“When I left home to go to college, in my four years there, I always say Jeff helped me grow from being a kid to a young man,” Solomon said after the loss.
OLD DOMINION GAME: Five takeaways | Photos | Game story | Davis blossoming
Jones was a four-year starter at Virginia and helped lead the Cavaliers to the Final Four in 1981. His college career ended in the 1981-82 season. Solomon’s career began in 1983-84, and he also played for one of Virginia’s great teams. The Cavaliers reached the Final Four when he was a freshman.
Solomon credited Jones for playing a big role in his development as a player and as a coach.
“He’s always been there for me,” Solomon said. “You stay in this business long enough you have bumps in the road. He’s talked me through some things in that direction as well.”
Old Dominion improved to 4-1 with their victory over Dayton (2-2) in the fifth-place game at TD Arena.
“He’s an excellent coach,” Solomon said. “His teams are always solid. You saw it today. Defensively, they’re sound. They have big guys. They work the glass. They’re very efficient offensively as well as defensively.”
OHIO GAME: Five takeaways | Jordan Davis steps up| Photos | Grant on Pierce
Injury update: Dayton guard Trey Landers wore a protective boot on his injured right ankle Sunday. He sprained the ankle Friday early in a 79-65 victory against Ohio. He said it was sore but was optimistic he would be back in action soon.
“We’ll reevaluate when we get back to town,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said, “and see what his status is.”
First impression: Freshman forward Matej Svoboda made his Dayton debut in Charleston. He averaged 3.0 points and 1.3 assists in 10.7 minutes per game. He made 4 of 10 3-pointers.
“I think right now he’s still in that process of kind of finding his rhythm,” Grant said. “He’s another guy we need to get going. We’re discovering our rotations as we go through this. I like some of the things we saw out of him. He’s a guy who as he progresses and learns can help us quite a bit.”
HOFSTRA GAME: Photos | Antetokounmpo stars | Five takeaways| Game story
Tournament results: Temple beat Clemson 67-60 in the championship game Sunday night.
Auburn beat Hofstra 89-78 in the third-place game. Like Nebraska last season in the Wooden Legacy, Hofstra beat Dayton in the first-round game and then lost its next two games.
Next tournament: In 2018, Dayton will play its in-season tournament in the Bahamas at the Battle 4 Atlantis. It's one of the strongest fields Dayton has ever seen. The other teams include Florida, Oklahoma, Virginia, Butler, Stanford, Wisconsin and Middle Tennessee State. Five of the eight teams played in the NCAA tournament in 2017.
About the Author
