Good morning, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men’s basketball fans.
The Virginia Tech Hokies men’s basketball (herein the Hokies) has had some decent wins this year against Iowa State, Boise State, and Clemson (all NCAA Net quadrant one wins). The Hokies had avoided that loss that would drastically affect their NCAA Net rankings – until yesterday. The Hokies lost to Notre Dame, ranked 168th in the NCAA Net rankings.
Per KenPom, only games Tech has lost against teams with a lower rating than Notre Dame was entering today (168) under Young were to Boston College — 2019-20 (179), 2022-23 (170 — twice). Had a loss at Georgia Tech (161) in 2022-23, too.
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) February 11, 2024
It was an explicable lack of focus that was shocking to me on many levels. Why did this happen? And where do the Hokies go from here? Three areas of focus The Hokies lost yesterday because there were no coaching adjustments; there is a lack of general focus on the team at times; and the Hokies just don’t have ACC men’s basketball talent.
Coaching Adjustments
Notre Dame’s Freshman Guard, Markus Burton, absolutely ripped the Hokies defense yesterday. Burton made the Hokies defense look like butter. It was horrific defense and reminded me of the Hokies defensive efforts vs. Georgia Tech and Boston College during the 2022-2023 season. While Burton didn’t have a great shooting percentage from the floor – that’s also because he got fouled going to the hoop. You know that you cannot guard this guy one-on-one, then you have to change your defense up. That means getting the basketball out of his hands – that means double teaming Burton at times – it means you give different looks on D (like a zone). But you have to do something before there are two minutes left to go in the second half. Inexplicably, that did not happen – the Hokies could never guard Burton – and, consequently, he cashed in. And by the way, this isn’t the first time regarding the lack of coaching adjustments (see both games vs. Miami). Miami never let the Hokies get into their offense because – they started guarding the Hokies at half court and never really let the Hokies motion (or get into) their offense (no response from Mike Young).
Lack of General Focus
Mike Young’s teams seem to be hyper focused at home – but inexplicably lose focus against teams that can derail their NCAA tournament opportunities. We posted the Twitter tweet above regarding these losses. We questioned the Hokies defenses several times. It took several years for the Hokies to win vs. Boston College. Not everyone expects Virginia Tech to defeat North Carolina or Duke every time out on the court. But the Hokies fans do expect more often than not – not to lose to teams who will derail your entire season. This is a pattern with Mike Young coached teams.
With Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame, Virginia Tech fell to 1-6 on the road this season.
The #Hokies are 16-32 (33.3%) on the road in the Mike Young era, and 3-16 (18.5%) in the last two seasons away from Cassell Coliseum.
— Mike McDaniel (@MikeMcDanielSI) February 11, 2024
Lack of ACC Talent
At best, the Hokies men’s basketball team has an average ACC roster – and maybe even below average. If I’m not mistaken, the Hokies do not have a top 100 player on their roster. The Hokies have player developmental successes Keva Aluma, Justyn Mutts, Hunter Cattoor, and Sean Pedulla. However, the Hokies can’t keep the big time players in the fold like Rodney Rice – and he was a player that could create his own shot. The Hokies only have one player on their current roster who can create his own shot – and that’s Sean Pedulla (he decided to do that when it was too late yesterday). In addition, the Hokies lack interior post depth – there’s nothing there. The Hokies need a player like Victor Davilla or Coleman Collins – someone you can depend on to get 8-10 points a night (not a lot), can rebound, and can play tough defense. I’m not talking about a center who scores 30 points a game; is a rebounding machine; and plays amazing defense – because that player is going to North Carolina or Duke. I’m talking about consistent, interior post depth – because that should be a reasonable floor for ACC play. Mike Young’s system can work – but he needs consistent inside-outside offensive threats
Where do the Hokies Go From Here?
I’m not sure, honestly. I do think the Hokies need to get more NIL funding for their men’s basketball program if they want to compete in the ACC (the Hokies do not have an ACC roster right now). Some will say that Buzz Willians did it without that NIL funding – but this is a different era. I don’t think that the Hokies are at James Johnson or Ricky Stokes levels of bad play – but I also don’t think the Hokies are in a position to be in the upper half of the ACC (that is where most Hokies fans expectations lie – to be in a position to get to the NCAA tournament – and have a good season every 3-4 years) If you recall, I’ve seen it happen – I was at the East Region matchup when Virginia Tech played Duke in Washington, DC – the sweet 16. It will take NIL funding to turnaround this roster. I think Mike Young is a good coach – I don’t think he’s forgotten how to coach – but you can’t be a developmental program and expect to win in the ACC – and this could be his Achilles Heel. If you can’t turnaround the roster – and get ACC level talent – that’s when people will start asking questions about Mike Young.
Thanks for reading!!
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