NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s basketball head coach Jeff Jones announced Trey Freeman, Aaron Bacote and Denzell Taylor as captains for the upcoming 2015-16 season.
“These three men have all exhibited great leadership ability,” Jones remarked. “They have each demonstrated their understanding of what it means to be a leader in different ways.”
Trey Freeman enters his redshirt senior season as the 2015 C-USA Newcomer of the Year and a first team All-League selection. His buzzer beating three-pointer propelled ODU to the NIT semifinal at Madison Square Garden. The Virginia Beach native scored 591 points and averaged 16.9 points per game and also led the team in assists with 125 and in steals with 46. Freeman was named C-USA Player of the Week twice and landed a spot on the NABC All-District Team. Off the court, he was named to the C-USA All-Academic Squad. Freeman enters the season ranked No. 17 on ODU’s all-time scoring list (first two seasons played at Campbell).
“Trey is obviously the guy that our other players look to out on the court,” Jones mentioned. “He’s not afraid of the big moments but actually relishes them. He is without question our team’s leader in terms of work ethic. Trey does a fantastic job of representing our team and our program.”
Aaron Bacote enters his senior campaign as the No. 40 all-time leading scorer in ODU history. Bacote was named to the 2014 VaSID All-State second team selection. He became the 49th Monarch to join the 1,000-point club against Charlotte in his junior season. Bacote averaged 9.8 points per game in 2014-15 and 15.5 points per game in the 2013-14 season. He was also a first team All-C-USA selection in 2014.
“Aaron has matured a great deal over the last few years, and I think he’s ready to accept the role of being a team captain,” Jones continued. “His leadership style is a little more subtle, but he is a really bright guy even off the basketball court and is someone the other players really respect.”
Junior Denzell Taylor led the Monarch basketball team in offensive rebounds with 125 and total rebounds with 209 in 2014-15. Taylor had a slew of outstanding defensive performances for ODU, tying a career-high 12 rebounds against UNCW, grabbing 11 rebounds against UMES and hauling down 10 against William & Mary.
Jones discussed Taylor’s leadership ability, stating “Denzell is very quiet, unassuming and does his job in the background, but I think he has the makeup of a natural leader. He communicates things to the other players in a concise way, and I think he anticipates what the coaches want to get across before they even say anything. He’s also a very bright young man.”
The Old Dominion men’s basketball team will have its first official practice on Monday, Oct. 5, before playing its one and only exhibition game one month later on Nov. 5, when they will welcome Christopher Newport to the Ted Constant Center.