Monarchs hope to get back on right side of close games
ODU lost 12 games by 8 or fewer points last season, but returns three starters
NORFOLK — Make no mistake: Old Dominion was close last season.
Playing as defending Conference USA tournament champions, the Monarchs lost 12 games by eight points or fewer. Seven of those losses came in league play. They went 13-19 overall and 9-9 in the conference.
Among the near-misses was an agonizing January stretch in which ODU lost four times in five C-USA games by a total of 12 points.
The good news for the Monarchs is that most of the players who survived those hardships are back, armed with the lessons those games provided.
Close wasn’t good enough, but ODU has been over that hump before.
“Two years ago, we won all those games,” eighth-year coach Jeff Jones said, referring to the Monarchs’ 26-9 performance in 2018-19. “Last year, we were on the wrong end of a bunch of them. And I think we’ve tried to address some of the shortcomings that we had. I think the experience of being in those situations probably helps.”
Jones plans to remedy things by mixing them up. ODU, which opens the uncertain season at 2 p.m. today at Maryland, won’t be pigeonholed as either a frenetic, fast-paced team or as one that relies solely on the half-court game.
The Monarchs return three starters and seven lettermen from last season’s team and infuse five promising newcomers into a roster that both produced and allowed a remarkably symmetrical 65.6 points per game last season.
They won’t feed off of fan support; COVID-19 restrictions will limit attendance at Chartway Arena to 250, with cardboard cutouts filling in for ticket-holders.
Senior guard Malik Curry, a transfer from Palm Beach State in Florida who led ODU with 13.4 points per game last season, expects to have his memory jogged.
“We had the best support in the conference, and I’m grateful for that,” Curry said. “But now, it’s like I’m going back to junior college. It’s time to just hoop.”
The 6-foot-1 Curry will be joined in the backcourt by 6-6 senior Xavier Green. Junior guard A.J. Oliver, 6-8 junior forward Joe Reece and 6-8 junior forward Kalu Ezikpe round out the potential lineup that Jones said has spent the most time on the court together during a strange and truncated preseason.
The Monarchs, who had 15 days to practice 11 times, have worked five days a week, wearing masks from the moment they’ve entered the practice facility until the moment they exit — even during five-on-five scrimmages.
It’s part of an ongoing fight against an invisible, but ubiquitous threat.
“I think we’re all committed,” said Green, a workhorse from Williamsburg who was third in C-USA in minutes played last season. “Nobody wanted to really go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas just because everyone doesn’t want to catch this COVID. We want to be able to play. We’ve sat out long enough.”
ODU’s schedule is as much a reflection of the times as it is evidence of a communal desire to keep the season going. All of the Monarchs’ non-conference games are regional, including trips to Norfolk State and James Madison, and the C-USA schedule consists of singletrip, two-game series on consecutive days.
The quick turnarounds, Jones said, conspire with COVID concerns to make a deep bench paramount.
“Without a doubt,” Jones said. “You never know when something might happen COVID-related. … You want to try to have guys who are capable of giving you quality minutes ready to fill in if you do miss some players.
“And then you combine that with the fact that games are going to be played back-to-back in conference play on Friday and Saturday. I think that’s where the depth will come in in that regard as well.”
ODU lost significant production with the graduation of 6-7 forward Aaron Carver, who led C-USA with 10.3 rebounds per game. Jones expects Ezikpe to make up the bulk of that, with help from senior forward Austin Trice, a 6-7 transfer from Kansas State who has impressed his new teammates.
“That dude can be a monster when he wants to be,” Green said. “He’s crazy athletic ... I mean crazy athletic. He can rebound, has a knack to go get the ball. He’s going to bring a lot of energy. He’s going to run the floor. He’s going to defend. He’s a great energy guy.”
Ezikpe and Trice are part of the Monarchs’ plan to do things a little differently, with the goal of improving their results.
“I’d like to think we’re going to be better offensively than we were,” Jones said. “I do believe that, at both ends of the floor, we’re going to maybe not be as predictable.”