The Virginia Tech men's basketball team traveled to Raleigh coming off a string of head-downing defeats. They took the bus back to Blacksburg on Saturday with a feeling of deja vu, as the Hokies lost to NC State 53-69.
The game followed much of the same story from the rest of the week. Tech didn't shoot the three ball very well, suffered cripplingly long cold stretches and allowed their opponent to hit a high percentage of their field goals.
That's not a recipe for success for any team in college basketball, but especially not this one. And though Buzz Williams' squad kept it closer than the final score indicated for much of the night, a Wolfpack run in the final 10 minutes inflated the tally.
Devin Wilson had a poor night both from the floor and defensively. The sophomore point guard went 1-8 from the field, 2-4 from the line and couldn't run out on many State wings in time to contest their looks.
Also, Malik Müller couldn't get a thing going on either end. Mark Gottfried had his defenders flying in the Umlaut's direction every second he was on the court, and the officials' inconsistent block/charge calls caused to early foul trouble. The combination lead to the German playing just 12 minutes and taking a single shot.
(Let me clear something up. I thought that the officiating was questionable at best for both sides. It seemed that every call around the hoop was just a flip of the coin as to whether or not it would go against the offense or defense.)
There were bright spots. Justin Bibbs shook off his funk, scoring 19 points at 57 percent rate. He single handedly made it a contest at the back end of the first half, scoring 10 consecutive points to keep the deficit in reach heading into intermission. Adam Smith also hit a couple of clutch triples, as he's known to do. They were, though, the only two consistently effective offensive weapons.
I don't know what can be said about Tech's rough shooting performances over the last week, other than that they simply can't win when they put forth even an average showing. The big problem is that the secret's out about these guys.
Everyone the Hokies face between now and the end of the year know the deal. If they defend the three point arc as well as they can, it will cause major problems. Clemson, Miami and State were all able to do that, and all ended up winning by 16 or more.
Buzz's rotation was interesting to say the least. Satchel Pierce didn't see a minutes of action and Jalen Hudson only saw one. Will Johnston, still making his way back from an injury to his right elbow, found himself playing the high post when subbed in.
I don't see practices, so I can't criticize any sort of playing time situation. I will say that I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see Hudson more. He's turning into a favorite of mine, if only because he'll have at least three moments each appearance where he reminds us that he's as explosive as they come.
Though it was another bad loss, I'm not particularly broken up about this result.
The growth of this team will eventually make away games easier. As Bibbs, Hudson and Ahmed Hill get older, they'll become more composed and fans will no longer just assume that road visits will be automatic losses.
Watching them develop both mentally and emotionally is going to be like watching a Richard Linklater movie (but hopefully more interesting). Considering that they'll all come up together makes it even more fascinating, like a four year social experiment that we can all observe.
When watching them, I often find myself wondering which player is the leader. Smith is the most vocal and usually the most positive, however just because he's the most vocal doesn't necessarily mean he holds the reigns.
One of my favorite ways to describe leadership comes from Trent Dilfer talking quarterbacks. In that article Dilfer said that he really wants to know "who drives the car"; if there is a group of quarterbacks together traveling somewhere, which one will drive everyone else there?
It seems like a stupid, somewhat trivial way to look at the most important position in football, but I think there's some logic to it. People usually don't drive a group by accident, or "just because". If you're going somewhere in a pack, the person driving probably likes to be in control and is, more likely than not, the alpha of the gang.
Look at this bunch. Who grabs the keys?
Right now, Buzz Williams drives the bus and it's not close. But, when his guys morph into a successful, winning basketball team, at least one of these players will have to take the next step leadership-wise.
None of them are there yet, and I'm okay with that. But I wouldn't be shocked if someone asserted themselves ahead of the pack during these last few games.
Until then, all we can do is sit back and watch it unfold.
Comments
I like to think they are saving themselves for the ACC tournament.
The beatings will continue because the rest of the league has figured out how to disrupt the Hokies quickly and take them out of their comfort zone. Granted it doesn't take that much. Fortunately, with the storm here, it knocked out the Directv right at 16 minute mark of the 2nd half, so I was saved from the viewing. Buzz will get it right, so don't get too disappointed. GO HOKIES!
Buzz (per usual) gives a good interview. He seems tired, but you can tell his analytical mind is still working overtime.
NC State did hit a high percentage from the floor, especially early we couldn't stop them from scoring inside at will, then when we committed to stopping the inside, their poured in clean 3 point looks.
One thing I dd like was the fight this team showed. They are undersized inside but crashed the glass and every player committed to boxing out, which can be traced back to coaching. Also, they player together and fought back to close it to 3. I know that was still early in the second half, but it shows fight; and that can be traced back to Buzz. So the mindset is there.
But you can't teach height. I wonder what this team would look like with 2 competent bigs. I like the guys we got, they have the right willpower, now we just need the horsepower.
Competent bigs is literally the one thing separating us from where we are now and where we want to be. Our weakness down low is being exploited big time every game and we have no counter. The way we have to pack in the paint leaves guys with wide open looks from 3 and they are knocking them down.
The problem is, I'm not sure we have anyone in the coming class that fits the bill on being the guy to fix these problems.
We had plenty of "Bigs", however, we can continue to thank Tom Gabbard and Jim Weaver for the loss of those recruits and numerous others. I need not recount the names, but they are making a big impact at other programs. It will take time (2 more years?) before we overcome the administrative incompetence that haunts the basketball program,
If nothing else, I love Buzz's interviews for how he chops down mark berman into an even smaller troll.
Also, it seems that Buzz's wife & 13 yr old daughter (on her birthday) were in attendance. Buzz's daughter was the recipient of some verbal abuse from State fans, resulting in his wife responding & Buzz finding it necessary to step into the crowd. A 13 yr old girl.
Whenever we talk about WVU fans generally being scumbags(and they are), let's not forget to include NC State fans in the same category. It's nothing personal against us, I've seen reports of them doing it against virtually every other team they play.
I'm in grad school at State. I don't think they're anywhere near WVU levels but they can be pretty rough on visiting teams. I think it's a function of little brother syndrome being constantly overshadowed by UNC and Dook. I was actually in the student section for this game and didn't have any trouble. I do remember getting some flak at a football game a few years ago when we came back from a 17-0 deficit though. I can take that, but doing it to a 13 year old is despicable.
Honestly never had an issue with NC St. fans. Though I've never experienced them in basketball. UNC has always been the worst fanbase from personal experiences.
Every fan base will have it's share of dopes. It's ignorant to generalize all NC State fans as terrible people based on "reports" and the actions of a few at a basketball game.
Whenever we - any of us, not just me - declare that (fill in the blank) fans are obnoxious, nobody ever means that EVERY fan in the fan base is obnoxious. Rather that an unusually large percentage of the fans have shown themselves to be obnoxious.
I've seen multiple times myself, have multiple friends who are State fans who complained with embarrassment about it multiple times, and have seen published reports in the media of examples.
Were there 19000 State fans taunting Buzz's daughter? No. Were there some who felt emboldened enough to do so? Yes. It seems to me to be ignorant to not hold them accountable for that unacceptable behavior.
What amazes me (and excites me tremendously) about this squad is their hustle and heart. Each and every game we KNOW that they are going to play their hearts out and butts off, no matter what the scoreboard says. If only Weaver hadn't screwed us over like he did we would have some competent bigs and might could surprise a few opponents...but anyways, I'm really excited and looking forward to two years from now when Buzz has his team assembled. I think Hokie Hoops will be a force to reckon with!!
I agree wholeheartedly that the officiating was questionable for both teams. It truly was a coin toss and you could never tell whether a call was going to be a charge, a block, or no-call. Not that it really matters in the end...
As far as the State fans giving Buzz's daughter crap, shame on them!!! That's truly despicable...although they (State fans) can't be as bad as WVU fans. I swear (pun intended ;)) every time I watch a Mounties game on ESPN, they student section will chant bull**** several times throughout the game. I never heard that once from the Pack fans.
I always wear my rose colored glasses regarding Tech's fouls but even the announcers comments several times about how they couldn't understand the ref's not calling some of the shoving and hitting from the State players.
For those interested in Hokie hoops, JVZ will graduate this spring from Tech. Then he will enroll at Northwestern & become immediately eligible for one year of play under Coach Chris Collins.