Liberty from A to Z

Let's get right to it. Courtesy of the indefatigable Kyle Tucker, who covered for us tonight in Lynchburg, here's what everyone (and we do mean everyone) was saying after tonight's blowout of Liberty. Wade in, Monarch fans:

C GERALD LEE

ON THE EASY GAME: “Everybody played pretty good from the start. We started with good defense and stopped their best players from scoring and that’s how we got that big lead early.”

ON NON-STARTER KEYON CARTER SCORING 17 POINTS AND WHAT THAT SAYS ABOUT ODU’S DEPTH: “That’s the good thing about this team: It’s very deep. Anybody can score any given night. Everybody can play their best game. That’s a good thing, because the more weapons you have on your team, the more you’re going to score. That’s always good when you score a lot of points.”

ON HOW MANY ODU PLAYERS COULD LEAD THE TEAM IN SCORING ON A GIVEN NIGHT: “I’ll say everyone. Everyone could lead the team in scoring on any night.”

ON HOW MUCH THE DEPTH HELPS WHEN PLAYING FOUR GAMES IN SEVEN DAYS: “It’s very helpful. Four games in one week? I have a lot more respect toward NBA players now. Especially the stars who play 40-45 minutes a game. They play every other night. This is tough. Thank God it’s been kind of easy ... well, not easy, but we’ve taken big leads at the beginning and no one has had to play a lot of minutes.”

ON THE TEAM’S CONFIDENCE: “We have pretty good confidence. We go hard in practice every day. But we’ve just got to make sure our feet stay on the ground and our heads don’t get too big right now.”

LIBERTY COACH DALE LAYER

ON HIS TEAM’S STRUGGLES: “They’re really good. This is a top-30 or a top-40 program. They’re better than 300 teams in the country. They’re really good. We’re very young. It is what it is. I can’t ask for greater effort. I can’t ask for more intensity. I can ask for more concentration. We’ve got too many young guys who are prone to too many mistakes.”

ON ODU’S IMPRESSIVE DEPTH, CONSIDERING CARTER, WHO DOESN’T START, LIT THEM UP FOR 17 POINTS: “He’s really good, by the way. They’ve got a lot of good players. They’re juniors and seniors, most of them. They’re used to winning. They’ve got grown men’s body’s. Both Clemson (which beat Liberty by 40 on Tuesday) and ODU would have finished in the top half of the Big East last year, which I was up close and personal with (he was an assistant at Marquette last season). So these are teams that are not only talented and well-coached, but mature. They’ve got a lot of good things going for them.”

ODU COACH BLAINE TAYLOR

ON THREE 30-POINT WINS IN THREE GAMES: “The last few years, we got a little slower start. We were young and the schedule was incredibly tough. For us to get out early with a few under our belt – and not only to succeed but to play well – that gives us a little bit of momentum. Four games in a week is difficult, but it mirrors what happens at the start of conference in early January, so that’s kind of why we set it up that way. One of the things we’re establishing is our depth and our defense. That’s why you’ve had large margins. We’ve been able to go into the bench for energy and for the next defender. And then also, we have improved defensively to the point where we can be a pretty good factor most nights.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF DEPTH PL.AYING FOUR IN SEVEN DAYS: “Fatigue could be a factor in that sort of circumstance. To be able to go deep enough in a game where you win by a large margin, it limits the minutes you have to play guys. I would like to think we would have pretty good energy on Saturday. It’s something you’ve got to be psychologically up for. It’s something you’ve got to be strategically prepared for. You don’t want to waste time, but you’ve got to work and get ready to play these games. All in all, it’s but three games, but it’s a good start to the season so far.”

ON LIBERTY’S COACH SAYING ODU WOULD’VE FINISHED IN THE TOP HALF OF THE BIG EAST LAST YEAR: “Well, we’ve had years where we’ve beaten the Big East champion, so it’s nice, but the year Georgetown went to the Final Four, we beat them at their place. If you can get to the top three or four spots in the Colonial, you can play nationally. You choose the league, you choose the school, and you can be pretty competitive with them.”

ON JUMPING ON LIBERTY EARLY: “I think jumping them early and not letting them get momentum or confidence going was important. And I really thought coming out of the locker room at the start of the second half, we didn’t let the tide turn. I told my players some stories of games on the road when all the sudden guys started getting selfish, not working hard, start dinking around tying to dunk, and all the sudden you lose momentum and it can cost you a game. I thought we stuck to it pretty good for all 40 minutes.”

ON CARTER’S BIG GAME: “Keyon had 17, could’ve had more. We’re pretty classy about not trying to pour it on. I played all 11 kids almost double-figure minutes. If you’d told me going into the game that Gerald (Lee) would not have a scoring night – although he made up for it with defense and rebounding – and if you’d told me Frank (Hassell) would’ve been in foul trouble and not score all night ... I’d have said, ‘Well somebody else better come up and make some plays.’ Keyon was the man of the hour on this given day.”

F KEYON CARTER

ON WHETHER HE SAW HIS BIG NIGHT COMING: “Not at all. I just try to capitalize on the looks I get. If I have an open shot, I take it. I’m that kind of player.”

ON WHETHER HE SURPRISES OTHER TEAMS BY STROKING 3-POINTERS: “Definitely. I come off the bench, so a lot of guys see that and figure, ‘This guy is just another guy.’ But I try to hurt them if they leave me open. I’m a 4-man that can stretch the defense out. I try to do that as much as I can because it opens other things in our offense for guys like Gerald and Frank underneath. When I’m out there and they don’t check me, I’m going to fire it.”

ON THE DEPTH FACTOR WITH SO MANY GAMES IN A WEEK: “It’s big. Very big. It’s huge, because it’s early in the year and if we had to play tons of minutes, it would catch up to us at the end. Limiting our minutes early gives us added durability for the stretch run. Because once we get into conference play, it’s going to get pretty crazy.”

ON THE TEAM’S CONFIDENCE: “Confidence is so important in basketball. You need it. You can have a great player, but if he has no confidence, he has nothing. We’re definitely feeding off our defense and it’s defense first around here. We’re going to take this confidence into the Marshall game. We know they’re going to be different from our past opponents, but we’re going to try to suffocate them on defense and run out on offense and get easy baskets.”

ON WHETHER THIS TEAM STILL HAS FRESH LEGS AFTER THREE GAMES IN FIVE DAYS: “Definitely. We’ve got a long bus ride back, so guys can stretch out and put their legs up. This has been fun for me. Last week was Hell Week, because we didn’t have any games. It was all practice, which is banging, banging, banging. I like games. And this is like a tournament format with a game, day off, game, day off, game. I’ve enjoyed it, and I think the rest of the guys have, too. This lets us know we can get the job done. Hopefully this sets us up to make a big splash in conference and carry that momentum into the NCAAs.”

-- Ed Miller

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Long and short of Longwood

Rumor had it after Sunday's season opening win over Bethune-Cookman that the 38 points the Wildcats scored was a low for the Constant Center. Upon further review, as they say in the NFL, it was discovered that was not the case.

There was no doubting the mark ODU set Tuesday night, however, in a 98-59 shredding of Longwood. The 98 points was a Constant Center high for a regulation game.

Anyone who was there and saw Blaine Taylor waving his arms like a home plate umpire signaling "safe" as the clock ran out knows ODU could have reached triple figures. The crowd wanted it, but Taylor called off his players as time ran down.

Afterward, Taylor said he wasn't as much concerned with the point total as with some other stats: ODU's 21/10 assist to turnover ratio, its 49-29 edge on the boards, and its 10 for 14 performance from 3-point range.

For more on what Taylor and the players had to say, check out Rich Radford's story in Wednesday's Virginian-Pilot.

-- Ed Miller

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Coop, and the recruits

There will be no redshirt for Chris Cooper this year, coach Blaine Taylor told me today during our brief conversation during halftime of the football game I was covering for the V-P in Dover, Del. Plans are to redshirt freshmen Anton Larsen and Josh Hicks.

Speaking of freshmen, as expected, both Dimitri Batten and Richard Ross signed their letters of intent this week. ODU made its formal announcement today. Look for a story with some comments from Blaine in tomorrow's Pilot.

Also look for a piece on ODU's size, and how this team might be the ultimate reflection of Taylor's coaching philosophy, which is to put together big, physical teams that defend, rebound and play multiple defenses.

Cooper, of course, is one of those big guys, a 6-9 sophomore. It seemed unlikely he would redshirt after he appeared in both of ODU's exhibitions. ODU compliance guru Jeff Wilson cited NCAA manual chapter-and-verse in an email to me after I asked him whether Coop's partcipation precluding redshirting.

His answer was that it did. He cited good ol' 14.2.3.1.3, which reads as follows:

14.2.3.1.3 Preseason Exhibitions/Preseason Practice Scrimmages During Initial Year. During

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Barton, and Larsen

The tallest guy in the building was in street clothes last night, in ODU's 91-62 exhibition win over Barton College.

Freshman Anton Larsen didn't dress for the game, and probably won't this year.

"We're going to probably redshirt him," coach Blaine Taylor said.

No big surprise there. The 7-footer from Copenhagen, Denmark needs to add strength and adjust to the faster American game. There also don't appear to be many minutes available for him, with five other players 6-foot-8 or taller.

Larsen played in the blue-white game last week and could have played last night without jeopardizing his redshirt. Taylor said he wants to concentrate on working NIck Wright and Chris Cooper into the mix, though. Playing Larsen would have only slowed that process.

A few other tidbits from last night.

ODU went just 1-for-15 from 3-point range. Taylor said he hoped some of the misses were attributable to the fact that the Monarchs have not been able to practice in the Constant Center much during pre-season.

"We certainly can shoot the ball a lot better than we did," he said.

The game was a stark example of the main difference between Division I and Division II: size. The Monarchs, big for a D1 team, looked leviathan compared to the smaller Bulldogs. It was most telling on the offensive glass, where the Monarchs played handball all evening - putting in second and sometimes third shots.

Kent Bazemore continued to impress, going 7 for 10 from the field and bringing energy all over the floor.

"I've been around for a while - this is my third year," Bazemore said. "It's time to get those freshman jitters out of the way and play ball."

-- Ed Miller

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More on Richard Ross

It sounds as if Kent Bazemore may have some competition next year in the slam dunk department.

Bazemore's two late aerial assaults provided the sizzle at ODU's Blue/White Scrimmage Friday night, but now comes the newest Monarch, Richard Ross of Wichita Falls, Tex., who committed Saturday.

"High flyer" was the phrase that Ross' high school coach, Don Hedge, kept returning to when describing his 6-6 forward.

The phrase "unbelievable athlete" was also uttered several times by Hedge, who played for ODU coach Blaine Taylor at Montana, and 16 years later, is thrilled to be sending his old college coach a player.

"It's a perfect fit," Hedge said.

Hedge would know, He played for Taylor from 1991-93 and runs a similar system at Hirschi High, where Ross helped the team to a 24-7 record last year.

Ross averaged 13 points and 14 rebounds and has been improving by leaps (pun intended) and bounds, Hedge said.

"He's the hardest worker I've ever had," Hedge said.

And by far the best dunker, for what it's worth. Hedge described a play in an AAU game in which Ross stole the ball at halfcourt, then passed it between his legs to shield it from a defender - before dunking it over him.

"It was like something you see in a slam dunk contest," he said. "Except it happened in a game."

Ross high-jumped 7 feet in track and field last year, with little practice.

"They just asked me to come out," he said.

He said he plays "all over the place" on his basketball team, but is working on his ballhandling and shooting skills. Hedge said Ross is a rapidly-improving shooter who is far ahead of where he expected him to be heading into his senior year.

Recruiting hype aside, he appears to be a good fit for a system that emphasizes toughness, defense and rebounding. He also seems to be a player with a good "up" side - and not just as a leaper.

"When his skills catch up to his athletic ability, he's going to be something special," Hedge said.

-- Ed Miller

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Blue/White and TV

Back from ODU's, um, coronation in Washington. It's hard to get 12 coaches to agree on anything, but some consensus emerged at the CAA media day at the ESPN Zone.

1. The conference is better than it was last year, and probably better than it's been since 2005-06.

2. ODU is the best of an improved bunch.

It's hard to argue with any of that. In a bigger, deeper and more talented CAA, ODU is the biggest, deepest and most talented team. Fans can get their first look at the Monarchs Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Blue/White game at the Ted.

Meanwhile, to whet your appetite, here's the TV schedule for the 2009-10 season.

-- Ed Miller

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Marshall to Butler

When we spoke to ODU recruiting target Khyle Marshall before his visit to Norfolk last week, he told us he'd be making up his mind soon. Obviously, he wasn't kidding. Shortly after returning from Norfolk, Marshall committed to Butler, the Miami Herald reported today. Here's a link to the story.

-- Ed Miller

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Khyle Marshall

One of ODU's top recruiting targets will be in town this weekend. Khyle Marshall, a 6-foot-6 forward from Flanagan High in Pembroke Pines, Fla. will be making his official visit.

Marshall was the South Florida Sun Sentinel's large school player of the year last season. He's the No.113 prospect in the class of 2010, according to rivals.com.

Marshall sounds every bit that and more in this Miami Herald story. We caught up with Marshall and Flanagan assistant coach Alberto Jempierre Thursday, as Marshall prepared to head to Norfolk. It's his third visit. He's already been to Butler and UAB and is also reportedly receiving interest from Kansas State and Missouri.

"Kyle's going to pick a situation that's good athletically and academically," Jempierre said. "Both of his parents have master's degrees, and he has a 3.4/3.5 GPA."

ODU coach Blaine Taylor had an in-home visit last week. Marshall said it "went well." He's not sure if he'll take his final two recruiting visits, he said. He plans to decide on a school next month and sign during the early signing period, which begins Nov. 11.

-- Ed Miller

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schedule complete

The CAA portion of the schedule is out, with the only uncertainty the exact dates of some of the games currently scheduled for Wednesdays. Those games could change a day either way depending on TV.

hamptonroads.com/2009/09/odu-men-finalize-200910-basketball-schedule

Meanwhile, pre-season workouts are underway. Early reports are that the players came in in good shape, with Darius James and Marsharee Neely adding some muscle, though Neely's gain may be offset by the loss of some weight from the top off his head, I'm hearing. Goodbye, dreadlocks.

Gerald Lee's elbow brace is off, but he's still being held out of contact.

-- Ed Miller

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Blaine back home

Courtesy of sports information director Carol Hudson, here's a story on Blaine Taylor's recent appearance at the Montana Coaches Association clinic. The native son of Big Sky Country packed them in, and had some interesting comments about his coaching influences.

Also, assistant coach Jim Corrgian is now tweeting. Follow him here.

- Ed Miller

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