But is chattanooga supposed to be an actually good basketball team?
I haven't heard of them before, but they looked really good against us. If they are supposed to be a fair to middling team, was last night just a statistical fluke? or did we make them look good?
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We are going to have problems with any team that has an active big man. That is a general comment based on reports I read. I haven't watched the game yet.
We are gonna have problems when our 3's aren't falling because our team has no size. Like literally we are the smallest team on average in any power 5 conference.
We played pretty scrappy even though we shot pretty horrendously below 40% from field and below 30% from 3 on a high number of attempts, I would say the offensive boards and second chance balls got by guys like Radford are the reason we didn't actually lose.
Our team in its current iteration can lose to anyone if they shoot poorly, and beat almost anyone if they are hitting their 3's.
The interior defense is gonna be a puzzle for MY to solve, because against Duke he took the aggressive approach of doubling heavily on Vernon Carey (sometimes tripling) and it worked for a time. Carey was limited but the lineup they went to in the 2nd half made some good adjustments.
Yesterday he largely had them defend straight up and it allowed the spanish big guy for Chattanooga to get a lot of opportunities, but sometimes you take that as an opportunity cost for limiting outside shooters.
Overall I said it before the season and I will still say it now, if this team finishes inside the top 10 in the ACC it is a resounding success in my opinion. The team has 3 non freshman contributors and a good class coming in next year. Loses almost nobody of real consequence, and I think Nolley has flashed many of the signs that he will be a really good player, but his last couple games have reminded us that he is a (RS) freshman, so to temper expectations.
This is the perfect summary of this year's team in a single sentence.
I also agree that if we win at least 6 or 7 ACC games and finish in the top 10 we will be ahead of schedule.
It's a perfect summary for college basketball.
Haha, I was thinking the same thing when I wrote that.
But there are teams that live and die by the 3 more than others, are we are certainly one of those that really rely on our 3-point shooting.
Great takes. In the first minute of the post-game presser CMY actually said "We didn't trap the post very well tonight, and that bothers me. We'll figure that out on film." Defending any big man who has competent post moves is going to be an important challenge, and CMY knows it.
Also, later on I think he told a reporter "that's a thoughtful question, doggone your hide." As always, he proceeded to answer the question with an honest and sincere response about our shot selection and (admittedly lackluster) offensive flow. Dude gives great pressers - he's obviously super proud of his players (he championed Bede, Horne, Radford...etc), but he doesn't shy away from discussing areas for improvement. His style brings me closer to the program because I can share his pride in the players' accomplishments and also understand where I should root/look for their growth/improvement going forward.
Since there are only 5 players on the floor, basketball as a sport has many more matchup dependencies than other sports. A team A may have a lineup that is perfect for breaking down the defense of Team B but not at all suited for Team C. So team A can look great one game and terrible the next. The better teams have either the depth to play the matchups or players with a wide enough range of skills to adapt.
Think of how a team plays against Syracuse and their notorious zone vs. uva's packline D vs a team with great on ball defenders and mostly man-to-man defense. If you can get a big with decent vision and a mid range jumper into the middle of the syracuse zone, you can open up the offense; however, if you are a team that likes to post up the big man on the blocks or a team that works on guards driving the lane, you will struggle as the defense collapses on those types of players.
Long story, Chattanooga may not be good, but they just may have some Hokie kryptonite on their roster.
UTC is well coached by someone who knows CMY very well, and they came in with a good plan that almost worked. I have watched every game this year, and last night seemed a lot like the Clemson game to me. We couldn't buy a shot much of the game, but we kept at it and when it counted, we came through. Nolley was horrendous from 3, but still had 19 points. Horne was absent offensively, but Alleyne was on fire.
Any well coached team with decent talent can be trouble if they've got a good plan and we're having an off night. I anticipate games like MSU when we're shooting, but games like Dayton, BYU and Duke as well. We're young, we're short, but we're scrappy and usually in the game. We won't get taller, but we will grow up as the season progresses.
UTC did their scouting and had a great defensive game plan against us. It also showed that they left Bede wide open a couple of times and he was able to walk directly to the basket as they never figured he would shoot it.
Radford has probably become my favorite player. His hustle under the basket for put backs, rebounds, and drives is fun to watch.
Radford has become one of my favorites too. His athleticism and defensive skills are fun to watch, but his rebounding is the real eye-opener.
His game reminds me of Theo Pinson's, former UNC guard. They both bring energy, defend well, and snag way more rebounds than their heights say they should (Theo is a few inches taller at 6'5'', but still). The comparison also works well on offense, but I admit it's a bit early to define Radford's offensive style. For reference, Pinson was never a great shooter or someone with killer 1v1 moves. Over time he figured out how to score enough (mostly near the hoop and at the FT line), and he developed into a top-tier passer. I'm really excited to see how Tyrece progresses as a player, and here's to hoping his career tracks with Pinson's in the most important way - bringing home a National Championship.
I'll admit I've been pleasantly surprised with Radford this year as well. I was expecting Wilkins to actually fill that roll on the team this year but it seems like Radford has taken the opportunity and run with it
Yeah, we can't figure Wilkins out this year. He was a lot of fun to watch last year and I thought we'd see more of him. Hopefully that'll come. He's not living up to the "Meaty, beaty, big and bouncy" moniker my wife gave him last season, and we miss it.
It's hard to figure out why Wilkins isn't quite clicking this year. Maybe a few made 3s can right the ship. Radford's emergence has been a factor, and so has Cattoor's. CMY called Cattoor maybe the best cutter on the team, and he's shooting over 40% from deep.
Agreed. Radford has that attitude that exudes: anytime anywhere you bring your 5, I'll bring my 5, and we'll lace em up.
Kenpom ranks them 228th in the country. It's too early to treat that as gospel but Chattanooga is a bad team. They got dominated earlier this year by Eastern Kentucky who is just absolutely awful.
Primary problem was that the Hokies just had a terrible night from 3. If they don't make 3's, they are a team that can lose to anyone.
Also there is just a lot of talent in the basketball world. With over 300 division 1 teams and schools recruiting from all over the globe anyone can beat anyone....Stephen F Austin beat duke, it's just the nature of the game
Last time I checked, Stephen F. Austin is located in Texas, nowhere close to San Francisco.