Virginia Tech men’s basketball head coach Mike Young and freshman center Christian Gurdak joined Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop on a prerecorded version of Tech Talk Live on Thursday night. The episode aired before the Hokies’ 96-74 victory over Western Carolina.
They have two non-conference games remaining before Christmas: Maryland Eastern Shore (noon ET on Sunday) and Elon (Dec. 20).
Mike Young
Coach, how are you?
I’m awesome. Good to be with you guys. I appreciate y’all.
I bet it’s been nice to have this break for the last few days.
Yeah, it was bizarre there for a bit. Our team was tired. I am not making any excuses for our poor play in the second and third game in the Bahamas, I would never do that. We were beat up a little bit. We were on our heels after Tobi Lawal’s injury. To spread these games out a little bit into exam week — obviously, we’ve got Thursday night and our game on Sunday at noon. Then we finish up the non-conference part of our schedule with Elon. It gives us a chance to practice and sharpen the saw, you’ve heard me reference that before. I thought this team needed that in the worst sort of way.
Do you feel like the guys are getting more comfortable working without Tobi?
Yeah. I think it’s fascinating. We’ve talked about it a lot. I don’t know how many games it’s been without him. We’ve found something with Amani [Hansberry] at the four. That’s a really hard matchup. People are very reluctant to switch. Most people want to switch one-through-four on ball screens, handoffs, maybe some pin-ins. People don’t want to do that with Hansberry because of his offensive rebounding and the havoc that he creates around the basket with some of the two-man actions with Neo [Avdalas] and others.
We talked about it earlier today. I think, with what we find without Tobi, when he’s back — whenever that may be — it’ll be like having two different teams. You’ve got a rim-gravity person in Tobi and you’ve got a bigger lineup and better matchup for Tyler Johnson when he’s at the three. I find it quite interesting and I really enjoyed watching that part come together.
Coaches can get stuck in their ways sometimes, always go-go-go. You like to handle your teams and let them relax after a bunch of games.
Yeah, it’s kind of a byproduct of my uncle, who’s a long-time high-school coach in Radford. He impressed upon me a long time ago, if you can ever give them two days off, it does so much for them mentally, physically, emotionally. We’ll do that next week after the UMES game. We’ll give them Monday and Tuesday off. We’ve got preparation to do for Saturday’s game. They look good, they’re practicing really well, they feel good about where they are as a unit. We’ve got a number of guys playing really good basketball for us.
Talk about how consistent Amani has been. Double figures in every game but one.
Somebody asked me the other night, “What parts of his game do you like most?” My response was that there’s nothing about his game that I don’t like. He may make a mistake, have a defensive lapse, a turnover, but he’s a smart player and a great teammate. They love playing with him. The two of us would love playing with him and the two of us couldn’t play dead. Amani Hansberry makes people better. You don’t see that a whole lot as a forward or post player. He does that with his passing, screening and his communication on the floor.
What were your overall thoughts on the victory over George Mason?
It was really good. The only complaint I had with our team is that it should have been a 20-25 point whopping. We didn’t play to our standard. Not that we fell asleep at the wheel, that’s a bad reference. We weren’t as sharp. They got going a little bit and we got back on our heels. You can’t do that, you’ve got to play. As evidence of the BYU-Clemson game, Clemson’s up 22 — I’m not being critical of Clemson, they played very well and BYU is very good. You’ve got to keep the pedal down and put people away when you’re up big in the second half. You’ve got to squash them. That’s something to build upon.
How fun was it watching the 19-4 run before halftime?
It was 29-26, if you recall, and then [Jaden] Schutt lost his mind. We played really good basketball and had the ball coming out of the second half. We went up by a comfortable margin. Coach [Tony] Skinn called a timeout I think at the 17-minute mark. An incredible momentum swing going into the half and then a real demoralizer for George Mason coming out of the half and we jump on them again. That was a pleasure to see. That was the flip in the game.
Jaden Schutt just seems more confident this year.
Healthy, feels great about where he is. I think that he would tell you that he relishes the role that he’s in. He’s in a significant role, but I think the role that he’s in gives him the opportunity to flourish and be the player that he is. We’re going to run him off of a bunch of stuff and get as many shots for him as we can get.
He’s guarding so much better and with more physicality than he did a year ago. You could put him on a number of matchups and expect the job to get done. I’m proud of him and I’m really enjoying his play. I’ll tell you, it’s uncanny, he doesn’t miss a shot in practice. It’s not just a whim. He’s going to have some tough nights, but I can’t find enough shots for him. He’s doing great things for us.
Great to see Tyler Johnson rebound after those last few games. He had 13 points and five rebounds against the Patriots.
Assist-turnovers are still in a good spot. I think he’s 20 assists and 10 turnovers. Two-to-one is pretty good. He was really good. When he’s really cooking, he’s laying his ears back and getting to that offensive glass and creating second and third opportunities for you. He’s a good one, thrilled that he’s in Blacksburg.
Seems like he can switch positions better than other guys can.
It’s the hardest pair in our program. If you can play the four and the three, that’s hard. The responsibilities are so different and so dissimilar. Offensively, the actions are different. It’s really hard and he does it, and he handles it quite well. If I ever give him something at the four that he doesn’t know, he just waves me off and you run something else. He’s a smart kid and he’s tough. I admire him greatly.
Talk about the bigs a little bit — Antonio Dorn and Christian Gurdak.
I think the progress is good. Gurdak is having a hard time. He doesn’t have a great lift. But he’s got a nose for the ball and he’s guarding his position. You’d like to see him offensive rebound and put the thing back on the perimeter for a three, and there are opportunities to be had. He sees that.You never want to take away a post player with a great ability to offensive rebound and stick it back in the basket. Saint Mary’s and George Mason, he had a hard time getting back on the rim with all the traffic down there. Dorn is playing great. Missing a layup or two every night, which you’d like to eliminate. He’s big. Those two kids give us the ability to put Hansberry at the four. That’s been really good for our team.
Talk about Gurdak and his recruitment.
I think he’s the first ninth grader that I ever offered a scholarship. I saw him come out of the bowels of the high school locker room area at Paul VI up in Northern Virginia. He was a house as a kid. Stayed in contact with him as best I could within NCAA rules. I saw him play a lot. Saw him more as a junior, I liked him. Good ball skills, good receiver, good rebounder. He played on a terrific high school team at Paul VI and then Gonzaga. Stayed on him for a long time and we’re lucky enough to get him here. He’s super smart, great family, kid’s going to get better and better.
He had a lot of offers too, good find.
He had a bunch of them. He’s a good one. He’s strong now. He’s a worker, he’s done a great job with David Jackson. His understanding of the game, the more plays he sees — same for you [Burnop] back in the 40s — the more plays he sees, the better he’s going to be as he moves along. He is a first-class human being. We’re awfully happy that he’s with us.
Do you feel like Neo is still getting used to the college game?
There’s so much noise around him, he’s the best. He’s at the top of everybody’s scouting report and he’s got to understand that. They’re physical and beating him up a little bit. Roger [Ayers] missed a foul on the baseline [against George Mason]. It really upset him, it should’ve been called, but it wasn’t. You’ve got to play through that. I’ve told you before guys, he’s not a 12 year-old, but he is a 19-year-old young man in a different country trying to find his way as a college freshman does. He’s doing great, he’s doing great for our team. I love coaching him. Those are all part of the maturation process that he will continue to realize as his time here comes along.
What’s the biggest difference for international guys as they come to the states?
I’m watching more international basketball. Not for recruiting purposes right now, but they run some great stuff. Great coaches over there. The physicality — not that they’re soft, not that they don’t play as hard as our kids, but it’s not as physical. The game is officiated differently. They’re not going to allow some of the contact that you see over here, and that takes some getting used to. That wears on you physically.
What do you think about the ACC so far?
I’m impressed. I don’t want anybody left out. Wake Forest is playing good basketball, SMU, Duke, Clemson, UVa is playing well, haven’t seen much of them at all yet. Louisville is very good. I think the majority of our league is top 100 in the NET. I think it’s shaping up well. What happened in years past is that our league would have some really bad losses. Then you’re saddled with that. It’s hard to work your way out of that hole.
Let’s worry about the Hokies. We’re 0-2 in Quadrant 1 opportunities to date, we’re 4-0 in Quadrant 2. I think we’re the only school in the country that’s 4-0 in Quad 2. That’s premature, there’s a lot of ball to play. Let’s take care of Western Carolina. Let’s get better and worry about that stuff at a more appropriate time.
Do you like the new conference scheduling model where you don’t play a conference team before Christmas break?
I’m not real sure how to respond. It’s bizarre to me that we don’t play Pittsburgh. That is so foreign to be in the same league and not play a league opponent unless you see them in the ACC Tournament. I understand the 18 over 20 league games, it gives you more flexibility with your non-league schedule. I want to get through it and see where we are at the end of the year before I offer an opinion.
Do you get any input on when certain games are played? Like the UVa game happening over Christmas break?
There’s input. They’re aware. I don’t think they’re doing it to be ugly. It’s how it works out. I am sympathetic to the league office. They’ve got 18 schools. Stanford is on a quarter system. We all have issues. Louisville’s got a downtown arena so you’ve got concerts. They’re going to do the best they can to take care of people. It drives me crazy not to have our students here for the UVa game. I do certainly have some feeling for what the league office goes through when trying to put that league schedule together.
Talk about Snook Peterkin.
My man, Snook. Off the gridiron and onto the hardwood. That was a big part of coming to Virginia Tech for him. He wanted the opportunity to play college basketball and football. I made that agreement with coach Fontel Mines and Brent Pry. Then when Coach [James] Franklin came to town, the three of us met with another coach. I was going to stick with my commitment to the kid. He’s a good basketball player. He’s working really hard. Happy to have him on the team. He’ll be in uniform against Western Carolina. We’ll see how the thing goes.
Talk about Ben Hammond a little bit.
He’s playing great. I think the kid is just playing great. I thought he was really good against George Mason. Picking his spots, distributing — he did have four turnovers, which did surprise and disappoint me. No gripes with how Ben’s going. Playing great basketball and I’m really proud of him.
