After yet another intense practice, Old Dominion basketball coach Blaine Taylor stood on the Constant Center court Thursday afternoon, holding a chart tracking hustle plays during the two-hour session.
Taylor recognized freshman Aaron Bacote for having a team-high 20 and acknowledged senior Nick Wright for his career-best 17. Nearby, senior DeShawn Painter, who had not charted as high, voluntarily ran extra sprints while his teammates headed to the locker room.
As the 1-8 Monarchs try to dig out from the program's worst start in Division I history, their "want-to" is palpable. The challenge facing the team is to negotiate the fine line between urgency and anxiousness, and to translate effort into results.
"You guys are so anxious to be good, you just need to slow down a little bit mentally," Taylor said at one point Thursday after stopping practice following a poorly executed play.
"It's not like the kids aren't trying," he said later. "Sometimes, they're trying too hard."
Be quick, but don't hurry, the late UCLA coach John Wooden famously said. The admonition applied as much to the mental as the physical.
As the losses have piled up, ODU's players must fight the urge to try to correct everything at once, Wright said recently.
"We keep thinking about the big picture and it's really messing up," he said. "We need to focus on the little things, cutting and screening and passing more."
ODU needs work in almost all phases. The Monarchs are shooting just 39.7 percent while allowing opponents to shoot 46.3. While customarily strong on the boards and pesky in the passing lanes, ODU has been lit up from 3-point range (opponents shoot 38.3 percent) and hasn't hit many itself (25.5 percent).
Making matters worse, the Monarchs are playing a non-conference schedule designed for a team seeking an at-large NCAA tournament bid - not one seeking a win, any win.
"The schedule was probably a little bit of a mismatch and we probably missed out on some opportunities," Taylor said.
A tough stretch continues tonight, when Central Florida (5-2) visits the Ted. The Conference USA short-timer - it departs for the Big East next year - beat ODU in Orlando a year ago.
With no chance to play for an NCAA automatic bid in its final year in the Colonial Athletic Association, ODU had no choice but to schedule ambitiously. Struggles that no one saw coming have turned a challenging schedule into one that could cause reasonable folks to wonder where the Monarchs' next win is coming from.
Following tonight's game, ODU plays the College of Charleston (5-3) on the road and Virginia (8-2) on a neutral court in Richmond.
"No rest for the weary," Taylor said. "We've got our work cut out for us."
Taylor recognized freshman Aaron Bacote for having a team-high 20 and acknowledged senior Nick Wright for his career-best 17. Nearby, senior DeShawn Painter, who had not charted as high, voluntarily ran extra sprints while his teammates headed to the locker room.
As the 1-8 Monarchs try to dig out from the program's worst start in Division I history, their "want-to" is palpable. The challenge facing the team is to negotiate the fine line between urgency and anxiousness, and to translate effort into results.
"You guys are so anxious to be good, you just need to slow down a little bit mentally," Taylor said at one point Thursday after stopping practice following a poorly executed play.
"It's not like the kids aren't trying," he said later. "Sometimes, they're trying too hard."
Be quick, but don't hurry, the late UCLA coach John Wooden famously said. The admonition applied as much to the mental as the physical.
As the losses have piled up, ODU's players must fight the urge to try to correct everything at once, Wright said recently.
"We keep thinking about the big picture and it's really messing up," he said. "We need to focus on the little things, cutting and screening and passing more."
ODU needs work in almost all phases. The Monarchs are shooting just 39.7 percent while allowing opponents to shoot 46.3. While customarily strong on the boards and pesky in the passing lanes, ODU has been lit up from 3-point range (opponents shoot 38.3 percent) and hasn't hit many itself (25.5 percent).
Making matters worse, the Monarchs are playing a non-conference schedule designed for a team seeking an at-large NCAA tournament bid - not one seeking a win, any win.
"The schedule was probably a little bit of a mismatch and we probably missed out on some opportunities," Taylor said.
A tough stretch continues tonight, when Central Florida (5-2) visits the Ted. The Conference USA short-timer - it departs for the Big East next year - beat ODU in Orlando a year ago.
With no chance to play for an NCAA automatic bid in its final year in the Colonial Athletic Association, ODU had no choice but to schedule ambitiously. Struggles that no one saw coming have turned a challenging schedule into one that could cause reasonable folks to wonder where the Monarchs' next win is coming from.
Following tonight's game, ODU plays the College of Charleston (5-3) on the road and Virginia (8-2) on a neutral court in Richmond.
"No rest for the weary," Taylor said. "We've got our work cut out for us."
