numero uno.

I actually like RJ, Pounds, Caesar, Odiahi, and am interested to see if Jenkins can be a better team guy with good coaching. I would be happy to see all of them back.

I know a lot of people aren't that excited about Odiahi, but I think he is exactly the type of guy you could keep around for 4 years and have develop into somebody that really impacts the game. Is he ever going to be a star, probably not, but he is 6'11", fairly athletic, has pretty good instincts as a shot blocker, and in my opinion can develop into a force as a rim protector and a guy that you can dump it off to for a dunk when guards get to the rim. For everyone who wants to see a team grow and develop over time with continuity, he is the kind of player that you do that with. I think Pounds could be that type of guy too, btw.

I really like Leeroy, he is extremely coachable and is a hard worker. But he only has 1 year left, so that development will need to occur this offseason.

Dani could be a monster at the 4 spot. He can jump through the roof, run like a deer, and we saw after he was challenged/benched by the staff that he can be a really good rebounder and defender if he's playing aggressive. He also has a good touch, so he can stretch it out if that's what is asked of him.

Wow, I didn't realize Odiahi only had 1 year left. That changes my opinion a bit. I still like him, but don't see him ever being a force at ODU. I still like him as an option off the bench to pick up a few minutes, but he isn't going to be the type of player I was hoping he could become with 1 year remaining.

(02-29-2024 11:05 AM)Monarchist13 Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 10:59 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 09:29 AM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Def. looking forward to a better brand of basketball next year. I hesitate to call the players a bunch of names because they cant control that we would lose 2 starters, but Im not going to be upset over anyone leaving besides maybe Ceaser, Jenkins, and Pounds. Fixing the defense is priority numero uno.

I actually like RJ, Pounds, Caesar, Odiahi, and am interested to see if Jenkins can be a better team guy with good coaching. I would be happy to see all of them back.

I know a lot of people aren't that excited about Odiahi, but I think he is exactly the type of guy you could keep around for 4 years and have develop into somebody that really impacts the game. Is he ever going to be a star, probably not, but he is 6'11", fairly athletic, has pretty good instincts as a shot blocker, and in my opinion can develop into a force as a rim protector and a guy that you can dump it off to for a dunk when guards get to the rim. For everyone who wants to see a team grow and develop over time with continuity, he is the kind of player that you do that with. I think Pounds could be that type of guy too, btw.

I really like Leeroy, he is extremely coachable and is a hard worker. But he only has 1 year left, so that development will need to occur this offseason.

Dani could be a monster at the 4 spot. He can jump through the roof, run like a deer, and we saw after he was challenged/benched by the staff that he can be a really good rebounder and defender if he's playing aggressive. He also has a good touch, so he can stretch it out if that's what is asked of him.

I forgot that he only had 1 year left as well. Thats not ideal.

Im of the clean house mindset as well. But if Imo, Ceasar, Pounds, Leroy and Jenkins stuck around it would be OK. I like all of those guys and think they have talent. I just dont want any bad Jeff Jones habits to creep into the new guys recruits. Who knows, maybe with a new coach those guys will shoot better.

(02-29-2024 11:39 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im of the clean house mindset as well. But if Imo, Ceasar, Pounds, Leroy and Jenkins stuck around it would be OK. I like all of those guys and think they have talent. I just dont want any bad Jeff Jones habits to creep into the new guys recruits. Who knows, maybe with a new coach those guys will shoot better.

I'm pretty much where you are on this. I'm perfectly fine with a whole new team if the new coach felt comfortable in going that way. As was stated earlier, so many of these kids were playing out of position on a woefully undersized team. Much of it wasn't their fault and I'll leave it at that. Losing 2 starters didn't really make that much difference. They were losing when they were here too. Allette is the only one of the two that I missed as he obviously had a lot of talent, and he was one of the few on the team that had good size for his position. Apparently, he managed to work his way off of the team. Derrico was an undersized center playing the position by necessity.

(02-29-2024 10:59 AM)mac Wrote:  Clean house. Totally. Coach, players, assistants, everything.

I agree with this. No remnants. No more loser blood and mentality. Wipe it clean and sterilize it.

(02-29-2024 11:39 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im of the clean house mindset as well. But if Imo, Ceasar, Pounds, Leroy and Jenkins stuck around it would be OK. I like all of those guys and think they have talent. I just dont want any bad Jeff Jones habits to creep into the new guys recruits. Who knows, maybe with a new coach those guys will shoot better.

I agree with this. I think IMO could be a very solid back up pg. Not sure he would be happy in that role but he could be valuable coming off the bench on a decent team. Pounds really seems to have a big upside but I am still perplexed as to why the coaching staff didnt try to give him some run with Odiahi in the lineup. Maybe they did and I just didn’t notice since I didn’t watch much at year end. The box scores seem to indicate they played one or the other. Jenkins could still be a valuable player. Plus he is a local kid and I always pull for them to have a good career when they choose ODU. There is still time for that to happen.

(03-02-2024 12:01 PM)JJMonarch Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 11:39 AM)monarx Wrote:  Im of the clean house mindset as well. But if Imo, Ceasar, Pounds, Leroy and Jenkins stuck around it would be OK. I like all of those guys and think they have talent. I just dont want any bad Jeff Jones habits to creep into the new guys recruits. Who knows, maybe with a new coach those guys will shoot better.

I agree with this. I think IMO could be a very solid back up pg. Not sure he would be happy in that role but he could be valuable coming off the bench on a decent team. Pounds really seems to have a big upside but I am still perplexed as to why the coaching staff didnt try to give him some run with Odiahi in the lineup. Maybe they did and I just didn’t notice since I didn’t watch much at year end. The box scores seem to indicate they played one or the other. Jenkins could still be a valuable player. Plus he is a local kid and I always pull for them to have a good career when they choose ODU. There is still time for that to happen.

Both POunds and Odahi looked lost most of the season playing individually. I cant imagine what would have happened playing together. That lineup doesn't' really give you much and there is zero spacing for players to work.

Not saying it would be much worse than what we saw most of the year.

(02-29-2024 10:59 AM)Monarchblue Wrote:  

(02-29-2024 09:29 AM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Def. looking forward to a better brand of basketball next year. I hesitate to call the players a bunch of names because they cant control that we would lose 2 starters, but Im not going to be upset over anyone leaving besides maybe Ceaser, Jenkins, and Pounds. Fixing the defense is priority numero uno.

I actually like RJ, Pounds, Caesar, Odiahi, and am interested to see if Jenkins can be a better team guy with good coaching. I would be happy to see all of them back.

I know a lot of people aren't that excited about Odiahi, but I think he is exactly the type of guy you could keep around for 4 years and have develop into somebody that really impacts the game. Is he ever going to be a star, probably not, but he is 6'11", fairly athletic, has pretty good instincts as a shot blocker, and in my opinion can develop into a force as a rim protector and a guy that you can dump it off to for a dunk when guards get to the rim. For everyone who wants to see a team grow and develop over time with continuity, he is the kind of player that you do that with. I think Pounds could be that type of guy too, btw.

The ODU roster, says Odiahi is a junior.

We'll need to keep half the team, just to able to field a team.

(03-02-2024 06:11 PM)DaBigBlue Wrote:  We'll need to keep half the team, just to able to field a team.

There are basically 8 guys who could come back (Jenkins, Ceaser, Odiahi, Essien, Pounds, Hood, Baker, Blakney). I’ll put the over under of how many of those guys return at 4.5. Even if 5 return, Jones has 8 scholarships to work with.

I’ll put the over under of how many of our high school commits staying with the commitment at 1.5.

I only attended one game, the first JMU game. I liked Pounds but it was painfully obvious that he was literally just out there with not much direction.

Perhaps he is playing out of position but in today's game a guy his size has to be able to do many of the things a big man does. I would have liked to have seen him play more intentional. Post hard, set screens hard, roll to the basket hard...all things with conviction. Outside of that he displays some nice intangibles. I think some coaching/development and he has something.