NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Their Old Dominion teammates call them the trio.
Jaylen Ponder, Dalanna Carter and Riley Stack began their basketball bond as Chanticleers in the gym at Coastal Carolina.
"We met our freshman year in the summer," recalled Ponder. "Me and Dalanna, we shared a room, and then Riley, she was the one with the car so we ended up riding with her and we just built a bond from there."
"The gym was on campus," Stack added. "We were living off-campus so we had to drive to get the gym."
The three were teammates together in teal for two years, but after last season, they separately decided they needed a change of scenery. ODU and its coaching staff caught the eye of each player.
"Coach Delisha Milton-Jones, she played my position," pointed out Stack. "I was like, 'wow, my game can really expand,' so it definitely intrigued me for sure."
"Really Coach D," Ponder added. "Being coached by a pro, we are were like 'we need that.'"
"I always wanted to play here," Carter said, remembering a game at Chartway Arena as a visitor. "Knowing the background of Coach D and the coaching staff."
Each standout would eventually decide that Old Dominion was the place for them. But each came to that decision individually. There were no discussions about suiting up at the same school, no scheme to play for the same program, so discovering they would continue on as teammates at their next stop was a pleasant surprise.
"It was crazy," Stack said. "I had seen that Jaylen was going to go on a visit and I was like 'wow, I'm going on a visit as well.' Then Dalanna was like 'I'm going on a visit as well,' so it was so crazy how it happened."
"I think it's very unheard of," Carter exclaimed. "Three people from the same school coming to the same school again. It should be a flex."
Different jerseys, different surroundings, but the same familiar faces were there to help each other through. Each of the trio noted that having their longtime teammates with them made the transition to a new program and school easier.
"We definitely leaned on each other in times that we were struggling," said Carter.
"We'd be on each other 24-7," Ponder added. "We'd be like 'you gotta do this, you gotta do that,' and it makes us better."
"I had some [comfort] coming in here and knowing that if I have a bad day or if they have a bad day that we can lean on each other," Stack said.
It's the latest chapter in a journey together that will create lifelong memories. Their next step is helping the Monarchs to a late-season surge that can create some magic in March.
"As long as we continue to fight, overcome adversity and stay together, we're going to win games," Ponder predicted.
"Just being able to keep our chemistry going, keep the connection going, making sure that when we do face adversity, we do stay up, because sometimes we tend to crumble just a little bit," said Stack. "Just making sure that we stay together, talk to each other and just keep the connection going."
Old Dominion is back in action Saturday at home against James Madison. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
