August usually isn't a time when I write about Virginia Tech basketball. In fact, unless major news develops, I won't give the Hardwood Hokies another thought until their season begins. However, yesterday Virginia Tech football gave the players a day off from practice, so there was no media availability (read: quotes and interviews to comb through). Coincidentally, or not, Buzz Williams met with members of the media for 35 minutes Monday to answer questions about the transition the program has gone through since his arrival, and the upcoming season.
WaPo's Mark Giannotto and The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Mike Barber both wrote comprehensive recaps of the event. I excerpted a few notes and quotes that stuck out to me.
Per Mike Barber:
That's left Williams facing a coaching conundrum, one he's pondered heavily the first two weeks of this month, since getting back off the road from recruiting.
"Is it better to establish what you want to be about and how you want to play long term, even though your personnel doesn't necessarily dictate that in Year 1?" Williams asked. "If 50 percent of your players are freshmen going into the year, do you want to teach them one way to play, and then entering Year 2, you're playing a different way?" He called it a "difficult delicate balancing act, and I'm not exactly sure what the answer is."
"I think all of the freshmen will play and I think all of them will have to have a significant role," Williams said. "That does not necessarily mean they're going to be productive in that role. It just means that there may not be another choice."
This is a somewhat similar quandary to what the football staff faced last season. Beamer Co. opted to build an offense focused around Logan Thomas' unique skillset to win games in 2013. As far as the hoops program is concerned, given the turnover and youth—Williams made sure to mention all 5 of Tech's freshman will play a significant role—fans would be patient with a rebuilding process. However, a winning strategy, and therefore season, based around the talent on hand would juice up Hoke Nation more than it already is, and further things like ticket sales past 2014-15.
Per Mark Giannotto:
Williams spoke publicly about the most recent departures for the first time Monday, noting sophomore guard Ben Emelogu elected to transfer to SMU last month after both sides agreed "it was better for his life probably to be closer to home." Forward C.J. Barksdale is still enrolled in school, but "was just at the point in his life and in his career that he was just tired of being hurt," after battling through several injuries in previous seasons, Williams added.
Well now we know what happened in each of those situations.
Per Mark Giannotto:
"If you just look at it from an analytical standpoint, none of those things bode well to have success," Williams said. "I'm not opposed to the talent we have, but it has to get better. I think I'd be somewhat out of my mind if I told you it was good enough. We've finished in last place each of the last three years. If I'm not saying we need to get better, then [Athletic Director Whit Babcock] probably hired the wrong guy."
Tech's roster has 9 of 11 scholarship players that can suit up this season. That combined with the aforementioned 5 freshman expected to be contributors, should temper any lofty expectations for the team in 2014-15.
Comments
Smart move by Buzz. Set low expectations so your kids don't feel pressured to succeed right away but motivate them to be better than the current perception...also he looks good if the team doesn't suck b/c they're playing better than expected (and he looks like a great coach as a result)
I love this guy. And Whit.
This place is starting to get like heroin.
I wake up in the morning thinking, "OK, I'm going to need two more articles from staff, along with a couple of good recruiting reports to get through the day."
Boom. Delivered.
I'm afraid I will be asking for a dozen fresh cut roses for my dressing room by next week.
As exciting as things are for football right now, with Whit making over the fan experience, and the offense rounding into shape, with recruiting absolutely taking off... I can't lie, I'm most excited about the future of VT men's basketball. Are we going to win a lot of games this year? No, but we will be a better team this year than we were last (I mean, it would be difficult to be worse). From 2015 on, though, we're going to see a basketball squad that can go up against anyone in the nation, and by the time 2018 comes around, assuming we are able to keep all our guys healthy and on the roster, we should have a program that is legitimately challenging for some hardware, and I hope our recruiting over the next few years is at a level where, when these current freshmen graduate, we've got talented kids waiting right behind them to keep us playing at a high level. Buzz is such a good coach, and his staff are such excellent recruiters that I fully believe we'll be there.
Around .500 this season would feel like a winning season for most Tech fans after the last 2 years and create so much excitement going into 15-16
I agree with coach mcguirk, this place is addictive! I have been ignoring grandchildren lately!
a young team with little depth. gonna be another long year. i think they'll get some wins that surprise everyone but overall we got a long haul ahead.
I'm not sure if those two departures are really for those reasons considering how many kids left and/or if this is just coachspeak. But I'm wondering, with so much youth on this team and Buzz's concerns about it, does Barksdale stay on in some capacity just to provide leadership? If he doesn't is it a sign of whether or not him leaving the team was amicable?