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I also thought this one was going to be a gimme. I don't know about others but I'm pretty much with the school of thought that Coach Milton-Jones is not the answer. Recruiting has been really bad and we can't seem to play competitively with good programs. Before anyone comes for me, I did say "good" programs, and not "great" ones. If JMU, Marshall, etc. can field good squads in this day and age of NIL, why can't we?

I don't disagree with that but unfortunately she will do well enough to not get fired. Our best hope is that she catches fire for a season and gets a higher job offer. But in the meantime I hope she will be able to get us back on the trajectory that Coach Nikki had us on.

I will say the team certainly exceeded the expectations I had for them before the season started so that was a positive for sure.

(03-24-2024 08:33 PM)Justice2318 Wrote:  I don't disagree with that but unfortunately she will do well enough to not get fired. Our best hope is that she catches fire for a season and gets a higher job offer. But in the meantime I hope she will be able to get us back on the trajectory that Coach Nikki had us on.

I don’t see it happening. We’re going to get another slew of average JUCOs next year, none that can score or with a reputation, and that’s just the way it is. I told Wood the same after the embarrassing last JMU game.

When you take two players from a sub .500 JuCo team, you get this. We need better players. The staff isn't recruiting and hanging on to good players. My fear is she wins just enough every year.

JUCO and transfers from middling programs is not the answer for moving this team forward. The college landscape has changed a lot, but recruiting freshmen and developing them seems like a better avenue. I don’t see a rosy future for ODU under Milton-Jones.

(03-25-2024 07:07 AM)eastcoastDave Wrote:  JUCO and transfers from middling programs is not the answer for moving this team forward. The college landscape has changed a lot, but recruiting freshmen and developing them seems like a better avenue. I don’t see a rosy future for ODU under Milton-Jones.

Careful. You are going to stir up folks - the "accept that things are never going to be back to what they were" crowd. ODU is only going to climb as high as it aspires to be.

(03-25-2024 07:07 AM)eastcoastDave Wrote:  JUCO and transfers from middling programs is not the answer for moving this team forward. The college landscape has changed a lot, but recruiting freshmen and developing them seems like a better avenue. I don’t see a rosy future for ODU under Milton-Jones.

I just dont see that as an option for mid-majors any longer unless we dump all of our NIL money into women's hoops to keep the developed players. Which could be an actual strategy. Sacrifice mens hoops and football for a top 25 team for the women. I would think $500k could buy one of the best mid major women's rosters out there. If we want any nationally relevant team in a big 3 sport, that might be our best bet. But Im not willing to sacrifice competitive SB teams in football and mens hoops in hopes of a top 25 women's team.

(03-24-2024 08:33 PM)Justice2318 Wrote:  I don't disagree with that but unfortunately she will do well enough to not get fired. Our best hope is that she catches fire for a season and gets a higher job offer. But in the meantime I hope she will be able to get us back on the trajectory that Coach Nikki had us on.

Fired? Who said anything about that? Around here these types of results get you EXTENSIONS!

(03-25-2024 07:39 AM)odufansam Wrote:  

(03-25-2024 07:07 AM)eastcoastDave Wrote:  JUCO and transfers from middling programs is not the answer for moving this team forward. The college landscape has changed a lot, but recruiting freshmen and developing them seems like a better avenue. I don’t see a rosy future for ODU under Milton-Jones.

Careful. You are going to stir up folks - the "accept that things are never going to be back to what they were" crowd. ODU is only going to climb as high as it aspires to be.

This appears to be a major problem. The sense I get is that Wood, and the admin dont aspire to go very high. In athletics, and many other areas. Id argue the vision for what the school could become what much higher 20-30 years ago than now. We've let other options creep in and and change our trajectory rather than keep our place in the pecking order. Hopefully the influence of EMVS at ODU will help rectify this.

(03-25-2024 08:22 AM)monarx Wrote:  

(03-25-2024 07:39 AM)odufansam Wrote:  

(03-25-2024 07:07 AM)eastcoastDave Wrote:  JUCO and transfers from middling programs is not the answer for moving this team forward. The college landscape has changed a lot, but recruiting freshmen and developing them seems like a better avenue. I don’t see a rosy future for ODU under Milton-Jones.

Careful. You are going to stir up folks - the "accept that things are never going to be back to what they were" crowd. ODU is only going to climb as high as it aspires to be.

This appears to be a major problem. The sense I get is that Wood, and the admin dont aspire to go very high. In athletics, and many other areas. Id argue the vision for what the school could become what much higher 20-30 years ago than now. We've let other options creep in and and change our trajectory rather than keep our place in the pecking order. Hopefully the influence of EMVS at ODU will help rectify this.

At the end of the day "as high as it aspires to be" translates to "as high as the university is willing/able to spend" period. I agree that ODU should be, at least, in the same tier as their non-P5 VA school peers. If the NIL amount is not comparable, then that's the first thing that needs to be corrected. We all know that the ODU athletics budget & facilities are on par (if not higher) than that, so that's not the issue. Once those 2 things are set, then it's all personnel related.

We’re good in NIL. Need more middle class fans to join the fray to separate us from the rest but our major donors have done extremely well setting up the collective for success.

(03-25-2024 12:37 PM)Nukesquad Wrote:  

(03-25-2024 08:22 AM)monarx Wrote:  

(03-25-2024 07:39 AM)odufansam Wrote:  

(03-25-2024 07:07 AM)eastcoastDave Wrote:  JUCO and transfers from middling programs is not the answer for moving this team forward. The college landscape has changed a lot, but recruiting freshmen and developing them seems like a better avenue. I don’t see a rosy future for ODU under Milton-Jones.

Careful. You are going to stir up folks - the "accept that things are never going to be back to what they were" crowd. ODU is only going to climb as high as it aspires to be.

This appears to be a major problem. The sense I get is that Wood, and the admin dont aspire to go very high. In athletics, and many other areas. Id argue the vision for what the school could become what much higher 20-30 years ago than now. We've let other options creep in and and change our trajectory rather than keep our place in the pecking order. Hopefully the influence of EMVS at ODU will help rectify this.

At the end of the day "as high as it aspires to be" translates to "as high as the university is willing/able to spend" period. I agree that ODU should be, at least, in the same tier as their non-P5 VA school peers. If the NIL amount is not comparable, then that's the first thing that needs to be corrected. We all know that the ODU athletics budget & facilities are on par (if not higher) than that, so that's not the issue. Once those 2 things are set, then it's all personnel related.

We definitely need to be equal or better in NIL offers compared to Sun Belt, A10 and AAC teams, but once that happens (and it seems we are in decent shape now), the traditional selling points of schools come in to play as well. Quality of education, campus beauty, location, dining options, facilities, student life, school pride, community etc. The same things that any other student is looking for. It made me sad to read one poster on here had kids with nice scholarship offers to ODU, and turned them down to go to JMU sans money. So money alone, is not always enough. We need to keep improving across all fronts.