Buzzketball tops Purdue 89-83 to Win Charleston Classic

"We're not ready."

Buzz Williams didn't need many words to describe his feelings heading into the Charleston Classic after the Virginia Tech men's basketball team's opening night win against Gardner-Webb.

Though the Hokies won by 28, the head coach wasn't thrilled with the way his team defended and seemed prepared for growing pains in the non-conference tournament. But instead, his 16th-ranked squad traveled to South Carolina and did what teams in the top 20 do.

They took care of business.

After routine victories over Ball State and Northeastern (who shellacked Alabama in the first round), a true test awaited them in the final. Purdue is a good team. They've been to back-to-back Sweet 16s, have one of the best guards in the country in Carsen Edwards, and one of the best coaches in the country in Matt Painter. If Williams wanted a test by playing in this tournament, this was surely the opponent he expected to see on Sunday.

But after a half of play, Buzz's assessment of his squad seemed apt. They routinely seemed lost defensively, giving Edwards and his band of merry shooters open shot after open shot. The Boilermakers drained triples and gave the Hokies fits with off-ball movement and backdoor cuts. For Tech, it was a minor miracle to be down just eight points at intermission.

But things changed in the second half. The defense got better (albeit it was far from perfect), but the Hokies did what they seem to be most comfortable doing: operating with clinical efficiency on the offensive end of the court, in route to an 89-83 win over the 24th ranked Boilermakers.

Ahmed Hill looked the most confident he's been in three years, scoring 18 second half points. And the best part of Hill's night was that his production didn't just come off open three pointers. The senior forward created off the dribble, attacked the basket, and responded with a clutch mid-range jumper in the moments after what seemed like a momentum-shifting dunk by Edwards.

Point guard Justin Robinson responded after an up-and-down first twenty minutes, and played the offense like it was his own personal orchestra. J Rob pulled every string out of his bag of tricks, and continuously found open teammates in places where Purdue never thought the diminutive guard would look.

And down the stretch the senior did his best Mariano Rivera impression, decidedly closing the game out by getting to the basket or the free throw line at will. At one point Tech clung to a one possession lead, but in the blink of an eye were up six and had the game well in hand.

But the most impressive player of the night was Nickeil Alexander-Walker. In a game that contained both the preseason favorite for Big 10 Player of the Year and the best point guard in the ACC, the sophomore guard was simply the best player on the floor Sunday night.

Alexander-Walker did it all. He got to the bucket with ease. He hit two grown man three pointers, both of which gave the Hokies' comeback attempt the final push it needed. He protected the ball well, grabbed rebounds (a must if Tech wants to compete for a decent NCAA Tournament seed this spring), and ended the day with 25 points on 10 of 17 shooting, seven boards, and three assists.

Purdue had no answer for him. Put a slower guard on him, and NAW took the ball right to the cup. Put Edwards or someone smaller against him, and NAW just shot over them. It was the cap to an impressive weekend for the youngster—who balled out for three days in a gym filled with NBA scouts.

The Hokies get six days off before hosting St. Francis (PA.) in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. And while Williams certainly appreciates the time to get his defense on the same page and hopefully incorporate Landers Nolley back into the fold, we learned one thing on Sunday.

Alexander-Walker, Robinson, Hill, and Kerry Blackshear are all ready.

This team is ready.

And they're really fun to watch, too.

A few quick thoughts

Alexander-Walker's leap forward has me less concerned about the loss of Chris Clarke. It's easy to watch him play as a scorer, but he does so many of the other little things Clarke once provided. NAW starts each game at shooting guard, but is also the secondary ball handler, the backup point guard, and the second best distributor on the team.

There were times this tournament when NAW would slide into Clarke's spot around the nail and run the offense, kicking out to shooters or Blackshear around the rim. He's played the passing lanes well on defense, utilizing his wingspan. He can still get lost a bit off the ball, which I'd bet drives Buzz crazy, and needs to get to the line more offensively. But he and Robinson form a formidable back court.

Blackshear is going to be more important than ever this season. The drop off between him and P.J. Horne is real, and every dumb offensive or technical foul Kerry commits will hurt even more than last year. Horne's gotten better every game, and it's still early. But I don't think I'd be comfortable playing him more than 15 minutes a night.

(By the way, have you noticed Kerry talking more shit this season? Everyone put in work during the off season to get better. NAW transformed his body, Bede obviously worked on his shot to make himself serviceable. Blackshear looks like he worked on a mean streak, which may not be great for his perilous foul situation but is the thing he needed to improve in the post.)

This team needs Landers Nolley. The Robinson/Bede/NAW/Hill/Blackshear starting lineup is very solid. Ty Outlaw is what he is at this point (good shooter, decent rebounder, not as decent defensively), which makes for a nice bench player. Horne'll get his 10-15 minutes backing up Blackshear. But the eighth spot is up for grabs.

Isaiah Wilkins had a nice start, but I'm not sure he's the player people were hoping for after his 21-point debut. He looked serviceable against Ball State and Northeastern, but it quickly became clear that he couldn't hang against Purdue. He does a lot of nifty things, but he'll need a little more time.

But if Nolley can slide in and give Tech a reliable eight-man rotation, with Wilkins playing here and there when needed? Look out, that's a deep group.