Purnell is going home tonight and is pissed off about last years game.
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UD coach to face alma mater tonight
By Bucky Albers
e-mail address: bucky_albers@coxohio.com
Dayton Daily News
NORFOLK, Va. | Tonight Oliver Purnell returns to some familiar territory ? but not a familiar facility ? when he sends his University of Dayton basketball team into battle against Old Dominion University.
Purnell is an ODU graduate who starred for the school's basketball team in the mid-1970s and has been inducted in the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Later, he was an assistant coach and head coach of the Monarchs. He had completed his third year as ODU's coach in 1994 when UD Director of Athletics Ted Kissell lured him away from the coastal area he had grown to love.
This will be his first time back at ODU as a coach, and he said he was expecting to have some nostalgic moments Thursday afternoon when he returned to the campus for UD's practice session. Other than that, he said, it's like any other road trip.
But it would be incorrect to say this is just another game for Purnell. He hasn't forgotten the December day two years ago when a struggling ODU team visited UD Arena and upset the Flyers, 81-76. It was one of Purnell's most painful losses at Dayton.
"That was a very tough one because I was embarrassed by the way we played," Purnell said Thursday. "I do care about what the people around the ODU program think, and I didn't feel like we played hard."
ODU finished 13-18 that season, and coach Jeff Capel was fired. He was replaced by Blaine Taylor, a former head coach at Montana who assisted Mike Montgomery at Stanford for three years.
Purnell hopes for a much different result in the UD-ODU rematch. Once again, the Flyers bring a better record into the game (Old Dominion is 2-4), but two of the Monarchs? losses came to North Carolina and 6-0 Saint Joseph?s.
The stars of the ODU team are senior forwards Ricardo Marsh and Rasheed Wright, who participated in that victory at Dayton two years ago. Marsh, a 6-foot-8, 240-pounder, is averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. The 6-5 Wright is averaging 15.7 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Isaiah Hunter also has been playing well for the Monarchs.
Like Dayton, ODU has outrebounded its opponents decisively. The Monarchs have a 104-60 edge on the offensive backboards, which suggests that the Flyers should concentrate on boxing out. On the other hand, the Monarchs have not been good shooters. Their field goal percentage is .385.
Dayton is coming off an impressive 80-65 victory over Ball State Tuesday night when junior point guard Ramod Marshall broke out of a shooting slump to tie his career-high in points with 23 and hand out a career-high 10 assists.
"He played superbly," Purnell said. "Any time you have a 10-0 assist-to-turnover ratio, that's pretty good. And he did a nice job of guarding (Matt) McCollom in the second half. He didn't allow him to penetrate."
Although the guard tandem of Marshall and Mark Jones has not put up impressive numbers, Purnell has not considered switching them back to their positions of last season.
"I think he (Marshall) is our best point guard," Purnell said. "One of my big concerns going into the season was how we would handle pressure."
Contact Bucky Albers at 225-2412 or bucky_albers@coxohio.com
[From the Dayton Daily News: 12.20.2002]
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Get Local Deals! Coaches talk Lasik w/Dr. Stahl
Win cash for the holidays! Click here to enter
UD coach to face alma mater tonight
By Bucky Albers
e-mail address: bucky_albers@coxohio.com
Dayton Daily News
NORFOLK, Va. | Tonight Oliver Purnell returns to some familiar territory ? but not a familiar facility ? when he sends his University of Dayton basketball team into battle against Old Dominion University.
Purnell is an ODU graduate who starred for the school's basketball team in the mid-1970s and has been inducted in the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Later, he was an assistant coach and head coach of the Monarchs. He had completed his third year as ODU's coach in 1994 when UD Director of Athletics Ted Kissell lured him away from the coastal area he had grown to love.
This will be his first time back at ODU as a coach, and he said he was expecting to have some nostalgic moments Thursday afternoon when he returned to the campus for UD's practice session. Other than that, he said, it's like any other road trip.
But it would be incorrect to say this is just another game for Purnell. He hasn't forgotten the December day two years ago when a struggling ODU team visited UD Arena and upset the Flyers, 81-76. It was one of Purnell's most painful losses at Dayton.
"That was a very tough one because I was embarrassed by the way we played," Purnell said Thursday. "I do care about what the people around the ODU program think, and I didn't feel like we played hard."
ODU finished 13-18 that season, and coach Jeff Capel was fired. He was replaced by Blaine Taylor, a former head coach at Montana who assisted Mike Montgomery at Stanford for three years.
Purnell hopes for a much different result in the UD-ODU rematch. Once again, the Flyers bring a better record into the game (Old Dominion is 2-4), but two of the Monarchs? losses came to North Carolina and 6-0 Saint Joseph?s.
The stars of the ODU team are senior forwards Ricardo Marsh and Rasheed Wright, who participated in that victory at Dayton two years ago. Marsh, a 6-foot-8, 240-pounder, is averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. The 6-5 Wright is averaging 15.7 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Isaiah Hunter also has been playing well for the Monarchs.
Like Dayton, ODU has outrebounded its opponents decisively. The Monarchs have a 104-60 edge on the offensive backboards, which suggests that the Flyers should concentrate on boxing out. On the other hand, the Monarchs have not been good shooters. Their field goal percentage is .385.
Dayton is coming off an impressive 80-65 victory over Ball State Tuesday night when junior point guard Ramod Marshall broke out of a shooting slump to tie his career-high in points with 23 and hand out a career-high 10 assists.
"He played superbly," Purnell said. "Any time you have a 10-0 assist-to-turnover ratio, that's pretty good. And he did a nice job of guarding (Matt) McCollom in the second half. He didn't allow him to penetrate."
Although the guard tandem of Marshall and Mark Jones has not put up impressive numbers, Purnell has not considered switching them back to their positions of last season.
"I think he (Marshall) is our best point guard," Purnell said. "One of my big concerns going into the season was how we would handle pressure."
Contact Bucky Albers at 225-2412 or bucky_albers@coxohio.com
[From the Dayton Daily News: 12.20.2002]
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