Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball

The Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

They were the Division II national champions in 1975, champions of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament in 2009, and champions of the inaugural Vegas 16 in 2016. The team last played in the Division I NCAA tournament in 2019. The Monarchs are currently coached by Mike Jones.

History

Old Dominion University has enjoyed an impressive basketball tradition. Since fielding its first team in 1930, Old Dominion has won 1,240 games in 81 years, a winning percentage of .591. Founded in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary, the institution gained independence in 1962 and became Old Dominion College. In 1969, University status was granted and the name was changed to Old Dominion University. The Monarchs have been selected for postseason play 20 times since moving up to Division I in 1976–77, eight by the NCAA and ten by the NIT. Twenty-two players have been accorded All-American honors since 1958, including first team selections Wilson Washington (1975–76), Joel Copeland (1973–74) and Dave Twardzik (1972–73).

Early years

Tommy Scott was the first coach at Old Dominion. A 1930 Graduate of VMI, he coached the Old Dominion men's basketball team (then known as the Norfolk "Braves") for 10 seasons til 1940.He amassed a record of 84–83. Additionally, he coached the football, track, and baseball teams at Old Dominion. He retired from teaching and coaching in 1941 to pursue a business career. George Stirnweiss briefly coached Old Dominion for 2 seasons in the early 1940s, going just 4–29 during his tenure. Scrap Chandler followed as head coach of Old Dominion for 3 seasons going 27–24. The Old Dominion University Natatorium is named after Scrap Chandler. Old Dominion had two coaches in two years following Scrap Chandler in the mid-1940s. Julius Rubin and Jack Callahan went 14–8 and 21–8 respectively during their seasons.

Bud Metheny Era Bud Metheny came to Old Dominion in 1948 and served as the baseball coach from 1948 to 1980 and the head basketball coach from 1948 to 1965, compiling a 198–163 record and posting 16 winning seasons. His 198 wins were ultimately surpassed by Blaine Taylor on January 5, 2011. He also served as athletic director from 1963 to 1970.

Sonny Allen Era

Sonny Allen was named head coach at Old Dominion in 1965, following athletic director Bud Metheny’s outstanding career. In ten years, Allen led the Monarchs to 181 wins, and a second place national finish at the 1970 NCAA Division II championships. In 1975 his Monarchs took the ultimate prize with the Division II National Championship.

Paul Webb Era

Paul Webb took control in 1976–77 and led the Monarchs to the first NIT bid in program history. Webb successfully guided the Old Dominion program to one of the nation's premier Division I basketball programs. In nine seasons, Webb won 196 victories and took the Big Blue to eight national postseason tournaments. Webb reached the NCAA tournament three times and the NIT five times. He also won 2 conference titles during his time as head coach of Old Dominion.

Tom Young Era

In 1985, the reins were turned over to Tom Young and he guided the Monarchs to a 23–8 mark in 1986 and an NCAA bid. The Monarchs advanced to the second round for the first time ever. In 1987–88, Old Dominion was 18–12 and earned a NIT bid.

Oliver Purnell Era

In 1991–92, former captain Oliver Purnell returned to his alma mater and led Old Dominion to the CAA title and a trip to the NCAA. In 1993 and 1994 the Monarchs advanced to the second round of the NIT.

Jeff Capel Era

Jeff Capel took over in 1994–95 and guided the Monarchs to the second round of the NCAA after a stunning victory over third seed Villanova, 89–81 in triple overtime. Capel again guided Old Dominion to a CAA title and NCAA Tournament play in 1997.

Blaine Taylor

In April 2001, Blaine Taylor became the Monarchs fifth Division I head coach. He guided ODU to the school's most wins in a single season (28) in 2004–05, winning the CAA crown and advancing to the NCAA tournament. The following year, ODU won another 24 games and reached the semi-finals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden. The 2007 Monarchs won another 24 games and advanced to the NCAA tournament as an at-large team. In 2008, ODU reached the quarterfinals of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI). In 2008–09 the Monarchs won the championship of the inaugural College Insider.com tournament with a 25–10 record. In 2009–10, ODU captured its fifth CAA title andadvanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating sixth seeded Notre Dame, 51–50. In 2010–11, ODU won its second straight CAA crown and lost at the buzzer to Butler in the NCAA tournament. In 2011–12, ODU advanced to the Quarterfinals of the CIT.

Jeff Jones Era

Jeff Jones became the head coach of Old Dominion for the 2013–14 season. Jones' teams had a 203–131 record during his 11 seasons. Jeff Jones lead the Monarchs to the 2015 NIT Final Four, 2016 Vegas 16 championship, 2019 Conference USA Championship and the 2019 NCAA Tournament where they fell to eventual Elite 8 participant Purdue in the first round. After recovering from a heart attack suffered during the 2023–24 season, Jones announced his retirement from coaching following his resignation for the remainder of the season due to health issues. Special Assistant Head Coach Kieran Donohue remained as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

Mike Jones Era Old Dominion class of 1995 alumnus Mike Jones was named head coach of the Monarchs on March 1, 2024.

Coaches

Current coaching staff Mike Jones – Head Coach Jamal Robinson – Assistant Coach James Robinson – Assistant Coach Ryan Nadeau – Assistant Coach Matt Hamilton – Director of Basketball Operations/Player Personnel Jason Wade – Graduate Assistant Odell Hodge – Special Assistant to the Head Coach Aidan Brami – Video Coordinator/Assistant Director of Operations

Postseason results Division I NCAA tournament results The Monarchs have appeared in 12 Division I NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 3–12.

1980 First round UCLA L 74–87 1982 First round Wake Forest L 57–74 1985 First round SMU L 68–85 1986 First roundSecond Round West VirginiaDuke W 75–64 L 61–89 1992 First round Kentucky L 69–88 1995 First roundSecond Round VillanovaTulsa W 89–81 3OT L 52–65 1997 First round New Mexico L 55–59 2005 First round Michigan State L 81–89 2007 First round Butler L 46–57 2010 First roundSecond Round Notre DameBaylor W 51–50L 68–76 2011 Second Round Butler L 58–60 2019 First round Purdue L 48–61

*Following the introduction of the "First Four" round in 2011, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 were referred to as the second round and third round, respectively, from 2011 to 2015. Then from 2016 moving forward, the Round 64 and Round of 32 were called the First and Second rounds, as they were prior to 2011.

NCAA Tournament seeding history The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 NCAA tournament. Years'80'82'85'86'92'95'97'05'07'10'11'19Seeds910128151414121211914

Division II NCAA tournament results The Monarchs have appeared in six NCAA Men's Division II basketball tournaments. Their combined record is 14–7. They were national champions in 1975.

1969 Regional SemifinalsRegional Third Place OglethorpeNorfolk State L 60–68L 102–113 1971 Regional SemifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game StetsonNorfolk StatePuget SoundKentucky WesleyanEvansville W 89–65W 102–97W 81–80 OTW 97–83L 82–97 1973 Regional SemifinalsRegional Finals Fayetteville StateRoanoke W 80–74L 87–88 OT 1974 Regional SemifinalsRegional Finals RollinsNorfolk State W 80–77L 76–89 1975 Regional SemifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Game BaltimoreRandolph-MaconNorth DakotaTennessee StateNew Orleans W 95–72W 83–76W 78–62W 77–60W 76–74 1976 Regional SemifinalsRegional FinalsElite EightFinal FourNational Third Place James MadisonBaltimoreCheyneyPuget SoundEastern Illinois W 86–77W 73–58W 90–85L 78–83L 74–78

NIT results The Monarchs have appeared in 11 National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 11–11.

1977 First round Villanova L 68–71 1979 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinals WagnerClemsonPurdue W 83–81W 61–59L 59–67 1981 First round Georgia L 60–74 1983 First round South Carolina L 90–100 1984 First round Notre Dame L 62–67 1988 First round Ohio State L 73–86 1993 First roundSecond Round VCUMiami (OH) W 74–68L 58–60 1994 First roundSecond Round ManhattanBradley W 76–74L 75–79 1999 First roundSecond Round Seton HallButler W 75–56L 68–75 2006 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals ColoradoManhattanHofstraMichigan W 79–61W 70–66W 61–51L 43–66 2015 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Charleston SouthernIllinois StateMurray StateStanford W 65–56W 50–49W 72–69L 60–67

CBI results The Monarchs have appeared in two College Basketball Invitational. Their combined record is 3–2.

2008 First roundQuarterfinals RiderVirginia W 68–65L 68–71 2014 First roundQuarterfinalsSemifinals South Dakota StateRadfordFresno State W 72–65W 82–59L 64–71

CIT results The Monarchs have appeared in two CollegeInsider.com Tournaments. They were champions of the inaugural tournament in 2009. Their combined record is 6–1.

2009 First roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal The CitadelBelmontJames MadisonBradley W 67–59W 70–62W 81–43W 66–62 2012 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Coastal CarolinaUSC UpstateMercer W 68–66W 65–56L 73–79

Vegas 16 results The Monarchs appeared in, and won, the first and only Vegas 16. Their record was 3–0.

2016 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship game Tennessee TechUC Santa BarbaraOakland W 75–59W 64–49W 68–67

Chartway Arena

Since moving into Chartway Arena in 2002, the Old Dominion men's basketball team has experienced a high winning percentage with an outstanding home court advantage.

2002–03 8–6 82,742 5,910 #95 2003–04 11–4 85,424 5,695 #96 2004–05 14–1 90,327 6,021 #91 2005–06 14–1 103,725 6,915 #78 2006–07 15–2 105,851 6,227 #88 2007–08 13–4 114,857 6,756 #82 2008–09 16–3 114,911 6,048 #88 2009–10 15–0 104,930 6,995 #76 2010–11 14–2 123,922 7,745 #66 2011–12 11–6 128,563 7,142 #73 2012–13 2–15 112,335 6,608 #77 2013–14 12–6 104,008 5,778 #92 2014–15 20–0 140,072 7,004 #69 2015–16 11–4 112,604 7,037 #68 2016–17 11–4 98,590 6,572 #81 2017–18 12–2 88,851 6,346 #79 2018–19 14–2 105,916 6,620 2019–20 10–4 83,215 5,944 2020–21 9–1 2,500 250 2021–22 10–4 69,741 4,982 Overall 242–71 ()

Players

First team All-Americans 1972 Dave Twardzik 1974 Joel Copeland 1974–75 Gray Eubank 1976 Wilson Washington

Academic All-Americans 1974–75 Gray Eubank 1st. Team 1976 Dave Moyer Honorific Mention 1976 Reese Neyland 3rd. Team 1994 Kevin Larkin 3rd. Team 2006 Alex Loughton 3rd. Team

Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year 2010 Kent Bazemore

Retired numbers

Old Dominion Monarchs retired numbers No. Player Tenure No. ret. Ref. Leo Anthony 1958–1961 1961 Anthony bioI Never Saw Leo Anthony Play, But He Was Surely One of ODU's Greatest Players Ever By Harry Minium, March 29, 2019The Chieftain OD Yearbook 1961 Dave Twardzik 1969–1972 1972 ODU Great Dave Twardzik to Join Men's Basketball Broadcasting Team at ODU, November 4, 2013 Kent Bazemore 2008–2012 2016 Old Dominion Set to Retire Bazemore?s Jersey on Dec. 10th at VCU Game, October 21, 2016, at Odusports.com Joel Copeland 1974 Copeland bio Odell Hodge 1992–1997 2010 Odell Hodge at PilotOnline.com - February 12, 2010 Kenny Gattison 1982–1986 1992 Gattison bio at ODU sports Mark West 1979–1983 1984 West bio at ODU sports Wilson Washington 1974–1977 1978 Washington bio at nsuspartans.comWashington profile at ODU sports

Old Dominion University Hall of Fame members