All 5 Hokie starters reach double digits as Tech holds the camels to exactly 60 points for the third straight year.  Hokies win 85-60 in the Cassell, and here are your highlights with commentary…

Highlights and Commentary | Boxscore

Thanks to a 15-0 run to open the 2nd half, the Hokies humped the camels 85-60 in the Cassell and move to 8-3. It was the 3rd year in a row campbell scored exactly 60 versus the Hokies, though the past 2 were much closer.

All 5 Tech starters reached double digits as the Hokies absolutely shredded the porous campbell defense in the final 20 minutes. VT started the second half 11/14 from the field. That helped a 3-point halftime margin become a 47-29 lead and later stretch into the 20s in margin. The Hokies outscored campbell 53-31 in the second half.

Tech shot an eye-popping 55% from the field for the game, including 73% (19/26) in the 2nd half thanks to all their easy buckets. The best sign for VT was their transition game, which had been awful until today. But the Hokies dominated the up-tempo camels 20-8 in fast break points, beating them at their own game which was great to see. How’d they do it? They actually passed the ball on the break! Imagine that.

The Hokies also got hot from deep after the break, hitting 4/5 3-pointers. They finished 5/12 from long range.

For those of you that have been calling for more from the seniors, you got your wish. Victor Davila and Dorenzo Hudson eached scored 15 to lead the Hokies. VD was 6/9 from the field and Zo was 5/11, with most of the damage for both coming in the second stanza. Erick Green, who had 10 at the half, scored just 2 in the second half to finish with 12. Jarell Eddie had 11, all in the 2nd half. Dorian Finney-Smith rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 (and he was much more aggressive on the offensive end, also a good sign).

The only negative for Tech is they got just 4 offensive rebounds for the game despite having a big size advantage on the camels.

VT led just 32-29 at the break as the Hokies looked rusty after 6 days off while finishing up exams. Tech shot under 40% from the field in the first half and were just 1/7 from behind the arc. They missed a lot of open looks. Luckily, the camels were off, too. They hit just 1/5 from deep, but did shoot close to 50% in the first half.

What did in the camels was turnovers. Despite shooting almost 45% for the game, they committed 15 turnovers. VT converted that into 23 points off turnovers while campbell got just 10.

campbell came into this game ranked in or near the top 10 in almost offensive stat. Tech held them 23 points below their average of 83 per game. Their leading scorer, Darrin White, came in averaging 21 ppg, 12th best in the land. He had 10 in the first 8 minutes of the game, but scored just 4 the rest of the way. Freeman had 16 for them and Griffin added 15 from their big 3, but no one else had more than 4 points.

The camels also shot 44% from deep coming in, also near the top in the country. But Tech held them to 1/12 (8%) from long range. VT’s opponents are shooting just barely over 20% on 3-pointers on the season.

And for those of you keeping track of my predictions, I did call for a laugher and did notice the trend of campbell always scoring 60 against VT.

The Hokies return to action on Monday night in the Cassell against north florida at 7 PM.

Some people were warning Tech to look out for the campbell camels.  They were 8-1 on the season… until Wednesday… when they lost… to houston baptist.  I know what you’re thinking, “What’s a houston baptist?”  As usual, your wish is my command:

• They are Division I
• They are in the Great West Conference (If you can name another team in the conference without looking then you have too much time on your hands… n.j.i.t. is in it (they are in New Jersey… in the Great ‘West’))
• Their nickname is the ‘huskies’… yeah, lots of huskies in Houston
• campbell, like norfolk state, has already played a team twice this year (houston baptist)… seriously, they played a home-and-home???  Is this some rivalry I don’t know about?  campbell won at home easily in their opener before losing at hbu.

Virginia Tech senior forward Jeff Allen slams home a dunk in the Hokies' 70-60 win over campbell.

It wasn’t an impressive victory by any stretch. In fact, it was anything but inspiring. However, it was the first game of the season and it was clear the team was feeling it’s way through actual competition, looking for the chemistry it will need to live up to the highest expectations of a Virginia Tech basketball team since the 1995-1996 season.

There were certainly positives in the game and honestly, at no point did it feel like the Hokies might be in trouble. One of the bright spots was the play of true freshman Jarrell Eddie, who looked comfortable and impressive in his debut, scoring six points in 15 minutes. He also recorded three rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Erick Green played 17 minutes.

The Hokies struggled from the start of the game, falling behind early, 6-9, but kept the game close until closing the first half on a 23-9 run to take a 41-26 lead into the break.

The camels came out in the second half and kept the game close, eventually cutting the lead down to seven, 45-52, with 13:19 to play. Tech slammed the door after that, though, using an 11-0 run to race back in front by 18 points. From there, the Hokies coasted to a 70-60 win. Tech is now 8-0 in season-openers under Seth Greenberg.

The only bit of concerning news was the lack of depth and size in the front court. Victor Davila didn’t score a point in 30 minutes. He didn’t even attempt a single shot. Davila, a junior, played hard, but if the Hokies are going to compete in the physical ACC, he’s going to have to step his game up and play smarter. He fouled out tonight.

Despite the lack of size, Tech dominated the boards tonight, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Hokies out-rebounded the camels 41-24. Jeff Allen had the most complete game of any Hokie, leading the team in rebounding and assists. He did just about everything you could ask of him, including staying out of foul trouble. Allen played incredibly smart basketball and looks lean and polished.

Delaney was his usual self. He scored 20 points, but 11 of those were free throws. He was 3 for 9 from the field and 3 for 8 from 3-point range. Delaney did, however, hit all 11 of his free throws.

The Hokies get back on the court next Tuesday against No. 3 kansas state in Manhattan, Kan. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

campbell fighting camels – Game #1

The most anticipated Virginia Tech basketball season ever is about to tip-off on Friday night when the #21 Hokies take on the fightin’ camels of campbell in the Cassell at 7:30.  Can Tech’s four seniors finally get over the hump and make the NCAA Tournament?  This game likely won’t be a good test of that as Tech should trounce the camels, but it will start to show whether or not the Hokies can thrive with almost no front court (more on that below)…

SIX PACK ATTACK:

1. Virginia Tech is ranked in the preseason for the first time since the 1995-96 season.  That’s the second to last time the Hokies made the Big Dance.
2. Two Hokies will likely make their debuts for Tech on Friday – freshman wing player JARELL EDDIE and freshman guard TYRONE GARLAND
3. The Hokies are 3-0 all time against the fighting camels, including a hard fought 71-60 (RECAP) win last year in the first game ever at campbell’s new arena.  JT Thompson (injured, out for season) helped VT overcome horrible shooting nights from Malcolm Delaney (3/13) and Dorenzo Hudson (3/9).  JT had 17 points on 8/12 shooting in the win.  Jeff Allen battled foul trouble and played just 19 minutes.  VT did hit seven three-pointers in the game, tied for the fourth most makes on the season last year.  Probably the oddest note of the game is Coach Greenberg burned four timeouts in the first half – including three in a two minute span.
4. With his second assist on Friday, Malcolm Delaney will surpass Dell Curry and move into 4th place on the all time Hokies’ assist list.  He has 406 currently and has a real shot at reaching #2 by the end of the year (514).
5. Tech returns all five starters from a year ago (Allen, Davila, Bell, Hudson, and Delaney) and 10 of the 12 guys that scored a point last season.  Just graduate Lewis Witcher and redshirt (injury) JT Thompson are not playing this year.
6. Try ‘Ri’ Kentucky straight rye whiskey.  Pricey for whiskey but very good.  Oh, and get the McRib before it is gone!  The greatest sandwich of all time!

STARTERS (returning starters in BOLD):

Note: Cadarian Raines is OUT for Friday’s game.  Coach Greenberg said his broken left foot has not completely healed but that it is showing progress.  He wants Raines at full before he starts practicing and playing.  Raines has not been ruled out for kansas state but I would venture to guess that he is unlikely to play.

With Raines out, VT has ZERO low post backups.  That makes Jeff Allen’s propensity to foul all the more critical.  Terrell Bell and Jarell Eddie, both wings, will have to play some in the low post.  Bell is a great rebounder and has long arms to block shots, so that is a plus.  But is he strong enough to battle inside?  Probably won’t see in this game, but sure as heck will next Tuesday in Manhattan, KS.

HO-KEYS TO THE GAME:

Hey, it’s the first game.  This is an easy win based on what campbell lost from last year… on paper.  But first games tend to be very sloppy.  Tech needs to treat this game like a tune up for kansas state next Tuesday.  Get your legs in game shape, get used to playing hard defense, and work on your offense in game situations.  The key is to really sellout on defense even if it is easy to snuff out the camels.  VT needs to get that defensive intensity ready for the highly ranked wildcats.

Last year Tech would struggle in a game like this against a lesser opponent (and did struggle with campbell though they were better then and it was on the road).  The Hokies need to come out and show why they are ranked, picked 2nd in the ACC, and a “lock” for the Big Dance.  Come out and smack the camels silly.

What I’m watching: How will Bell and Eddie handle playing inside?  campbell is inexperienced inside so this is a good icebreaker, especially for Jarell in his first college game.

#31 Jarell Eddie

SMOKE’EM IF YOU GOT’EM (The Opponent):

It is hard to know much about this campbell team.  They return three starters, including their backcourt mates – Hartley and Merthie.  But they have just five total players back from last year and only four of those guys (the starters and Celestin) averaged more than five minutes per game.  Gone is their all-time leading scorer and rebounder, Jonathan Rodriguez, who averaged over 17 ppg and 8 rpg.  They also lost their #3 and #4 leading scorers.  The have no one left from the low post.

Top Player: #25 Lorne Merthie was the A-Sun Freshman of the Year two years ago and was just one of two camels to average over double digits last season (10.7 ppg).  He hit 41% of his threes last year with 69 makes, by far the most on their team.

Outlook: Don’t let Merthie get hot from the outside.  Stay with him and force someone else to beat you since no one else is a proven scorer (all averaged 6.4 ppg or less last year).  Their PG Hartley rarely shoots – he shot just 21 threes on the entire season.  He averaged almost as many assists per game (5.9) as points (6.3).  He had a solid assist to turnover ratio of almost 2-to-1.  Lay off him on the outside and expect him to dish on the penetration.  Be wary of him driving and kicking it out to Merthie.  As for the bigs, I don’t know anything about them other than they have several JUCO/regular college transfers that are in the 6’8″ to 6’10″ range, which is much bigger than they had last year.

BORING FACTS (useless information about the campbell fighting camels):

• 2009-10 Season: 19-11, 14-6 in the Atlantic Sun (lost in the first round of the conference tourney and had not postseason appearance)
• Founded in 1887
• Located in Buies Creek, NC (just south of Raleigh)
• Private school
• 10,000 total students with 7k on their main campus
• Name for minister James Archibald Campbell who founded the school and was the first president
• Mascot: Gaylord the camel (named for Gaylord Perry, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer)
• Arena: The newly completed John W. Pope Convocation Center
• Conference: Atlantic Sun although they will re-join the Big South Conference in 2011-12
• Famous Alums: Gaylord Perry and his brother, Jim – haven’t heard of anyone else although they had a Pulitzer Prize winner

Boxscore

And for the third time in a row – don’t let the final score fool you!  If college basketball games were 30 minutes long instead of 40, the Hokies could easily be 0-3 at this point.  But once again Tech used a run about midway through the second half to secure a double-digit win, this time on the road in front a spirited crowd.  It was a white-out, people!  The campbell students were clad in white shirts that said “Beat Tech”.  They also set an attendance record for their arena.. 

The late run tonight was kick-started by the play of the game, coming with six minutes left and the Hokies leading by a slim 52-51 margin.  Malcolm Delaney launched a three-pointer that bounced off the rim and then fell in.  While the ball was in the air, Terrell Bell was fouled, putting him on the line for a one-and-one.  He hit both, giving the Hokies a five point play and a 57-51 lead.  campbell never got closer than five after that.  Delaney also had two big assets leading to a layup by Dorenzo Hudson and a dunk by Terrell Bell as the Hokies pushed the lead out to double-digits.

JT Thompson was the player of the game, leading the Hokies with 17 points.  He also chipped in six rebounds and a couple of blocks.  This was not a career high for him in points though, he had 21 against duquesne last year in the NIT.  Another great sign tonight is JT hit three jump shots, something he had been struggling with coming into this game. 

Malcolm Delaney chipped in a rough 15.  In fact, he didn’t hit a two-point shot all night.  He hit three three-pointers and nailed 6/8 free throws.  He also surpassed the 1,000 point mark becoming the 40th Hokie to reach that feat all time.  But he struggled to find his points.

The Hokies, after going 1/13 on threes in their last game, struggled from the outside early again tonight facing campbell’s 2-3 zone.  The camels were begging the Hokies to shoot it from the outside and Tech was cold early.  They started out just 9/28 from the field, including many missed easy shots in the lane.  But the freshmen guards really gave Tech a lift.  Erick Green hit two three-pointers in the first half and Ben Boggs added one himself.  Tech went 7/18 (39%) from behind the arc on the night, which they’ll take any night.  Anything above 33% is good.  The Hokies hit 44% of their field goals overall for their game, which is on par with what they usually do.  Tech was 16/24 (67%) from the line, an improvement over the 56% they were coming in but still not good enough.  They need to be in the 70s and hit 72.4% last year.  Hudson hit 4/6 tonight after starting the season 1/6.

If you love whistles, then this was the game for you.  Tech had well over 10 fouls in both halves.  In fact, campbell was in the bonus just eight minutes into the first half and Jeff Allen, Dorenzo Hudson, and Malcolm Delaney were all on the bench with two fouls.  That is when the supporting cast stepped up.  Tech’s bench had scored just 12% of the Hokie points through two games, but with three starters out with foul trouble, the bench stepped up with 21 first half points of the 33 VT scored.  Just imagine what this game would have looked like without the role players coming up big. 

The Hokies opened the game on a 7-0 run and closed the first half on a 9-2 run.  They were outscored 29-17 in the middle part of the half but led 33-31 at the half on a three-pointer by Thompson just before the buzzer.  Thompson had 11 points and a surprise seven points by freshman Erick Green helped the Hokie cause.

The Hokies really struggled defensively for most of this game.  campbell was beating them up the court and getting easy bucket after easy bucket.  Or in the half court set a Tech defender would get lost, leaving a camel open for an easy layup.  Or more often than not, a foul was called on the Hokies.  VT really struggled with the small, thin, but quick camel lineup that often had four or more players that were 6’6″ or less on the floor.  After the game, Head Coach Seth Greenberg said they were “stretched and beaten off the dribble” and was what “bothered me the most”.  campbell shot over 50% in the first half.  He thought the post players struggled guarding the camels smaller guys that were more or less small forwards.

Jonathan Rodriguez, the senior star of campbell who has over 1600 points in his career, led the camels with 19 points.  He had 12 at the half.

The key for campbell tonight to win was force the Hokies to commit turnovers.  The camels had pilfered 12.5 steals per game in their first three games but got just seven tonight and Tech committed just 11 turnovers.  The Hokies continued their domination in points off turnovers, outscoring the camels 20 to 7.  They have a 68 to 19 edge in points off turnovers on the season.

Seth was not a happy camper for most of the game.  He burned four timeouts in the first half, including three in a 2:02 span.  Seth was also disappointed the way Jeff Allen played.  He had two fouls by the five minute mark of the first half, and four fouls before the first media timeout in the second half.  He had as many fouls as points until he converted a big three-point play with three minutes to go to put Tech up by eight.  Allen finished with seven points. 

After the game, Seth said he was happy that they “won the final four minutes”.  Tech outscored campbell 19-9 in the final six minutes of the game to pull away.

Virginia Tech returns to action this Friday and Saturday with games against temple and delaware as part of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. 

Here are the point totals for the Hokies…

• JT Thompson – 17
• Delaney – 15
• Hudson – 10
• Allen – 7
• Green – 7
• Davila – 6
• Bell - 6
• Boggs – 3

Malcolm Delaney became the 40th player in Virginia Tech basketball history to score 1,000 points.  He hit a three-pointer with six minutes left in the second half against campbell to give him 1,001 points in his career.

Here are the scores at each media timeout (every four minutes) throughout the game:

SECOND HALF NEWS:

Malcolm Delaney scored his 1,000th career point with six minutes to go on a three.

Allen went to the bench with four fouls less than three minutes into the second half.

FIRST HALF NEWS:

And here are scoring totals for the Hokies:

• Thompson – 11
• Green – 7
• Delaney – 6
• Boggs – 3
• Allen, Davila, Hudson – 2

The camels star Rodriguez has 12.

The Hokies used four timeouts in the first half including three in a 2:02 span.

Allen, Hudson, and Delaney each had two fouls and went to the bench with 12:30 left in the first half.  Each did play later in the half though.  campbell was in the bonus by the second media timeout.

THE SETUP:

The Hokies and the camels go toe-to-toe on Monday as Tech heads to Buies Creek, NC for their first road game of the season.  Tech will need to show improvement on offense after having one of their worst offensive performances not involving VT @ duke since the ricky stokes days.  Although it is hard to believe the Hokie O could be any worse.  The Hokies hit just two jump shots from outside the paint the entire game against unc greensboro in a 59-46 win in their last outing.  Both shots came in a two minute span midway through the second half when the Hokies blew open a tie game thanks to Malcolm Delaney’s efforts.  Tech was just 1 of 13 on three-pointers in that game.  VT hit just 38% of their shots for the game. 

Tech is clearly still adjusting to the new motion offense Coach Seth Greenberg installed for this season.  Here are Seth’s thoughts on the offense from a Hokiesports.com Notebook article:

“This isn’t exactly a Bobby Knight motion offense. This is a work in progress. We’re force-feeding it to them at this point. It’s a continual work in progress. It’s not easy to understand, but it gives them more freedom. With more freedom, there are some spacing issues. You’ve got to make sure you meet the pass, you’ve got to make sure you’re waiting on screens, and you’ve got to get people the ball when they’re posting up. There’s a lot to it. To simplify, it comes down to spacing and setting good screens and waiting on screens. If we’re patient and wait on screens, eventually it’ll be good.

“I’m doing it to move Malcolm [Delaney] to different spots so people can’t mark him as easily. That’s the main thing. We want to be less predictable because people are going to add at least an extra half of a defender on him.

“I’m doing it, too, because I think it will make our defense better. If your offense gets better and you work against it every day, then your defense is going to get better.”

But the Hokies dealt with a lot of injury issues in the preseason that have cost the guys practice time and continuity.  JT Thompson had a high ankle sprain, Victor Davila had the flu, Cadarian Raines had his injury that has kept him out, and Jeff Allen has wrist, knee, and thumb issues.  The Hokies soft early schedule will hopefully allow them time to progress with the offense.

That doesn’t explain Tech’s free throw shooting woes, though.  The Hokies have hit just 56% from the charity stripe, and if you remove Delaney’s 10 of 12, the rest of the team is just 10/24.

KEY ADVANTAGE:

The good news is the Hokies managed 44 points in the paint and dominated the smaller spartans last time out.  Tech should have a huge advantage inside against the small and thin campbell camels.  campbell has just two players over 6’6″ (a 6’7″ and a 6’8″ player) and those two guys play less than 20 minutes combined.  No one on this squad is over 210 lbs.  The Hokies need to get Jeff Allen involved early – he plays his best when he gets early touches – and not forget about Allen as they seem to do for long stretches of time.  Keep pounding it inside.  Victor Davila who has good low post moves should also be able to add 8-12 points down low.

THE OPPONENT:

campbell is the best team the Hokies will have faced so far this season, which isn’t saying much.  But Tech will need a better effort than they’ve had in the first two outings to win this game, especially on the road.  This is campbell’s biggest home game of the year so their fans will be juiced.  campbell beat east carolina in their second game, so the camels have some power in their humps.  They beat the pirates 74-68 at home thanks in part to 11 steals and forcing 20 pirate turnovers. 

campbell has shot the ball well so far this season, hitting 45% of their shots.  Tech has held their first two opponents to just under 40% shooting with their reinvigorated defense and will need to play well again this game.  When the camels toe the free throw line, they shoot a solid 70%.

The campbell camels are led by their stud Puerto Rican senior forward, Jonathan Rodriguez.  He has scored over 1600 points in his career.  Jonathan averaged a double-double his sophomore year and has had one in all three games this year.  He does turn the ball over a good bit, though.  Expect Jeff Allen to aggressively go after him on defense.

The camels second leading scorer is sophomore guard Lorne Merthie.  Lorne is the camels’ only three point shooting threat, having hit 8 of 20 (40%).  In fact, only one other camel has hit more than one three-pointer (Kyle Vejraska), and he’s hit only three.  So the Hokies do not have to worry just about guarding the perimeter other than Merthie.

Junior forward Preston Dodson has been a pleasant surprise for the camels, scoring 11.7 points per game this year after averaging just four per game his first two years.  He does all his damage inside and is averaging three offensive rebounds per game despite being just 6’5″.  Tech must get a body on him and box him out.

campbell’s KEY:

Get steals and create easy buckets.  campbell is fantastic on defense.  They have averaging an astonishing 12.3 steals per game, led by Junard Hartley who gets 3.7 per game.  That is a LOT.  Hartley also commits a lot of fouls so the Hokies will hope the refs are whistle happy.  Tech, by comparison, has 15 steals total through two games.  Guard Lorne Merthie averages 2.3 steals per game, so their starting back court gets six per game so far.  That has to remind Hokie fans of the days of Jamon Gordon and Zabian Dowdell.  Tech has to protect the ball well in this game.  

That said, the Hokies have outscored opponents 48-12 in points off turnovers through two games so this will be an interesting match-up.

STATS:

STARTERS:

BORING FACTS:

• Founded in 1887
• Located in Buies Creek, NC (just south of Raleigh)
• Private school
• 10,000 total students with 7k on their main campus
• Name for minister James Archibald Campbell who founded the school and was the first president
• Mascot: Gaylord the camel (named for Gaylord Perry, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer)
• Arena: The newly completed John W. Pope Convocation Center
• Conference: Atlantic Sun although they will re-join the Big South Conference in 2011-12. 
• Famous Alums: Gaylord Perry and his brother, Jim – haven’t heard of any else although they had a Pulitzer Prize winner