Frustration and Disappointment

In terms of the VT sports that I follow (i.e., football and basketball), things have gone from bad to worse since my last post. I was hoping to hold out for something positive to talk about regarding the Hokie cagers, but I don't think that I can wait that long...

Erick Green, courtesy HokieSports.com

Last night was a low point for this season's team. Sure, we were playing a wounded UNC team ranked # 8 in the nation and coming off of a bad loss to FSU; but despite Seth Greenberg's assertions to the contrary, I could not identify many positives from that game. And yes, this season's unit has a lot of freshmen in the line-up, but so do a few other teams, and those teams are still finding a way to win in the ACC.


Again, I realize that UNC has superior starters and bench talent across-the-board compared to VT's, and the Hokies just ran out of gas in the second half. However, despite being up at halftime, we were never really in control of the game.  The first-half lead was a house-of-cards with a foundation based on the limited success of some low-probability outside shooting. Since the Hokies were unable to penetrate UNC's defense and get shots in the paint, once the outside shooting dried up, the team was toast.


A couple observations regarding VT performance in ACC play so far:

• The team is young, and should get better, but a few of the freshmen have regressed, instead of progressing.
• The lack of size (weight/height) of our centers makes us a non-factor under the basket.  After what UNC and everyone else has been doing to us under the boards, the prospects for being able to correct this during the season are dim.
• All of VT's players have their "moments", but Erick Green is pretty-much the only player that can be counted on to "ball-out" for the entire game and consistently be productive.
• Senior leadership is lacking on this team, period.
• I just don’t see any of Seth Greenberg’s “attitude” and toughness in this year’s team.  It’s going to be hard to get it (back) based on where we are now in the season.

This is most disappointed that I have been in a Hokie basketball team since I’ve been following them (after Greenberg arrived). In the past, there have been glimmers of hope sprinkled through most of the games, but in last night’s game, everyone knew that the fragile lead that we had at halftime would never hold up.

We have upcoming games against UVA and UMD; they are both probably licking their chops at thought of some home-cooked fried turkey.

GO HOKIES!!