Another tough loss for the Hokies tonight, as that big ten powerhouse penn state (oops, football on the brain) fought off a second half comeback by Tech to win 66-61.
This was the first time that many Hokie fans got to see the team in action this season, and unfortunately our freshman guards had their worst performance of the young season. Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney were outplayed on both sides of the ball by the nittany lions’ freshman Talor Battle and senior Mike Walker. Walker, who only was averaging 6.6 points per game, poured in 17, and many of those jumpers were open looks. Battle, who chipped in 9, made Thorns look like … well, a freshman, when he stole the ball from Thorns as Hank was focused on the play Coach Greenberg was calling. Down the stretch, the Hokies had two separate possessions to tie the game. First, with the Hokies trailing by 3 with ample time remaining to shoot for 2, Malcolm Delaney threw up an off balance three in traffic. Then, the Hokies got a gift when Mike Walker, an 88% free throw shooter last season, missed 2 free throws with 16 seconds left. Hank Thorns raced down the court and into the lane, only to miss a layup. So, basically, we shot a three when we could have used a 2 and then went for 2 when we should have kicked a field goal (sorry, football on the brain). The main issue here is neither Delaney or Thorns got the ball to our go-to guys: Deron, A.D., or Jeff Allen (who very quietly led all players with 18 points and 14 boards). All in all, we have to expect these type of mistakes. This is only their fifth collegiate game.
The most disappointing development of the night was that penn state’s best player only scored 8 points, and the Hokies still lost. Geary Claxton who leads all big ten active players in points scored and double-doubles was in foul trouble most of the game, but Tech could not capitalize.
I was surprised that Tech did not go to Jeff Allen more than they did. He is easily the team MVP thus far, and while he had the most impressive line in the box score tonight, it seemed to me that the Hokies did not go to him enough. Many of Allen’s points were second chance opportunities. Player comparisons are unfair and typically inaccurate, but I did like the Moses Malone comparison on the ESPN2 broadcast. He is going to be special, and I know that I write this in every single recap, but I can’t help myself.
Five minutes into the game, the Hokies led 16-6, but it was all penn state the rest of the first half as they outscored Tech 32-12 to take a 38-28 halftime lead. Tech shot poorly from the field during that 15-minute stretch, and turned the ball over much like the gonzaga game. The Hokies shot 39% from the field in the first half, compared to 55% for penn state. Once again, Tech’s opponent shot better behind the three point line, scoring 5 more threes than Tech. A.D. Vassallo was 0-for-4 from three point land and 2-for-9 from the field in the first half. When that happens, the Hokies are not going to win many games. Jeff Allen and Deron Washington led the team with 6 points each in the first half. Tech outrebounded penn state in the first half 16 to 13, including a 7-to-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Diakite led the way with 5 boards and Allen had 4 in the first half. penn state’s lead at the half was all the more impressive considering preseason all big ten guard Geary Claxton only scored 4 points due to foul trouble (thanks to two Deron flops).
In the second half, Tech battled back from a 13 point deficit and cut the lead to 1 twice, 50-49, and then again 60-59. They could never get over the hump to tie or take the lead although they did have opportunities. A couple milestones were reached during the game – Deron scored his 1000th point, and Terrell Bell scored his first. Congrats to both players.
The penn state-Virginia Tech game was the final game in this year’s ACC-big ten challenge. The ACC wins again, 8 games to 3. Tech joined n.c. state and georgia tech as the only teams to lose. It’s going to be tough to get back to the challenge next year, but all we have to do is not finish last in the league.
ESPN Box Score
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This was my first chance watching the team. A few thoughts.
First of all, I am pretty excited about the season. I think watching Deron, Allen, Thorns, and Delaney will provide ample excitement to get us through some beatings and close losses. We definitely have a dangerous and athletic team that is capable of beating an upper level ACC team when we get hot.
As for last night…I was shocked at how active and succesful we were on the offensive boards. In the beginning of the game we were getting second chances nearly every trip down the court. I have never seen that out of our team. I think we were tired, and it showed in all phases. It can’t be easy to come back from 3 games in Alaska over the weekend. I think this showed in some careless passes and lazy defense.
Which brings me to defense…wow that was bad. The three’s don’t bother me as much as all of the easy lay ups and dunks we gave up. If we are small and quick, we should atleast be able to stick with some guys. Maybe this was partly due to fatigue? Either way, this is a huge drop-off from last year.
I am not really that dissapointed about the loss. We could have easily won that game….it was just a case of Penn State being hot from outside, and us stinking. Basketball is a fickle, fickle game. Neither Vassalo nor Delany hit any of their 3’s, and they had some good looks. So I am not too concerned. When teams are this evenly matched, it usually comes down to who is hotter. That being said, if we ever played PSU again, and we retained our rebounding edge, I would really like our chances.
Now on to my biggest concern: The offensive system. I like Greenberg as a promoter of our program, a motivator, and as a recruiter. Where is the offensive system? Every time we get in a half court set…its ugly. Last year, the excuse was we had Zabe and Deron, who can drive and score or dump off. This year, we don’t have them. We need to run some plays. I even noticed after time outs, we really had no play set up. It was just, get the ball to A.D., and lets face it, he needs help to get open.
Should be a fun season though.
This was my first look at the 2007-08 hokies, and was not overly impressed with how they played against Penn State, especially on the defensive end. It truly shows how much the loss of Munson (transfer) impacts this team. I hope that somehow Thorns can improve his play, but it was a little discouraging to see Penn State’s freshman point guard dominate Thorns. Hopefully he just had an off night, because the hokies will need him to play much better if they have any notions of emerging from the ACC basement this year.
I love Greenberg and what he does for the VT bball program, but I felt that he did not have his best game last night. In the first
half, the offense was in complete disarray, often times after timeouts; and many times I noticed multiple players glancing over to the sideline asking for direction. Secondly, as stated in an earlier post, I did not see an emphasis on going to Allen down low (i’m sure this will change as the season progresses). Lastly, I don’t remember exactly when it happend, but i believe it was after tech got the ball with about 26 seconds left to play and down by 3, but I thought that Greenberg should have called a timeout to sort things out. Delaney had a decent look, but i’m not so certain it was the best shot to take at that time.
Please keep in mind that i have never coached bball in my life, so i’m probably completely wrong.
I think Tech will be good, but poor defensive play and lack of quaility point guard play (I do think Thorns will be good…eventually) will be tough to overcome this season. I was optimistic for an NIT berth before the season began…it turns out that I may be a year early in my prediction.
the hokies basketball team will shock the world. the team is good when the wing mans start running full court you will see a show out of this world dunk dunk dunk win win win