Virginia Tech Postgame Thoughts

[two3zone]

Special thanks to OttoinGrotto for his Quadir Copeland John Hughes fanfic in the game thread.

Who?

 

[two3zone]

Maybe that's by design so he can be there at the end. He really doesn't get much help lately when a good opposing big gets the ball down low.

I’d rather have him out at the end if he plays defense like he did today, he was worse than bad.

 

[grepal]

One more great defensive play than a dead man...

It was the play of the game. Stemmed the tide and killed their momentum

 

[two3zone]

Well, I don't think I've seen Chris Bell move so much without the ball as he did today. Where has that been for the last 27 games?

57

 

[two3zone]

What was all that chatting between Judah and the ref?

Talking about the current billboard top 40.

 

[Irt4su]

Hope we smoke them.

Kinda pissed he drops 15 to play the 2 at Clemson after years of freshmen15 Joe that's too slow here to play the point.

16 if he would shave his chin fur

 

[shu 49]

Chris had a really big block when VT was making a run.

Yeah that was awesome. Great defense and effort bye him.

 

[elimunelson]

Not to be that guy but did we already clinch an NIT bid? Feels like our floor is at least the NIT now.

I think 1-1 next 2 and get to acct championship game and we should be good

Thats 23 wins? I’d love to know ACC teams not making tourney w that many wins and not in tourney

 

[shu 49]

I’d rather have him out at the end if he plays defense like he did today, he was worse than bad.

He is 6'8" and skinney as hell playing center. He shouldnt be there. Of course this is gonna happen agains athletic taller bigs. Hima should have been in for a bit unless he was hurting cause Carey is not strong enough in there at all.

 

[capeorange]

It was the play of the game. Stemmed the tide and killed their momentum

I know, but someone had to use JB's famous line.

 

[jdubs30]

To put some context behind our offense Lately, here is our 5 best offensive games efficiency wise this year (not counting Chaminade)

2-13, UNC
2-20, at NC State
11-8, Canisius
2-24, ND
2-27, VaTech

If we expand that list to 6, our 2-7 game vs Louisville is next on the list.

Especially at home, the offense has been stellar for the last month

 

[sufandu]

I didn't get to see the game. It looks like it was a nice win with everybody contributing.

 

[sufandu]

Well done boys. One game at a time.

Two things I’ve noticed as tweaks in the offense. Tonight is the first time I’ve seen us using Bell some to set high screens for Judah. Maybe the thinking was the defender wouldn’t leave Bell out there alone like they would do with Brown thus giving Judah more room to drive?

I recall a lot of people asking we do that with our better shooters on past teams. That's a nice wrinkle.

 

[81South]

Defense early second half was awful…Red called a TO and we were able to get it turned around.

Judah was damn good.

If these guys can lock in for 40 minutes defensively look out

 

[newmexicuse]

Another fine effort.

I thought the Bell block was the real killer in terms of stopping their momentum. Good to see Chris make an important play on a night when he couldn't make a shot into an ocean.

Judah - wow - simply tremendous !!!

I still dont like the way Red is managing Cope's minutes - only 23 - he should be getting at least 30 per game.

Maliq does so much well, but man I thought I was watching a bullfight with his interior one on one matador D. Yes, he is too important to get in foul trouble, but he has to be aware of when he ISNT in foul trouble and not be afraid to play harder.

All in all - tourney hopes still alive, and that is what is important right now.

 

[Newhouser]

Need to figure out a way to put Joe in the spin cycle and get some ok minutes from Carey vs Clemson.

We need to mirror last nights strategy against VT's defensively challenged guards. In my opinion we did not attack Joe enough in the first meeting.

 

[Dinkyspond]

So weird we’re ending the season on a Tuesday night road game.

I'm hoping the one week off will have us well-rested to make a long run in the ACCT

 

[Sbucketball]

Red called a smart timeout when VT was starting its run, and the guys came back and put together a few good plays on both ends. That's encouraging for Red's success. He has improved throughout the year.

 

[swish7]

In a week from tonight after our Tuesday away game at Louisville (a must win), we’ll be playing Clemson on their senior night in our last game. They will be honoring 7 seniors including PJ Hall, Joe G, Chase Hunter and Jack Clark. Tough task, we better be ready to battle. Clemson will have their last game against Wake away the following Saturday.

It's a huge hill to climb. Not sure why people are getting so excited.

If we can play our best brand of ball for 35ish minutes each game, instead of 25ish, we have a chance at stealing some wins.

 

[CbusCuse]

Great to get another W obviously. On offense, lots of good stuff by most.

One question i have is regarding offensive rebounding. I know we have a small lineup. But we don't even attempt to get an offensive rebound. I mean there is zero effort by everyone. Anytime a shot goes up, especially a three, everyone either stands and watches or just retreats back on defense. It makes no sense to me. Its not like when we get back on defense we are making stops. Why not turn up the effort and get in position for offensive boards? it baffles me. We make rebounding so easy for other teams. We have to be the lowest rated offensive rebounding team in the country. Anybody know what that stat is?

 

[OptimusOtto]

It's a huge hill to climb. Not sure why people are getting so excited.

If we can play our best brand of ball for 35ish minutes each game, instead of 25ish, we have a chance at stealing some wins.

Because how things have looked at times this year, it seems pretty remarkable to even have a chance this late. We're clearly a different team as of late and were tied with Clemson at the under 4, it doesn't take a big leap to see us pull off an upset.

It's also significantly more fun to talk through a potential tourney push than who's staying/who's going.

 

[Vorony]

Red called a smart timeout when VT was starting its run, and the guys came back and put together a few good plays on both ends. That's encouraging for Red's success. He has improved throughout the year.

To be fair, I think he waited way too long to call that TO. We had a nice cushion obviously, but it was clear that we should have called that TO at least 2-3 possessions before that. Glad it all worked out though.

 

[Sbucketball]

To be fair, I think he waited way too long to call that TO. We had a nice cushion obviously, but it was clear that we should have called that TO at least 2-3 possessions before that. Glad it all worked out though.

Yeah, I don't disagree it could have come a possession or two earlier. But I was thrilled to see execution out of the timeout, which is something that didn't always happen earlier in the season. Progress.

 

[Red Holzman]

Judah went 40" -with a strong finish.
Had assumed his previous late-game meltdowns were fatigue-related -maybe not? (a good thing NOW).
Judah and the team appear to be peaking at the right time = reason for optimism!

 

[Red Holzman]

Cope may be the only player in America that actually gets me to genuinely laugh out loud in real time watching a game… absolute showman. At one point he was faking behind the back passes on the perimeter, hiding the ball behind the opponent’s back on the baseline, look away dimes galore, dunking it so hard coming down the lane I thought he might hurt himself on the dismount. I have a certain affinity & appreciation for streetball (how I came up playing myself, I also have every single And1 VHS & DVD) he helps scratch that itch for me. The swagger is real!

Love Cope's game-
Had a few great streetball moves to the hoop that he couldn't finish.
But I see improvement, and want him to keep bringing it like that. Those shots will fall.
A team having fun and sharing the ball with sweet dimes is fun to watch -and usually a winner.
Cope makes watching SU exciting, and when the Dome rocks in approval it energizes the team!