What if Giannis had gone to ODU?
A recently revealed comment from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who never played college basketball, will give our region a question for years: What if?
The Greek Freak came to the NBA when he was 18, when Milwaukee drafted him 15th overall in 2013. He developed so well that he was the league Most Valuable Player in 2019 and ‘20, putting him alongside LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to be an MVP twice before age 26. In 2021, he led the Bucks to their first NBA title in 50 years and was the Finals MVP.
According to Bryan Kalbrosky of USA Today (@forthewin), when asked if he’d had the opportunity to play in college, one of Giannis’ comments was, “When I was 15, I was ‘highly recruited’ by Old Dominion. That was my only offer.”
Starting the 2010s, ODU, coached by Blaine Taylor, was consistently near the top of a loaded Colonial Athletic Association. Let the speculation begin on what could have been!
One City highlights: Out-of-town visitors occasionally have run to glory in Newport News’ annual One City Marathon, but Chesapeake’s Roger Hopper, 32, took the $1,000 top prize last weekend by running a personal-record time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 38 seconds in the race from Newport News Park to the downtown Victory Arch. He and his wife, Julie, were celebrating her 33rd birthday.
In an email to the Virginia Gazette, race director Jason Todd said, “As much as I like having runners travel in and participate in the One City Marathon, it is really special to me when our local runners have a great performance. ... Outside of the race, it just felt like the buzz was there in the city as well, and I think that is really important . ... Now we can turn our attention to 2024 and the 10-year anniversary.”
The weekend of races (marathon, half marathon and 5-kilometer) featured $8,150 in prizes.
Dylan Gearinger, 25, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, won the 5K in 15:24 and the half marathon the next day in a race-record 1:05.33, a pace of 5 minutes per mile.
Isabella Strumke, 9, of Toano broke a state 5K record for the 9-and-under group with a time of 19:58. Colonial Road Runners president Rick Platt, in an article for the Virginia Gazette, said Strumke posted an “age grade” of 88.86% (the highest of all 1,712 finishers in the three events). Platt said 80% is national-class and 90% is world-class. Jamestown High cross country and track coach Mark Tompkins, 47, won the Masters half marathon at 1:16:46, an age grade of 82.52%.
Including the Nautical Mile, an untimed race geared mostly toward kids, 2,615 people entered, including 380 for the marathon and 631 for the half marathon.
Hot start: Cox High graduate Fenwick Trimble has been the James Madison baseball team’s most dangerous hitter so far this season. In 14 games, the sophomore has six home runs — including a walk-off grand slam against Cornell on Feb. 26 — plus eight doubles, 24 RBIs, 20 runs and a .396 average.
What’s coming up
Monday: William & Mary’s men’s tennis team plays host to Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m., most likely indoors at McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
Tuesday: Numerous high school regular seasons begin for athletes in sports such as baseball and softball . ... Norfolk State faces William & Mary at Plumeri Park in a 3 p.m. baseball game.
Wednesday: Recent former national Division III softball champions collide in a doubleheader as Virginia Wesleyan visits Christopher Newport at 3 p.m . ... Princeton visits Old Dominion for a 3 p.m. baseball game.
Saturday: W&M’s women play host to the Gymnastics East Championships at noon at Kaplan Arena . ... Reigning MEAC softball champion Howard visits Norfolk State for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.