Virginia Tech postgame

[Scott11]

-We are not good enough to beat teams with one hand tied behind our back. And that is what the zone does. The only reason the games were as close as they were against Notre Dame was because we played right into their hands by playing the zone. Same thing with Virginia Tech. They are not that athletic and we never made them put the ball on the court and dribble to score. It could have been worse. It wasn’t like they had a great shooting night and a lot of the shots they missed were wide-open. As I said in the game thread how are we athletic enough to press but we can’t go man to man? When the zone is getting carved up like it was don’t you have to adjust?
-I hate to question effort. But Jesse didn’t look like he wanted to play tonight. Ironically the only time where he decided not to foul was when there was two minutes left and the game had long since been decided.
-both starting guards showed no willingness to share the ball tonight. Judah having 21 points and eight assists is incredibly misleading. First of all he had six turnovers and easily could’ve had nine or 10 had he not been bailed out by the referees. Second he missed open guys repeatedly, frankly he didn’t even look to pass at all so I’m not sure he even missed them. Likewise Joe seems to have reverted back to his chuck mentality. I also thought both of them had some nonexistent closeouts on defense.
-i’m not sure how Taylor plays three minutes against North Carolina and then plays 26 tonight. By doing that you are basically inviting kids to feel like they have to score immediately and put up questionable shots in order to stay in the game. Bell was awful tonight but it is hard to play looking over your shoulder. It was nice to see Taylor play well and I think he will score more if the guards ever look his way. I do think that defensively Taylor will struggle at the three and will be much better when he is playing the two next year.
-there is no way we should be losing to teams like Virginia Tech in this manner. we have talented players. But the zone is killing us as is the fact that some players are held accountable and some players are not for shot selection and effort.
-Benny was beyond awful but the kid cares and I feel for him. But sports should be merit based and brown is the better player so I was surprised but understanding that Brown started for him.
-Will be fascinating to see what happens Monday night. Or maybe not,

 

[Red Holzman]

Longest delay for a post-game thread that I can recall!

 

[UpstateSM]

Even the nerds hate us

 

[Manleymen]

-We are not good enough to beat teams with one hand tied behind our back. And that is what the zone does. The only reason the games were as close as they were against Notre Dame was because we played right into their hands by playing the zone. Same thing with Virginia Tech. They are not that athletic and we never made them put the ball on the court and dribble to score. It could have been worse. It wasn’t like they had a great shooting night and a lot of the shots they missed were wide-open. As I said in the game thread how are we athletic enough to press but we can’t go man to man? When the zone is getting carved up like it was don’t you have to adjust?
-I hate to question effort. But Jesse didn’t look like he wanted to play tonight. Ironically the only time where he decided not to foul was when there was two minutes left and the game had long since been decided.
-both starting guards showed no willingness to share the ball tonight. Judah having 21 points and eight assists is incredibly misleading. First of all he had six turnovers and easily could’ve had nine or 10 had he not been bailed out by the referees. Second he missed open guys repeatedly, frankly he didn’t even look to pass at all so I’m not sure he even missed them. Likewise Joe seems to have reverted back to his chuck mentality. I also thought both of them had some nonexistent closeouts on defense.
-i’m not sure how Taylor plays three minutes against North Carolina and then plays 26 tonight. By doing that you are basically inviting kids to feel like they have to score immediately and put up questionable shots in order to stay in the game. Bell was awful tonight but it is hard to play looking over your shoulder. It was nice to see Taylor play well and I think he will score more if the guards ever look his way. I do think that defensively Taylor will struggle at the three and will be much better when he is playing the two next year.
-there is no way we should be losing to teams like Virginia Tech in this manner. we have talented players. But the zone is killing us as is the fact that some players are held accountable and some players are not for shot selection and effort.
-Benny was beyond awful but the kid cares and I feel for him. But sports should be merit based and brown is the better player so I was surprised but understanding that Brown started for him.
-Will be fascinating to see what happens Monday night. Or maybe not,

Excellent assessment about Judah and Joe. They cannot coexist and Judah was selfish with the ball. Joe was left standing around and when you don’t expect to receive a pass - like the other players it is difficult to get into a rhythm.

 

[Scott11]

Even the nerds hate us

Everybody sees it except the only one that matters

 

[Red Holzman]

Criticisms of Judah are warranted.
But IMO he's got to play because he's talented with lots of upside.
Coaching staff needs to help Judah clean up his game and improve court vision.
Maybe the 3 PG assistants can kick Judah's learning curve into high gear.
He's got the tools to be a great PG -interested to see if Judah can get there this season.

 

[sugrad68]

Last year's team was underperforming in my opinion. This year's team just is not very good. I'm already looking to next year and unless we hit the transfer portal hard it will be another long season. No recruits. Hima at center is a disaster waiting to happen. Some solid players on the roster but no superstars other than Mintz if he improves his overall game. I can only hope and pray.

 

[hoopsupstate]

We need front court help badly.

 

[Madbiker]

Judah is the only guy on the team who can create a shot off the bounce. VT had a defender attached to Joe's shorts the entire game and he couldn't get an open look. The forwards did nothing. So too many times it was up to Judah to create something by himself.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Hima at center is a disaster waiting to happen.

He had one really nice game against St John’s and few other decent plays, but other than that he’s looked very much like a guy who couldn’t get off the bench at Duquesne.

 

[Red Holzman]

Just want to see improving trend from the freshmen the rest of the season.
Used to losing so that won't be a big problem -just find a light at the end of this tunnel.

Also:
Please keep games close enough that I don't have to listen to broadcast team talk about bacon.

 

[orangecuse]

Everybody sees it except the only one that matters

The combination that stubbornness and age brings is not a successful trait.

 

[swish7]

-Will be fascinating to see what happens Monday night. Or maybe not,

We got out rebounded by 11 overall, and 14 at the starting forward positions.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Longest delay for a post-game thread that I can recall!

I was watching the royal rumble primarily and didnt bother to start the thread.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Everybody sees it except the only one that matters

And many blind flat earthers on this board

 

[Dinkyspond]

He had one really nice game against St John’s and few other decent plays, but other than that he’s looked very much like a guy who couldn’t get off the bench at Duquesne.

Teams have done well via the transfer portal route and Hima was the best we could do since we didn’t need anybody because of "the best freshman class we've ever had." You'd think we had 5 lottery picks. Mintz and Brown are good, Taylor has potential down the line, Bell has done little, Copeland hasn’t really been given a chance and the jury is still out on Carey.

 

[gmoney44]

We need front court help badly.

Everyone with half a brain saw what this team was going to be without a quality forward transfer when Cole left. Another horrible roster management decision by JB doomed this team before the season started.

 

[realorange]

Perhaps I'm being a little simplistic, but VT took Joe out of the game and Jesse took himself out. So, all you have left is Judah and a few wildcards.

As for going man to man; if the offense pulls Jesse away from the basket, who is there to get rebounds or block shots? And how long would Jesse, in particular, last before fouling out?

 

[kcsu]

The zone is the issue. Its outdated and todays players can all shoot the 3.
We are playing a D that negates our athleticism.
If we played man we would probably have 3 to 5 more wins.

 

[Newhouser]

Perhaps I'm being a little simplistic, but VT took Joe out of the game and Jesse took himself out. So, all you have left is Judah and a few wildcards.

As for going man to man; if the offense pulls Jesse away from the basket, who is there to get rebounds or block shots? And how long would Jesse, in particular, last before fouling out?

I agree on your first paragraph. Joe and Jesse are why we win. Jesse in my opinion has been disappointing this year, and it's costing us.
Second paragraph we would have to have him switch a lot and him defending high pick and roll would be...an adventure.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Perhaps I'm being a little simplistic, but VT took Joe out of the game and Jesse took himself out. So, all you have left is Judah and a few wildcards.

As for going man to man; if the offense pulls Jesse away from the basket, who is there to get rebounds or block shots? And how long would Jesse, in particular, last before fouling out?

They’re not going to be able to go man in the middle of a game. That’s something that would have to have been worked on starting preseason . It’s just not a realistic option

 

[STEVEHOLT]

The zone is the issue. Its outdated and todays players can all shoot the 3.
We are playing a D that negates our athleticism.
If we played man we would probably have 3 to 5 more wins.

The 3 is just one issue of the strategy. It’s also lending itself to a large volume of dunks / layups.
What a great plan. Let’s play a D that facilitates our opposition in executing the two most efficient shots in the game… dunks and threes

 

[hoopsupstate]

Against Colgate, Judah got beat back door on the right baseline and that was the end of playing man. I remember it well. I guess continually getting beat on the backside of the zone is more acceptable. The biggest reason JB doesn’t want to play man is that it takes more preparation between games. Playing zone helps because we play zone and adjust the zone, not worrying about teams man to man sets. I think that’s the definition of lazy.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I agree on your first paragraph. Joe and Jesse are why we win. Jesse in my opinion has been disappointing this year, and it's costing us.
Second paragraph we would have to have him switch a lot and him defending high pick and roll would be...an adventure.

Jesse at times is a total non factor on both ends of the court. His lack of defensive presence at times is frustrating.

 

[Sherman20]

Everybody sees it except the only one that matters

JB saw it last season and realized we needed to mix zone and man-to-man this season, and it seemed like he was serious. And then, of course, he reverted to his conservative, stubborn ways. He just won’t roll the dice and take any chances or do anything different. And how in the H did we not press at all in the first half?