So, Virginia Tech has had 4 basketball games since my last b-ball post. They have shot poorly in 3 of those 4 games, and yet somehow they managed to win 3 of those 4 games. I mean, that's incredible. I guess we should have expected to win some games we shouldn't have this season since we lost so many that we should have won last season, right? Somebody once told me that everything evens out in the end (Jerry Seinfeld?), so it must be true. If you hear it on TV, it's the truth. We beat the lowly Campbell Camels in their home arena, then we lost to Temple in what was a demoralizing and uncoordinated effort, then we managed to eke out a win against Delaware the next night in an embarrassing overtime win over an awful team, then we had what I would call was our first quality win of the season against Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Since I like things in bullet form, here are my most recent thoughts on VT:
- To say Dorenzo Hudson is struggling is like saying that pancreatic cancer is a tough disease to beat. Let me give you his shooting percentages... .372 field goal percentage (above .400 is considered okay for a guard, below it is definitely not okay), .200 3-point percentage (above .333 is okay for a guard... Hudson is way below), and he's shooting a horrific .357 from the foul line (over .700 is okay for a guard). Those stats are miserable, and you'd better believe Seth Greenberg knows it. He can get the same production in every other stat category from freshman Ben Boggs, but unlike Hudson, Boggs has also been shooting the ball well. I would not be surprised to see Boggs take over the starting role at some point this season if Hudson can't find his shooting touch (it took Hudson almost the whole season to find it last year).
- Boggs came off the bench about 2 minutes into the first half against Iowa when the Hokies were already down big and hit two clutch 3-pointers to help pull us even. Boggs plays with a ton of confidence, which is something our team has really lacked so far this season. You're also not going to lose anything on defense when you bring Boggs in... he fights and scraps to get in position. He played with a ton of energy and I loved every minute of it. He's also a local boy, from Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke, VA, which is sweet.
- The other freshmen probably still need more playing time. Erick Green is hardly in long enough to realize which player he's guarding, and Manny Atkins seems like someone who can spell Terrell Bell at the 3.
- Speaking of Bell, he's been terrific. He's not really hitting his 3-pointers yet, but everything else he gives our team helps to offset that. He changes shots with his athleticism and gets blocks. He is a fantastic offensive rebounder. He is a smooth scorer around the rim and creates fastbreak opportunities by getting his hands in the passing lane. It feels kind of like we traded Vassallo's shooting for Bell's everything else, and I'm very okay with that, especially if Bell's shooting can be considered "adequate", which I think it can.
- Jeff Allen might never put it all together. Mentally, he is still a freshman. He makes the same mistakes he made as a freshman and I really haven't seen any improvement in his game. He takes bad shots early in the shot clock, he gets called for too many cheap fouls, he gets out of position regularly on defense, and he shoots too many outside shots when he can get easier points down low. With that said, I can't think of too many other players in the ACC who have his abilities, and that's why I still love him as a Hokie. He can score with both hands in the post (he had a soft, turn-around-lefty-hook against Iowa that reminded me of that fact). He has long arms and can get rebounds that other players his height can't. He has an incredible knack for poking the ball away for steals and he gets good elevation for shot-blocking. He also seems to see the floor pretty well and usually makes good passes. If he would just play smarter and grow up in his game, he could seriously be the next Charles Barkley. I'm not even remotely kidding about that... the similarities in the way they both play and their body types is so astonishing, you would think Jeff's father was the Round Mound of Rebound.
- I think Victor Davila is going to be an excellent post player by next season. His play against Iowa showed me that he is starting to understand how to position himself defensively. Guarding the bigger Brendan Cougill (who shoots well from 3-point land), Victor did well in getting out to defend the guard on ball screens, then getting back to front Cougill as he raced to the basket, then getting behind Cougill as he was pushed out to the foul line, then racing out to defend another screen. There were plenty of chances for Davila to mess up just once and leave Cougill open, but that didn't happen and Iowa got a poor shot attempt. That's the kind of stuff we really need to keep seeing from Victor. He has great post moves on offense and everybody knows that. Rebounding and defense are what need to continue to improve, and I think they are.
- Delaney's 3-point shot is MIA. That's not Miami, that's Missing-In-Action. Common mistake. He just isn't shooting with the confidence that we usually expect from Malcolm Delaney, but he'll come around. He's too good of a shooter to not come around. What's key is that he keeps getting his points by driving to the basket and earning free throws, and he's done that. He has 2.5x as many free throw attempts as the next closest person on the team (Victor Davila with 19). That shows you that Delaney is playing smart and doing what he needs to do to score the ball. I'd like to see Greenberg rest him for an extra minute or two in each game, but for now, things seem to be looking up.
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