By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Jeff Jones has worked with hundreds of players in his 30 seasons as a college basketball coach while at Virginia, Rhode Island, American, and for the last nine seasons, Old Dominion.
And of all those players, ODU forward Austin Trice says he knows who was the most difficult to deal with.
"It was me," said Trice, a senior from Chicago who plays his last home game on Saturday when the Monarchs host Middle Tennessee Saturday at 2 p.m.
"I promise you if you ask coach Jones, he will tell you I'm the most stressful player he ever had to work with," Trice said.
"That's true," Jones said with a smile when I read him the quote from Trice.
At 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, with a powerful, muscular body, an epic ability to sky for rebounds, a deft shooting touch inside the paint and a workaholic like mentality, Trice has become a fan favorite at ODU. And it's in part because he plays with his emotions on his sleeve.
Although a little undersized at center, he more than holds his own knocking heads with taller players in the paint. And his dunks are physical, almost violent, and then he celebrates by screaming and flexing his muscles.
Sometimes, he does so with a little bit too much gusto. He's been teed up by refs when his emotions got away from him.
"He's had some impulse control issues," Jones said. "But Austin has made tremendous progress since he came to ODU.
"We've been trying to get him to think and not to be as emotional. When you see him on the court, he just leaves it all out there. But that's on the court, and that's not the real world.
"I think Austin needed a place like ODU. Coming to ODU has been very good for Austin Trice. He needed a place that can look beyond the frustrations he presented and kind of try to embrace him to reach his potential.
"He's been pushed aside at a lot of places. But we've been very patient with him. We saw the potential in him."
Both as a basketball player and a person. Jones said he's more concerned about putting Trice in a good position to succeed in life than on the court.
"He's matured so much and that's because of the discipline, the structure he's had here. You're trying to help them not just so they can go off someplace and play, not because they can just get their degree, but so they can mature as young men and be able to go out and be positive human beings."
Trice has surely been a positive influence in his short ODU basketball career. He played two seasons at Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Illinois, where he was a third-team All-American. He turned down scholarship offers from Illinois, New Mexico and Washington State and played for a season at Kansas State.
He showed a ton of promises at Kansas State but saw little playing time on a team whose frontcourt was loaded with talent. So, after a season, he entered the transfer portal and came to ODU.
Recruited by assistant coach John Richardson, he said he chose ODU because he thought it was the best place for him to mature and grow as a person.
"When I got to know the coaches, I saw the love they have for their players and for each other," he said.
As a senior last season, he was the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year, when he averaged 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds off the bench.
Because the NCAA granted all players an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, Trice got a do-over this season. Finally given a chance to start, Trice lived up to his great potential.
He's averaging 13.3 points and nine rebounds per game, but his output in his last 16 games has been phenomenal – 16.6 points and 12 rebounds per game. He's only one of two players averaging a double-double in Conference USA and is making almost 55 percent of his shots.
He's also one the league's best when it comes to intimidation. You know if you take the ball inside, he's going to challenge you. There are times when you look at him and think, man, he's a scary dude.
So, imagine my surprise when I sat down with Austin for an interview and found him to be an engaging, positive, soft-spoken and thoughtful guy who talked about his coaches, teammates and family with reverence.
I hope this doesn't offend him, but he seems like a very sweet guy. And the joyful way he plays basketball reminds me that there is a kid in every college athlete.
He can't say enough good things about his time here, especially when it comes to Jones.
"I know that man loves me to the core of his soul," Trice said of Jones. "And I would do anything for coach Jones."
Jones is tough on his players during games and in practice, but fans don't get to see Jones interacting with the players off the court.
"You don't see his soft side," Trice said. "And I've gotten to see his soft side. And that love he has for all of us.
"That man has done so many things for me. I'm forever in debt to him. I know I might get on his last nerve some days. But he knows when he gives me that look, I'm going to do what he wants me to do.
"It has been very hard for me to control my emotions. But at the same time, that's what comes with being responsible and being mature. I have such a raw passion for the game. But I learned that I have to be mature. If I get a technical when I'm dunking on somebody that could put me in foul trouble and put us in a bad position.
"Coach Jones just hammers in my head to continue to play with all of my raw emotion and passion but try to keep it controlled."
Chicago is a long way from home and his family, and that's been difficult, he said. His father, Wayne, works in the Cook County court system and mother, Dr. Regina Trice, is a counselor with the Chicago public schools.
Skylar and Avery, his younger siblings, were able to come to ODU last week with their mother to watch Trice score 23 points and pull down 15 rebounds in a blowout victory over FIU. But their trips to Norfolk have been few and far between.
"Not being able to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, that's been hard," he said. "It's tough being away from my family.
"But being at ODU allowed me to meet people I now call family. That's something you don't always find in life. To have genuine love for someone and know they love you back, that's the kind of relationships I have with my coaches and my teammates.
"We're all human beings. We have real life going on. There have been times when I've been real low and I've always had my teammates to fall back on, to give me a hug or tell me they've got my back. The group of guys and coaches here, you're lucky if you find people like that once in a lifetime."
Jones said Trice can have a future in professional basketball, though likely not in the NBA. "But sure, he could play and have a good career in Europe or South America," Jones said.
"There will be a lot of opportunities for Austin. It's about finding the right situation. He's a different player. He plays center for us and he's a little undersized.
"We've put him in great position to take advantage of his athleticism as an undersized guy. Somebody is going to see him and have to imagine him in a style of play that can take advantage of what he brings.
"But there's no question he can do it. He's so impactful. He needs to find a good agent, somebody with the right connections to find him the right place."
Trice is working on a master's degree in business but has no plans to use his degree in the near future. All he is focused on, he says, is playing professionally.
"I want to play basketball for the rest of my life," he said. "I'm at the age now (he's 24) where I know real life is coming.
"I've gotten to see a lot of guys go to the NBA, go to the G League or overseas. I've seen a lot of guys go out in the real world and get a job.
"Right now, I love basketball with everything in my heart. I can't see waking up without going to a gym, without going to a workout every day.
"I just hope and pray that God gives me a chance to play at another level."
Because of the pandemic, crowds at Chartway Arena were limited to no more than 250 last season. This season, he quickly won over ODU fans. When he came back to the bench after injuring his ankle in a recent game, fans applauded, and many stood.
His parents will be among those in the stands for Senior Day. It is also the final home game for A.J. Oliver II and C.J. Keyser
In case you're wondering, Monarch Nation, Trice has heard you. And he's going to miss you.
"I want to thank the fans for being with me here during my time at Old Dominion," he said.
"I wish it could never end. I'll be a Monarch the rest of my life. I can't thank everyone here enough.
"You had my back when I missed layups or missed free throws. I love the Monarch fans. They will always hold a special place in my heart."
Minium: Austin Trice has Played With His Emotions on His Sleeve for ODU Men's Basketball
