HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Virginia Tech (9-3) At Wake Forest (8-3) 2PM ESPN2
Morning shootaround โ pic.twitter.com/9gL2OomN7dโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 30, 2023
Virginia Tech (9-3)
At Wake Forest (8-3)
December 30th, 2023
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
2 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Virginia Tech Sports Network
ESPN+/ACCNX
Play-by-Play: Connor Onion
Analyst: Dan Bonner
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Current Spread: Wake -3.5
Over/Under: -143.5
Litmus Test to end the Year
The Hokies pick back up in ACC play with a trip to Wake Forest to try to close out 2023 strong. The Hokies turned Kidd loose on American right before Christmas and cruised to a 77-55 win. This will be Wake's first ACC game this season.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons squad comes in 8-3. This will be the 72nd meeting between the Hokies and Wake Forest. The Hokies are 38-33 but looking to end a two game skid to the Deacs.
The Demon Deacons have been coached by Steve Forbes since 2020. Wake Forest is his third head coaching job. He also spent time as an assistant at eight different programs since 1989. The Demon Deacons come in 8-3. Notable wins over Florida and Rutgers. Their losses were to Georgia, LSU in overtime and Utah. They come into this game having won six straight following a 91-68 win over Presbyterian.
Wake Forest returnees Cameron Hildreth and Andrew Carr are major contributors. The Deacons also got transfers of two former Gonzaga players Hunter Sallis and Efton Reid, with Sallis starting and Reid playing significant minutes when he plays. Other transfers include Kevin Miller from Central Michigan, who has become a starter due to injuries, and Abramo Canka, a lengthy international guard who has played sparingly since coming from UCLA.
Wake lost Jao Ituka and Damari Monsanto to injury, both of whom averaged double-digit scoring last season. The Monsanto injury was a huge loss as he was expected to lead this team. These injuries likely relegate Wake to the middle of the pack in the ACC. With these two playing, Wake may have been competing for top spot. As it is they still have four guys averaging over 15 points a game.
Wake returned four of their top five scorers but only two have played. They have three freshman newcomers this season. Guards Parker Friedrichsen and Aaron Clark and Wing Marqus Marion join the Deacons this season. Friedrichsen and Marion have both played in every game this season, both getting about seventeen minutes per game.
The Demon Deacons have four players averaging more than 30 mpg and three more that regularly average at least 15 mpg. The starting five are Sallis, Hildreth, Miller, Carr and Keller. Friedrichsen and Marion are the two primary subs off the bench.
Forbes focus is transition opportunities and high energy defensive play. His teams focus on defending corner 3-pointers, gap defense, rim protection and off-ball screen coverage using a variety of zone to collapse on the paint. So far opponents have shot 32% from outside. They focus on defensive rebounds to limit second chance opportunities and look for quick outlook passes to beat the defense back up the court.
Offensively, the Demon Deacons are looking to beat opponents up the floor and take a significant number of transition perimeter shots. So far through 11 games they are shooting 23 threes per game, shooting just over 37%. Sallis and Friedrichsen combine to attempt nearly ten threes per game. They also employ dribble penetration to draw the defense which allows multiple lob passes to Carr and Keller for quick hitters underneath. They use a variety of perimeter screening actions to create separation.
just another one for everyone to enjoy ๐ฌ#GoDeacs ๐ฉ๐ pic.twitter.com/JuVD3iqD4Jโ Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) December 24, 2023
Demon Deacons Backcourt
Hunter Sallis
23 JR G 6-5 175
18.0 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 2.2 Ast
Kevin Miller
0 SO G 6-0 165
17.2 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 4.3 Ast
Cameron Hildreth
2 JR G 6-4 195
15.8 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 3.3 Ast
Parker Friedrichsen
20 FR G 6-3 195
5.7 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 0.9 Ast
Demon Deacons Frontcourt
Andrew Carr
11 SR F 6-9 210
15.5 Pts, 7.6 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Zach Keller
25 SO F 6-10 228
2.9 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Efton Reid
4 JR C 6-11 238
7.0 Pts, 8.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Marqus Marion
1 FR F 6-8 210
1.6 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 0.2 Ast
What to expect from Wake Forest?
The Demon Deacons will run a constant three guard/two forward set looking to push the pace. They are led in scoring by their starting guard trio of Sallis, Miller and Hildreth. These three and Friedrichsen combine to take over 17 of the teams' 23 attempts from outside. That said, the Deacs only get 27 points from outside of 81 points per game. Sallis though doesn't hesitate to take it right to the rim and has blow by speed on dribble penetration combined with the physicality to go up against big bodies.
we'll see where that one ranks by the end of the year ๐ค pic.twitter.com/OjPFuxHJPGโ Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) December 23, 2023
Carr inside picks up quite a few off-side baskets when defenses over commit. Having four scorers in double digits though can be a two-edged sword when its needed every night. The rest of the roster only adds 15 points per game.
136 assists already this season! That means @HarrisTeeter will donate $1,360 to a local food bank thanks to the Deacs' passing!To learn more & to win free groceries through the Big Four Grocery Assist Sweepstakes, visit https://t.co/HpsTtnfaxm pic.twitter.com/6XlRLj0okiโ Wake Forest Demon Deacons (@DemonDeacons) December 27, 2023
Efton Reid seems to be playing a much more significant role since his return and Young likely counters him inside with Poteat, he has played starter level minutes in three of their last four games after sitting out their first seven. As seen below he is a shot blocker, so Hokies have to find a way to counter this. Reid and Carr both average 2 blocks per game but Reid had five against Presbyterian.
๐ffective.fun fact: most blocks by a Deac in a single game since 2019 ๐๏ธ @efton15 |#GoDeacs ๐ฉ ๐ pic.twitter.com/iR6Py5nsIYโ Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) December 23, 2023
Wake plays a very disciplined style of defense and has not been called for twenty fouls in any game this season. Typically, when a team relies on its starters so much, you might expect fouls to be a limiting factor but only Carr and Reid are averaging over two fouls per contest. They create 13 turnovers per game and turn that into about 15 points per contest.
This will be a much taller starting five than the majority of the Hokies opponents so far this season. Carr and Keller being on the floor together may force Young to adjust his lineup. He may rely on Beran to counter Keller considering he is not much of a scoring threat so far this season.
The Demon Deacons are relatively equal in the rebounding side, although its more focused on defensive opportunities. Offensive rebounds are very limited, and second chance opportunities have only led to four points per game so far.
The Hokies
Back to league play ๐ฅ๐ Wake Forest๐ LJVM Coliseum๐ 2PM ET๐บ ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/K3nRag09pqโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 30, 2023
Pedulla will likely play but he is shown on the SCACCHoops injury report as questionable. Not sure the Hokies can afford to have him out against Wake with how strong the guard rotation is for Wake. Hopefully a good sign he is the Gameday Tweet player as seen above.
This game should give a much better idea of what we can expect from Kidd against an ACC caliber center as he battles down low against Carr. Kidd has a couple inches on Carr and both are athletic more than big body guys.
On defense, the Hokies need to force Wake Forest off the perimeter. Limiting their outside shots destroys their primary game plan. Keeping them to a methodical half-court offense will be another big component to winning this game.
Who can be the X Factor for the Hokies? They need at least one player to have a big game considering how balanced Wake is across their starting five. The Hokies have shown a willingness to go inside but need a much more productive version of that if they are going to be successful.
worth the price of admission ๐ฟ๐#StoneByStone x #Hokies pic.twitter.com/aQdXKL9mjCโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 24, 2023
In Closing
Who scores more from outside? Wake has not faced a team as good at defending the perimeter as the Hokies. Both teams, however, have a big averaging double-digit points which gives flexibility in terms of scoring.
The Hokies and Wake use very similar strategies in terms of possessions, aiming to get defensive rebounds and turn them into open perimeter looks first and inside opportunities as they present. The speed and way they go about it are vastly different but seem to lead to very similar results. This game unfortunately will be in the long line of who shoots better from outside wins most likely although Wake is much more comfortable scoring inside than are the Hokies. The free throw line shouldn't play a significant role for either side.
Both teams seemingly match in terms of size and athleticism. The difference may come down to who dictates the style of play more. Wake wants fast possessions, lots of points and quick transition from defense to offense. The Hokies prefer a methodical approach on both ends and limiting possessions.
price increases officially begin tomorrow, Dec. 29 ๐ฉ๐๏ธ: https://t.co/zNHP7DAILk pic.twitter.com/1vU5Ihy4kTโ Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) December 28, 2023
Trying to entice everyone with that Bojangles Gift Card.
What kind of crowd can we expect? The student section will likely be nearly empty but Wake usually draws a local crowd pretty well and with the amount of Hokies in the Winston-Salem area it could be a pro-Hokies crowd. Not having a crowd affects teams differently (see Hokies last year in Boston College) so which team is motivated may go a long way to deciding the outcome. Just look at Bowl Season for football.
If you have the time, grab this deal below and get out to support both the Hokies basketball teams in key matchups early in January. Hokies men face a currently 11-1 Clemson squad and Hokies Ladies face a 10-1 Miami team. They need a full house for these games.
Spend NYE with us and get your 4 pack of tickets to @HokiesMBB against Clemson for $40 or $20 for @HokiesWBB against Miami!โ HokieSports (@hokiesports) December 28, 2023
Comments
LET'S GO....
Myself, the wifey, a friend and his wife will be there. Got 4 tickets in the wake student section. Might be a seat gypsy if we see better accommodations!
And I will be rocking the MAROON & ORANGE!
Doing god's work! Be loud brother!
But did you get the Bojangles gift card???
Sounds like perimeter defense and cutting off drives to the lane will be crucial in this one. If we can shoot at our average from 3, we should be able to pick up one of those elusive road wins in the ACC.
Game time...still enjoying LOLUVA losing by 35 right now to 5-7 Notre Dame. What a way to kick off Saturday.
Game on ESPNHD right now
Can pedulla just not turn it over???
Wow Miller getting away with hugging Cattoor
These turnovers are an ugly start
That was a "mildly aggressive" jump ball
Collins caught between lob pass and shooting. Essentially another turnover
Kinda sloppy with the passing to start...gotta clean that up.
Back over to ESPN2
Pedulla now 0-2 and 4 turnovers. Put him back on the bench, Mike.
Two different guys hack Pedulla to force him out of bounds and it's side out.
Where's the and 1 on that pedulla layup?
Bullshit
So much contact
Beran gets a full extension arm shove.
This is so sloppy. Hoping we can wake up.
We are entirely too small and too slow. They have an athleticism advantage at all 5 spots. Going to be a long game and year
This a thousand times. Was at the game. This was so glaring watching it in person.
Kidd gets mauled by two different guys on that shot and nothing. Could be a 35 point loss if it keeps up this way.
between Pedulla's rough start and the way the refs are calling the game we seem to be playing 4v8
That's 2 on Reed. We need to pound at him the rest of the way. And get him on the bench as much as possible. And feed the hell out of it to Kidd while he's out.
Sallus gives the full shove and elbow and then gets the shooting foul
What does Kidd need to do?
The guards have to run through these defenders on these inbounding attempts. Get the fouls called.
Hokies have a turnover for every point they trail
The team is not good. I just have no words
Pedulla has got to quit trying to be the hero. He's killing the offense.
If Sallis hitting both Pedullas arms there is not a foul then not sure officials even need to be on the floor in the second half. Let's play playground ball.
Again, my hot take is that Pedulla is a liability this season and is killing the flow of the offense. And he's not scoring enough to justify the turnovers. We're better with the freshman on the court.
It's harsh but I its hard to argue with.
Pedulla had clearly taken steps backward this year.
Some of it I feel is because he is pressing trying to make plays in order to lift up an offense that is best described as moribund.
We have far too many guys that are ineffective and one-dimensional on offense and we simply haven't brought in enough talent. Coach Young needs to increase the level of talent on this Roster and do it quick because the trajectory simply isn't very good at this point.
The ACC isn't even considered that good this year and we look like a bottom 3 team right now.
It's not just that they are one-dimensional its that, aside from posting up Kidd & Poteat, and the occasional double screen for Cattoor, we are not running plays to maximize those dimensions.
CMY's system is not meshing with the players on the roster
Got distracted and missed the start. This is me checking in on the box score...
Wake could have all their starters foul out and still win this game at this point.
Beran should get five minutes a game to spell poteat or kidd and that's it. Just an insanely bad player every game that commits the dumbest fouls and provides nothing but length that isn't even usable
Officials just giving it to Wake both ways
Ugly basketball regardless but the zebras can't allow Wake to have hands on on inbounds passes and offensive players not able to proceed to move
They went to talk up Hildreth for getting to the basket to show a replay of him leading with his elbow on defenders neck. ESPN at its finest.
Kidd getting ZERO support inside by teammates. The announcers are spot on that the other four are standing around the perimeter watching when Kidd gets inside.
Kidd was also getting the ball with good position and being guarded 1on1. He should be able to score at an 80% clip against that kind of defense but he's letting #25 and #11 for Wake push him around. (or more accurately bouncing off them as they just hold their ground)
He actually had pretty good success against Reid
Gonna be a LONG season. Thank God for Pry.
This is what happens when you don't recruit anyone who can create off the dribble.
Cattoor wasn't within three feet of Carr so not sure how that was a foul. Cattoor blocked his shot after Carr released it
constant "that looked like a foul because [insert WF player] looks more like a good player than [insert VT player] and they missed so it must have been a foul"
also roger ayers
I would have to say as delicately as I know how:
Went to the game. It was awful. The officiating in the first half was unbalanced and uneven. Our lack of athleticism was completely exposed today. Not sure why Sallis transferred from Gonzaga to Wake. They are taller and quicker than VT at every position. Heading back Thursday night for the women's game. Sure hoping they reverse this and curb stomp Wake.
Mike Youngs got mad a few times, but dude they're playing your system. Even if they were playing well we'd be losing this game.
The slow, fundamentally sound, deliberate offense style is not going to work against athletic physical teams. Throw in an over reliance on the three and the refs giving them some leeway and you can get blown out by some teams that don't have as good players as we do. On top of that a refusal to take advantage of anything in transition is giving away free buckets, as is not having any clear plan to attack the press (the press is built to shred teams like ours).
I really don't see how we're much different from a UVA that's focused on offensive efficiency instead of defense. While simultaneously kneecapping it by refusing to play in transition and allowing bad shots from three. (Not as comically slow on offense either but you get the idea.)
The refs were bad, but the lazy, slow, dumb level playing was abysmal. I mean, this was one of the most uninspiring games I can think of ever watching the Hokies play. Our players made Wake look good. Their second effort buckets were mostly due to our players loafing around watching Wake play and not boxing out, rebounding or grabbing the loose ball from a tipped pass or blocked shot.
As for CMY.....he needs to real time coach better. two things that stuck out.....first, when Wake outnumbered us in the full court press, no one was coming back to assist the inbounds pass. I didn't see any coaching from the bench and the players weren't figuring it out. After three series of us either turning it over, getting a 5 second violation and struggling to operate from the inbounds pass, did I see the players responding and coming back to assist.
Second, the feed it to Kidd and then having 4 players watch Kidd shoot (miss or make) from the perimeter was mind boggling. Not having a single player in the paint to possibly get a second effort rebound blows me away.
And yes, the ref's let Wake get away with way too much contact on both sides of the court.
It makes you wonder what they're practicing. I think he's a great guy but I may be out on Mike Young just from a style perspective and lack of adjustments, in game and between games. It's gone on for multiple years now and even before there were signs of it
I was in Brooklyn for the entire ACC champ run, and that confetti raining down ranks in my top 3 all time Hokie sports experiences. So.... I've been inclined to give Young more leeway than I might have otherwise. (Plus, I don't really understand the intricacies of basketball enough to form an educated opinion.)
I may be losing faith though.
The biggest issue was turnovers and overall general carelessness with the ball. We likely still lose this game but we hand wrapped it. We lost the first half by 20....as surprising as it sounds we only lost the second half by 3 points. We definitely did nothing to gain traction. The refs as sorry as they were, were consistent and Young and Co did little to adjust their approach.
If we're gonna lose, at least let's not look like dogshit doing it. Disappointed in the team today.
Our offense is ugly again.
What is this "offense" thing you're talking about?
Remember when everybody said losing Rodney Rice, the most athletic, highly rated guy on the team, and the only one who could get his own shot was not a big deal because of our "depth"? LOL
Our offense is too predictable. Passes are known by D and they cut them off. We don't get enough open looks so we go inside a lot and that isn't working. This leads to.... turnovers!.... Duh!
Something is up w Padulla. It's either mental or physical. He looks OK physically, but he isn't the same player we had last year. So we use our freshman pt guard. He's working hard, but this leads to .... more turnovers.
We need to change it up to get more open looks for our shooters, they aren't getting them, so our shooting % suffers.