BH2O - I used the season statistics on the ODAC website.  They cut off various statistics at different points.  You can see them here:  http://www.odaconline.com/sports/wbkb/2011-12/statistics/confldrs.htm

I think the POY discussion is intriguing.  I tried to do my own analysis of several of the potential candidates in what I consider the major statistical categories.  I'm keeping the names out of it to start although it may be obvious who these various people are.  Here is what I found:

PLAYER 1:
Scoring: 1st
Rebounding (Overall/Offensive/Defensive):  NR/NR/NR
FG%: 15th
Assists: 10th
FT%: 1st
Steals: 1st
3FG%: 13th
Blocked shots: NR
Assist/TO ratio: NR
Minutes played: 9th

PLAYER 2:
Scoring: 2nd
Rebounding (Overall/Offensive/Defensive):  6th/12th/4th
FG%: NR
Assists: 1st
FT%: NR
Steals: 2nd
3FG%: NR
Blocked shots: NR
Assist/TO ratio: 5th
Minutes played: 1st

PLAYER 3:
Scoring: 3rd
Rebounding (Overall/Offensive/Defensive):  5th/9th/5th
FG%: 4th
Assists: NR
FT%: 12th
Steals: NR
3FG%: NR
Blocked shots: 1st
Assist/TO ratio: NR
Minutes played: NR

PLAYER 4:
Scoring: 5th
Rebounding (Overall/Offensive/Defensive):  NR/NR/NR
FG%: NR
Assists: 5th
FT%: 3rd
Steals: 5th
3FG%: 8th
Blocked shots: 13th
Assist/TO ratio: 3rd
Minutes played: 2nd

Given those stats here are my thoughts: First, Player 1 has impressive stats in the scoring department and the steals.  In general her other stats are lower than the other 3 candidates.  Player 2 is ranked pretty high in almost every major category.  Player 3 has good scoring, rebounding, and block numbers.  She is impressive like Player 1, but not nearly as complete as Player 2.  Player 4 actually has a very complete game as well with the exception of the rebounding statistics.  Next the intangibles come in to play.  Player 1 is Mullen from Bridgewater - clearly she has stepped up this year to fill some large shoes which is important to consider; however, Bridgewater was picked 3rd in the preseason poll and while a top 3 finish is in reach, it is going to be hard to catch up to those top teams.  Thus, it could be argued that Bridgewater has slightly underachieved this season based on the preseason polls.  Player 2 is Greene from Hollins.  Of the four players I chose to assess, her numbers are probably the most complete.  When looking at Hollins performance this season, they are sitting in 6th place after having been picked to finish 9th in the preseason poll.  The team is 8-10 overall, which is an impressive improvement from a rebuilding team that had 1 total win from 2006-2009.  Player 3 is Oglesby from Guilford.  She clearly is a special player, but her rebounding is on par with that of Greene, who is a point guard.  The intangible factor for Oglesby is the fact that Guilford is having such a fantastic season.  They were picked 2nd in the preseason poll and are living up to and arguably exceeding the high expectations for this team.  Player 4 is Roy from Randolph Macon.  I thought I would throw her into the mix, because even though some of her numbers are not as high as the others, she is a complete player who contributes to her team significantly in a variety of ways; however, Randolph Macon was picked to finish 1st in the conference and is uncharacteristically underachieving a bit, currently 5th in the standings.   

Lots of things to consider in the POY conversation.  I know Oglesby and Mullen have been mentioned as top candidates but its hard to dismiss Greene as being a front runner in that discussion as well. 

Bammer, I agree that it seemed like Hollins outhustled W&L for a lot of the game.  I also agree that W&L has had a tendency over the past few years to start off a little slower and get progressively better over the season.  I certainly hope that is the case again this year. 

On a different note, the comment made by Ralph Turner prompted me to do a little research on whether the win by Hollins is as much of an anomaly as he makes it seem.  In listening to the commentators last night on the webcast, they seemed to agree with Ralph Turner and considered this a major upset and one of the biggest wins in the last 10 years of Hollins basketball.  I do agree that this is a major win for the Hollins program.  But after a brief analysis of the team statistics this game does not actually seem too surprising.  I compared the W&L statistics for this game to their season statistics and they almost perfectly mirror their stats from their other 5 games.  Their free throw shooting was poorer, but I do not think enough FT's were taken for this to make a significant difference.  In looking at the Hollins stats, their FG% was better than their other games (44% vs 38%) but their 3FG% was significantly lower (23% vs 31%).  The most noticeable difference in their stats was their turnovers.  They had 10 against W&L and averaged around 19 TO's in their other games.  This may go back to Bammer's point of W&L needing to show more heart, specifically on the defensive end.  But, based on the season stats versus the stats in the game last night, it does appear that the outcome of the game was not necessarily all that surprising. 

I must admit that I was a little surprised by my analysis as this is strikingly different from Hollins teams in years past.  After looking at their schedule from this year though, three of their four losses have been by less than 5 points, including a loss to a Richard Stockton team that made it to the NCAA tournament last year.  Also, I was very impressed by a couple of the Hollins players.  Greene is one of the more dynamic and explosive players I have seen recently in the ODAC.  While she didn't put up many points, her statistics were impressive - 11 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals.  It will be interesting to see if she plays at that level throughout the course of the season.  It will also be fun to see Ingram and Greene battle it out again in the rematch. 

Anyway, while this may be a tough loss for the Generals to take heading into exams, I am optimistic that this will give them some motivation to work hard and put forth more effort in their next game against a tough CNU team.  I have no doubt that Coach King will refocus the team and have them playing at a higher level in a week and a half. 

It definitely was a tough day for the Generals yesterday.  Bammer, were you at the game?  I got to watch the game on the webcast, but obviously that is not the same as being there.  I'm just curious if you could tell what the strategy was from the bench.  It seemed like W&L had a difficult time finding an effective defensive strategy. 

jknezek - Congratulations on the twins!  I am sure you and your wife are excited about those additions to the family.  Also, you do make good points and I guess it is just difficult to know the extent of all these different factors on the small recruiting classes without having the insider information.  Interesting discussion nonetheless. 

Some exciting games in the ODAC today.  Great win by W&L against RMC.  I suspect the dramatic increase in offensive production by Ingram significantly impacted that outcome.  Also a surprisingly close game between E&H and Roanoke - despite the final score, the game was tied with about 5 minutes left.  Is anyone else surprised by the susceptibility of the traditional power houses so far this season?  I cannot remember the last time Roanoke started a season 0-4 and Randolph Macon 2-4. 

Early on EMU and Virginia Wesleyan seem to be the front runners in the conference.  How good Virginia Wesleyan is still remains to be seen as they have yet to face some of the tougher conference teams.  However, EMU has had some impressive early conference wins over Roanoke, RMC, and Bridgewater.  It will be fun to see Va Wes and EMU face off in a week. 

Two teams that are usually bottom-dwellers have had solid starts to their seasons as well - E&H and Hollins both seem to be more competitive than in years past.  It will be exciting to see if they are able to pull off some upsets this season. 

I agree that W&L is a great school and the longevity of their coaches is very impressive.  Clearly it is a great institution to be a part of with the sense of community, a strong administration, and the resources available. 

With regards to the recruiting discussion, I am sure that Coach King is no stranger to the challenges of finding recruits who are capable of playing at the high level required in her program, and who are strong enough academically to be admitted to the University.  As stated, she has been doing this for 9 years.  But I suspect the challenges have increased dramatically over the last couple of years with the establishment of the Johnson Scholarships.  The first class of Johnson Scholars was in 2008-2009 (current seniors) and the drop in recruiting has occurred since then.  As stated by the admissions office, "In the four years since the Johnson Program was announced, we have seen dramatic increases in the number of prospective students who request that their standardized test scores be sent to us and to Ivy League schools and other prestigious institutions.  For example, we have had a 50 percent increase in the number of score reports sent to us and to Harvard, and a 61 percent increase with Stanford."  There is no question that this increase in strong applicants is going to significantly impact the academic profile required for athletes, thus posing a greater challenge than earlier in Coach King's career.  With that said, I think it is fantastic that W&L is becoming a stronger academic institution and continuing to build on an already impressive reputation.

Also, I do not think that losing Coach Pyzik can be used as an excuse for the drop in incoming recruits.  With Coach Pyzik on staff during the 2009-2010 season, she helped recruit the incoming class for 2010-2011... one player, who is no longer on the team.  I am not trying to speak negatively of Coach Pyzik.  I have great respect for her and I believe she is going to be extremely successful at Lynchburg.  I simply want to make the point that I don't think the assistant coaching changes are impacting recruiting.   I think Coach King has battles in recruiting that are much greater than changes in coaching personnel. 

Aside from these other discussion topics, I am very excited to see how W&L does this season.  They have a very talented team, despite the low numbers, and I think they will be very competitive in the ODAC as long as they stay out of foul trouble in games.  They have great senior leadership and several players who can provide significant scoring.  The one thing I was curious to see this season is how Ingram would transition to being the primary ballhandler.  I have yet to see the team play this year, but her numbers have been a little lower than I anticipated.  I am sure there will be a bit of a transition period for her moving to more of a point guard role, but I suspect that she will soon regain her scoring production of the past couple of seasons.  Has anyone seen W&L play yet this season and have any thoughts on their performance thus far? 

While you all make very good points about the number of players at Washington and Lee, I have to disagree about the influence of the turnover in assistant coaches on the number of incoming players.  While assistant coaches obviously play a role in the recruiting process, a recruit is not choosing a school because of the assistant coach.  I think Coach King has many other obstacles that play a more significant role in bringing in players than the assistant coach situation.  It is not fair to compare her recruiting classes to those at EMU or really any other school in the ODAC.  The admissions standards at Washington and Lee are much higher than any other ODAC school.  It is also my understanding that coaches at Washington and Lee have no impact on admissions.  While other schools often allow coaches to have a "list" or "tips" for certain recruits, I do not believe that is the case at W&L.  Thus, Coach King is having to recruit students who are capable players and can meet the stringent admission standards.  She is most likely competing for recruits with Ivy league schools and other strong academic programs like those schools in the UAA and NESCAC, two of the traditionally strong DIII conferences.  I too have heard good things about Coach King but I suspect her challenges in recruiting will not end anytime soon.  Should she continue to bring in such small recruiting classes does anyone think she might pursue a position at another school where recruiting does not pose such a challenge?