Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball Reserve Guards Got Needed Playing Time vs. St. Bonaventure

Good afternoon, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men’s basketball fans.

We hope all is well in your world.

The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team completely obliterated St. Bonaventure – and it was never close.  Our friend, Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) has a recap over at Tech Lunch Pail, for my cash, the big Virginia Tech Hokies blog out there.  Here’s what Tim had to say:

Virginia Tech beat St. Bonaventure 86-49 to improve to 8-4 on the season while the Bonnies fell to 8-3. This is a massive non-conference win for the Hokies that will go right to the top of their resume with the rout also certainly boosting their NET ranking and other analytics as well.

Tech was simply dominant on both ends of the floor as they shot the ball quite well making 54.9% of their shots including 13-28 from three-point range though 14 turnovers will be something that can be improved upon. The defense was even better with the Bonnies shooting a meager 33.3% from the field including 6-23 from three with 20 turnovers which Tech turned in 16 points.

Storm Murphy has struggled a lot, but this was his best game of his Hokie career to date with 18 points on 7-10 shooting including 4-7 from three while also adding 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. This may have been the game that Murphy needed to find his form for the Hokies against high level competition which would be perfect timing with a trip to Duke up next in five days.

Hunter Cattoor had a big game as well leading the Hokies with 21 points on 6-7 shooting including 5-5 from three and 4-5 from the free-throw line while adding 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and only 1 turnover. Cattoor continues to be Tech’s best guard so far this season and backed it up with another big game today.

Here’s the money quote from Tim’s piece:

Darius Maddox led the Hokies’ bench with 8 points on 2-4 shooting and 3-4 from the line plus 2 rebounds and 1 assist while Sean Pedulla had 5 points and 2 assists as Tech’s top backup guards continue to play well though Pedulla did foul out.

As you all know, Storm Murphy has struggled in his first several games.  While it looks like he made some strides vs. St. Bonaventure, I do think at some point this season, you’re going to see Darious Maddox and/or Sean Pedulla get even many more minutes at the guard positions.  Why do I say that?  Here’s why I say that – below, you will find a table with the size of the opposing teams guards when the Hokies enter ACC play:

You’ll notice up there on ACC game nights, Virginia Tech men’s basketball is going to play some trees at the guard position.  While I think Storm Murphy is a good player – and he for sure knows Mike Young’s offensive system, it’s good to see guys like Sean Pedulla and Darius Maddox get some extra minutes.  The Hokies might need the versatility of a Maddox or a Pedulla against some of the really big ACC teams.  I picture teams like Duke, North Carolina, and Florida State trying to post up Storm Murphy on the offensive end of the court – and, quite frankly, I don’t like that prospect.  That’s why it wwas good for Maddox and Pedulla to get some extra minutes – extra playing time in – vs. St. Bonaventure (Maddox and Pedulla got 17 and 15 minutes of playing time, respectively).  The Hokies will really need Maddox and Pedulla in ACC play.  There might even be nights when one of Maddox or Pedulla will start – might happen before the end of the season.

I’ve been critical of guard play – but I saw some good developments vs. St. Bonaventure.  Let’s hope that continues the rest of the season.

Make sure you follow the All Sports Discussion Twitter account at @AllSportsDACC and please like our Facebook Page