Hokie Hoops Central:
Georgia Tech (11-9)
at
Virginia Tech (15-6)
8pm
ACCN
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV | ACCN
Doug Sherman, PxP
Scott Williams, Color
RADIO | VT Sports Network
Zach Mackey, PxP
Mike Burnop, Analyst
VIDEO STREAM LIVE STATS
ESPN.com and ESPN app stats.hokiesports.com
hokiesports.com
Hokies -9.5
O/U. 155.5
ESPN Analytics Hokies 80.8%
Battle for the T
The Hokies are coming off their second worst loss of the season and look to get back on track against a Yellowjackets team that is 2-5 in ACC play.
The availability report for the Hokies still has Tyler Johnson out. It also has Freshmen Brett Freeman and Soloman Davis listed. Not sure if those are injuries or for Redshirt purposes. The good news is Coach Young expects Johnson back for the Duke game.
Georgia Tech has Dyllan Thompson out and Akai Fleming and Mouhamed Sylla as questionable. If Fleming and Sylla cant play that's 18.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg, and 2 assists. Thompson has not played all season so no impact there.
The Jackets two ACC wins came over Boston College and NC State. All but the loss to Duke in ACC were double-digit losses.
Georgia Tech is coached Damon Stoudamire in his 3rd year. He is 42-43 overall.
This season the Jackets are led by Senior Guard Kowacie Reeves. He is shooting 39% from 3, 50% inside and is a 78% shooter at the line. Guard Lamar Washington and Forward Baye Ndongo are the other double-digit scorers.
Damon Stoudamire's offense is guard-centric and NBA-influenced, reflecting his background as a high-level point guard and long-time NBA assistant.
The offense emphasizes a primary ball-handler control, creating advantages through ball screens and spacing and decision-making over rigid motion.
Georgia Tech is not trying to overwhelm teams with pace or constant movement—it's trying to win possessions through guard execution.
Georgia Tech plays at a measured tempo.
They will push the pace on transition opportunities after turnovers or long rebounds but prefer walking the ball up to organize the offensive play set. Stoudamire prioritizes shot quality over shot volume.
Pick-and-roll is the backbone of his offense using high pick-and-roll to flatten defenses which spreads the defense to create space. His guards are empowered to read coverage and improvise. The bigs are asked to set solid screens, roll with purpose and make simple reads.
Spacing can be inconsistent due to limited shooting depth, forced to use multiple non-shooters, and guards over-dribbling when lanes close.
Stoudamire's defensive philosophy reflects his NBA background with ball pressure first, structure second, gambling last. Georgia Tech wants to disrupt ball handlers early and force offenses out of their comfort zones. It's an active but controlled defense—not chaotic, not passive.
Georgia Tech uses primarily man-to-man with strong on-ball pressure, early help from the forwards and gap discipline to take away straight-line drives. Switching is selective but not the norm to avoid constant mismatches while still keeping offenses uncomfortable. They rarely trap in the half court and turnovers are welcome but not hunted. The defense is built to force tough shots, not chaos.
Georgia Tech emphasizes early, visible help, short, controlled rotations and quick recoveries to shooters. The goal is to shrink the floor just enough, avoid over-rotations and force one-on-one finishing rather than kick-out threes.
The Jackets are extremely good rebounders and share the ball effectively with over 16.6 assists per game. They turn the ball over more than they take it away and their starters do struggle with foul problems.
Jackets Starters
Kowacie Reeves
#14 SR G 6-6 182
16.3 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Lamar Washington
#1 SR G 6-4 205
11.7 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 6.1 Ast
Baye Ndongo
#11 JR F 6-9 214
11.4 Pts, 8.0 Reb, 2.2 Ast
Jaeden Mustaf
#3 SO G 6-5 210
8.1 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 2.5 Ast
Peyton Marshall
#5 SO C 7-0 300
3.7 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Questionable
Akai Fleming
#0 FR G 6-4 184
9.2 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Mouhamed Sylla
#6 FR C 6-10 240
9.6 Pts, 7.2 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Jackets Bench
Kam Craft
#12 JR G 6-6 211
7.2 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Chas Kelley
#7 SR G 6-5 180
4.3 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 1.7 Ast
Cole Kirouac
#8 FR C 7-0 199
1.4 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Eric Chatfield
#2 FR G 5-11 160
1.5 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Davi Remagen
#10 FR G 6-3 193
1.8 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 1.0 Ast
ACC opponents are only shooting 33% from the perimeter against Georgia Tech but fair much better inside at 49.6%. The Jackets excel at the three, shooting 40% in ACC play but only attempt 18 a game which limits its impacts.
The Jackets are one of the bigger teams the Hokies will have faced so far but athleticism is lacking especially if Fleming and Sylla cant play. This is the game to have our athletic bigs attacking the rim.
The Hokies need to press the perimeter on defense to disrupt and force Georgia Tech to try to move inside where they struggle.
Opponents average 24 FTA per game which is a strength of the Hokies typically in getting there. Louisville was an anomaly where the Hokies only got 8 FTA compared to their 29.7 FTA average in ACC play.
If the Hokies play even their normal 38 minute game, thos one should be in hand. The scars of this season though always leaves that sliver of doubt. Lets get the W to move back above .500 in ACC play. For their tournament hopes, this is not one they can afford to lose. Currently its a Quad 3 game.
Hopefully the students show up to fill the place with many ticket holders likely not making it to the game.
Comments
Admit I am jealous of the students for this giveaway
I want ...
LET'S GO...
Hokies!
Ugh...Wake is 2-5 in ACC play now. Kills me we lost to these guys. Looks like our game start wont make the ACCN on time since there is over 5 minutes left in Wake/Pitt right now
Make it 2-6 ugh
Pitt looks like they might have 200 people in stands
Such a fall. When I was growing up and we used to go to Pitt games it was always packed out even at the old field house.
Wow seeing the highlights, Wake got shafted on the drive to the rim at end of regulation. Two Pitt guys crushed him in the air.
start moved to 8:05.
A fantastic start. Jk
Welp let their guy start out hitting three straights 3s
How many 3s has Neo missed in a row?
Lol...finally
0
nice run to get back in the game and then take the lead
We really don't look ready for the ball screens. Coaching staff needs to TKP harder
Man I tell you, the game planning this season has been shit. I typically watch about 20 minutes of highlights to note the tendencies I write about. These guys get paid to watch hours of film.
Playing to the competition rather than at peak
The students look good in black.
36-30, up at half
Notre Lame had Wahoos down 18 in first half and now let them tie it. SMH
overtime
double overtime
Double now with UVA getting prayer 3 with shooter not even looking at the basket
Wahoos bailed out by a couple plays that would have been side out on UVA but officials called fouls.
Wow...right out the gate two weak fouls putting our bigs in foul trouble
No home cooking, as usual. That jump ball foul was not called earlier in the season. The next one the guy fell over.
Had less problem with Hansberry one on review but Lawal one they were tied up for five seconds almost before foul whistle
But the Gurdak foul was the worst of all of them
This play by play guy is better suited for baseball
The other guy called Hansberry "Shrewsberry" early in the game. They are quite the pair.
Every commercial the guy keeps saying they have a Quadruple Header on Saturday....they have a Doubleheader
4 teams maybe lol
I should be happy and comfortable we're up 13 to a bad team. But I'm not.
This is where we need to go for the kill
We need Alien Power off the bench!!!!
Letting a ton of contact go on both ends inside two feet. Hammond and Avdalas both got hammered
Rolling on floor, second player touches ball with feet out of bounds....timeout
This is the worst broadcast I've ever witnessed and a most boring game.
But hey, at least we have a double digit lead late in the 2nd half...........
Here come the late game Neo turnovers...kindly put him on the bench please
I don't think it's a boring game, I really think it's the announcer announcing this like a baseball game. Super casual, middle of July Tuesday night energy.
get the ball inbounds! for crying out loud!
Holy ref takeover. It has worked in our favor so far, but I'm expecting a few makeup calls to even it up.
Cue up the questionable call on Gurdak. For the third time.
Announcers keep talking about Neo being a first round pick. First rounders don't shoot 3 for 14.
By doing some Math....
Neo is 9/45 from 3 Pt range in ACC play.
Not 1st Round material
9 of 48 actually
Neo has been the worst player on this team outside of the first few games of the season.
These guys get so tight and cant get out of their own minds at the first sign of adversity
These refs are calling any and every here.
Meltdown incoming. Will GT capitalize?
Refs have ground this game to an absolute halt.
Oscar goes to....
Lawal got absolutely jobbed three calls in a row.
These refs man. In a matter of moments Lawal has fowled out. Refs are going to make this a game as much as we are not scoring to put them away
Under 4 timeout has 2 fouls. Out of game at 2:38... unreal.
Do we not practice inbounding vs. a Press..??
At all?...ever??
Been a problem all year i said if im playing us i press the whole game
Why do we keep shooting 3s? We're 1-8 and they're on 11-0 run.
This is beyond pathetic
I'd be shocked about this game if it wasn't absolutely what I expected to happen.
Omg...this shit AGAIN.
Sorry, but we don't have smart guys doing dumb things, its time to stop making excuses Mike.
Why do we scheme for a 3 when we have scored inside all game? Drives me nuts.
Then zero defense on other end
And the classic Neo clank FT followed by an uncontested layup on the other end.
Like fucking clockwork at this point.
6 minutes without a FG. 6 fucking minutes.
Olay defense again in rhese situations
We defend the paint for 38 minutes then we are tissue paper
This team is NIT bound at best if they lose this game. The upcoming schedule is tough.
I am so tired of this. I was gritting my teeth when we up 15 knowing who we are, hoping these guys would prove me wrong.
We had a double digit lead...
We dont even just hard foul to make them earn it at the line. Bunny layups
Nothing more emblematic of this season.
"They don't have to shoot the ball to win this game"
if only we had a QB and WR that could make that throw and catch...
I've seen 10 year-old teams that are more adept at beating a press than us.
There is no excuse at all for this.
How is that not a flagrant foul? Fouled him in the air with no attempt at a basketball play
Should have been
Math says you cant hold a lead if you give up 3 second layups
everybody shooting extra FTs at tomorrow's practice...
We haven't fixed ANY of the things that have plagued this team repeatedly....
GT can't shoot for shit....our defensive strategy?? Give them 5 layups in a row...
Thank God for Ben Hammond
We are going to eek and eke it out.
Guy never even touched Bedford but gets the whistle
FAM
Thank goodness they held on.
What an undisciplined finish. Made an easy win hard.
FAM....I guess
VT Men's basketball, Now sponsored by Tums and your favorite heart attack medication.
That was ridiculous. I'm not saying fire Mike Young. But this team is just poorly coached. You can't have this keep happening this many times and then turn around say Mike Young is doing a good job. There's a problem here despite getting some wins that needs to be fixed
Agree completely.
You can't watch this happen again and again and blame it on bad luck or "doggone dumb stuff"
At some point either you're fixing it or you're not.
And at this level, if you can't get your team to make positive adjustments and close games, then you aren't doing a good enough job.
Definitely on this train. We have too good of a roster to lose the way we lose (Wake, Stan, SMU) and play the way we play when we barely hold on.
We are not progressing at all.
Agree-
The saving grace for this team is Chester Frazier's influence on defensive scouting and intensity, and overall talent.
Freezeball is the basketball version of the prevent defense. Which only prevents you from winning.
We broke NEO. I think we will look back and realize CMY and staff did not help develop the talent he already had. This isn't a system issue like the announcer suggested where we need to figure out how to get him looks.
Sorry coaches can only do so much on helping a shooter in live action. I would like to see a day in the life of Neo to see if he is really putting in the work to correct shot deficiencies. They are putting him in position to get wide open looks and he flat out misses. Last night, the airball was the pinnacle.
He was shooting 37% from 3 in OOC play. He has shot 19% in conference. In a perfect world, its just him going against better talent but it hasn't been the defense forcing misses, its just been Neo taking bad shots. He also seems to be allergic to going inside. When he got that dunk early, I thought maybe we will finally see some tough takes. Alas, 1/6 inside the perimeter and 2/9 outside. For a 6'9 guy that's a bad ratio to begin with even if you are hitting a few. Only part I dont understand is why the coaches keep giving 27+ minutes per game.
The issue of not being able to get the scoring inside allows teams to sag off him a bit and they are letting him have the three counting on it being a miss. It let's them give help defense in the paint and makes it harder for Hansberry/Lawal/Gurdak to get space.
I think CMY keeps encouraging him and hoping he will play out of the slump. He has done that with other players. But Neo seems to be not listening or adapting.
I still think he's not in game shape. He plays well early (and played well early in season) and then starts missing shots, playing slow and making bad decisions. Guy has dead legs late in the games. Off season training is the only cure. But meantime, play him early and give him extended breaks (especially when it's back and forth or high paced games).
Lots of this.
Hard to know what his work ethic is like, so I don't want to knock him for that, but beyond his poor 3 Pt shooting he's also only 68% from FT Line.
For a guy who has a really clean stroke, that suggests to me that maybe there isn't so much extra time going in to fixing issues.
At this point, he's really just Schutt with a worse 3-point percentage. He's a better passer, but doesn't slash or create shots for others, and when he's not making anything from the outside he's just a floor-spacer who no one has to respect. He's not a good defender, and isn't reliable to handle the ball late in games.
It's just a mess at this point, and he doesn't look anything like the guy from the Providence game.
Hoping that somehow I light comes on, but as things are I don't see Neo back in Blacksburg next year and I don't think the NBA is going to be realistic either. The NBA definitely has room for "3 and D" guys (but not as lottery picks)...but as is, Neo is a no 3, no D guy....
I see him likely in the Portal this offseason
In the early games, we posted him up more it seems. I remember getting pretty excited seeing him vs a 6-4 guard in the post just abusing him. With Hansberry's post scoring issues, but passing ability I wish we'd see him working with Neo on post touches