James Johnson makes his head coaching debut today at 2pm on ESPN3 vs. ETSU

[Ragingcroc]

We don't play a decent team until December though

 

[Ragingcroc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0Rfio0WOb_Y#t=21s
Cmon , you got to finish your dunk haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0Rfio0WOb_Y#t=104s
look at the ball movement!

http://techhoops.com/2012/11/10/niemos-bourbon-breakdown-vt-80-etsu-62/
good breakdown

 

[hokiecheme11]

MBK at Virginia Tech.mov - YouTube
Cmon , you got to finish your dunk haha

MBK at Virginia Tech.mov - YouTube
look at the ball movement!

Niemo’s Bourbon Breakdown | VT 80, etsu 62|Tech Hoops
good breakdown

Do you know much about Rhode Island? I assume theyre better than ETSU, you think we can beat em if we have trouble rebounding again? IE our athletes will basically be able to run them out the gym?

 

[Ragingcroc]

Do you know much about Rhode Island? I assume theyre better than ETSU, you think we can beat em if we have trouble rebounding again? IE our athletes will basically be able to run them out the gym?

http://techhoops.com/2012/11/11/preview-rhode-island-0-1-vt-1-0-monday-7-pm-espn3/

I really don't know much about Rhode Island except they are horrible. We are pretty similar in size but we are a bit taller on the perimeter. They did get 15 offensive rebounds against a bigger Norfolk State team. Looks like they have one good player that plays the post and that's it. If we slow him down, we should be able to win as they throw up brick after brick. I mean one dude shot 3/19 from the field and 2/10 from outside the arc.

According to Nemo, the Rams like to gamble on defense, so we may see a few more TOs from us but more dunks and layups as well.

 

[ACC_HOKIES]

Glad to see the boys got a win to start the JJ era. Hopefully they can get another tonight and continue to work into everything. The Iowa, Okie State, WVU run will be interesting.

 

[ACC_HOKIES]

Yeah either the next 3 or 4 are all on ESPN3

Gotta love the ESPN contract. A few years ago we'd be SOL as fans. Internet viewing isn't perfect, but it's great for these lower level games.

 

[hokiecheme11]

Gotta love the ESPN contract. A few years ago we'd be SOL as fans. Internet viewing isn't perfect, but it's great for these lower level games.

Amen to that. It's a lot better than nothing

 

[Ragingcroc]

I love the midrange shot by CJ. You really need your 4 to make midrange shots to open the floor up.

 

[ckhokie]

Mid range jumpers falling? This is a new team.

 

[Ragingcroc]

Mid range jumpers falling? This is a new team.

I always thought our perimeter players have had good midrange shots. greens pull up has always been deadly

 

[ckhokie]

Barksdale et al

 

[Ragingcroc]

Looks like we slowed down a bit when Patrick and Johnston came on, but now with our starters back in we're rolling

It lead to missed 3, but holy shit Green made the best pass I've seen his entire career to Brown.

 

[Ragingcroc]

We really need to get a stop.

 

[ckhokie]

Rebounding has to get better

 

[Ragingcroc]

We're getting a lot of blocks!

 

[Ragingcroc]

Will Johnston has an awesome shot, but I'm concerned about his ability to defend.

 

[Ragingcroc]

I LOVE Marshall Wood. His shot will come but I've been impressed by his D.

 

[hokiecheme11]

Yeah I'm with you, I wish he would play a little closer to the hoop though. Made two nice lay ups, but hasn't hit a jumper yet

 

[wildturkey]

First game I got to watch. Not sure what to make of it other than they are playing at a faster pace and with more energy, which was both good and bad in this game. Defensively the energy led to some steals and blocks, but it also led to several overplays on screens and guys running into each other. Also saw a lot of ball watching and players losing their man. That should clean up as they play together though.

Offensively, the pace is faster but to me at times it still looks similar to what Greenberg ran, only faster. Lots of isos or two man game with everyone else standing around. It's working because we're hitting shots, but that might be fool's gold. Not sure if they could manufacture points from plays against a better defensive opponent at this point. I did like Green being more decisive coming off screens however. Also liked what I saw offensively from JVG when he had opportunities, same with Raines.

Not sure what to make of rebounding either. Defensively, I thought it was ok. Offensively though, it looked like our guys didn't try to get them. That may be by design. The coaches may be telling them to forgo the rebound and get back on D. Or it could just be lack of effort. Don't know at this point.

A good start though. We've got some good games to work through some stuff and improve

 

[Ragingcroc]

Yeah I'm with you, I wish he would play a little closer to the hoop though. Made two nice lay ups, but hasn't hit a jumper yet

IMO he has good shot and should continue to shoot when open. He has to have confidence and continue to take the shot. We need him to spread the floor.

The good:
We held their best player to 7 points. We had 9 blocks. Cadarian Raines made a big impact with a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. I said he needed to get involved in rebounding and he did. His post moves looked smooth too after looking rusty in the opener. I thought we were much improved on rebounding this game. I was impressed with JVG on D and rebounding although it seems like he tends to drift on D.

The bad:
Another dude on the team had a career game with 22 points. I felt like Jarrell Eddie was trying to force it a little bit too much. I did like his rebounding and him pushing the ball up the floor. I did think we looked a bit off on offense. We just weren't as good and had to force up a few shots. It still looks fun though. I loved the alley oop to Brown that led to a foul and FTs.

I'm a bit wary of putting Marcus Patrick and Will Johnston on the floor at the same time. It seems like that killed our momentum when we went on a 13-0 run to open the game up. I'm fine with putting one or the other on floor but putting both on the floor seems to bog the offense down. I think each can contribute fine when accompanied by better players but I would avoid putting them both on the floor at the same time.