Rolling with the punches of the portal
Transfers have impacted Monarchs’ roster in both positive and negative ways
NORFOLK — Like practically every other coach in the country, Old Dominion’s Jeff Jones has seen the busy NCAA transfer portal both hurt and help his team.
After last season, leading scorer Malik Curry, armed with a COVID-supplied extra year of eligibility, informed Jones of his intention to transfer to West Virginia.
The movement, Jones said, is inevitable. He just hopes he acquired more than he lost.
When the Monarchs open the season today against Virginia Wesleyan at 7 p.m. at Chartway Arena, they’ll do so with seven new players. The group includes three freshmen and four transfers, all of whom will look to contribute right away.
It’s another example of how the portal, which enabled about 1,500 players to change schools last year, has redefined the maintenance of a program.
“It’s definitely a different challenge,” Jones said. “I don’t know about better or worse, but it’s different. Recruiting used to be it was like you looked at a fouryear projection. Right now, you need to look at one year. You look too far ahead, and all of a sudden you’re going to be without players at a key position or something like that.”
Jaylin Hunter, a 6-foot sophomore who apprenticed under Curry for two seasons, will take over at point guard. Hunter, who spent the offseason working on his ball-handling and shooting, averaged 6.6 points per game last season, while Curry averaged 15.7.
ODU was Conference USA’s worst 3-point shooting team, a need Jones addressed deliberately with the players he brought in.
North Carolina Central transfer C.J. Keyser, who averaged 16.4 points per game last season to earn
first-team All-MEAC honors, gives the Monarchs a versatile weapon who can both shoot and slash.
Southern Methodist transfer Charles Smith was a 44.7% 3-point shooter last season. Hunter, freshman D’Angelo Stines and the returning A.J. Oliver will hope to keep defenses honest on the perimeter, creating space for talented big men Kalu Ezikpe and Austin Trice.
Evidence of ODU’s potential balance could be found in the box score of Saturday’s exhibition win over Division II Gannon. The Monarchs had six players in double figures and shot 54.7% in a 96-56 cakewalk.
Performances like that one would go a long way toward improving on last season’s 15-8 record.
“With the roster that we have, I think we can attack more from the outside, but still keep our inside properties with having Kalu and Austin down low,” Hunter said. “I think we all have pieces to complement each other very well, more than the last couple of years.”
Jones stopped short of comparing today’s roster construction to building an NBA team, even if Curry was ostensibly traded in a five-player deal.
Curry, Jones said, left the program at the urging of his family and advisors, who thought WVU would give him an easier path to a professional career. And he was nearly in tears when he told Jones.
A happy player’s voluntary departure, Jones said, is now the way of the world.
“Roster management is huge now,” Jones said. “Forget about balancing classes and all that. That’s a thing of the past. You used to always want to have a couple of freshmen and a couple of sophomores for continuity. Forget about that. I couldn’t tell you who, (but) we’re going to lose somebody in transfer at the end of the year. It just happens, right? No matter what kind of culture you build and whether they like it or not.”
The Monarchs play a largely regional non-conference schedule, with games against James Madison, East Carolina, George Mason, William & Mary, Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond.
Jones hopes the tour of former Colonial Athletic Association rivals will build confidence and leave ODU with an attractive non-conference record.
By the time the C-USA season
ODU at a glance
15-8, 11-5 C-USA (2nd in East Division)
Jeff Jones (168-94 in eight seasons at ODU)
Tonight vs. Virginia
1. UAB (8), 2. Louisiana Tech, 3. Western Kentucky, 4. Marshall, 5. Old Dominion, 6.
North Texas, 7. Charlotte, 8. Rice, 9. Florida Atlantic, 10. UTEP, 11. UTSA, 12. Southern Miss, 13. Florida International, 14. Middle Tennessee
starts on Dec. 30, the Monarchs want to be off and running.
“I’m very optimistic, but I think every other team in the country is probably optimistic at this point as well,” Hunter said. “I do like the pieces that we have, but we know that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. So we’re looking to just get better as the season progresses. Obviously, we want to win every game. That’s the goal. But we definitely want to be playing our best basketball during March.”