Deron Washington has played in every ACC game Virginia Tech has played in except for one, the game at wake in 2006 that he was suspended for.  He has started 115 of the 118 games he’s played in at VT.  But he is really struggling on offense right now.  On a team with so many pups, it is hard to imagine benching your lead dog, but that might be what it takes to shake up this slumping Hokie team and help break Deron Washington out of his current slump.

I’m not talking about cutting down Deron’s minutes much.  He averages 36 minutes a game in ACC play.  Cutting that down to 30 and giving Cheick Diakite (or others) those extra minutes would help keep Deron fresh and focused while out there and not cost VT much on defense or the boards.  Deron was only playing 28 minutes per game last year and shot over 50%.  Plus, it would give guys who are going to be around next season that much more experience.  I’m not talking about giving up on this season, but just helping better prepare the underclassmen.

To say that the Human Highlight Film is in a shooting slump is an understatement.  Deron is in a shooting recession, depression, and crash.  In ACC play, he is hitting just 31% of his shots.  Let’s look at what he’s done from the floor in ACC games:

• 1/7 at wake,
• 1/8 against maryland,
• 4/11 at uva,
• 3/11 at ga tech,
• 2/9 against duke,
• 8/19 at bc (one of only two games he’s shot over 40%),
• 4/14 vs fsu,
• 3/14 vs uva,
• 5/8 at nc state (the only game he’s shot 50% or better),
• 3/9 vs miami, and
• 2/7 at unc.

This is an odd development since Deron’s shooting percentage had gone up every year coming into this year.  He shot 48% as a freshman, 49% as a sophomore, and over 50% last season.  Overall, he is just under 40% this year. 

Behind the arc it has been even worse.  Washington missed 14 straight threes until finally hitting one at unc on Saturday, and is shooting just 14% on threes in ACC play (3/22). 

All is not awful though.  Deron is getting to the line a lot.  He is averaging more than eight free throws per ACC game, which puts him in the top 5 in the league.  That’s a good sign for an athletic player that needs to be going to the rack.  He’s also leading the team in offensive rebounds in ACC games with 23. 

The problems, as I see them, are pressure, shot selection, and results.  Deron was a role player in past seasons, the jelly to Dowdell and Gordon’s peanut butter.  This season, he knew he’d be the focal point of other teams’ defenses and be the main creator on VT’s offense.  This is clearly not working out.  Deron struggles as a go-to guy on offense.  As a result, Deron has forced things at times.  Since no one else on the team is accomplished at creating his own shots, other than Vassallo, Deron has been out of control at times and taken wild shots that had little to no chance.  Also, he should have given up on the three long before his slump got to 14 straight misses.  Finally, even when he’s gotten good looks, his mid-range game has completely left him.  Deron has not been able to hit his jumpers from 12-20 feet.

Perhaps by bringing Deron off the bench, it will help jump-start his game.  It will take the pressure off him to be Tech’s offensive leader.  It might relax him.  It might give him some favorable match-ups as other teams are also starting to go to their bench.  Instead of having the opponent’s best defender on him, he might get a lesser guy.  Kind of like dropping a slumping clean-up hitter down in the batting order to get him better pitches.  It can also help the team by giving the Hokies an energy boost about 5-8 minutes into the game, when VT has really struggled.  The middle part of first halves have been anemic for the Hokie offense of late, causing them to fall into double-digit deficits in the first half of 5 of their last 8 games.

Tech could start Cheick Diakite in Deron’s place.  Cheick continues to be a shot-blocking force inside and could pick up Deron’s rebounds.  VT has been awful on the glass the last week, so they can’t afford to go small.  Delaney, Vassallo, Thompson, Allen, and Diakite could give them a solid rebounding group.  This would force guys like Delaney and Thompson to pick up their offensive creativity.  Delaney can be a good penetrator but he has been hesitant to do this at times.  Without Deron on the court, other guys will be forced to start opening up their game more.  Plus, this might lead to more post feeds for Jeff Allen, which is always a good thing.

It is hard to imagine not having Deron in the starting lineup.  He is one of my all-time favorite Hokies, not just because of the dunks, but because he gives 100% every time out.  He has never mailed it in like a Randy Moss or Derrick Coleman.  Deron maxes out on both ends every game.  But maybe it is time to put him back as a role player and bring him off the bench, at least until he settles into that role and the other guys pick things up on offense. 

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