I'm not a basketball expert so I really don't have much to offer, but point blank we aren't fundamentally sound. We miss way too many free throws, turn the ball over too much and worst of all aren't clutch.
i couldn't agree with you more. layups, layups, layups.
ugh. i don't know why but vt basketball gets me more worked up than football. maybe because i used to play basketball and know what it takes where as i have never played football...don't know, but our basketball team is damn frustrating.
We are getting better post play from Davila, that's a start. Last year I felt like he handled every single pass like he had steaks taped to his hands.
For Malc, I have no idea what it is. Pressure to perform, having to carry the team on his back, frequent line-up changes, etc. Where was he tonight driving in the lane, or pulling up, or drawing the foul? If a huge chunk of his game is getting to the free throw line, then get to the damn free throw line. I was real disappointed that he couldn't finish his layups tonight.
Glad Eric Green is better. I used to hate when #11 had the ball in any meaningful possession. Good to see Raines out there too, but there is little to any production even from these bench guys (realizing that Raines has been out thus far).
I thought we looked OK on the boards, but there was a ton of sloppy play. Not counting Malc's big DERP moment at the end, how many half-court passes were thrown by JuJu Clayton tonight? Even the manageable ones were mishandled (looking at you Zo).
I refuse to believe that the one thing keeping this team from being great and having several huge RPI wins in an injury to JT Thompson (and Allen Chaney, who is more of an unknown though hyped commodity).
I agree as well about the missed layups and missed free throws. Those are basically free points that we aren't converting. A lot of guys were just standing around watching either Delaney or Green dribble the ball up the court. We take too many three's (although we did a little better tonight) when we need to go inside to Allen. On Defense, we basically don't guard the perimeter at all. Whoever number 0 was for Purdue was wide open on the wing at least 5 different times and made at least 3 of those three pointers. It's really a shame when there are 4 seniors on the court and we can't win these big games. According to Kyle Tucker, he talked to Greenberg about Hudson's slump. He said "he couldn't condition this summer with a foot injury, got overweight, working his way back." Injuries are killing us right now. It's good to see Raines back on the court though. We really miss J.T. Thompson, and Chaney would be nice to have as well. It's basically a mixture of all of that plus unforced turnovers. Most of this is inexcusable.
Have we ever gotten a bucket out of a timeout? Greenberg does not get enough blame. Yes, he's done a great job of making the program relevant and recruiting but I'm convinced he's not capable of taking us to the next level. He is awful with X's and O's. My freshman year I went to Columbus with the team as they went to the tournament because I said to myself it will probably be my only opportunity. I think I was right. Thank god I went.
to intelligently criticize him him, but I see the trends. He's a tremendous recruiter, but can't get it done on the floor. What baffles me most is everyone kills Frank and Stiney and all they do is win with 3 to 4 star talent, yet it seems like Seth gets a pass. I personally think if he misses the tournament this year Weaver will make a change.
a) he is a great recruiter.
b) he knows the x's and o's better than you realize.
c) it would cost too much money to fire him.
d) weaver hasn't fired beth dunkenberger, who makes greenberg look like john wooden.
you can't really compare recruiting in basketball and football. they are completely different games and the methodology is different.
a) Recruiting doesn't mean a thing if we don't win the games. Up until now we haven't.
b) Agree, and I said as much above, but it's evident we're a sloppy team and things are broken, otherwise we'd be winning more with the talent we had.
c) Fair enough point, for now. There were a lot of empty seats in Cassell last night. They tried telling the students they could come for free, and they didn't bite. With the significant investment Weaver made in the program he's not going to idle and give him his full contract to turn this around. It's bad business. Maybe one year is one too short, but two year's of the same old, same old would be two too many.
d) If we can't compare football and basketball, then we can't compare women's and men's basketball.
Seth Greenberg’s postgame interview was pretty telling. “We have some people right now that are more about themselves than the team.” Greenberg mentioned concerns over selfishness and lack of leadership. Certainly not a problem I expected to see with this team before the season started.
After watching the first few games this year, I have noticed a lot about this team that bothers me. Basically we are running with the same players we had last year as our starters, just absent JT. It seemed that last year we hustled more for the 50/50 balls and were not afraid to get dirty. Malcolm was a much better leader last year and he has not played as a leader in the big games this year (2-18 FG vs. Purdue, 9 points). Zo is still an extremely streaky player, when he is on he is on and when he is off it seems he can't even hit the iron. Jeff Allen still struggles with foul trouble and we still have not established a dominate player in the post. We talk about how well Seth recruits, but our teams are always overmatched when it comes to height (our tallest player is 6'9"). If we had a decent player inside with some decent size, this could open things up for the rest of the team. If we can't get it done inside, we have to shoot well from beyond the arc, we are just 29% on the year (Duke is shooting something like 44% on 3PT on the year).It also seems like to me that we had much more chemistry last year. Malcolm seems like he trusts his teammates less this year as well. Much of this team has played together for four years now, but it looks as if this is the first year they have played together. I hope we can pick it up, because I do feel Malcolm deserves to return to the NCAA tournament, he has been great at VT. Go Hokies!
Comments
fundamentals
i couldn't agree with you more. layups, layups, layups.
ugh. i don't know why but vt basketball gets me more worked up than football. maybe because i used to play basketball and know what it takes where as i have never played football...don't know, but our basketball team is damn frustrating.
Fack
We are getting better post play from Davila, that's a start. Last year I felt like he handled every single pass like he had steaks taped to his hands.
For Malc, I have no idea what it is. Pressure to perform, having to carry the team on his back, frequent line-up changes, etc. Where was he tonight driving in the lane, or pulling up, or drawing the foul? If a huge chunk of his game is getting to the free throw line, then get to the damn free throw line. I was real disappointed that he couldn't finish his layups tonight.
Glad Eric Green is better. I used to hate when #11 had the ball in any meaningful possession. Good to see Raines out there too, but there is little to any production even from these bench guys (realizing that Raines has been out thus far).
I thought we looked OK on the boards, but there was a ton of sloppy play. Not counting Malc's big DERP moment at the end, how many half-court passes were thrown by JuJu Clayton tonight? Even the manageable ones were mishandled (looking at you Zo).
I refuse to believe that the one thing keeping this team from being great and having several huge RPI wins in an injury to JT Thompson (and Allen Chaney, who is more of an unknown though hyped commodity).
Frustrated.
My 2 Cents
I agree as well about the missed layups and missed free throws. Those are basically free points that we aren't converting. A lot of guys were just standing around watching either Delaney or Green dribble the ball up the court. We take too many three's (although we did a little better tonight) when we need to go inside to Allen. On Defense, we basically don't guard the perimeter at all. Whoever number 0 was for Purdue was wide open on the wing at least 5 different times and made at least 3 of those three pointers. It's really a shame when there are 4 seniors on the court and we can't win these big games. According to Kyle Tucker, he talked to Greenberg about Hudson's slump. He said "he couldn't condition this summer with a foot injury, got overweight, working his way back." Injuries are killing us right now. It's good to see Raines back on the court though. We really miss J.T. Thompson, and Chaney would be nice to have as well. It's basically a mixture of all of that plus unforced turnovers. Most of this is inexcusable.
Greenberg
Have we ever gotten a bucket out of a timeout? Greenberg does not get enough blame. Yes, he's done a great job of making the program relevant and recruiting but I'm convinced he's not capable of taking us to the next level. He is awful with X's and O's. My freshman year I went to Columbus with the team as they went to the tournament because I said to myself it will probably be my only opportunity. I think I was right. Thank god I went.
I don't know enough about the X's and O's
to intelligently criticize him him, but I see the trends. He's a tremendous recruiter, but can't get it done on the floor. What baffles me most is everyone kills Frank and Stiney and all they do is win with 3 to 4 star talent, yet it seems like Seth gets a pass. I personally think if he misses the tournament this year Weaver will make a change.
You're right on
Should have never signed that huge extension. He has yet to earn it. 1 NCAA appearance with great talent? We as Hokies SHOULD expect more.
greenberg won't get fired because:
a) he is a great recruiter.
b) he knows the x's and o's better than you realize.
c) it would cost too much money to fire him.
d) weaver hasn't fired beth dunkenberger, who makes greenberg look like john wooden.
you can't really compare recruiting in basketball and football. they are completely different games and the methodology is different.
a) Recruiting doesn't mean a thing if we don't win the games. Up until now we haven't.
b) Agree, and I said as much above, but it's evident we're a sloppy team and things are broken, otherwise we'd be winning more with the talent we had.
c) Fair enough point, for now. There were a lot of empty seats in Cassell last night. They tried telling the students they could come for free, and they didn't bite. With the significant investment Weaver made in the program he's not going to idle and give him his full contract to turn this around. It's bad business. Maybe one year is one too short, but two year's of the same old, same old would be two too many.
d) If we can't compare football and basketball, then we can't compare women's and men's basketball.
AU CONTRAIRE.
BUT BUT BUT MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ARE SO SIMILAR!
truth: alyssa fenyn is hot and i would go to the games just to watch her.
let's not beat a dead horse. i <3 you even if we disagree. at the end of the day, SETH DAVIS IS STILL A TWAT WAFFLE.
Agree and Agree and about Seth Davis, well, Agree
Yeah this horse is more dead than Snuggles, but I enjoyment intelligent debate which you Sir bring.
one can only be such a scholar and gentleman when he is engaged in a battle of wits with an equal.
you sir, have raised the bar.
HAPPY TIME GIF
Inside The Cassell's Take
It's here: http://insidethecassell.blogspot.com/2010/12/postgame-thoughts-purdue.html
This Year is Different
After watching the first few games this year, I have noticed a lot about this team that bothers me. Basically we are running with the same players we had last year as our starters, just absent JT. It seemed that last year we hustled more for the 50/50 balls and were not afraid to get dirty. Malcolm was a much better leader last year and he has not played as a leader in the big games this year (2-18 FG vs. Purdue, 9 points). Zo is still an extremely streaky player, when he is on he is on and when he is off it seems he can't even hit the iron. Jeff Allen still struggles with foul trouble and we still have not established a dominate player in the post. We talk about how well Seth recruits, but our teams are always overmatched when it comes to height (our tallest player is 6'9"). If we had a decent player inside with some decent size, this could open things up for the rest of the team. If we can't get it done inside, we have to shoot well from beyond the arc, we are just 29% on the year (Duke is shooting something like 44% on 3PT on the year).It also seems like to me that we had much more chemistry last year. Malcolm seems like he trusts his teammates less this year as well. Much of this team has played together for four years now, but it looks as if this is the first year they have played together. I hope we can pick it up, because I do feel Malcolm deserves to return to the NCAA tournament, he has been great at VT. Go Hokies!