Last time we checked in, our heroes were on their way to Brooklyn in order to play the best team in the country. Did I have confidence in them? Of course not! But that game happened, and then they played three more games after that. Let's look at a few quick game summaries before we break this team down.
Michigan State 96, Virginia Tech 77: This was probably many of y'all's first endeavor into watching this team. Well, what you witnessed was somewhat of a bipolar game in which some things went incredibly right, and others went "Oh God, just burn it all down" wrong. What went right? Jarell Eddie was unconscious in the first half, knocking down a ton of jumpers, and with the help of Adam Smith, kept the Hokies competitive for most of the opening half. In fact, an Eddie three-ball cut Sparty's lead to three with just three minutes left in the half. That, however, was when the wheels fell off the bus (which, apparently, was on an elevator). State went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 13 going into halftime, capitalizing on a few poor turnovers and bad perimeter D (two of the things that went extremely wrong, another being the eight shots taken by Devin Wilson and Ben Emelogu combined, but I'll get to that).
Tech never really had a shot in this game, but will also never play a team quite like it again. No team, not even Duke, can quite replicate the pro-style ball movement and the matchup nightmare of Adreian Payne.
Seton Hall 68, Virginia Tech 67: This one hurt. Despite the score (the Pirates led for most of the game), Tech was the better team. The Hokies played decent offensively and showed signs of life on defense. That being said, this game came down to the wire, and any of those games are 50/50. I think, however, the thing that stands out most about this game was the play drawn up for Eddie with just over 20 seconds to go (22.7 to be exact).
01:30:59–01:31:11
Here's the situation: Tech is down by one, with the shot clock off. The basic design of this play was to isolate Eddie at the right elbow, and let him take it to the rack. I know that most of you were calling for Emelogu to take this shot, and while I don't disagree with you, I understand James Johnson's thinking in letting his senior have the ball in his hands at the end of the game. You may not have liked it, I definitely didn't, but I understood it. Now, while I say that, asking Eddie to attack off the dribble was...interesting. He's not the most effective player off the bounce, and it basically eliminates his best asset (he's a very good jump shooter).
Here we see Jarell take it one-on-five, with literally the entire defense collapsing on him. The basic problem with this play isn't that it was a bad shot (which it was), but that there was no threat of a pass. Seton Hall defenders left both Smith and Emelogu WIDE open, which should be beneficial considering that those two guys shot 7-10 from three for the game. Not only that, but the defensive collapse also took away any chance for C.J. Barksdale to grab an offensive rebound (which is part of the play design, should his man go for the block). It wasn't a bad play, it was just ran for the wrong player. If this situation occurs later in the year, I guarantee you that it's run for Wilson, and that he makes the right decision on the pass/shoot option.
Virginia Tech 156, Furman/Radford 110: There's not much to say about these games, other than I'm glad White Lightning got to double digits this season (12 against Furman). Actually, I'm going to take the three primary points from these two games and start my observations.
Are teams starting to figure out Devin Wilson? Okay, here's the deal. I really like Wilson, he's an awesome playmaker and the first real point guard that's been in Blacksburg since Zabian Dowdell in 2006 (and to be fair, Zab wasn't necessarily "pass first" either). The problem is that he has a jumper that's shakier than when you combine the words "Jeff, Bzdelik" and "job, security". Teams are already starting to play off of him, preventing him from getting to the hoop as much (he's shot the ball a TOTAL of 14 times in four games). I love his decision making, and I love his selflessness, but it will be a lot harder for him to make plays for other people if he can't make them for himself from time to time as well.
Don't mess with James Johnson: Cadarian Raines did, and Big C played a total of four minutes against Furman and Radford. You can speculate as to what he actually did, but whatever it was, it allowed him the privilege of earning his way back into the rotation. I think that this is a very important part of coaching that often gets overlooked at the college ranks, equal accountability between parts. It doesn't matter how important you are to the team, each player is held to the same standard.
Adam Smith can get buckets, but that's not the most important part of his game: It's actually the developing ability to be a primary ball handler. I've talked about this problem before, but I'll keep saying it as long as Marquis Rankin doesn't take the floor. Wilson can't play all 40 minutes, and hasn't over the past four games, so Smith's ability to get points for others will only increase his importance to the team.
The frontcourt rotation will vary: I know that will probably be frustrating for the players to hear, but there are only two spots on the floor for Raines, Joey van Zegeren, Trevor Thompson, C.J. Barksdale and Marshall Wood. Sure, Wood can also play some three (theoretically, at least), but he's primarily a stretch-4. While I'm sure it would be nice to have a set rotation of minutes for each guy, they will have to be used differently per situation. They can play bigger (Raines/JVZ and Barksdale/Thompson), or they can play smaller (Barksdale/Wood, Thompson/Wood). This will be one of JJ's biggest tests this year. Can he balance his big men? Will he be willing to experiment (possibly going super small or playing the rangy Thompson more)? Will he give me a stroke by playing Raines and van Zegeren at the same time? It will be something to watch all season long.
The offense isn't the same without Emelogu: He missed the last two games with post-concussion symptoms that he got in Brooklyn. I wouldn't think that he'd play tonight either (another Big South opponent, Winthrop this time), if only because he will be sorely needed against Miami on Sunday. It doesn't show in the offensive statistics, primarily because the two games he missed were against inferior opponents, but losing him just takes an element away from the team. This guy is important, and will only continue to be a bigger component of the offense. He has deep range, and is a focal point of the opposing defenses every second that he's on the court. Post-concussion syndrome can be bad, and I just hope that he doesn't rush back and make it worse. The last thing that this team needs is another big time player to go down for an extended period of time.
Okay, so I may have been wrong: Before the season started, I guessed that this team would win a grand total of nine games. Well, they're currently 5-3 and very well could be 7-1. They still have games against Winthrop, UNC Greensboro and UMD-Eastern Shore, and could definitely win a few conference games. Not a ton, don't get too excited, but they'll probably get to double digit wins.
Comments
Fun fact: Hokie football and basketball have the same record since mid-September.
Could we borrow Eric Green from Italy for a couple games?
I actually prefer this years team without him. Erick Green was a great Hokie, easily one of my favorites, but this team will be better than last simply because it isnt one dimensional. Last year was about getting Green the ball and having the other 4 watch him or set him up again. The whole game was dependent on if he was able to get hot early and force the other teams to double and triple team him. This year, we can see multiple players coming alive and, hopefully, watch a little of JJs coaching. I loved watching Green, but this years team will have better development for the future
Its pretty basic Ewing Theory.
I will always turkey leg for Ewing Theory.
I'm still kicking myself for not getting to see VT play MSU. I need to do a better job of monitoring the schedule.
MSU has a severe little brother complex in this state. They whine when the football team is "slighted" (see: 2011 Sugar Bowl and their current rankings in the BCS), and have a Miami/ND/Alabama mentality when it comes to their basketball team (birthright to play in Final Four every year). Izzo is a great coach, but I can't stand a lot of their fans, including the sidewalk alumni.
Side note: I'm glad my wife doesn't read this as she's an MSU grad.
Not only is Ben not playing tonight, but neither is Adam Smith (strained calf) and from what I saw in practice, it looked like Eddie may have sprained an ankle, but I didn't watch the end of practice so he could be fine. This is definitely a game I would consider giving Wood some looks at the three just so don't have to overuse Will. Considering Rankin hasn't been at practice since before the season started and he wasn't even on the bench during the Thanksgiving week games, I think it's possible he doesn't play at all this year. Hopefully Ben and Smith get healthy, otherwise I don't know why JJ is going to do.
Also, I can definitely see JJ using Raines and JVZ at the same time and using Thompson and Barksdale to spell them. He used them together against some big teams last year. At the same time, with Thompson's inexperience, I could see him using Thompson with Raines and JVZ with Barksdale/Wood.
Oh yeah, he'll definitely use the biggest men together. I just think that it will give me a heart attack before the season ends. The spacing offensively is just so atrocious, and if teams have a big man that can take the ball off the dribble from the elbow, both Cadarian and JVZ are basically done. JJ will definitely use them, it will just probably not go well.
Two thoughts:
1. I'm going to take your word on Wilson. From what I saw of him in Brooklyn, he's in over his head. He's careless with the ball and overpenetrated multiple times. He lacks floor awareness in the transition game and is easily exposed when on defense. But, I did see a pass first guy. He reminded me of Erick Green as a freshman, when he sucked and we didn't have to play him because we had more experienced players on the court. But, instead of those 10 TO filled minutes EG gave us that year per game, Wilson is forced to give us 30+ minutes of turnover action. It's not his fault and I think he'll improve, but I'd really expect to see more Smith at PG in ACC play....even if it isn't his natural position. Wilson just looks too vulnerable against like-competition.
2. I'm frustrated with VT hoops for years that we let players get out of line such that they need disciplining. If you have to bench a player, you should't get lauded for that. That's a failure of the system if someone acts up to the point where you can't play them.
1. He was in over his head against the number one team in the county. He's a freshman, he'll make mistakes, and the Spartans played him incredibly well. I think that the comparison to Green as a freshman is way off, Green was so lost that he couldn't even put it on the floor. He was a guy that would shoot bad threes, and that's about it. Wilson can put it on the deck, take a defender 1-on-1 and get to the rim. He can also find open guys. It took Green four years to record his first (and only) double digit assist game, where as Wilson had one against Furman. Sure, you can say that the level of competition wasn't great, but it still illustrates the type of game he plays. Dude will mature as the season goes along, but I don't think it's fair to describe him as this turnover machine (averages 3.1 TOs a game in 31 minutes a game). He'll definitely make some bone headed mistakes, but I think that if the Hokies are forced to use Smith in an extended point guard role, their offense will look a lot like it did in ACC play last season, stagnant and ineffective.
2. I agree, but I just thought it was interesting to see. New, young coaches that fail often can't set that sort of tone with their players.
Err, Wilson 30 TO's on the season vs. 50 Assists. He's made some really phenomenal passes.
I've seen every game and he really has no scoring mentality at all. When he decides to be aggressive on O, he gets it done due to his length and athletic ability. He abused a good WVU backcourt when he put on his O face :-)
The question I wonder is if we could pull Kalvin Cline over from the football team ala Jeff King. Word is that he could have played roundball at a mid-major.
I like these "Baby Hokies".
I see a lot of potential with a lot of these young players. I wasn't a HUGE fan of letting Greenberg go. He was a hell of a coach. He proved that, but apparently he wasn't a "program guy". He didn't get into the "Blacksburg Family". So I guess I get the move.
But JJ is the exact opposite. Nicest dude I have EVER met. I work event operations for a company that runs Coaches vs Cancer and the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. I met JJ a handful of times. Great guy, but he is he great coach? I think he can recruit, but his coaching last year was shakey. HOWEVER....I see him doing things a little better this year, so far.
All in all....Im excited in the potential of these "Baby Hokies". Players and Coach.
Go get em.
Agree with everything except that I don't blame JJ at all for last year. He was put into literally the worst situation a brand new head coach could be put into.