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Kuwait – Dave Odom, University of South Carolina head basketball coach, and his Camp Patriot “All-N-One” basketball team go undefeated in pool play at 3-0 and head into the single elimination Operation Hardwood II Basketball Tournament as the top seed and one of the favorites to win the championship.

Even with a first-round bye, to win the tournament, Odom’s team will have to win three games in one day to take the title and be crowned Kuwait’s top military team. Odom’s team defeated three quality teams in pool play, including teams coached by Maryland head coach Gary Williams, Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

All-N-One plays the Camp Virginia “Scorpions” coached by Mark Gottfried, University of Alabama, in the quarterfinals Sunday. If they win that game, they will play in the much anticipated game against the undefeated Camp Arifjan “Heat” coached by Tubby Smith, University of Kentucky for the chance to play in the championship game.

“We have the best ability and most experience in the tournament,” Odom said. “But with experience it means we’re older which could be a problem area in multiple games.”

That was the case for Odom’s two contests Friday in which they opened big leads only to let the other team crawl back into the game.

“We start out quick, but as the game goes on we seem to wear out,” Odom said.

In the last game of the night, Odom’s team won 37-35 on the final shot over the Camp Buehring “Bulldogs” coached by Bilas.

Odom’s team opened the game fast scoring the first 10 points. But Bilas and his Camp Buehring “Bulldogs” fought their way back into the game and took the lead with two minutes remaining in the game.

All-N-One then tied it with one minute left and after a Bulldog’s turnover, Odom called a timeout and told his team to hold the ball for the last shot.

On that possession All-N-One point guard Roch Bowdelon drove into the lane, made the defense collapse and found an open teammate for the winning score.

“My man was reaching, and I got a good first step on him,” Bowdelon said. “I made another defender commit and I dished the ball off to a teammate for a layup.”

In the earlier game against Sampson, who coaches the #4 seeded Camp Arifjan “Renegades” team, All-N-One was up 18 points at one point in the first half. The Renegades rallied in the second half but couldn’t quite catch All-N-One who won 59-53.

Odom’s team had a day of rest today, but Odom had his team out on the outside basketball courts practicing offensive sets against the man-to-man defense, working on their zone defense and improving their full court press. After a few days of working together, Odom has won the confidence of his players going into the tournament.

Micheal Sloan, All-N-One’s shooting guard and leading scorer in all three games said he is confident going into the tournament.

“We learn basketball “period” from Coach Odom,” Sloan said. “He told us that great players make the game simple.”

“We are looking to him to see what’s next,” Bowdelon added.

Bowdelon, who played basketball at Bossier Parish Community College and Southern Arkansas University, said that when he heard of all the big name coaches that were coming over here, Odom wasn’t a name that rang a bell.

But now after playing under Odom, Bowdelon said he wouldn’t trade Odom for any of the other coaches.

“You can tell he knows the game of basketball by the way he presents himself and interacts with the players,” Bowdelon said.

Also a Louisiana State fan, Bowdelon went on the say that when LSU isn’t playing he’ll be rooting for the Gamecocks.