Stith’s experience ensures players won’t ignore virus
NORFOLK — Every time it steps on the court this season, Old Dominion will have two opponents.
When the Monarchs leave the hardwood, they’ll continue to fight one of them.
ODU, on the heels of a disappointing 13-19 season, will open the 2020-21 men’s basketball campaign Nov. 28 at home against William & Mary, eighth-year coach Jeff Jones confirmed Thursday.
The rest of the seven-game non-conference schedule, Jones said, is still in the works, and Conference USA is expected to announce its non-traditional league schedule in the coming days.
No matter whom the Monarchs are facing in a given week, they’ll simultaneously attempt to fortify themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus, which reportedly has killed more than 217,000 Americans and nearly 3,400 Virginians, could be the great equalizer in college basketball this season.
Jones, speaking to reporters shortly before his team’s first official practice, said he had just talked with a coaching colleague whose team was in the midst of a two-week quarantine after having three people in the program test positive.
“That’s just kind of a scary reminder that this season, obviously, will be about how well you can play on the court, but a lot of it is going to be: Can you just survive?” Jones said. “Canyou avoid the coronavirus and the quarantines and the contacttracing issues that follow if you have any positive tests? In many ways, it’s an endurance contest. It might not necessarily be the best team, but who’s the best team that can keep their squad at full strength?”
Jones’ program already has
Seattle Seahawks victory comes down to a wild, spectacular drive by Russell Wilson on the final possession. It just seems that way.
Throwback: Courtesy of sports editor Jami Frankenberry, from a biography of Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove, comes a story of how in the late 1920s, Grove started a game for the Philadelphia Athletics that ran 15 innings, but took only 2 hours and 50 minutes to complete. By comparison, Game 1 of the Astros-Rays series — a 2-1 Rays victory — dragged for 3 hours, 50 minutes, an hour longer for six fewer innings. And yes, Lefty pitched all 15 innings.
Homework due: The Tampa Bay Rays are a team of fresh, talented players. It’s probably time America learned some of their names.
Bronx bombast: Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, taking a page from his late father’s book, apologized to the team’s fans for another postseason flop. As if the World Series is their birthright. Over the past 17 years, the Yankees have played in one World Series, which they won in 2009.
Football follies: With a couple of major conferences not yet in session, college football rankings are more random than ever. Even so, North Carolina’s top-five credentials are sketchy after giving up 45 points in a win over Virginia Tech. The final score was 56-45. But then, the same day, No. 2 Alabama hung on for a 63-48 victory over Mississippi. These scores remind me that U.Va.’s basketball season isn’t far off.
Wondering: How good, for that matter, is Notre Dame, polling at No. 4 after three victories over teams with a combined 1-10 mark against FBS opponents? The high-calorie diet continues Saturday when the Irish welcome 1-3 Louisville to South Bend.
Hoop du jour: What the NBA accomplished in bringing its season to a fitting conclusion can’t receive too much attention. Not a single player in the Orlando bubble tested positive for COVID, a monumental feat of coordination by commissioner Adam Silver and discipline by the players. TV ratings were down. But in the big picture, that’s a very minor story.
That man: When you take into account that 10 times in the past 17 seasons, LeBron James has played in the NBA Finals, his detractors sound ridiculous.
Next: As for the chances of the Lakers repeating — and don’t you know basketball mavens leapt to this narrative two minutes after the confetti fell — the champs are relatively old, except for Anthony Davis and LeBron, who doesn’t age. They could do with an infusion of youth, along with one or two better outside shooters.
Quick hit: Try now convincing anyone but the weirdest LeBron haters that he’s not the league-wide MVP.