Led in scoring by Justin Bibbs and Malik Mueller with 15 points a piece the Hokies controlled the game from the beginning and led 30-20 at the half. Ahmed Hill came on late in the second half to contribute 11 points as the Hokies extended their lead. The team had very balanced scoring with points from 10 players as Buzz got everyone involved except for Greg Donlon. The team ran quite a few four guard sets, especially since Joey Van Zegeren and Satchel Pierce both were in foul trouble early and each eventually fouled out of the game. I was surprised to not see more of Shane Henry with this going on but his weight appears to be a real issue in playing down low. He still managed to contribute 3 blocks and 8 rebounds in limited time so I would like to see him get more time down low.
There were quite a few impressive things to take away from this game. The Hokies did not have a turnover until there were less than eight minutes left in the game which really helped in building the lead as they also scored 20 points off turnovers for the night. They also took good quality shots, shooting over 52% for the night, which will be important later in the season. The team also shot well from behind the arc, going 6 for 14 (42%), hitting several key threes from the corner. This seems to be the role that Mueller and Smith will play predominantly.
A couple of negatives, starting with dreadful free throw shooting again, shooting less than 60% from the stripe. Devin did well in creating opportunities with six assists and got to the line a bit but went 1 for 5 once he got there. He was dealing with a black eye from practice but I am not sure that played a role.
The other big negative was the bigs being in foul trouble. They will have to learn quickly to be able to stay on the court or we will be in serious trouble come the ACC schedule. Van Zegeren especially had some ticky tacky calls that he should never have been in position to be called on. Proper positioning and ball control would have kept him on the court more.
All in all it was about the game I expected to see tonight, and was glad to see that we were about where I thought we were as that should bode well for the OOC schedule and possibly a few special nights in the ACC. Long season left to play but 1-0 is the best way to start it.
Comments
Bibbs is gonna be big time.
Impressive FG percentage (52%). Terrible FT percentage (58%). Not often you see a team shoot nearly the same in the field and on the line.
Good win tonight. It looks like we have a lot of athletic wings this season and I'm excited to see how they develop. So how should we look at this win? I know nothing about Maryland Eastern Shore. How much does a middle of the road ACC team beat them by? Was this game expected to be competitive?
I had predicted a 70-51 final score so they did slightly better than that. That said, most other ACC teams don't play a team with an RPI over 280, at least not consistently. I would expect to see them drop off our schedule sometime in the next couple years as Buzz improves the OOC schedule. This was exactly what it looked like, two teams in entirely different tiers playing a game to get some experience and shake off the cobwebs.
Mueller is a good looking player. He certainly passes the eye test.
I was very impressed! He seemed in control, and obviously hit every shot he took
Greg Donlon informed Buzz last night he was going to red shirt this year
Is he injured? What purpose does that serve?
I'm confused. How does a walk-on decide if he redshirts or not? I think it's more along the lines of he requested a redshirt, if there's any truth to what you're saying at all.
I'll just repeat what he told me "I'm deciding to redshirt this year. I want an extra year on the team and work towards being a strength coach or something related to that."
I'm assuming thats what he did was he requested a redshirt.
Based on TTL conversation last night, Buzz relayed that Donlon had requested prior to the first game that he be considered for a redshirt, Buzz willing. Donlon's desire was to be a part of the program for two years instead of just one. That is almost verbatim Buzz's retelling of their conversation. Buzz was suitably impressed by Donlon's dedication. Buzz forgot about that during the game and told Donlon to go in, but Donlon reminded him, and Buzz changed plans.
For all the apathy on all fronts of the past two seasons, it is really refreshing to see a player who prefers to be a 'silent partner' in our success these coming two seasons than merely pass through the system. Donlon is to be admired for that. Anyone who would take the time to research Buzz at Marquette would understand just how highly he values such dedication.
Once again, yet another stellar example of the complete reversal of this program towards a positive path.
It looked like we ran an offense other than pass the ball around the arc and chuck a 3 with the shot clock winding down. I don't know if Buzz understands how we do things around here. This whole blowing out bad teams , not committing turnovers, and getting scoring from more than one player may take some adjustment period to get used to.
I saw a lot of passing around the arc, but then instead of jacking up a contested 3, they were passing inside within the 15ft radius for a short jumper or making quick drive & dish.
Also, the players weren't standing leadfooted with zero off the ball movement like they've done for the last few years. This time, there was constant off the ball movement, and the passes around the perimeter actually made sense in outshifting the defense. In years past, that was done out of laziness and no concept of offensive philosophy. Now, those passes are appropriate. That is an exponential improvement.
Anything is better than what we used to have
Big boy Bibbs is gonna be a man among boys by the time he graduates
Heaven forbid, but could he be good enough to be a one and done?
Lets not get carried away. If he starts averaging 25-30 a game with 8-10 rebounds than maybe but until then I would expect him back next year. He did have a good game though against crappy competition. We will see hiw he does against Duke and UNC.
Yeah I would pump the brakes on that one. It was great to see him be assertive, and I really liked how he looked from the outset.
However, the big question I have is how does someone like Justin Bibbs handle being the man, or one of, if not the, primary scoring threat(s)? He wasnt that guy on his HS team, so can we realistically expect him to handle that role as a true-freshman in the ACC? I would argue he and Mueller look the most comfortable shooting the ball, along with Adam Smith (though it will take some time to determine if last years streakiness will continue this year).
Two advantages of this team (compared with years past) are (A) they have a lot of capable ball handlers, so different guys can both create shots and expect to find shots via ball movement; and (B) there are a lot more shooters than were used to seeing from a Hokies team.