By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men's basketball player A.J. Oliver II has developed a pretty cordial relationship with the women's basketball coaching staff.
He often watches the women practice and says head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones and her staff "are good people who I have a lot of respect for."
Yet when the ODU women open against South Carolina State tonight at 6:30 at Chartway Arena, Oliver says he'll be torn as to who to root for.
He loves ODU, but he also loves his mom, Audra Smith. And she happens to be the head coach at South Carolina State.
When I asked him who he'll be cheering for, he hesitated before asking: "Can I say both?"
Yes, A.J., that's acceptable, even though in his heart, you know he's not going to root against his mom.
Oliver grew up in a basketball household on both sides of the family. His father, Anthony Oliver, played for ODU men's coach Jeff Jones when Jones coached at the University of Virginia. Oliver was a teammate of ODU assistant coach Bryant Smith, the leading scorer in U.Va. history.
His mom also played at U.Va. on some of the best teams in school history. The Cavaliers were 113-18 in her four seasons there, won two ACC titles and went to the Final Four three times.
She was the teammate of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
When he was a child, A.J. often went on the road with his mom while she worked as an assistant for Debbie Ryan at U.Va. and then became head coach at UAB. She also coached at Clemson before moving to South Carolina State.
And he practically lived at basketball practice in season.
"My parents tell me two minutes after I was born, I was in the gym at Virginia," A.J. said. "Basketball is all I've known, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
"She was able to take me so many places and show me so many things I never would have seen otherwise."
Oliver has had a lifetime appreciation for the women's game, and he said this ODU team will be special. "I can see them going far in the NCAA Tournament," he said.
Four starters return and there are 10 newcomers, including the 2021 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year, Iggy Allen, who transferred from Florida Atlantic.
Allen was joined by returning seniors Amari Young and Ajah Wayne on the eight-person preseason all-conference team, yet ODU was picked to finish second, behind Charlotte, by coaches in the preseason Conference USA poll.
That didn't sit well with Milton-Jones, whose undermanned team won three games in three nights before falling in the semifinals of last season's conference tournament.
This season, there's depth to burn, and the Monarchs looked very good last week in an 87-70 exhibition victory over Christopher Newport.
"We take offense to that," she said of being picked second. "Because we take offense that, our work has to show it. So, we're coming out every day in practice with the intention of being aggressive, being physical and in your face."
Her practices have been rugged, and it's been a long time since the ODU women had such a stable of good athletes. Wayne, ODU's best player last season, often played 40 minutes a game last season. This season, there is a ton of competition for precious playing time.
Milton-Jones said she and her players have talked about the preseason rankings.
"We've talked about it at length," she said. "We're proud on the one hand. But on the other, we felt disrespected.
"We had three players on the preseason all-conference team. How are you not the No. 1 team? Make that math make sense to me.
Anthony Oliver II's family
"We feel like we have a team that's just as good, just as talented, as anyone in the league."
Oliver said he was in awe when he watched the ODU women play in the C-USA tournament. Although they had just eight players, and used only six extensively, they beat Western Kentucky in overtime, North Texas by six, Charlotte in double overtime and then lost to Rice by two.
"Watching them last year in the tournament was so much fun, watching them take down team after team," he said. "It was inspiring.
"The only reason my mom wanted to play ODU is because DeLisha is there and she has so much respect for her."
A.J. and his mom had fun Monday night. They met in downtown Norfolk at 9 p.m., after South Carolina State's team meetings and film sessions were over, and ate Mexican food on Colley Avenue.
Tonight, as has happened so many times before, Audra Smith will walk the sidelines with her son watching in the stands.
"It's going to be phenomenal," she said. "There will be tons of memories coming back from the days when he would go to the gym, and I'd hear him say, 'One more shot, Momma, just one more,' and I'd say 'it's 9:30 and we've got to go home.'
"I'm really excited to be playing at ODU, his school, know he will be there to support his Momma."
Minium was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 39 years at The Virginian-Pilot, where he won 27 writing awards. He covers ODU athletics for odusports.com Follow him on Twitter @Harry_MiniumODU, Instagram @hbminium1 or email hminium@odu.edu
Minium: AJ. Oliver II Will Root for His Mom Tonight When ODU Women Open Against S.C. State
