The Matrix 2.1: A Mid-Season Review of Buzzketball

Year Two of Buzzketball means Version(s) 2.x of The Matrix, my deep dive into the rebirth and evolution of the Virginia Tech men's basketball program. For those of you who are new to The Matrix — or wish to brush up on the methodology and the five categories — review last season's inaugural post.

A quick reminder: The 5 categories are the basis for the composite score, which provides an overview of how Tech's players shake out across the board. It doesn't necessarily yield a best-to-worst rank, because the categories don't fairly reflect that. Some categories skew toward bench players who can give maximum effort over a brief period of time. Others require significant minutes to establish themselves in certain roles.

In the end, the goal is to chart and discuss the development of the team. If there is any indication as to how significant the changes were during Buzz's first season in Blacksburg, look no further than Christian Beyer. When The Matrix 1.1 was released, Beyer had logged a grand total of four minutes for the Hokies. Four. By season's end, Beyer had established himself as a prototypical "Buzz Williams Guy", was ranked in the top five of two categories and finished No. 7 in the year end composite. Consider this notice to pencil in Greg Donlon as this year's Christian Beyer.

The Matrix 2.1

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The Matrix has expanded in Year Two, with thirteen different players having logged minutes through the first fifteen games. Only five players return from last year — Ahmed Hill does not appear, as he is still on the mend — and thanks to his offseason makeover, Satchel Pierce no longer stands out with his Sideshow Bob haircut. With a number of fresh faces mixed in with key returners, Buzz's rotation has been extremely fluid during the first half of the season. This has allowed the staff to evaluate different lineups in various scenarios, which should bode well for the team's development and ability to handle the grind of the ACC slate.

Alpha Male

Seth Allen is not only the team's leading scorer, but also the quickest to assert himself after entering the game. Sure, it helps that he has the ability to run the offense from the point. But his experience in ACC play, his willingness to shoot the ball and his aggressive style of play make him the best leader for this team right now.

Call me an old fuddy duddy, but one of the things that initially aggravated me about Allen was that he is a chirper. After watching him follow-up the talk with big play after big play, I quickly realized that's part of what makes him such a dynamic basketball player. It doesn't matter if he has drained back-to-back-to-back triples or been held scoreless; he's always quick to let opponents — and his teammates — know he's there and ready to ball. It has the potential to lift both himself and his team, regardless of the circumstances, which is an incredibly valuable attribute given the youth and humility of this year's squad.

On a team full of Satchel Pierces and Devin Wilsons, Tech needs a guy like Seth Allen to fill the role of refusing to back down. It has already proven to help out in ACC play, and you can imagine it will be a huge bonus when the Hokies visit more intimidating atmospheres.

Keep an Eye On: Zach LeDay. I feel strange writing this based on my rationale for ranking Allen No. 1. While Allen tends to express his emotions a bit more on the court, LeDay has proven to be a consistent force by letting his game speak for itself. I will readily admit that after watching film of LeDay's play at USF, I did not expect to see the player we've witnessed this season.

LeDay has been a huge addition in the frontcourt as both a stretch-four and a defensive paint presence. He has been aggressive driving to the hole and a force on the glass, something the Hokies sorely lacked last season after the departure of Joey Van Zegeren. To begin the year, LeDay quickly asserted himself as one of the team's go-to offensive options and has done little to relinquish that role. His heavy-legged mid and long-range set shots look awkward — but, dare I say, Larry Legend-esque? — but he has surprisingly good change-of-direction and adjusts his angle well in traffic. I'm extremely interested to see how he fares through ACC play; but if Monday night's win over UVa is any indication, LeDay may be counted on down the stretch to keep this young team in games.

Floor General

Justin Robinson may be a true freshman and he may not log as many minutes as other capable point guards, but he's quickly proven to be a heady player up top for the Hokies. Coming into this year, the scouting report on Robinson was that he was an adept ball handler that thrived penetrating the lane, showing above-average skills dishing and finishing at the rim.

Maybe I'm a little bullish on Robinson compared to others, but I've been incredibly impressed with his maturity thus far. Against WVU's high pressure full-court defense, Robinson was able to settle down the press break where more experienced ball handlers like Devin Wilson and Seth Allen struggled. Robinson leads the team in assists (46) and has found nifty ways to break down the defense off the dribble to open things up for his teammates. At the same time, he continues to have his freshman moments, making errant passes and mishandling the basketball (his 22 turnovers per 100 possessions is...less than stellar, but understandable).

As both this season and Justin's career progress, I'm going to be looking at how his midrange game develops to go along with his strong dribble-drive. In order to avoid being another limited point for the Hokies — in the Devin Wilson/Hank Thorns mold — it will be extremely important for him to add that shooting touch to his game to keep defenses honest.

Keep an Eye On: Justin Bibbs. No really. Though he's hardly this team's elder statesman, he entered the 2015-16 season as this team's No. 1 or No. 2 player, depending on who you ask. Coming off a freshman season that saw guys like Bibbs and Wilson playing the 3 and 4 spots, it has been a welcome sight to see both operating up top with the ball in their hands. Though the most noticeable improvement in Bibbs' game has been his lethal shooting from distance, he has also looked a lot more confident and comfortable bringing the ball up court and dictating the offense, when called upon. Though I doubt we will see him vault to the top of the category rankings by season's end, his continued development running the offense makes Buzz's system even more interchangeable while adding another facet to Bibbs' game.

Rim Protector

Zach LeDay heads this category, and for obvious reasons. On a team sorely lacking in multi-dimensional post threats, LeDay stands out because of his athleticism and willingness to attack the boards on both ends of the floor. Buzz's confidence in LeDay to anchor the Hokies' frontcourt is clear when you consider he has logged 154 more minutes than the next closest big (Kerry Blackshear). Has this wildly swung LeDay's statistical advantage in his favor when compared to his teammates? Absolutely.

The fact that he is on the court more than any other post player backs up his per game numbers, where he leads the team with 9.5 boards and 1.5 blocks per contest. But if we look a bit deeper and remove Greg Donlon's out-of-whack stats (he has only logged 6 minutes thus far), LeDay leads the Hokies with 12.9 rebounds per 40 minutes and is second behind Johnny Hamilton (who has played a quarter of LeDay's minutes) with 2 blocks per 40 minutes. LeDay's 61 offensive boards are tops in the ACC, and he ranks 3rd in the conference in total rebounds and 9th in blocks per game. Not too shabby for a 6-7 stretch four forced to man-up on bigger and stronger true post players.

Keep an Eye On: Kerry Blackshear Jr. He has had an up-and-down season thus far, looking deft and skillful one week and then slow and hobbled the next. One thing is for certain: Blackshear has the makings of a longterm solution in the post. Considering his youth and lack of major college strength, Blackshear has performed well against a lot of talented bigs. He plays with a high motor, shows a willingness to body-up on the nearest defender and fight for position, and he goes up hard for the basketball.

Sounds exactly like what you would expect from an ideal post player, right? Well the truth is, Blacksburg has been devoid of that type of defensive and offensive threat for some time (with the exception of a brief stretch from JVZ). We've generally experienced a mish mash of post specialists, who are either bangers down low and offensive liabilities or tweeners who get abused on the block. Halfway through his freshman season, Blackshear is already posting numbers similar to what guys like Victor Davila, C.J. Barksdale and Cadarian Raines were posting as upperclassmen, and his present skill set is considerably more diverse than theirs ever was.

Lock-down Defender

So here's the thing about this year's team: I'm not entirely sold that there are one or two guys that stand above the rest as lock-down, on-ball defenders. Jalen Hudson has the size, athleticism and willingness to man-up on talented players, but he gets beat often on the perimeter and picks up silly fouls in the process. Chris Clarke plays with an extremely high motor and does a great job jumping passing lanes. But when you account for the number of incorrect reads he makes, it's hard not to feel like some of those steals are lucky. Devin Wilson, Seth Allen and Justin Robinson play with active hands and disrupt passing lanes, but I'm not sure I would feel confident with any of them guarding Xavier Rathan-Mayes in a crucial spot.

For now, this team plays its best basketball when they are employ sound, fundamental team defense. Against a Virginia team that led the nation with only 8.5 turnovers per game heading into Monday's Commonwealth Clash, the Hokies worked collectively to force 16 turnovers and fend off a late rally to knock off the No. 4 Wahoos.

Are the Hokies consistent in this area? No. But would I rather have a team that buys into their coach's philosophy and executes it as a group, similar to Jim Boeheim's vaunted 2-3 zone or Shaka Smart's Havoc pressure defense? Absolutely. We can let the season continue to play out and see if anyone truly emerges as a go-to defender. Until then, let's keep our fingers crossed the Hokies can maintain the pressure we've seen of late.

Energy Guy

Chris Clarke is the obvious energy guy, right? He is active on both ends, sprinting all over the floor; he attacks the glass; he has the leaping ability of a bigger Deron Washington; he has crazy dreads that make him look like Manimal-lite...I could go on and on.

Clarke's recent injury over the holidays was a big blow for the Hokies as they headed into ACC play. His size, quicks and ball handling ability created matchup issues for opposing lineups, forcing smaller threes or bigger (and slower) fours to guard him on the offensive end. Against ACC foes with more balanced lineups, Clarke had an opportunity to create a bit of an athleticism advantage for an undersized Hokies team.

Similar to Deron Washington's impact, Clarke has the ability to energize his teammates and/or the crowd through his play. He's impossible to miss on the floor and fun as hell to watch. There's a part of me that feels Clarke is destined to man the top spot on the Energy Guy list for the duration of his time in Blacksburg. But then again, I could be open to four more Clarkes of varying sizes to build a starting five...

Keep an Eye On: Seth Allen. I have already established that Allen likes to let opponents know he's in the game, and that's a hard trait to ignore when ranking who gives teammates a bigger shot in the arm. Allen narrowly trails LeDay in scoring (14.6 to 14.5 ppg) despite starting only 5 of 15 games, but logs the third most minutes per game. He scores in bursts, is aggressive from baseline-to-baseline, and likes to have the ball in his hands when the Hokies are facing a run.

He strikes me as the type of guy that you detest unless he's playing for your team. Sure, he can run hot and cold. But he's a rich man's Adam Smith, providing the same clutch shooting ability with a stronger passing, driving and defensive game. As the schedule gets tougher, and Tech's margin for error gets finer, the Hokies knowing they got that guy on the roster is a huge bonus.