Not a good night for Old Dominion basketball.  At the start of the game, they couldn’t hit an outside shot.  Quickly they were down by 20!  But give them credit, at the half they were only down by 3 and actually took the lead in the 2nd half.  Then, once again, they couldn’t hit an outside shot.  JMU walked away with the win.

This could be a problem going forward for ODU.  Gerald Lee is usually able to give the Monarchs some easy points down low, but if they other team is packing the inside, ODU needs to hit some shots.  Darius James has a pretty decent shot, but he doesn’t look for the outside shot that often.  Jonathan Adams can knock them down, but he’s also streaky.  Keyon Carter actually made a few against William & Mary, but couldn’t consistently find his stroke against JMU.

Blaine Taylor was, once again, surprisingly upbeat after the game.  He seemed to be pleased with the fact that his team was able to overcome a 20 point deficit.  Blaine blamed the defense just as much as the offense.  Basically, he thought JMU just played better.  They did.

ODU will need to find it’s outside shot more consistently if it wants to win more consistently.  Marsharee Neeley, Adams, James, and Carter will all have to be able to step up at different times.   Can they do it?

Watch WAVY 10 News to find out

Gotta admit.  Hampton University basketball surprised me a bit on Thursday.  The Pirates hosted and beat George Mason.  Now, the Patriots have lost a few people from last year’s team that won the CAA title.  But, still.  HU was a disappointment last year.  They were expected to be world-beaters, and then didn’t even win the MEAC.  So, this year, I didn’t know what to expect.  And, really, we still don’t know what to expect, but this was a good step for them.

Hampton controlled the whole game.  Just like the time last year when they beat VCU, the Pirates almost never trailed.  If they played Mason 10 times, I think Hampton would win 7.  They just looked like the better team.  Great game for HU.

But, here’s the rub.  Can they keep it going?  I like coach Kevin Nickelberry.  He’s a motivator and a great speaker.  But, last year, his team did not respond as the season went on.  For them to do well down the stretch, he’s going to need to push the right buttons this year.

Good start, though.