THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 1997 TAG: 9702050672
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 88 lines
Basketball players who can't handle rejection must hate playing Old Dominion.
The Monarchs are on pace to set a school record for blocked shots. ODU's SWAT team consists of a foursome ranging in height from 6-foot-8 to 6-10 who have accounted for 138 of ODU's 155 blocked shots this season. Collectively, they take pride in being rejectors.
``You block three shots, that's six points you stopped,'' ODU center Reggie Bassette said. ``Blocking shots is like scoring. I'd rather have six points and eight blocks in a game than 12 points and two blocks.''
The Monarchs average a Colonial Athletic Association-best seven blocked shots per game. If they maintain that average, they will break the 21-year-old school record of 197 blocks set in 1975-76, ODU's last season in Division II.
With at least 12 games remaining, ODU is on pace to finish with 211 blocks. If the Monarchs can pick up the pace a bit - or hang around a while in the postseason - they could challenge the CAA record of 233 blocked shots set by Navy in 1986. David Robinson accounted for 207 of those as the Middies averaged 6.7 per game.
There is no Admiral to lead ODU, which does its shot swatting by committee. Senior forward Odell Hodge (2.6 per game) and sophomore Bassette (2.4) rank 1-2 in the CAA in blocked shots, but Hodge ranks just 23rd nationally. Sophomore reserves Cal Bowdler (.9, seventh CAA) and Skipper Youngblood (.6) also can be tough to shoot over.
``Blocking shots is fun, it's exciting and it can be a momentum swing,'' Hodge said. ``It starts our offense and our transition.''
The Monarchs don't teach shot blocking per se, but rather drill their post men to work on using angles and making opponents score over the big men inside.
``After that, it's all natural ability,'' said ODU assistant Mark Cline, who coaches the big men. ``Not many people get easy baskets around the goal on us.''
Actually, the Monarchs don't give up many easy baskets, period.
The Monarchs lead the CAA in field-goal-percentage defense at 38.7 percent. Prior to their recent slump, in which several teams shot a high percentage against ODU, the Monarchs ranked among the top 20 nationally in field-goal-percentage defense much of the season.
ODU also ranks third in the CAA in steals with nine per game. Guard Mike Byers (54) could challenge the school single-season record of 83 set nine years ago by Frank Smith.
ODU coach Jeff Capel probably has said 100 times this season that anything good that happens to his team happens because of defense.
``It all goes hand-in-hand,'' Capel said of the overall defensive proficiency. ``One of the reasons we're able to extend our defense on the perimeter is because we have confidence in the guys we have on the interior who can help us. We're not as concerned about a guy getting all the way to the basket uncontested.
``We're also doing a good job of altering shots. That stat's not kept. I think that's as important for us as the block itself.''
The Monarchs blocked 12 in their last outing against Richmond, the sixth time this season they have reached double figures. The high was 14 early in the season against UNC Charlotte. They got 10 in a losing effort two weeks ago against William and Mary, which will host ODU tonight at 7:30.
Shot blocking, Capel said, is size and timing. Jumping ability is not always a factor.
Witness Hodge, a 6-9 senior who rarely dunks but can swat shots by using timing and solid defensive positioning with his burly frame.
``Early in the season somebody said Odell's not a shot blocker, and that got Odell started,'' Bassette said.
Bassette, meanwhile, gets many of his blocks on help defense and sheer athletic ability. Against Virginia Commonwealth last month, he ran down a Ram on the fast break and smacked the attempted layup off the glass.
``You've got two opposite scenarios here with Reggie, who is super athletic, and then you've got Odell, who's not as athletic but leads the team in blocked shots,'' Bowdler said.
Hodge is third on ODU's career blocked-list with 260. He won't catch career leaders Mark West (446) or Wilson Washington (364).
Capel said although Hodge is ODU's best shot blocker, eventually Bassette should be better.
Bassette is still learning to play defense by moving his feet rather than allowing an opponent to go by him and then trying to smack away a shot. He still gets in foul trouble occasionally, but is a much better defender than he was as a freshman.
``Reggie is an intimidator,'' Capel said. ``As he grows into that body he's going to become, I think, one of the best shot blockers that have ever been here if he continues to develop. Reggie just has raw ability.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Vicki Cronis/The Virginian-Pilot<
[ODU's Skipper Youngblood swoops...]