1/11/2025 MBB vs SMU

MtnWasp

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I've probably blocked it out of my mind, but I don't recall a Tech team looking as bad as we did in that first half. It wasn't that SMU jumped us like we've seen some powerhouse teams like Duke do to us in the past. No, Gt just literally imploded right before our eyes. Pick-up games at the Y look better than that.

And don't fool yourself into thinking anything positive about the second half. The second half had the obvious feel of an NBA All Star Game. EVERYONE knew that game was over in the first half and the players on both sides put on an offensive exhibition without much thought at all about defense.

Also I wouldn't bother deconstructing the game, the players or the roster. There is a bigger picture assessment to be made:

A good coach will go his entire career without his team looking like that in a meaningful game.

It is funny how we have started each of the last two seasons excited by the upgrade in talent but it isn't long before the conversation turns to lack of talent and holes in the roster.

The staff is supposed to put their players in position to make them look good and be successful. These players were recruited for their ability to produce in some aspect at this level.

Any observed trend that multiple players are regressing in their court performance over time and not playing to their talent level or past performance is a dire indictment on the coach.

The team shows games where there are glimmers of solid play but then falls. Same thing we saw last year. Another trend that makes this coach look real bad. Schizophrenia seem to be the program identity that we have settled into.

This look will destroy recruiting in short order.

Was hopeful. Can't say that I have any right now.
 

alagold

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MtnWasp said:
I've probably blocked it out of my mind, but I don't recall a Tech team looking as bad as we did in that first half. It wasn't that SMU jumped us like we've seen some powerhouse teams like Duke do to us in the past. No, Gt just literally imploded right before our eyes. Pick-up games at the Y look better than that.

And don't fool yourself into thinking anything positive about the second half. The second half had the obvious feel of an NBA All Star Game. EVERYONE knew that game was over in the first half and the players on both sides put on an offensive exhibition without much thought at all about defense.

Also I wouldn't bother deconstructing the game, the players or the roster. There is a bigger picture assessment to be made:

A good coach will go his entire career without his team looking like that in a meaningful game.

It is funny how we have started each of the last two seasons excited by the upgrade in talent but it isn't long before the conversation turns to lack of talent and holes in the roster.

The staff is supposed to put their players in position to make them look good and be successful. These players were recruited for their ability to produce in some aspect at this level.

Any observed trend that multiple players are regressing in their court performance over time and not playing to their talent level or past performance is a dire indictment on the coach.

The team shows games where there are glimmers of solid play but then falls. Same thing we saw last year. Another trend that makes this coach look real bad. Schizophrenia seem to be the program identity that we have settled into.

This look will destroy recruiting in short order.

Was hopeful. Can't say that I have any right now.
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yep, schizo is the correct description for this team.yes, I would expect to have "some game(s) " of good showing (and maybe amazing) , but very erratic overall and there is little strength in this team.Maybe it starts with lack of size or talent/skills, basic poor shooting (see Fts), or a heart for defense . Any and all will kill you as far as wins.
 

Richland County

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471
I have determined that Damon is very poor man's version of Bobby C. The big difference is that Bobby knew he was a weak X's and O"s guy so he hired good assistants. Damon can rectuit hs talent but so far his portal evaluations have been suspect and his development and offense schemes are poorly executed. This hire so far has been a black eye for Batt.
 
awbuzz

awbuzz

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gte447f said:
Not sure. I think there was a game against UVA under Pastner, where we only scored 20 something total.
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Iirc, we scored 28 points against UVA. Always in the back of my mind that we need to score 29.

Yeppers, dug it up...
Brian Gregory was coaching
January 22, 2015... at UVA... 😞

1000007192.png
 

MtnWasp

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UVA finished second in the nation in defensive efficiency (0.855 points per possession) that season and was a slow tempo team. And Gregory had a storied career for offensive mediocrity (or perhaps more accurately, neglect)

SMU is a very good defensive team this year currently ranked 78th in defensive efficiency at 0.976 points per possession, but they are no Bennett's UVA. SMU did not stuff us, we just bobbled and bumbled the ball away.
 
gte447f

gte447f

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MtnWasp said:
UVA finished second in the nation in defensive efficiency (0.855 points per possession) that season and was a slow tempo team. And Gregory had a storied career for offensive mediocrity (or perhaps more accurately, neglect)

SMU is a very good defensive team this year currently ranked 78th in defensive efficiency at 0.976 points per possession, but they are no Bennett's UVA. SMU did not stuff us, we just bobbled and bumbled the ball away.
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I hear you, and I take your point, but we still only scored 12 points in the second half of that game. Thats pretty unfathomable, no matter who you are playing. And that game was only brought up because it was asked whether 19 points in a half was the worst ever in the ACC. It wasn’t. In the aforementioned uva game, Gregory’s team managed to do worse in BOTH halves. Pretty unbelievable. I remember watching that game and feeling like it would be impossible to come back when we were down by twelve at half time. What’s really different about this SMU game is that we sucked so badly on both ends of the court. In addition to only scoring 19 in the half, we gave up 50!
 
Techwood Relict

Techwood Relict

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I was perusing scores last Thursday and Mich St v Wash flashed across the screen, 42-13 at halftime for Mich St. I thought, wow, that's a terrible first half for a D1 team...... Then there's 50-19......
Idk what's happened to Baye, but it's cratered our chances of a successful season. The weight change? Weight of expectations? Surrounding injuries? All of the aforementioned? I don't think that it's really a pure coaching problem, CDS knows how to play ball, but man, he must really have a good relationship with ADJB.
We are suffering with no real relief in sight. The lack of a true 5 is prominent, but can't be solved this year, and I expect quite a bit of turnover for the starting five next year, so building team cohesiveness doesn't really help. It seems our best hope is high level recruits and increasing competition for floor time. A good 5 will help next year, but don't expect a freshman big to be a program savior.
 
AUFC

AUFC

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gte447f said:
I hear you, and I take your point, but we still only scored 12 points in the second half of that game. Thats pretty unfathomable, no matter who you are playing. And that game was only brought up because it was asked whether 19 points in a half was the worst ever in the ACC. It wasn’t. In the aforementioned uva game, Gregory’s team managed to do worse in BOTH halves. Pretty unbelievable. I remember watching that game and feeling like it would be impossible to come back when we were down by twelve at half time. What’s really different about this SMU game is that we sucked so badly on both ends of the court. In addition to only scoring 19 in the half, we gave up 50!
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UVA pretty commonly held teams under 20 in a half between their vaunted packline defense and slow offensive pace. It happened so much that holding any team under 20 in a half is colloquially known as "a Tony."

www.espn.com

Virginia Tech 47-24 NC State (Feb 2, 2019) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Virginia Tech Hokies vs. NC State Wolfpack NCAAM game, final score 47-24, from February 2, 2019 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

This still goes down as the worst offensive performance I've ever seen by an ACC team.
 
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