Accountability

Roughly on January 1st, I wrote a blog about how I wished to lose weight. I pined about how i was going to eat healthy and work out more and get in tip top shape. Guess what? I did not lose any weight. I look back now and reflect on why I didn't get in shape, it all comes down to one word... "accountability". Mainly the fact that I had none. No one to push me into the gym on the days i didn't want to go. No one to ask me if i was sticking to my diet. No one to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Now think about all the other portions of your life. Your relationships, your work...are you accountable in those? How about your spiritual walk? Who are you accountable to? Sure you can have intentions on reading the bible more...of growing in your spiritual walk. But who is the person that pushes you when you need it? I find i fail at doing things on my own. Its a necessity for me to walk through life with accountability.

Shock and Awe

Shock and Awe...roughly my reaction to getting to meet my favorite band in person for the first time. On sunday, I got to meet all the guys of RED and chill on their tour bus for the RED Acoustic Experience. Since I'm sure RED doesn't me spoiling all the goodness I will simply say it is well worth the money to attend. The guys were definitely chill and joked around with the entire group of 6 that got to attend this experience.The RED guys rocked out the start of Winterjam and judging by the line at their merch table throughout the night it seems like they made some new fans.

But one thing bothered me....throughout the night I heard people judging the band for the style of music they play. This shocked me. Do we really believe God is limited to a particular style of praise? I feel God desires glory and we should give it to him. He tells us to make a loud noise and fill the earth with song...no matter whether that be rock, hip-hop, heavy metal, or pop. In the end, as long as the object of our affection is God, the style of our music should not matter.

Here's the bracket

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Not saying its perfect. I like ODU to get to Sweet Sixteen this year but i can't honestly put us past KSU. I stayed prettty true to the numbers in seeding.

Also, lets play a game of blind resume. In this game we look at three teams resumes and decide which team deserves to be in the tourni:

Team A: 21-11 ( 9-7), RPI: 60, SOS: 88
Team B: 23-11 (12-6), RPI: 53, SOS: 87
Team C: 21-13 ( 8-8), RPI: 65, SOS: 68
Team D: 22-8 (12-4), RPI: 30, SOS: 76

Guess what? Team B with the better in Conference record and RPI is VCU. Team C does have a harder strength of schedule but loss more games and did worse in Conference...that team is the Colorado Buffoloes. Team D is the UAB Blazers who everyone is complaining about...and team A? the one no one would choose of those 4? The one with the easiest SOS? That would be VT. Don't give me that VT got robbed.

ODU Monarchs 2011-2012

As ODU just punched its ticket to the big dance, i can't help but start looking forward to next year...and honestly I'm scared. For the first time in a the time I've been at ODU, the question "where will the points come from?" is a valid concern. Here's a look at ODU's line-up for next year and what we'll need from each of them.

Nick Wright Nick needs to get physical and quick. Right now he has a little too much panic in the post. He needs to calm down, go through his reads and make smart decisions.
Josh Hicks Josh is a combo guard who is suppose to be very good from Outside. Haven't seen a ton from him this year but we'll need him to step up in a big way soon.
Dimitri Batten Dimitri Redshirted this year and will likely step into the Josh Hicks role...meaning he gets meaningless minutes at the end of games to prove his metal.
Trian Iliadis Trian needs consistency. Trian took a big step up in his game showing less fear and scoring more points for it. Now if we can get a consistent 10+ points from him.
Chris Cooper Coop needs to be dominate inside. Work on developing your offense to the basket.
Marquel De Lancey -Likely to start splitting time with Donte Hill, we need Marquel to play smart and pass well. Also continue to work on the jumper.
Richard Ross or as I like to call him, mini-Baze. This guy is EXPLOSIVE. He needs to follow the Bazemore model and work on his jump shot. I see Ross as a breakout guy for ODU next year.
Kent Bazemore Baze has got to be the preseason CAA player of the year...and he's going to need to earn that title throughout the season if ODU is to do well.
Anton Larsen Anton will provide Nick Wright duty this coming year meaning he will play every game and will need to play with energy. Learn to grab rebounds and you'll be cheered for years.
Jason Pimentel Probably going to be redshirted but he is obviously the upcoming replacement for Frank
Breon Key Probably going to be redshirted but he is obviously the upcoming replacement for Finney
Donte Hill- Donte is a transfer from Clemson(the first transfer in Blaine Taylor's history). Hopefully Donte brings that ACC athleticism and attacks the basket while maintaining good vision of the floor