Ok TSL readers, what would you do with this team's talent?

[1980VT]

Offensively and defensively speaking. Walking away from it is not an answer either.

[Hokie TD]

I think the talent is there with the exception of a 5 man, playing with out the ball is to be an emphasis on offense as well as getting jarrell eddie more shots in the open floor, the pace of the o is terrible, no inside out play , shot selection doesn't relate to who is in rebounding position..so I guess I would start from scratch and emphasize all those things

[Guy LeDouche]

Well, first I would fire Stiney...oh wait this is basketball. I have two problems with the offense. First, it appears to be set up to try to get a mis-match. If we get a match-up advantage, we will shoot if open, or drive to the hoop. Also, when we get the match-up we want, the rest of the team freezes and watches the play. At times last night, it appeared we didn't get the match-ups we wanted and faltered as the shot clock expired. I give Miami credit, they were ready for our offense, and their athleticism caused problems finding the mismatches we were looking for. I would look for an offense that has more movement that tries to get open looks regardless of who is guarding you.

Second, our inside guys are inside only. We are not big enough on the interior to play a consistent inside game. If we can get our 4 and 5 to develop a mid range game, that would free up the interior.

I am also disappointed that we don't rub off screens. I mean, when a screen is set, we need to "rub" the screener so the defender has to either run into the screener or behind the screen. IMO, the moving screens are a result of the screener trying to find the defender.

I think we play very good defense, but I wish we would change things up throughout the game rather than wait until we are behind. I would continue to treat the man2man defense as a base defense, but I would throw other defensive sets throughout the game. I also think we should vary our back court pressure (no pressure, token pressure, heavy pressure). Token pressure would give the staff insights on how they would break the press, and we could anticipate passes when heavy pressure is applied. I liked the 1-3-1 zone we played, but we shouldn't play it too long, b/c ACC guards will light us up if we do.

To be honest, last night I was pissed because I think we have the talent to beat Miami.

[Hokie TD]

all good points

[IB4TECH]

Well, first I would fire Stiney...oh wait this is basketball. I have two problems with the offense. First, it appears to be set up to try to get a mis-match. If we get a match-up advantage, we will shoot if open, or drive to the hoop. Also, when we get the match-up we want, the rest of the team freezes and watches the play. At times last night, it appeared we didn't get the match-ups we wanted and faltered as the shot clock expired. I give Miami credit, they were ready for our offense, and their athleticism caused problems finding the mismatches we were looking for. I would look for an offense that has more movement that tries to get open looks regardless of who is guarding you.

Second, our inside guys are inside only. We are not big enough on the interior to play a consistent inside game. If we can get our 4 and 5 to develop a mid range game, that would free up the interior.

I am also disappointed that we don't rub off screens. I mean, when a screen is set, we need to "rub" the screener so the defender has to either run into the screener or behind the screen. IMO, the moving screens are a result of the screener trying to find the defender.

I think we play very good defense, but I wish we would change things up throughout the game rather than wait until we are behind. I would continue to treat the man2man defense as a base defense, but I would throw other defensive sets throughout the game. I also think we should vary our back court pressure (no pressure, token pressure, heavy pressure). Token pressure would give the staff insights on how they would break the press, and we could anticipate passes when heavy pressure is applied. I liked the 1-3-1 zone we played, but we shouldn't play it too long, b/c ACC guards will light us up if we do.

To be honest, last night I was pissed because I think we have the talent to beat Miami.

So refreshing to see the topic addressed Guy. I think it was Elmore last night that also talked about our "moving pick" was more of our guy with the ball not properly guiding the defender into the screen than the screener not properly executing.

[hoosnowahokie]

So refreshing to see the topic addressed Guy. I think it was Elmore last night that also talked about our "moving pick" was more of our guy with the ball not properly guiding the defender into the screen than the screener not properly executing.

Len's actually mentioned it the last couple VT games he's called. Unfortunately, I don't think it takes an expert to correct some of the things we do on offense. Guy sees that our team just stops moving on offense. It's like they are mesmerized by whatever is happening at the ball, they forget that they are playing a game. Very frustrating to watch.

[reestuart]

Well, first I would fire Stiney...oh wait this is basketball. I have two problems with the offense. First, it appears to be set up to try to get a mis-match. If we get a match-up advantage, we will shoot if open, or drive to the hoop. Also, when we get the match-up we want, the rest of the team freezes and watches the play. At times last night, it appeared we didn't get the match-ups we wanted and faltered as the shot clock expired. I give Miami credit, they were ready for our offense, and their athleticism caused problems finding the mismatches we were looking for. I would look for an offense that has more movement that tries to get open looks regardless of who is guarding you.

Second, our inside guys are inside only. We are not big enough on the interior to play a consistent inside game. If we can get our 4 and 5 to develop a mid range game, that would free up the interior.

I am also disappointed that we don't rub off screens. I mean, when a screen is set, we need to "rub" the screener so the defender has to either run into the screener or behind the screen. IMO, the moving screens are a result of the screener trying to find the defender.

I think we play very good defense, but I wish we would change things up throughout the game rather than wait until we are behind. I would continue to treat the man2man defense as a base defense, but I would throw other defensive sets throughout the game. I also think we should vary our back court pressure (no pressure, token pressure, heavy pressure). Token pressure would give the staff insights on how they would break the press, and we could anticipate passes when heavy pressure is applied. I liked the 1-3-1 zone we played, but we shouldn't play it too long, b/c ACC guards will light us up if we do.

To be honest, last night I was pissed because I think we have the talent to beat Miami.

Great point about the screens. On the rare occasion that we do set a screen, our guy doesn't set the screen up correctly. The opponents almost never need to switch.

[reestuart]

Pressure on D to create a better tempo for the O. It's obvious that we're terrible in half court. We need to put the pressure on teams up and down the court.

[Rabbi Bibi]

I agree..go full court pressure and get all of our looks off of transition.

[reestuart]

I agree..go full court pressure and get all of our looks off of transition.

Seems natural for this team. We're not big, but we're athletic and have some guys that can hit some shots. The problem is getting them good looks. It's also not like we don't have depth. We're playing 8-9 guys every game. The only position I view as being somewhat thin is PG.