Jan. 2, 2006
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ODU (8-4/1-1)returns to CAA play Tuesday night at 7 p.m.in the Ted Constant Convocation Center against the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington (9-4/2-0).
The Seahawks are led in scoring by All-CAA guard John Goldsberry at 12.7 ppg, followed by Todd Hendley6-9 sophomore Todd Hendley at 10.8 ppg & 4.7 rpg. UNCW leads the CAA in scoring defense, allowing only 56.9 ppg. Both UNCW and ODU lost to Wisconsin by three points.
ODU will have two other games this week, traveling to Towson for a 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday, then hosting CAA newcomer Northeastern Saturday at 12 noon.
MONARCH PROBABLE STARTERS
F 31 Arnaud Dahi, 6-7, Jr, Ivory Coast, Africa 13.2 ppg/ 4.8 rpg
F 20 Brian Henderson, 6-4, So, Richmond, VA. 4.5 ppg/ 3.4 rpg
F 40 Alex Loughton, 6-9, Sr, Perth ,Australia 13.0 ppg/ 6.8 rpg
G 10 Drew Williamson, 6-0, Jr., Burlington, NC., 7.8 ppg/4.1 apg
G 1 Isaiah Hunter, 6-2, Sr, Charlotte, NC. 13.1 ppg/ 3.6 rpg
OFF THE BENCH
F 42 Valdas Vasylius, 6-7, Jr., Klaipeda, Lithuania 7.8 ppg/3.5 rpg
G 4 Brandon Johnson, 6-1, So, Orlando, FL., 3.7 ppg/2.8 rpg
G 3 John Morris, 6-2, Jr., Camp Hill, PA. 1.8 ppg/ 1.5 rpg
C 30 Sam Harris, 7-3, So, Newhan, Tasmania 1.2 ppg / 1.1 rpg
G 11 Abdi Lidonde, 6-2, So, Sutton, MA., 0.6 ppg/0.9 rpg
F 34 Jonathan Adams, 6-6, Fr., Ringold, GA. 1.5 ppg/ 2.2 rpg
F 21 Jason Thompson, 6-5, So., Sanford, NC. 0.7 ppg/1.3 rpg
C 55 Janko Mrksic, 6-10, Jr., Ontario, Canada 0.8 ppg/ 0.4 rpg
G 24 Bobby Bilicki, 5-10, Sr, Winchester, MA., 0.0 ppg/ 0.0 rpg
TRACKING THE MONARCHS--
Radio: For the 13th straight season ESPN1310 Radio will bebroadcasting all the Monarch contests. John Castleberry will beproviding the play-by-play with Rick Kiefner and Billy Mannadding the color commentary at all home games and selectedAway contests.
Internet: The official Old Dominion athletics website is atwww.odusports.com which carries the most up-to-dateinformation on the Monarchs. Bios, game stories, stats and boxscores can be found along with game notes the morning of thescheduled contests. The live ESPN1310 Radio broadcast of allMonarch games can be heard over the web. All home nontelevisedgames will be videostreamed this season onthe athletic website, www.odusports.com. Fans can watch thegames live from the Constant Center for a monthly fee of $6.95through the College Pass program which Also provides theaudio and video broadcasts of over 100 colleges anduniversities.
Coaches Show: Head Coach Blaine Taylor will join JohnCastleberry live on ESPN1310 Radio on Monday's from 5:00p.m. - 6:00 p.m. throughout the season to review the previousweek's games and give an insight into the upcomingMonarch matchups.
CAA Telephonic Press Conferences: Members of the media areinvited to participate in the CAA's weekly telephonic pressconference series. The first call will be Jan. 3 and run eachTuesday morning through Feb. 28. CAA coaches will beavailable to answer questions beginning at 10:10 a.m. Thenumber to call is 1-888-677-9010. Members of the media shouldcontact Tripp Sheppard at the CAA office for the password toaccess the call. Blaine Taylor will be on each call at 10:30 a.m.
Did You Know
Five Old Dominion alumni were part of Olympic medals won atthe recent Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
Oliver Purnell ('75-Asst. coach with Team USA Men's Basketball(Bronze Medal), Anne Donovan ('83) -Asst. coach with Team USA
Women's Basketball(Gold Medal), Charles Ogletree ('89) - Sailoron Team USA Tornado class (Silver Medal), Marina DiGiacomo('01)- Argentina field hockey team (Bronze Medal), Macha va derVaart ('91) - Netherlands field hockey team (Silver Medal)In all, 21 ODU alumni have competed in past Olympic games.ESPN Sportscenter anchor Jay Harris is a 1987 ODU graduate.
Bob Pritchett ('68) who scored 67 points in a game against RPIand and 47 in a game against Hampden-Sydney in 1968currently lives in Grove City, Ohio (outside Columbus). He isDeputy Supervisor for a juvenile correction facility there.
In 1994-95, ODU played four top-25 teams. The Monarchsdefeated #9 Villanova, 89-81 in triple overtime in the NCAAfirst round. During the regular season, ODU played at #14Virginia, and #14 Arizona State and host #1 North Carolina .
Assistant coach Jim Corrigan is in his 19th year as an assistant onthe collegiate level, all in the CAA.
Assistant coach Rob Wilkes is the son of legendary Stetson headCoach Glenn Wilkes.
Assistant coach Travis DeCuire played for Taylor at Montanafrom 1991-94 and earned All-Big Sky honors in 1993 and 1994.Of the eight Monarchs who have played in the NBA, two werefirst round draft picks. Chris Gatling (16th overall in 1991 byGolden State) and Cal Bowdler (17th overall in 1999 by Atlanta).
Gatling played in the 1997 NBA all-star game. both are currentlyplaying overseas (Gatling in Russia).
The nickname of the state of Virginia is the "Old Dominion."
MONARCH CO-CAPTAINS
This year's co-captains are Alex Loughton andDrew Williamson.
MONARCH RECRUITING
The Monarchs signed Marsharee Neely, a 6-2, 180-pound guardfrom Page High School in Greensboro, NC. As a junior Neelyearned first team All-Metro Conference Honors. He was namedfirst team All-Area, and All-City as he averaged 18.1 points,8.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Page High Schoolcompiled a 18-9 record, finished second in the MetroConference and reached the final 16 of the State 4Atournament.