GETTING INSIDE

Coach Blaine Taylor has built Old Dominion into the Colonial Conference preseason favorite.

Taylor, who is 161-94 in eight seasons at ODU, has patiently put his program together. He’s won 20 or more games in four of the past five years and is coming off a season in which his Monarchs won the Collegeinsiders.com Tournament.

“When building a program, you would like to get to the point where people look at the roster and say, ‘Hey, look out for these people, they will really be contenders this season and hard to beat,’” Taylor said. “I think our program is at that point.”

He comes into the season with five starters and several top reserves back.

He also has one of the conference’s star players in center Gerald Lee, who averaged 15.5 and 5.7 rebounds while earning All-CAA honors. The frontcourt is filled out by rugged rebounders Ben Finney and Frank Hassell.

Darius James and Marsharee Neely make up an experienced backcourt that doesn’t make mistakes.

“We have just two seniors, so we should be very good not only this year, but beyond,” Taylor said.

NOTES, QUOTES

• There are other higher profile programs in Virginia, but with 119 victories over the past five years, Old Dominion is the winningest team among the state’s Division I programs.

• Old Dominion, with C Gerald Lee and forwards Ben Finney and Frank Hassell all averaging better than five rebounds a game, finished 11th in the nation in rebounding margin last season with a plus-7 average.

• C Gerald Lee and Hofstra G Charles Jenkins were selected as preseason co-Players of the Year by a panel of coaches, sports information directors and media.

Last Year:   25-10 overall, 12-6, tied for third in CAA; won championship of Collegeinsiders.com Tournament.

Head Coach:   Blaine Taylor (career 303-159); ninth year at Old Dominion (161-94).

Quote To Note:   “Sometimes they’re fearful of what would happen if they don’t win. What I’ve tried to encourage schools to think is that beating us is a real feather in your cap, and losing to us doesn’t hurt you.”—Coach Blaine Taylor, on trying to get major conference schools to agree to play ODU.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Josh Hicks, a 6-2 freshman guard from Mount Tabor High in Winston-Salem, N.C., averaged 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 4.5 steals while leading his team to a 31-1 record and a state title. He was named third-team all-state by the Charlotte Observer. Anton Larsen is a 7-footer with strength out of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he was a member of the Danish National Team.

Key Early-season Games:   Old Dominion will challenge itself in a nice Thanksgiving tournament, traveling to San Diego for the South Padre Island Tournament. They play Missouri of the Big 12 in the opener and will meet either Mississippi State or rival Richmond in the next game, setting up the possibility of playing two consecutive games against the Spiders, who host ODU on Dec. 2. The league opener on Dec. 5 finds Old Dominion heading for Delaware. Games at Dayton and Georgetown highlight December.

Program Direction:   Coach Blaine Taylor has built a monster at Old Dominion, which should be favored for the conference championship for at least the next two years. They seem to have all the parts, and are recruiting strongly at the same time, filling needs.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Marsharee Neely, SG Darius James, PF Ben Finney, SF Frank Hassell, C Gerald Lee.

Roster Report:  

—C Gerald Lee surpassed 1,000 career points last year and finished the season with 1,160.

—F Frank Hassell won the MVP of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament last year with three consecutive double-doubles.

—Old Dominion placed three players on the Silver Anniversary All-CAA team—Odell Hodge, a two-time honorable mention All-American; Alex Loughton, CAA Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American in 2004-05, and Petey Sessoms, CAA Player of the Year in 1994-95.