HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: LEHIGH (0-1) VS VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (1-0) 6PM ACCN
๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ 2๏ธโฃ โข Lehighโค Military Appreciation Nightโค 2022-23 posters (pic below)Looking forward to another great night in Cassell ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ ยป https://t.co/Q9T7gn3Xq5 pic.twitter.com/zdIuvpmqZXโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 9, 2022
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Nov 10th 2022 600 PM
Opponent: Lehigh
Site: Cassell Coliseum
TV Broadcast
ACC Network
Play-by-Play: Mike Corey
Analyst: Cory Alexander
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Internet Audio
LVFoxSports.com
Broken Wings....
The Hokies go into their second game welcoming back Justyn Mutts from his one game suspension. The Hokies are 1-0 against Lehigh going into their 2nd meeting. The Hokies won the lone previous meeting with Lehigh, 79-53 in Blacksburg on Nov. 16, 2019. The Hokies crushed Delaware State 95-57 highlighted by the debut of Grant Basile putting up 30 points. The Hokies also had a plus-18 rebounding margin in this contest.
The Mountain Hawks are coached by Brett Reed, who began his college coaching career at Oakland CC as an assistant coach in 1995. Lehigh is his only college head coaching job. He took over the Lehigh position in 2007 and has a with a 246-209 overall record guiding the Mountain Hawks. Last season the Mountain Hawks were 13-19.
The Mountain Hawks are 0-1 to start the season after an opening loss to Syracuse 90-72. In the opener it was Senior Guard Evan Taylor leading the way with 20 points, as the only player in double figures. Sophomore guard Keith Higgins had 9 points in support.
The Mountain Hawks come into this season with four new Freshman. The biggest change in the roster is inside as several key big men graduated. The rest of the roster returns from last season. Henri Adiassa is the only freshman that appears to feature early in Lehigh gameday strategy. The 6'11", 240 lbs Center saw 13 minutes against Syracuse.
Other returning players that will impact this game outside Taylor and Higgins are Center JT Tan and Guards Tyler Whitney-Sydney and Jakub Alumudun.
Defensively, they play a high risk transition defensive style. Coach Reed drills into his players the situational approach of how to attack an offense if faced with odd man rushes. He invests in drilling his teams on the statistical probabilities of each scenario so they are prepared for a variety of situations. This is a much more experienced opponent than the Hokies first game.
Offensively, Coach Reed uses the risk of playing transition defense into having additional opportunities on offense. His team has a major focus on offensive rebounding. This team is very capable of clean passing and situational offense creatig open looks especially on the perimeter. They had 16 assists and shot 38% from outside against Syracuse. Their interior shooting against Syracuse though suffered which is not unusual against Jim Boeheim's defenses. The Mountain Hawks shot 76% from the line on 13 attempts.
Mountain Hawks Backcourt
Evan Taylor (#5, SR, G, 6-6) 20.0 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Keith Higgins Jr. (#13, SO, G, 6-4) 9.0 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Tyler Whitney-Sidney (#22, SO, G, 6-2) 6.0 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Luke Traina (#15, SR, G, 6-5) 5.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Mountain Hawks Frontcourt
Jakob Alamudun (#0, SR, F, 6-6) 8.0 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Dominic Parolin (#35, JR, F, 6-8) 7.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
JT Tan (#42, JR, C, 6-8) 6.0 Pts, 8.0 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Bube Momah (#23, FR, F, 6-8) 5.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
What to expect from Lehigh?
As a team the Mountain Hawks are a capable perimeter shooting team hitting 38% on 8 of 31 shooting but the are just as susceptible to perimeter shooting on the defensive end. Syracuse shot 50% against them from outside which is a major weakness going up against the Hokies. Evan Taylor needs to be the Hokies focus here as he hit four out of five three point attempts.
Lehigh has a fairly balanced roster size wise. They tend to run a three guard two big rotation on the floor and utilize mostly a 2-3 Zone in the half-court. They played most of their roster in the first game with 9 players getting 10 or more minutes.
Lehigh committed 19 fouls in the first game which could be considerably higher against the Hokies due to their ball movement and improved interior play. If the Hokies get to the line 20 times that alone may decide the game.
The Hokies
The Hokies again will be able to shoot from outside almost at will especially if the Lehigh zone is late in shifting out. The surprising ability of Basile to shoot from outside becomes a forcing factor and with the return of Justyn Mutts makes the inside out game even more impactful. The Hokies will have four players finish in double digits while at least 10 players contributing 5 or more points.
The Hokies rotation down low gets the huge boost of Mutts returning. He and Basile appear to be the primary starters with Camden, Kidd and Poteat rounding out the rotation.
The guard rotation remains the same with Pedulla and Cattoor starting. Maddox is fluctuating starter depending on the lineup. MJ Collins will get the majority of remaining Guard minutes while Rodney Rice remains out with an ankle injury.
The Hokies will have to work much harder in this contest and can not afford the second half sloppiness in the passing game and the defensive end of the floor.
Highlight of the Delaware State game
Basile dropping 30 in debut
Behind Grant Basile's double-double of 30 points and 10 rebounds, Virginia Tech looked pretty solid in the season-opener, despite missing Justyn Mutts."Let's call it like it is: a good win." #Hokies https://t.co/R45aRjBBDKโ David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) November 8, 2022
In Closing
The Hokies work the perimeter to open up the 2-3 zone, providing space for Mutts and Kidd to operate in the lane. The Hokies will win the rebounding battle especially on the offensive end.
The Hokies will create opportunities at the line, getting 24 to 28 attempts. Reaching 20 attempts will lock the result of this contest.
I only expect four Hokies in double figures. Cattoor, Mutts, Pedulla and Basile. The rest of the roster will see at least 6 more reach the 5+ point level. Hokies should get 35+ points off the bench and have a clear point buffer with ten minutes remaining.
Hokies push the pace, methodically operate inside out passing and ground the Mountain Hawks. Hokies enjoy Mutts return with an win 87-64 win.
In Other News
Several recruits signed their NLIs today for both basketball programs
Mens Basketball:
Jaydon Young,
SG 6'4 190 Lbs
3* 247Sports Ranking
86th SG Nationally
Jay is locked in ๐ฆ๐โน๏ธ @jaydonyoung4 ๐ 6-4 Guard๐ High Point, North Carolina๐ฎโ๐จ 8th-best player in NC, 2x conference POY, 2x all-state pic.twitter.com/zXVTS46Qfgโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 9, 2022
Brandon Rechsteiner
PG, 6'1 185 Lbs
4* 247Sports rating
84th PG Nationally
Get ready to rumble ๐ฅโน๏ธ @b_roc0 ๐ 6-1 Point Guard๐ Acworth, Georgia๐ฎโ๐จ No. 87 prospect in 2023 class, 15th-best PG pic.twitter.com/8Ee1JMO3iHโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 9, 2022
Ladies Basketball:
Clara Strack
Forward, 6'4
4* ESPN Scouts Grade
Welcome to Hokie Nation Clara, let's work โผ๏ธ โ๏ธ @ClaraStrack pic.twitter.com/RkfSs3a0oeโ Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 9, 2022
Mackie (Mackenzie) Nelson
PG, 5'8,
4* ESPN Scouts
Welcome to Hokie Nation Mackie, let's work โผ๏ธ โ๏ธ @mac_nelson3 pic.twitter.com/ZInZbqfQupโ Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 9, 2022
Carys Baker
Forward, 6'1
4* ESPN Scouts rating
Welcome to Hokie Nation Cary's, let's work โผ๏ธ โ๏ธ @CarysBaker11 pic.twitter.com/fGI8Xt4Crvโ Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 9, 2022
Samyha Suffren
PG, 5'8
4* ESPN Scouts
Welcome to Hokie Nation Samyha, let's work โผ๏ธ โ๏ธ @SamyhaSuffren_ pic.twitter.com/yrVUHvuxFfโ Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 9, 2022
Comments
Let's go! Thanks for the write up, especially the WBB NLI info - I should be paying more attention to our 13th ranked ballers collecting stars like they're Mario.
Hokies!
Collect the stars like Mario so they can start collecting rings like Sonic.
WOOOOOO!
I'm really looking forward to this game tonight! Can't wait to see how things go with Mutts back in the lineup.
Is the game 5:30 or 6:00?
6 according to ESPN
6p on ACCN
Sorry for confusion. Had edited it but edit apparently timed out instead of loading.
So far not really enthused by rotation of Mutts with Basile. Basile has been down low so much more than first game.
Coach won't be happy with so many offensive second chances for Lehigh.
5 offensive boards in the first half for Lehigh, on the plus side Pedulla is shooting his tail off tonight, nice 3 at the end of the half.
Very boring first half where tech still has a 18 point lead. I'll take it ๐
Yeah pretty vanilla and effective. Makes it hard to evaluate with the mindset of how would this same ball movement, shot selection and defense play against an ACC team but that may also be kind of the point.
I like a lot of the underneath action I'm seeing (Mutt's dishing, Pedulla driving, etc.) However, not sure if it's just me but it seems like Poteat has lost his guy on screening action a few times so far.
Yeah the guy setting the screen has definitely been left wide open several times on those high pick & rolls.
Yeah, happened at least 2-3 times in the first half that I noticed - he'd commit too hard to hedging the ball carrier and just let his assigned man get way too far behind him in space, leading to at least 4 points that I counted.
Is it just me or does it feel lime CMY is mixing in sets and defenses and personnel like we are 'trying a few things' in this game, but keeping an eye on the scoreboard to make sure we stay up by 15 or so......
It's part tinkering but also strategic in not giving other opponents a steady full game plan when it's not necessary
Really enjoy having bigs that naturally sky for dunk rather than cute hooks or layups. Drive it home to guarantee the points. So many years here that was something that was missing.
Yup! Aluma started doing that ok his final season, but man other than that the next people who come to mind (who really weren't even true "bigs") are Zach LeDay and Jeff Allen lol
Deron Washington dunked just about everything he could if he was anywhere near the basket. He also dunked his balls on Greg Paulus' forehead..... Good times.
Teabag Paulus! With the bags in the crowd was fun times.
Haha yeah, I'll always remember that game against BC when he had two Sportscenter top-10 play dunks. He was a beast.
Deron was electric.
Sorry for an old topic but why did Alleyne transfer to UConn - I thought he was a solid contributor. Just saw the stat during the game and forgot about him.
Combination of playing time and style of play. He saw where Coach was going with recruiting and realized he would be on the edge of starting vs sub. He also thought Coach Hurley's style of play was a better fit for his skill set.
How are y'all watching? I can't find a stream
Acc Network
SP3 has a little bit of Justin Robinson in his game.
I was saying this last season. Very similar players I think.
You're telling me we have a John Camden AND a Camden Johnson on this team?
Nice to see scoring down low and off of drives when the 3 is not falling. Maybe we will not live and die by the 3 as much this year.
For the pro wrestling fans out there, if this hasn't been mentioned yet... (EDIT: it has, so call this a reminder while I take a sip)
His dad is Scott Steiner.
Had a meeting last night so I couldn't watch it live. Watched the replay on ESPN.
Basile still needs to work on his ball handling and defense. He had 3 of the 5 total team turnovers. I noticed he lost to ball a few times in the first game as well.
Dr. Mutts is back and really needs to tighten up his free throw shooting. 3 of 7 is pretty bad especially for a player driving the basket and drawing fouls.
Cattoor is stepping back on his shooting some, but is a beast in defense.