"Take up space! Take up space! Take up space!"
That's Buzz Williams in action. Be it yelling and flapping his arms on defense or turning his back on the game to coach a player up, he's always teaching. Williams' courtside schooling was prevalent in nearly every second of action during game one of the Buzzketball era, a 71-46 Hokies win over Maryland-Eastern Shore in Cassell Coliseum.
It wasn't always pretty, and there's plenty for Buzz to build on throughout the year, but it was a start. Freshman Justin Bibbs showed flashes of a well rounded offensive game, Malik Mueller showed total control offensively and the team as a whole had long stretches of tenacious defense.
There were cringe-worthy moments as well, as can be expected from a young team playing its first game. Poor free throw shooting, mid-range bricks and youthful mistakes were all prevalent at different times.
Mueller was the biggest surprise of the game. He played the part of total point guard, showing a scoring flair as well as a nice ability to see the floor. It was also very telling that he ended up playing more than counterpart Devin Wilson (27 and 24 minutes each, respectively). That's not necessarily a condemnation on Wilson, simply an observation on how well Mueller played. This is going to be one of the more interesting subplots of the early season. A year ago, it didn't matter whether or not Wilson had a bad game. He had to play an absurd amount of minutes regardless of his play, because there simply wasn't an alternative. Now there is.
Don't think it was all roses and glory for Mueller, though. What The Umlaut (now his official nickname) takes on offense, he gives a lot of it back on the other end. He's smart enough to get into some passing lanes and provide some stress on the defense that way, but he's a little flat-footed and getting around many of UMES' off-ball picks proved to be a problem.
Another player who could be, let's just call him a defensive adventure, is Adam Smith. Smith has a very nice first step, and is quick both on and off the ball. However, the problem is Smith knows how quick he is, and ball watched frequently. I think it was an attempt to jump passing lanes, but he often was found frantically scrambling to find his man who had gotten behind him. With all that said, he's going to single handedly swing a game this season on offense. The same quick step that tempts him to cheat on defense also allows him to blow past opposing defenders and get open shots.
My biggest concern about this team came terrifyingly to fruition in game one, as both bigs Joey van Zegeren and Satchel Pierce got into serious foul trouble. van Zegeren moved his feet well, but picked up a cheap fifth foul diving on the floor after a loose ball. That's great effort that you like to see from any player, but it also highlighted that the big men simply can't play like the rest of the team. Lack of size will haunt them, and they will never be able to afford either one picking up fouls away from the hoop. Pierce looked better than I anticipated, but he wasn't always in the right place on either side of the ball, and I'm not sure how he'll translate come ACC play. Still, the team needs one of the two big men on the floor at all times, because when both are out things get pretty wonky defensively. When they both foul out? Yikes, things could get ugly.
Shane Henry isn't scared. Seriously, he may have gone 1-6 from the field but all of those shots were confident. The Georgia Perimeter College transfer also had eight rebounds and roughly 100 hustle plays that made his coach clap emphatically. Oh, and he did all of this in 13 minutes. His shot needs to improve, but he showed confidence in himself and he at least showed an ability to be an energy rebounder. That's something that will be very important to a team with size issues like this one.
Just a short blurb on the freshman trio of Bibbs, Hill and Hudson. They're all fun to watch, even if they don't always necessarily know what they're doing. They're bouncy, they hustle and they all pose different little problems to opposing offense. I already briefly broke down Bibbs' game, but Hill and Hudson each showed how they can contribute this season. Hill moves well, both without the ball and on defense, and I can easily see him becoming a defensive stopper. Hudson was asked to handle the backup point guard duties when both Wilson and Mueller were on the bench. I'm still not quite sure what his role will be on the team, but he rebounds well and attacks the rim.
It was only game one, and there will be a lot to learn between today and the team's first real test at Penn State on December 3rd. But there were positive signs, from a team and a coach that looked excited to take the floor on Friday night.
Tech hosts Liberty at home on Wednesday, and it will be very interesting to see what Buzz can teach his team between now and then.
Comments
Talented growing pains... This team has the look of one that will be very good in the future but are going to struggle until they really click. I liked what I saw last night, mistakes and all.
My biggest complaint... On the broadcast it looked like there were about 3 different shades of orange painted around Cassell. The orange of the Hokies looked different than the orange of the ACC. And then you have the clear differences in Orange in the picture attached above. Is it really that hard to standardize?
The orange on the floor was always going to be different this year unfortunately. It is the same color, but the ACC was painted this summer, while the Hokies was painted last year when the floor was entirely redone. With time it will begin to look the same.
As far was what you see in the picture. The border orange was just painted last year and is a standard color we have for every border throughout Cassell/Jamerson/Merryman. The orange around the Hokies is actually orange tape that has been there for way too long. There was talk of graphics being put up on that wall, but I think it got put on the back burner for the graphics that were put in the hallway/tunnel area near the visiting team locker room.
Thanks for info on game. How full was cassell? We need support for all games, pack the cassell.
Not sure the official number but on espn3 it looked pretty empty.
More people were at the game yesterday than almost any game last year, with the exception being unc and uva
I think it looked empty because the students are so far up. I believe I read that the student ticket allotment sold out.
Attendance was 6191, not bad for comparison to past years. Needs to get better though when ACC comes around.
It was...interesting. I'm not sure what to expect because Friday night games are generally a weird crowd to start with. The students were good, though many left at half time and there were a lot of empty seats. I usually like to judge a crowd like this: if everyone packed down into the closest seats possible, how would the crowd look then? If people did that it would have look decently impressive, but still nowhere close to what we've seen in years past. If I had to guess, the student section picks up a little bit more on Wednesday and we see it grow from there.
Oh, one thing I forgot: after the handshake line at the end of the game, Buzz grabbed the PA microphone (the audio system is much improved, by the way) and simply thanked the fans for coming. He's still the prince of Blacksburg, and doing things like that will only endear people to him more.
Before looking at the official number, I would have guessed 2/3rds full from my point on the floor at its best. A lot of people left towards the end of the second half.
I didn't see Muller play any point, only wing. Was I mistaken?
We should get a test in Cancun, right?
Mueller was probably the point for about five minutes and did seem to play more from the wing. He consistently positioned himself to the left side of the court as the ball was brought up initially and hit several key threes from that corner as Hudson and Hill created space for him by penetrating the lane and kicking out. At this point it seems Mueller has the best pure shot on the team.
Agreed and I don't think it's that close either.
I wouldn't rule out The Bibbs in the pure shooting competition just yet
He played point for a little more than that in the second half, but that also doesn't count the times where there was another point out there and he still ended up facilitating the offense. The give-and-go between him and Pierce was a perfect example. Technically he's the 2, but it was really flowing through him.
Rob makes a very astute observation though. Tech took 14 threes, and if I had to guess, I bet at least 9-10 of them came from one of the corners. Mueller, Smith and Hill all hit from there, and the wingers really flowed to those spots. It's a good strategy, statistically the two best shots on the court are a layup/dunk and a corner 3.
It's easier to make a corner three than a straight on three?
Not in my experience, although as a lefty I prefer a couple of steps to the left of the circle. I assume it would be the opposite for a right handed shooter.
Corner 3s are super efficient in the NBA because they're closer to the hoop than the rest of the arc. I don't know what the percentage is like in college.
Depends.
Corner 3's are a lot of the times harder to contest. With how help defenses rotate its often the farthest point left to defend especially if the offense is dictating the defenses movement very well, thus leading to more "open" looks and less contested shots. It is also a week point in transition for a shooter to spot up, which leads to a less contested shot
However, the sight lines can be tricky. Corner 3's can mess with your depth perception slightly especially if your not used to shooting at a specific arena. You get the view of the crowd behind the rim and it changes from arena to arena, where more straight up to the basket the backboard helps as a guide (in my opinion). But real shooters can unload threes anywhere. Its just a matter of how contested they are
I thought Hudson looked like he was running point when Wilson was out.
In the NBA the corner three is the highest efficiency shot on the floor, simply because it's closer than a three ball from anywhere else. Yet, for whatever reason, it has one of the highest true shooting percentage of any shot in college too.
In case anyone was wondering, true shooting percentage calculates a player's efficiency from everyone on the court, taking free throws, twos and threes all into account.
As for Cancun, if it ends up being a big test to win there we are in bigger trouble than I thought this season. Thats not saying one of those teams couldnt rise up for a game but I agree with Brian that Penn State is our first known test on the schedule.
Norther Iowa will be interesting, but unless they end up playing Northwestern in the final it should be relatively easy.
Don't know much about Northern Iowa but I seem to recall them beating VCU last season.
All I remember about Northern Iowa is the fact that they beat Kansas (go figure, Kansas lost to somebody they shoulda beat in the big dance) in the tourney in like 2010
My wife went to UNI so behind VCU and VT it's who we root for and watch. They have a decent program there, they pull out some good wins every year and sometimes step it up big.
Feels good even being able to nitpick. Remember watching them lose to USC Upstate the first game last year.
What made me the most happy about the game was the ballhandling, hustle and was better overall shooting. What makes me unhappy is we are going to get killed by teams who have good front lines and rebounding. Next season's recruiting should be more big men.
Why is that guy dressed as an indian?
because Hokies have a lot to do with Native Americans, duh
Because it's nearly Thanksgiving, and the opposing team has a bird as a mascot????
Edit: supposed to be a reply to HOAT
Brian, Rob and anyone else who watched: I wasn't able to watch, but I checked out the box score. Obviously, if you shoot 52% from the field, you'll be in a lot of game, but I was a bit concerned about the low assists number. Only 11 of 24 made FG were assisted, and that seems a bit low. Obviously, not every shot is going to come from an assist and plays that result in a shooting foul won't be documented as an assist, but how was the ball movement and the overall movement on offense?
ball movement/player movement was drastically improved from last season. actually, i noticed it within the first 2 minutes of the game. it didnt always lead to scoring, but i dont ever recall one player dribbling around and wasting clock then shooting a 3 like the past 2 years. Im actually surprised we had so few assists, i think Devin had 6 in the first half. Most importantly though we didnt turn it over until there were 8 minutes left IN THE SECOND HALF. that was awesome
I thought the ball movement was great, much better than last year. Ballhandling wise we have a lot of guys now who can bring it up, even Pierce impressed me with his passes.
I think a lot of that had to do with the missed free throws. Does not seem that he will tolerate that very often as you could hear him with some variation of the chant "make the free throw" throughout the entire game.
A PG has to do three things that are critical - distribute the ball effectively, not just randomly. Then play lock down defense. And finally, present an actual scoring threat while penetrating the defense, which means he absolutely MUST make FTs. A PG that can't shoot FTs is like a big man who can't defend or rebound. Wilson was shaky, to say the least. Buzz has got other guys who do the other things as well, and can make FTs. Devin has to step his game up immediately on that, not just show incremental improvement through the course of the season. Buzz is a real coach, and won't ignore such a weakness, especially when there are other players who don't have that weakness available.
Enjoyed watching the replay.
Best ball movement (by far) in two decades...half court O looks like the Marquette practice drill on the net. I like overplaying the ball on D...takes advantage of the quickness and athleticism...work to do on the help behind it.
ALL of the freshmen can play. Umlaut (love the nickname!) plays like an upperclassman. Not sure why there has been a diversity of opinion on him. Bibbs looks great. Hill and Hudson looked better after their first half jitters. Pierce is fairly polished from the waist up...good hands...great to see from a big man. Needs to play better D with his feet.
Wison shoots free throws off his pinky and ring finger. Consistency is impossible. Bring the elbow in!
Interior D is scary. I think well see a lot of what Meyers was doing. Don't recall seeing any zone.
Overall it is a MUCH better coached team. There is an obvious plan on both ends of the court. The future looks very bright!
Good points. As far as foul shooting goes, I wish Buzz would send Wilson and Van Zegeren to special foul shooting instruction followed by 8 straight hours of foul shooting each, for as many days in a row as it takes for them to develop a rhythm that will actually improve their foul shooting. If that doesn't work try hypnosis. As much as they go to the line we can't afford to lose all those scoring opportunities this year.
As far as diversity of opinion on Mueller, most of it comes from not being able to see him play considering he had to sit out last year so there wasn't much to go on with how his game would translate to the college level until we got to see him play in this first game. He performed well in this first game as the shooting guard, more so than Smith in my opinion.
I do agree that Wilson has no consistent form on his free throw shooting which plays a large part in how much he misses. His hand position on the ball varies as does his elbow position. Even his push with his legs seems to change with each shot.
I think you mean DER Umlaut, Brian. I was surprised by his shooting, I was not expecting that.
Thoughts from being in attendance...
I would put actual bodies there in the 5500-6000 range. In the donor sections, it was a little over half full, in the student section it was about 65-70% full. That is from checking through the ten minute mark of the first half, when all excuses of showing up late or leaving early are negated. I thought that was very good for a Friday evening game with a football game out of town. You figure any donors from NoVa or Richmond area who would travel on a Saturday didn't on a Friday because of work. Not for a MEAC game at least. Anyway, I was pleased with attendance and enthusiasm.
The pregame is much improved over years past. I did find the Enter Sandman unnecessary, it seemed like it was only used because of obligation. If it were omitted, the pregame was just as good. Lighting is much improved, as is the audio.
Everyone on the team hustled. Yes, the poor defenders (hello Adam Smith) didn't play D well, but they tried more than in the past. There was constant movement with and without the ball. PLEASE re-read that last sentence. There was constant movement by the ballhandlers as well as those without the ball. No standing in place like five robots while one pounded the ball forever. The players moved. They played solid half court D, and gave enough pressure on the ballhandler full court to distract.
Justin Bibbs is going to be GOOD. Mueller will be a steady influence on the team. Satch Pierce needs a ton more self-confidence. He can be another JVZ following the same time frame. He just needs to believe in himself. JVZ is becoming the player Greenberg said he would, in the timetable Greenberg said he would. We've got talent on this team. People just need to understand that it sometimes takes time for confidence to match abilities. Devin Wilson is the only PG I know of who can't shoot. The guy has GOT to learn how to make FT's. Absolutely MUST do far better.
We will surprise some people, we will get crushed a few times this season, we will make mental errors. But it will NOT be for a lack of effort. That cannot be underscored enough.
What we witnessed the last few years was ugly basketball. Apathy, lack of effort, lack of talent, lack of desire. THAT was ugly. What I witnessed in this game was the opposite. Effort, desire, enthusiasm, dedication, (glimpses of) talent - those are beautiful things. Buzz has molded this team, and will continue to do so - into one that contends and earns respect. Plus the guy is a human highlight reel on the sidelines.
Enter Sandman should be played before the starting lineup intro instead of the tip-off. The SL intros are to basketball what the entrance is to football. Look at what other schools and pro teams do for their intros. Enter Sandman gets the crowd and the team pumped up, the players were jumping more than the fans when it played on Friday. Do "LET'S GO" "HOKIES" during the other teams intro then when their intros are done Enter Sandman plays and the lights drop. BOOM!
It seemed like they stuck it in before the tipoff in thinking some fans would be upset if it weren't included somewhere. The players intros were very exciting the way they were handled. I didn't see that they would have been any more so otherwise. It's a great intro, but so was the song that was played, that one fit well for hoops intro. It's not a big deal either way, as the whole pregame montage was handled very well overall and was very exciting. Both the students and the 'older' fans reacted greatly to it. The latest version of Cassell Guard did a good job, too. There's only so much enthusiasm that can be generated against UMES, and they squeezed it all out.
Secondary note - when Buzz went down pregame and shook hands with the opposing coaches, he gave Ace Custis a bear hug that lasted about five seconds, and you'd have thought a son had returned home from war, it was so intent. Buzz also had some words whispered to Ace, too. A real connection there, it seemed. I think Buzz respects the former player connection better than any coach we've had in hoops in the last few decades, literally. The timing of the Alumni Weekend was not coincidental. Guys from Chris Smith on forward were there to witness the rebirth of Hokie hoops.
Sandman before tipoff has been a thing for the last couple of years, so not really new. I think you will see the basketball team get away from it before the season is over though. The lighting is going to be replaced the week of graduation, so Jan 3rd against Syracuse is when you can fully expect to see something new and exciting.
I don't think you can really argue that the intros wouldn't be more exciting with Enter Sandman. The song riles up students and players like nothing else. The intro video was pretty good. For a comparison here's Pitt's intros
I wasn't going this nuts before the starting lineups. To be fair this is probably one of the best in the country, it is really cool in person. But I think we can compete with it because we react to Enter Sandman like a preteen/teenage girls seeing their favorite pop star.
In other news for college basketball fans, today is Marathon Monday, 24 hours of non-stop college basketball.
I say that based on actually being at the games, OOC as well as ACC, and seeing the response by the fans, both students & donors. I know that rattles some people's cages because of their preconceived notions. That's fine. I'm not calling for Enter Sandman to be banished, I merely made a comment the other songs used in player intros worked just fine. Ask a Wisconsin fan, and they'd say no other song than 'Jump Around' works well. You could do the same at several other schools across the nation, and they'd all be convinced their song could never be replaced by any other song forever. Yet, somehow, across time, changes are made and they work. Eventually some people realize there is more than one answer out there.