A couple observations from last night...

[A Clockwork Orange]

These are all over the place so bear with me.

1) My favorite awful announcing moment of the night (and there were many) was when the announcer called Rakeem "rahim" and before the game called Trevor "terry". Loved it.

2) Second favorite: The announcers said at one point "Cassel Coliseum is an amazing and intimidating home court venue. Not just in the ACC, but in the country." They followed that right up with "the cold and students not being here really is hampering that atmosphere tonight." I found it particularly funny because they are announcing to a fanbase where it's ALWAYS cold in the winter, and we still draw 20,000 plus each night. Just a really lame, homer crew.

3) My favorite play of the game was Tyler Ennis threading the fast break chest pass to CJ Fair perfectly for an uncontested dunk. It was thrown diagonally across the court about 30 feet in the air, between three VPI defenders. It hit CJ in stride for an easy dunk. If you've never played basketball, you would have no idea how incredibly difficult that particular pass is to make. It looked so effortless, but was just a beautiful thing to see.

4) Found it odd Dajuan played in mop up time, but my thinking is they held him out of most of this game as a precaution, and then got him some floor time to start shaking the rust off. Better to do it now than in the opening minutes against UNC on Saturday.

 

[NineOneSeven]

These are all over the place so bear with me.

1) My favorite awful announcing moment of the night (and there were many) was when the announcer called Rakeem "rahim" and before the game called Trevor "terry". Loved it.

2) Second favorite: The announcers said at one point "Cassel Coliseum is an amazing and intimidating home court venue. Not just in the ACC, but in the country." They followed that right up with "the cold and students not being here really is hampering that atmosphere tonight." I found it particularly funny because they are announcing to a fanbase where it's ALWAYS cold in the winter, and we still draw 20,000 plus each night. Just a really lame, homer crew.

3) My favorite play of the game was Tyler Ennis threading the fast break chest pass to CJ Fair perfectly for an uncontested dunk. It was thrown diagonally across the court about 30 feet in the air, between three VPI defenders. It hit CJ in stride for an easy dunk. If you've never played basketball, you would have no idea how incredibly difficult that particular pass is to make. It looked so effortless, but was just a beautiful thing to see.

4) Found it odd Dajuan played in mop up time, but my thinking is they held him out of most of this game as a precaution, and then got him some floor time to start shaking the rust off. Better to do it now than in the opening minutes against UNC on Saturday.

You thought they were a homer crew?

That wasn't close to Ennis's best pass of the night, imo. The best one, and it probably went un-noticed by many, was when he had the ball at the top of the key, and Trevor ran from the corner towards him, and he turned his body into Trevor's defender while also maintaining his dribble before dishing it back to Trevor for a three. Trevor was simultaneously the screener and got the assist.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

You thought they were a homer crew?

That wasn't close to Ennis's best pass of the night, imo. The best one, and it probably went un-noticed by many, was when he had the ball at the top of the key, and Trevor ran from the corner towards him, and he turned his body into Trevor's defender while also maintaining his dribble before dishing it back to Trevor for a three. Trevor was simultaneously the screener and got the assist.

Yes, that was a nice play as well. Not a better pass, but a great play. It's all gravy either way.

And yes, they were a homer crew. I don't really care, and expect it on the regional Raycom broadcasts because they get guys who are fairly local to do the games, but I would at least like them to be slightly knowledgeable about the game. I don't mind at all (don't get angry about it or anything) I just thought it was downright funny. Bonner is from right near where I live (about two hours from Tech) and he is a UVA grad, but a local to the Shenandoah Valley. I don't actually think he was that bad though. Honestly, I think both Brant and Bonner have more to say about ACC teams, as that's what they know. So the commentary kind of tilted towards VA. Tech. I just enjoyed the Cassel Coliseum remark more than anything.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

You thought they were a homer crew?

That wasn't close to Ennis's best pass of the night, imo. The best one, and it probably went un-noticed by many, was when he had the ball at the top of the key, and Trevor ran from the corner towards him, and he turned his body into Trevor's defender while also maintaining his dribble before dishing it back to Trevor for a three. Trevor was simultaneously the screener and got the assist.

That was an offensive foul!

 

[retro44]

That was an offensive foul!

That was an offensive post

 

[Knicks411]

Yeah I'm sure they know more about the ACC schools because of where they work, but I don't know if i would call them a homer crew. They were both saying they thought we might be the best team in the country.

The stuff about Cassell was funny though. It's a decent home court (and as has been pointed out here, we'll be playing in more college type gyms in the ACC as compared to the BE) so maybe we did catch a slight break, buit then again, if you can't fill your stadium even half way, maybe you don't get to talk about what kind of great home court advantage you have.

4) Found it odd Dajuan played in mop up time, but my thinking is they held him out of most of this game as a precaution, and then got him some floor time to start shaking the rust off. Better to do it now than in the opening minutes against UNC on Saturday.

Yeah UNC has a decent amount of solid bigs; we might need some fouls from Coleman, if nothing else, on Saturday.

 

[Hoo's That]

Yes, that was a nice play as well. Not a better pass, but a great play. It's all gravy either way.

And yes, they were a homer crew. I don't really care, and expect it on the regional Raycom broadcasts because they get guys who are fairly local to do the games, but I would at least like them to be slightly knowledgeable about the game. I don't mind at all (don't get angry about it or anything) I just thought it was downright funny. Bonner is from right near where I live (about two hours from Tech) and he is a UVA grad, but a local to the Shenandoah Valley. I don't actually think he was that bad though. Honestly, I think both Brant and Bonner have more to say about ACC teams, as that's what they know. So the commentary kind of tilted towards VA. Tech. I just enjoyed the Cassel Coliseum remark more than anything.

To us, Bonner seems to go out of his way make sure that no one can accuse him of being a UVa homer; his criticism of us is usually harsh. Brant, on the other hand is an unabashed Twerp homer. At one time he did their PBP on the radio and you could easily tell when Md had the ball and when they didn't by the excitement or lack thereof in his voice. He could make a Md opponent's steal followed by a breakaway dunk sound like he was reading a want ad for a broken down car being sold for parts.

 

[Hoo's That]

Pardon the additional post, the browser I'm currently using doesn't allow me to edit my posts. I was trying to add this to my post above.

What's really fun is when Bonner and Brant do a UVa-UMd game.

 

[RaleighSUfan]

That was an offensive foul!

Was that really an offensive foul? At first I thought it was, but after watching the replay, Ennis sets the "pick", when he still had the ball. The defender really ran into Ennis, then Ennis passed the ball to Cooney for an open 3. I think if they were going to call anything, they'd have to call a foul on the defender for running into Ennis while he has the ball. If Ennis passed the ball and then ran into the path of the defender, then I think it's a clear offensive foul, but he didn't.

Watch the highlight:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?categoryId=2459792&id=10260865

I think the refs actually made the right call, by not calling a foul either way. Tough call either way.

 

[OrangeOnions]

That wasn't close to Ennis's best pass of the night, imo. The best one, and it probably went un-noticed by many, was when he had the ball at the top of the key, and Trevor ran from the corner towards him, and he turned his body into Trevor's defender while also maintaining his dribble before dishing it back to Trevor for a three.

Agreed. As a former point guard that was beautiful. That play really embodied Ennis' basketball IQ.

 

[NineOneSeven]

That was an offensive foul!

Very rarely called on the player with the ball, particularly when he never extends his arms. That is called a lot. This was moreso his butt shielding the defender.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yes, that was a nice play as well. Not a better pass, but a great play. It's all gravy either way.

And yes, they were a homer crew. I don't really care, and expect it on the regional Raycom broadcasts because they get guys who are fairly local to do the games, but I would at least like them to be slightly knowledgeable about the game. I don't mind at all (don't get angry about it or anything) I just thought it was downright funny. Bonner is from right near where I live (about two hours from Tech) and he is a UVA grad, but a local to the Shenandoah Valley. I don't actually think he was that bad though. Honestly, I think both Brant and Bonner have more to say about ACC teams, as that's what they know. So the commentary kind of tilted towards VA. Tech. I just enjoyed the Cassel Coliseum remark more than anything.

Actually, I was kind of enjoying the Raycom guys last night, because it was obviously the first time they had really seen us play, and they came away really impressed, saying repeatedly that we could very well be the best team in the league. We take for granted how good we have become these past few years, and just how tight the zone has become. For people to see it first hand, well, I just love hearing their reactions.

 

[WalnutPark]

I realize the students were not back, but I was shocked by the low attendance...A—4,367.

 

[bnoro]

I loved two parts.

The first part was when the announcer said "wow this place just turned into a library" after we made it a 10 point game. No, you could hear a pin drop almost the whole game. That place was deathly silent.

The second was when they said "Va Tech distributes over 3,000 student tickets which is why this place isn't packed". They have 25k+ kids and only give out 3k student tickets? Yikes.

 

[Knicks411]

The first part was when the announcer said "wow this place just turned into a library" after we made it a 10 point game. No, you could hear a pin drop almost the whole game. That place was deathly silent.

Hahah yes, this was great. I could hear the players/coaches talking nearly the entire game.

 

[RaleighSUfan]

I loved two parts.

The first part was when the announcer said "wow this place just turned into a library" after we made it a 10 point game. No, you could hear a pin drop almost the whole game. That place was deathly silent.

The second was when they said "Va Tech distributes over 3,000 student tickets which is why this place isn't packed". They have 25k+ kids and only give out 3k student tickets? Yikes.

It's a total football school as I'm sure you know. You should see how many VT fans show up when they play football down here in the Triangle... they literally take over stadiums!

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Actually, I was kind of enjoying the Raycom guys last night, because it was obviously the first time they had really seen us play, and they came away really impressed, saying repeatedly that we could very well be the best team in the league. We take for granted how good we have become these past few years, and just how tight the zone has become. For people to see it first hand, well, I just love hearing their reactions.

Yeah, at one point they had said something about when they started the game they thought there are three teams that are the best in the league, but after seeing SU, they are thinking it's really just us.

 

[jgeorge322]

i thought it was funny at the beginning when they said there was a good crowd and they did a pan and it looked like 15 people were there. i wondered if it was prerecorded from pregame warmups.

 

[Marsh01]

They were not a homer crew. There was much much praise for Syracuse last night. They were in their arena so of course they are going to talk about it. Had it been in the Dome it would have swung the other way.

Dan Bonner went to Duke and Tim Brandt went to Maryland so I highly doubt they were rooting for VPI

 

[OttoinGrotto]

3) My favorite play of the game was Tyler Ennis threading the fast break chest pass to CJ Fair perfectly for an uncontested dunk. It was thrown diagonally across the court about 30 feet in the air, between three VPI defenders. It hit CJ in stride for an easy dunk. If you've never played basketball, you would have no idea how incredibly difficult that particular pass is to make. It looked so effortless, but was just a beautiful thing to see.

Well said. That was also a fun game if you like shot blocking. Good stuffs on both sides.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Also, I love that Bojangles is an ACC sponsor. I used to work out in Prince George's County a lot and used to hit up this one Bojangles near the hotel I regularly stayed at. They always got a kick out of it when I came in. I may have been their only white guy regular for all I know.

Anyway, decent chicken. Just thought I'd share.

 

[Marsh01]

Also, I love that Bojangles is an ACC sponsor. I used to work out in Prince George's County a lot and used to hit up this one Bojangles near the hotel I regularly stayed at. They always got a kick out of it when I came in. I may have been their only white guy regular for all I know.

Anyway, decent chicken. Just thought I'd share.

I saw the commercial and was wondering how it was. That and Popeyes I have never been too.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I saw the commercial and was wondering how it was. That and Popeyes I have never been too.

Popeyes is starting to expand a bit here in Utah. Basically, if you fry a chicken I'm a fan of your work, but I'd say the hierarchy goes Chik-Fil-A, Popeyes, Bojangles, KFC. The Chik-Fil-A nuggets are just hot, greasy heaven in a thin cardboard box.

 

[Marsh01]

Popeyes is starting to expand a bit here in Utah. Basically, if you fry a chicken I'm a fan of your work, but I'd say the hierarchy goes Chik-Fil-A, Popeyes, Bojangles, KFC. The Chik-Fil-A nuggets are just hot, greasy heaven in a thin cardboard box.

Yea never had Chick-Fil-A either. Really want to try it though

 

[CiceroCuse]

3) My favorite play of the game was Tyler Ennis threading the fast break chest pass to CJ Fair perfectly for an uncontested dunk. It was thrown diagonally across the court about 30 feet in the air, between three VPI defenders. It hit CJ in stride for an easy dunk. If you've never played basketball, you would have no idea how incredibly difficult that particular pass is to make. It looked so effortless, but was just a beautiful thing to see.

That was a good one but i think my favorite one didn't result in a bucket. He wa driving on the baseline in traffic and made a bounce pass to BK, who unfortunately couldn't handle it. If he did it could have been a two handed throwdown and a SC Top 10 nominee.