ODC Preview

The following was written by Adam Hynes

Well now that one ODC preview is up, why not have more? I mean, MDC basically had ESPN, CNN, FOX, CBS, Facebook, VCU’s Twitter jockeys and everyone in Michigan cover their games so another article for ODC can’t hurt at all. As most of you know, ODC will be held at a neutral location this year in my hometown of Newark OH. No homecourt advantage for any team should make for an interesting day of dodgeball, and on top of that, I was able to get a trophy back into the mix this year as well. Teams will be playing for that along with bragging rights for the year so I am more than excited for the 25th to come. Below I give some of my predictions for ODC this weekend along with a small team write up. I will go team by team against their match up for each prediction. In no particular order we start with:

Akron

Akron has a lot to prove at ODC. In my opinion, Akron can compete with most schools in this league with their strong OT 6. With that being said, the rest of the team needs to pick up the slack. Adam Pfeifer has a strong sense for the game of dodgeball and leads his team in the right direction. Basically having a walking handbook/head coach on the court is a strong advantage for Akron. Joey Stack and Colby Briceland both have nice arms for the Zips to depend on. Akron’s biggest problem is the fact that they forgot what a team throw is. The amount of single throws I witnessed at the Bobcat Bash was astounding and Akron won’t be winning many games playing like that. They had a great chance to take the WKU game into OT but single throws killed them. If they get that turned around, expect the Zips to have a LIT weekend at ODC.

OSU: This will be the first time this year Akron will play OSU. Ohio State being a young team, I believe that they will be able to handle the zips. Too much catching strength against Akron in this game and Akron has a tendency to single throw too much against teams. 3-1 OSU

BG:   Watching them play against BG at the Bobcat Bash I noticed that Akron did not have ball control at all for most of the games, and when they did, they proceeded to single throw against a strong catching team in BG. Once again, Akron does not play well against strong catching teams and BG has a minimum of 8 catchers on that team. 3-1 BG

Miami: Akron played them at the Bobcat Bash and handled them rather easily with a score of 5-1. Expect much of the same at ODC. Akron has more experience and more games under their belt this season against Miami. 4-0 Akron


Kent State

It is true what most people think of Kent State. This team has arm strength for days and it runs deeps to about 8 or 9 players. Having that many arms can truly wear down any team in the league. Albert Deperro, Logan Baird, and Mitch Aldridge make up some of their key power throwers for Kent. Even with that much offense their catching abilities aren’t too far behind either. However, Kent State can sometimes get stuck in a single throw mindset to just overpower teams. That will not work in big games and it showed when they played CMU throwing many easy catches. If Kent works on teams throws with all of their arm strength, the ODC trophy is that much closer to their grasp.

OSU: Starting out strong in the day and which in my opinion the winner of this game will have the best chance of winning the cup this year. Kent State is loaded with arm strength and decent level of catching. Against a young Ohio State team, I believe that this game will be close but I have to give the edge to Kent State. 3-2 Kent

OU: Usually defense wins games with OU being a decent team at catching, but I do not believe OU has nearly enough offense to keep up with the arm strength of Kent. Kent can also catch well and has a lot more experience than the young second year program in Ohio. 3-0 Kent

Marietta: First tourney of the year for them so Kent should have a chance to rest their top level players. Will be exciting to see Marietta play regardless of the outcome. 5-0 Kent



Baldwin Wallace

BW impressed me while I watched them play at the Bobcat Bash. I was not expecting to see so many flashes of great play from them playing against Miami. Connor Rigsby has a seriously strong arm for BW and they will need him to play great on Saturday if they are looking to pick up multiple wins. Their inexperience will hurt them since they practically have a new team, but the game experience will serve them well going forward. They have a great schedule ahead of them and I am excited to see what all they can do!

Miami: I am excited to watch this game again! At the Bobcat Bash it seemed that BW had this game wrapped up but Miami started to make a small bit of comeback and made the game exciting. This game could go either way but watching Connor Rigsby play, I did not realize this man had a cannon for an arm. For that reason, I believe BW will take this in a close rematch. 3-2 BW

Cleveland State: Have to go with BW on this one, just have more experience and playing against a brand-new team in Cleveland State. Should be fun to watch but expect BW to get the victory in this one. 4-0 BW

OU: These teams have not played each other this year and should be a good game to watch. Watching BW play at the Bobcat Bash they have a few good arms on their team, however once they are off the court the team usually does not last long behind that either. OU is a better catching team than BW so I expect OU to take this game with their catching ability. 3-0 OU



Cleveland State

First tourney for this brand new team in the NCDA and what a more perfect one to play in. They will be playing brand new teams and looking to get quality playing experience under their belt. I do not know much about this team but I do know they have former NCDA players on their team in Matt Klembara and Alan Wardeiner. Any type of NCDA experience will do them a world of good moving forward in the league.

Marietta: Man I don’t know about you but I am really excited to see these two teams play each other. First tourney of the year, first game of the year and first match in program history. One of these two squads will walk away with a victory for their first game ever. I am not sure who will win this game but I hope it does not turn into a UNG vs GSU blowout introduction match up. 2-1 ???

BW: BW has more experience and strong arms against a CSU team that has zero game experience. This should go BW’s way easily. 3-0 BW

Miami: This will be an exciting game to watch as both teams are new this year to the league (with Miami making a comeback again). With that being said, experience wins games and I have to side with Miami picking up their first “W” of the year. 4-1 Miami


Bowling Green State University

The Bowling Green Falcons this year should be surprising people; A LOT of people at that too. Watching this team play at the Bobcat Bash was crazy. They looked like they could beat anyone that day. Bowling Green this year is deep in the amount of people that can catch and that will help them greatly in any match. Montag Genser, Tyler Broyles, and Reid Manger only highlight a few of the top catchers for this team. Reid Manger is only a sophomore for BG and I can tell everyone now, do not sleep on this kid when it comes to his catching ability, he will make you pay catch after catch. Everyone knows about Tyrell’s throwing ability, but paired with the deep talent in catching, they have a seriously good chance of winning ODC as anyone else. Bowling Green’s biggest problem is that they play well depending on who shows up for their team on gameday in terms of roster. If that same team who showed up last tourney plays for them, look for BG to have a great chance to take home the trophy.

OU: This match up was exciting to watch the first two times these teams played each other with both ending in OT and BG being the eventually winner. Last match up was not the case at all with BG shutting out the Bobcats on their home floor with a score of 3-0. BG is on a hot streak right now and not looking to cool down. For that, I lean towards the Falcons 3-1 BG

OSU: This could be another possible match up of the day with both teams playing similar styles. Even though the Buckeyes are young, they are still extremely talented and the Falcons are playing some of their best dodgeball in years. Both teams can catch and throw very well. I’m stuck in the middle of this one but I will go with history and lean towards OSU with an overtime victory. 3-2 OT OSU

Akron: BG has had Akron’s number all year so far and I do not see that changing anytime soon. BG is playing too well for Akron to handle and that showed at the Bobcat Bash with 4-0 score. I do not think it will be the same score as that but the victor will remain the same. 3-1 BG



Ohio University

Being part of a young team is quite refreshing and very enjoyable for me entering my 5th year of dodgeball. Along with that, I have witnessed first-hand how much this team has truly improved over the season. Ohio has had moments where it seemed that they can compete with anyone and catch literally everything thrown their way. Other times the youth of the team is extremely noticeable too. Besides Caleb, this team has a crazy amount of talent on it. Zach Howman has a strong arm and great catching abilities for the bobcats along with Kyle Smart who is one of the most difficult individuals to get out on the court. One of the Bobcats OT 6 members is a freshman named Dusty Moell who uses his speed and deceptively strong arm to get kills on opponents; more importantly he made the OT roster as a freshman! Good things will continue to come to the Bobcats going toward the future. If Ohio can play with the determination and passion they did at Penn State, they can surprise everyone at ODC too.

BG: Like I stated previously, this was an exciting match up until the last tourney with BG shutting them out. OU is a young team that has shown that they can compete with anyone in the league but are currently going through a rough patch with games the last two tourneys. Look for BG to start off the day hot against OU. 3-1 BG

Kent State: Kent State has a lot of arm strength at their disposal and can out throw any team at ODC this year. Look for them to do that against OU. 3-1 Kent

BW: OU’s best ability as a team is catching and I believe that they will do that against a young BW team. OU has more game experience and has played higher caliber teams at the moment. 4-0 OU


Miami University

Oh Miami, I won’t forget about you in this article unlike how some people might of with the last tourney you played in. You all are special and just as important as everyone else too. Anyway, this team is extremely young but them have a few athletes on this team I was not expecting to see at all. Kyle Shaw is continuing to develop his roles as a leader and player for Miami and they have three or four people they depend on to carry this team to victories. I wish I knew the names of those players I played at Ohio but the future is bright for the Redhawks.

Marietta: I expect Miami to be handle this game rather easily. Miami is hungry and looking for their first W of the year and it will come in this tourney. 4-0 Miami

Cleveland State: Same as Marietta, more experience with Miami and this could be their second victory on the day. 4-1 Miami

Baldwin Wallace: I am still really excited to see this match up again after the Bobcat bash but I do not see much changing. But with that being said, I’m ok with being wrong too. 3-2 BW

Akron: Akron has way too much talent against this young Miami team. Expect much of the same as stated previously. 4-0 Akron



THE Ohio State University

Let me be the first to say that I am really happy to see Ohio State be able to play at a ODC tournament for the first time in two years. I am also excited to see how their first game of the tourney against Kent State. Ohio State is a young team but they still can compete with anyone in the league. When they went to the BEAST tournament they played each game extremely competitively with only 12 players. Yes, they lost every game but not by a wide margin at all. They want this trophy as bad as everyone else so I am expecting them to bring a full roster with having the shortest drive time of any team attending the tourney. Is this the year that the Buckeyes bring home the trophy or will their youth be the reason they do not perform well?

Kent: Like I stated previously, the winner of this game will have a much higher chance of walking away 2016 ODC champions in my opinion. Being a young team and going up against the hardest throwing team in Ohio, I still give the advantage to Kent. I really hope this game goes into OT. 3-2 Kent

BG: Like I stated earlier, even though I am a BGSU alumnus too, I have to side with history and give the Buckeyes the nod for the victory. I still predict this game going into OT and it will be exciting to watch. 3-2 OT OSU

Akron: First match up of the year for these two schools and great talent going to be on display for the league to watch. Akron has been wanting to play OSU all year and being the nice, kind, handsome and gracious host I am, I wanted to see it myself. If Akron can learn to team throw it might be an interesting game. However, I think OSU is still far talented compared to the Zips. 3-0 OSU


Marietta College

I do not know much about this team either but I do know Tom Farish is ready to bring his team to play at ODC too. They are young and this is a perfect tourney to start their program at. Playing other new teams in the league along with an experienced team will serve them greatly moving forward in the league.

Cleveland State: This should be a good game for both sides being their first ever dodgeball match. I am still undecided as to who could win but will be great experience starting out the day at ODC. 2-1 ???

Miami: Miami is looking to pick up wins this season and one of those wins will most likely come against Marietta College. Hopefully it will be a close game but I do not see that being the case. 4-0 Miami

Kent State: I do not expect much to happen in this game but for this to be experience to use going forward for Marietta College. Kent 5-0


Bold Predictions!!!

  1. OSU shuts out Kent State 3-0
  2. BGSU wins ODC only giving up one point on the day
  3. Miami goes 3-1 on the day
  4. Akron def OSU 2-1 OT

 

Final Thoughts

This year ODC will be one for the record books. Nine teams in attendance, new trophy on the line, and all being played at neutral location. There is really no clear cut favorite to win the ODC and that there are 3-4 teams that could bring home the trophy this year. Going to be a great day of dodgeball for the league as a whole.

The league is growing more and more every day and it shows with Ohio having nine teams. We have more teams than any other state currently and I would not be surprised to see it keep growing too. I hope we can serve as an example and standard for other states to see how Ohio went from 4 teams to 9 over the years. If we can do it, anyone can. I leave you all with this thought, the competition level at ODC will be exciting to watch and give everyone a true understanding of how Ohio looks as a whole.

Author: Kevin Bailey

Current NCDA Chief of Content. Former Captain for Grand Valley State University (#4).

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