By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – One thing appears certain this season for the Old Dominion men's basketball team – the Monarchs will play an up-tempo game.
ODU ran from the opening tip until the final buzzer with a starting lineup that had four guards and forward Dericko Williams and rolled past Virginia State, 80-59, Wednesday night at Chartway Arena.
As has become almost customary in the age of the transfer portal, more than half of the roster is filled with newcomers, including eight scholarship players. Because the Monarchs lack size, they will endeavor to get the ball out quickly and beat teams down the court.
"We have no choice," head coach Jeff Jones said. "You know last year we really only had two dribblers on the court at any one time. This year, we will have four most of the time."
Chaunce Jenkins, the 6-foot-4 guard from Newport News, led the Monarchs with 17 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes. Jenkins was ODU's best player last season and made the preseason All-Sun Belt team.
He likes the new-look offense.
"Running the ball is fun," he said. "I love it."
The game marked the first appearance at Chartway Arena for Vasean Allette, the highly-regarded, 6-3 freshman from Toronto. And although Jones said at times he tried to do too much, Allette impressed. He started and finished with 11 points, three assists and two steals.
Tyrone Williams, a 6-5 transfer from Oregon, who had nine points, including a swooping, one-handed dunk with 48 seconds left.
R.J. Blakney, a 6-6 guard transfer from Dayton, also played well. He scored 11 points and had four rebounds and two steals.
"I love all their games," Jones said of his newcomers.
Returning sophomore Bryce Baker, whom Jones said has made great progress, also had 11 points, and made three of six three-point shots.
The Monarchs shot well (48 percent) but were outrebounded, 43-42, by the Trojans, a Division II school from Ettrick, Virginia that plays in the CIAA.
There were some familiar faces on the Virginia State bench. Head coach Lonnie Blow Jr. played at Virginia Wesleyan and is a former ODU assistant and former ODU player Ricardo Marsh is one of Blow's assistant coaches.
Both received a nice ovation from the crowd of 4,657.
Virginia State, which was 17-11 last season, led 12-11 nearly eight minutes into the game before the Monarchs went on a 10-0 run and never trailed again. The Trojans gave the Monarchs a scare early in the second half, trimming the lead to 48-44, on a short jump by Tremere Brown.
But the Monarchs then ran off nine consecutive points and never allowed Virginia State within single digits again.
"I wasn't sure what to expect from this group," Jones said when asked about his team's progress. "And we went through a period a few weeks ago where I was concerned with how well we were progressing. I think the last three or four days we've made some significant improvement."
"I think we're right where we need to be now," Jenkins added. "I think we've got a lot of room for improvement. But everyone's confident. We're ready to get this thing started."
The Monarchs open Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. against Virginia Wesleyan at Chartway Arena.
The game will be preceded by the ODU women's basketball opener against Lincoln (PA) at 4 p.m.
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ODU Men's Basketball Team Runs Its Way to an 80-59 Victory over Virginia State in Exhibition Game
