Buzz at it again. Teaching these guys to become men. I feel something big in the works in Blacksburg. Buzz is building something significant and he's just on the structural foundation. Best thing about is that we're all witnessing it in front of our eyes!
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I'm glad he stated all of this, and he's absolutely right. He hasn't coached a game yet for us, but Buzz already looks like the perfect Basketball Coach for VT.
Also, Whitney Houston did one of the best renditions of the "Star Spangled Banner" ever.
Bills v. Giants in 1990, at 20-19 it's the closest SB to date.
You know... with all the mess we have going on in football right now, its easy to forget the upward trajectory the basketball team is on right now. Will they struggle? Sure, but we should see a better product on the court this year than we have in the past, and we should start to see the foundation for a really good basketball program getting set early on. This team may not win a lot of games this year, but something tells me they're gonna play their nuts off nonetheless.
I've never been too into Tech basketball, just cause I'm not a huge basketball fan. I've always watched them when on TV, but we have struggled lately, but Buzz is really getting me excited for Tech basketball and the future of the program.
This wins the internet today. This is bigger than basketball, bigger than x's and o's. These are lifelong lessons that Coach Williams is teaching. Great base for what I hope is a long and successful tenure at Virginia Tech. Good on ya, Buzz!!
I see absolutely nothing wrong with what Buzz said to the team. if it was a full stadium, buzz would get s standing ovation.
I need a realistic expectation of what to expect from this team this year. Because I feel like Buzz should never lose regardless of players or opponents. I'm ready to run through a wall for him and he hasn't even coached one game here at Tech. Seriously he is becoming one of my all time favorite coaches.
It's hard to say how well the team will do. The reason is that on paper, we'll be lucky to win more than ten games. But my personal expectations of Buzz are so high, it's hard to tamp that down. I remember that Seth Greenberg exceeded expectations drastically his first 2-3 seasons. We competed hard, we beat Duke & UNC, etc. So Buzz might pull off something similar. Or... he might not.
I'm going out on a limb and predict 17 wins for us. That's a really insane thing to do, but I'm going to go down in flames with optimism, anyway. If you look at our pre-ACC schedule, we've got ten games we should win for sure. Of the remaining 19 ACC games (presuming a 1st round ACC tournament loss), I think we'll be able to scratch up a half dozen or more wins. It's kooky, and not based on hard data, but that's my guess. If i were telling anyone else what THEY should expect? Fourteen wins would be good. I'm crazily going with seventeen.
Honestly I don't think you will be far off on that prediction. It is a soft OOC schedule and a team of hungry individuals looking for some respect. With Muller being able to provide depth behind Wilson, PG play should improve. I think Buzz's style of play will suit Adam Smith and he will play like the player we thought we were supposed to be getting last year. The key will be staying out of foul trouble to not strain the lack of depth down low.
Somewhere around .500 is what I think is realistic for this year.
Man, we all love Buzz before the season starts. I hope the love is still there when the season is over.
I think the rational portion of the fan base will understand. There's a portion of the internet fan base that has a football game mentality, though. By that I mean that when you lose one game, it is a major issue. With a minimum of 32 games this season, there will be ones that cause people to screech and rail. Certainly not as many as the past two seasons, though, and certainly not for the same reasons.
People just need to remember that. Buzz is building a solid program that will last after he is gone. We see evidence of that in every single one of these clips.
Some will lose patience quickly, but the rational ones will observe the growth.
In my comment above I don't actually expect him to go undefeated. I was just commenting on how pumped Buzz makes me. He really just gets it. I know that he's walking into even a bigger dumpster fire than any situation we have at football. He needs time but I think he's such a good coach that he might not even need as much as we're willing to give.
That was not directed towards you at all. I was just saying that some people treat basketball games like football games, when you lose one they make it a bigger deal than it should be made. I didn't for a second think you were anything but excited about Buzz. I apologize if I made you think that, it was not my intention whatsoever. I thought you guys were pumped, just like me!
I have to say, I was pretty guilty of this mentality. I had season tickets for all 4 of my years at Tech from 2007-2011, in what I think of as the "certifiably insane" years. Riding the ragged edge of making the tournament every year made each loss feel more catastrophic. The end of the Greenburg run and a couple of JJ years made those losses much less significant. More like drops in the bucket.
That said, I think given enough time, Buzz will have this team regularly making tournament appearances and we won't have to sweat out Selection Sunday every year. I am thrilled for the shot in the arm Buzz has given the program.
The ACC has just gotten more & more difficult, in terms of teams making it to & staying at the top of the conference. I do think Buzz will get us up there, though. I certainly don't expect us to become the equals of UNC & Duke. I do think Buzz will get us to 20+ wins & the NCAA on a consistent basis. When we do that, and win some NCAA games, I'll be more than happy. All in all, though, I just think Buzz will build our program into what it deserves.
I definitely agree. I don't expect to be UNC, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse, etc., but I can see having occasional upstart years like FSU or Miami.
Yeah, if we're consistently in the top half, and occasionally in the top quarter of the ACC, I'm good. One ACC championship and maybe one Final Four before I die is all I ask.
We have a higher ceiling than upstart years. We can compete with the blue bloods of UNC/Duke year in year out but we are better situated with Buzz than FSU. FSU recruits great athletes not great players who sometimes play good enough D to do well. Miami had one upstart year due to Frank Haith's recruiting and Larranaga's coaching. They'll be good again soon unless he leaves. It's a tough conference but getting the best recruits doesn't always get you championships. Top half of the conference gets you into March and I expect to make it there every year starting next year with consistent Sweet Sixteen runs and possible Final Fours as long as Buzz is here.
Yeah, I can definitely see us having better staying power than the examples I used. I also agree that we should have consistent opportunities to go dancing. What I was trying to convey was that with the murder's row of HOF coaches in the ACC, I don't expect to have a top 5 team year in and out. I do expect us to regularly compete and upset the blue bloods once Buzz has time to work his magic.
It will be nice knowing that Buzz has us defeating the likes of Duke, UNC, Louisville, Syracuse on a consistent basis. Not all the time, but often enough to make them dread playing us in Cassell or at their place.
After the past two seasons of wondering if we could even defeat UNC-Greensboro & the like, it will be refreshing to have an actual ACC caliber team.
But I would put Buzz IN the murderers row which makes all the difference. ACC-wise I have us eye-to-eye with LOLUVA, NC State, Pitt, and Wake and just a tiny bit below the four you mentioned and above everyone else.
You did get me thinking of some comparisons to base my expectations off of other than Buzz's Marquette years. I'm thinking Pitt but more successful in the tourney, Wisconsin who's that team that is always there like a mosquito, San Diego St. and Gonzaga at least in the national picture, Ohio State, Oklahoma St. Teams that are always around and every few years make a jump to the top.
Buzz continues to amaze. The main thing about Buzz is just how disciplined he requires his guys to be. Whether we win the conference or finish in dead last in the ACC, I have no doubt that the physicality and hustle this team will put on display will definitely get some national attention at some point. That's the main difference I see so far between JJ and Seth, is just how much more discipline Buzz teaches his guys. Awesome video. Just after watching that, I feel like someone is gonna make a movie about this team sometime in the future. I am a huge basketball fan and would love nothing more than to watch this team develop into an elite program one day. And of course, watch them beat LOLUVA every now and again
Absolutely. This man is not here to coach a basketball team for a couple of years, he's here to build a program. It really seems like he's investing himself in the university the way we invested in him. He is recruiting and training of men of character, and hopefully success will follow (and by all accounts it should).
Tip of the cap to you, Coach Buzz.
Those warmups are mad fresh too. Wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of those
I thought the same thing. Wish I was still on the yard to have one of them boys slide me that shirt.
Buzz is making me more excited for Hokie basketball than I've ever been before. I absolutely love the mentality that he's bringing to the team.
Absolutely. It's not nearly so much about his elite resume, which is better than anyone in the nation ever imagined we could recruit following James Johnson. It's all the characteristics like this that we are learning help create the uniqueness that is Buzz.
They will struggle with size as we just don't have enough on the roster. They will exceed playing up tempo. Buzz will have them playing with purpose and the roster should allow us to sub in and out at the smaller positions. Hopefully we can wear out thier big guys or force teams to play small to keep up.
Buzz and patriotism, just yells Merica! Its got me going from 6 to midnight
This is absolutely awesome ......I can tell you that as a veteran and alumni this epitomizes what I believe VT stands for. I am so pumped for basketball to start and know that Buzz will have a great impact on this school win or lose.
Leg up for your service. I have never heard anyone verbalize it as well as Buzz did in that clip. He's certainly comprehensive in what he is doing to mold these players into great young men.
Its very motivational!!
He also has a clip about teaching the guys through Jenga. I did not see it mentioned, but that too was a good one.
I saw this earlier today, and after watching it again, it still gives me chills. I'm one of those who gets emotional every time I hear our National Anthem. :-) This video really hit home for me today. We recently said, "See ya later" to my brother, who left for his 2nd tour in Afghanistan on Saturday. I am so excited what Buzz is doing for VT and the MBB team. This is just awesome!