aggie_accountant said:
Anyone know anything about the Hokies this year other than that they are coached by Buzz?
They will be a significantly smaller team than us. They will be playing most of the game essentially a 4-guard lineup and their core rotation is about 8 players deep. This was their starting lineup vs. a larger New Mexico team:
C - Khadim Sy - Freshman (6'10")
G - Justin Robinson - Sophomore (6'1")
G - Chris Clarke - Sophomore (6'6")
G - Justin Bibbs - Junior (6'5")
G - Ahmed Hill - Junior (6'5")
And their top reserves are:
F - Zach LeDay - Senior (6'7")
G - Seth Allen - Senior (6'1")
G - Ty Outlaw - Junior (6'6")
So as you can see, they are a definitive 'small ball' team with only one player (a freshman Sy) taller than 6'7". Buzz has talked about how they know that they will be a smaller team than almost every opponent this season and will have to just out-fight everybody else to overcome that.
They seem to play really hard and are 'scrappy', but their adjusted defensive efficiency on Kenpom is only ranked 75th nationally despite having played a weak schedule thus far (VMI, High Point, Main, New Mexico). Based on what I saw of them vs. the Lobos, we are going to get our share of chances for offensive rebounds and we will get some open threes cause they will have to be really worried about our post play.
They are however ranked 14th nationally in offensive offense efficiency thus far, though Texas A&M is a significantly better defensive team per the numbers than any of the Hokies' previous four opponents. They have yet to play an opponent with a defense even ranked in the top-100 in Kenpom and A&M is ranked currently #17th nationally. But they have lots of players who can shoot and drive and score our get to the FT line.
My quick takeGonna be primarily about the guard play (like many games this season). We will have a HUGE advantage size wise. So did New Mexico but Tyler Davis, Trocha, and Williams are significantly better than the Lobo's bigs. If that Sy kid gets in foul trouble then the Lobos will have to go with someone like LeDay (a very good player but only 6'7" 235lbs) trying to stop a 6'10" 265 lb Tyler Davis. I assume they will often be doing zones and doubling the post and so forth to avoid getting killed. V-Techs guards are really good and can score off the dribble or hit threes.
Personally, I think Virginia Tech is about as good a team as USC, more or less, but with an even smaller roster though with a bit more guard depth.
IF Hogg continues playing well and Hampton and Gilder can at least play a 'B' game (i.e., not go 2-16 with lots of missed FTs and untimely turnovers like vs. USC) then A&M has very good chance to win this one.
Other Interesting TidbitTexas A&M assistant coach Chew was Buzz's top assistant last season at Virginia Tech. So my guess is Chew probably is doing the scouting/game prep for this one, given his intimate familiarity with the Tech's current roster and what they like to run.
