Cvillehoops13

...but I think Hokies will adjust, hopefully triple gets it going. Probably my fault, first ever road game so any bad mojo is on me.

...my current guess is he ends up in Provo but he has a lot of schools involved.

...is possibly the best it has ever been. I have feelings that go back and forth on many of the positives and negatives related to college basketball but the caliber of the teams at the top this year might have been as good as it has ever been.

...some reason for optimism.

...the way NIL deals are being done a lot of places also makes it less likely. For example Oklahoma Dtate had three players opt out of the NIT and then Steve Lutz suspended them for non-participation- which seems like it shouldn't matter but the way their contracts are done the suspension now keeps them from further NIL payment.

...along with some other jobs that he didn't get. Nothing you're saying in this post is incorrect, if offered VT he would've taken it - he thought he was likely to be offered the job at a late point in the process. To be clear I'm not saying VT made a big mistake hiring Mike Young or anything else - I do take issue with how the process was handled but not because they should've hired Odom instead. But I know with certainty that after some initial top candidates declined that Rhoades and Odom and possibly Forbes or another guy interviewed and that both Rhoades and Odom thought that Odom would be offered until it swung to Young whose name had been involved but was going through a very different process than any of the other candidates. I'll say it because some of the other guys here are nicer than me about this aspect - I think VT is VERY VERY VERY lucky that the candidate with solid credentials with local ties who agreed to hire Stephanie Ballein is as good of a coach as Mike Young. Because that was enough to get the job and the people vetting him don't know enough about basketball to know they were getting that level of a coach. The Young hire could've been a disaster, especially given where the program was and how the process was handled, but instead of people being upset that VT could've had Odom I think everyone should be thankful that the guy who was hired happens to be one of the better offensive minds in the sport because it's totally possible that he could've been a mediocre coach in a job that was better than it seemed and VT still would've ended up with him.

...of other jobs. His dad was running a search firm and so it didn't always come out publicly but he was involved with a few jobs. He was in the mix for VT when Young was hired and did interview, I can say this with 100% certainty. Mike Rhoades interviewed as well for sure. There was some contact with Steve Forbes but I don't remember if he got far enough along to be interviewing or not. In many ways there were two processes going on in the VT search: the normal search which VT ran like many schools do. And the inside track search where Mike Young had Buzz, John Ballein and others pushing for him. In the end if you wanted to conclude it was always just going to be Mike Young I'd agree with that, but at the time a lot of the coach agents and search firm folks thought that as the process played out Odom was the front runner. I think a major media person even reported he would get the job - but it feels like that was a lot longer ago than it really was.

...the mechanism of that is still being worked out but NBA owners don't want the risk of losing guys to the NCAA midyear which will only increase if they don't stop it.

...the NBA (and they simply have to survive that this season because the NBA is VERY likely to help them by changing their rules in the offseason to benefit college basketball) and on player timelines - so they are still enforcing eligibility clocks on American and International players. Beyond those two things the NCAA isn't going to push back on almost anything. That is their current legal strategy.

...is expected to be a change to the 5 years to play 4 rule and have it be 5 years to play 5. Essentially ending all non medical redshirts.

...exactly a little brother situation like some of the other schools.

...doesn't look like they are headed toward an NCAA tournament berth so far this season.

...and that was the loss today. VCU is a better opponent than anyone VT has played so far other than St. Mary's and they can really guard. I feel like it's a toss up game for a number of reasons, not sure why the VCU hate - their three losses are to good teams. This VT team still has a lot to prove and so does VCU, each team has beaten the teams they've played that are unlikely to make the NCAA tournament and lost to the teams that should make the tourney - VCU has played 3 while VT has played 1.

...he was heading to. It was known the last two years he was trying to leave A&M but the Maryland move happened very quickly and wasn't known ahead of the cycle - he wasn't their top choice and he had pushed hard for other openings he didn't get, and one that ended up not opening. The NCAA has fixed the official visit issue you described but also that is less of an issue in the era of the transfer portal.

...but I think he'd win and get VT on the right track. Fortunately most of the other names I've heard I'd also be happy with and so hopefully VT can stay at the top of the list of guys they want.

...selling him on Maryland. The institution also has countless ways to stop an official visit if they truly believe a coach is leaving. The Buzz to Maryland thing happened VERY fast and so if the kid is already on campus I don't think it's a big deal that you'd talk about it with him. This happens all the time this is just being discussed because the player actually went to Maryland, it usually ends up with the player not going to either school.

...and I think most coaches would agree.

...than his VT teams have. There is also a real belief that everything runs through Neo and he can draw help and pass and score. The lineup Mike gave creates immediate mismatches.

...to be reworked anyway. It doesn't look like an NCAA friendly system has the votes to get passed even with all of their lobbying so at this point the Rev Share cap - as it exists in the current system, due to the "penalties" on NIL, are not going to hold up in court. I don't know that we are headed toward a world of athletes being considered employees - at least the way that is currently defined - but I do think the next phase will be Rev Share caps by sport with unlimited NIL beyond that OR Rev Share caps that are collectively bargained with agreements for stiff enforcement and penalties for any NIL deal that can't be cleared. I'd bet more on the first than the second for a number of reasons.

...language about a penalty. It is never a fine in the sense that you pay money back - it can be loss of future payments - penalty by percentage would be the most typical way that is written out. I would say the majority have terms under which the agreement can be cancelled but beyond that it really depends.

...change jobs that was floated at VT before they ultimately hired James Johnson. I called and asked if he'd actually be interested and he said some version of "I hate Seth Greenberg but the way the AD treated him means I'll never work for that guy. My agent reached out to myself and a number of other clients to tell us it was a job set up to fail and to steer clear." I think Seth Greenberg could be a difficult person, I think he did an exceptional job and was given next to no support relative to the rest of the league and he was treated horribly by a number of people within different parts of the athletic department and football. The stories from that time came as much from the assistants as anyone but Jim Weaver was never going to be able to hire another basketball coach with good options in his tenure. I think Whit Babcock was very lucky that Buzz Williams was looking to move right when he had an opening but there are still a lot of stories from Buzz's tenure and the current one that make a less than desirable spot in men's basketball for a lot of people in the industry.

...and boarding schools all over the country. It won't open up more opportunities for US students because it will close a number of schools.

...and basketball is right at the heart of the things they screw up. So many states around VA run amazing state tournaments and the VHSL has only ever made changes that hurt the athletes and make the event worse. It's one thing to do it poorly - it's another to be constantly making it worse. They could move John Marshall anytime they wanted to but they won't do it. The way the championship games are spread out and split boy/girl is also awful.

...nowhere close to it. If the leaving players are to be believed in a LOT of cases they were promised one amount and given substantially less - if that is an issue with VT NIL or VT assistants being dishonest is an answer I don't have, but I do know that is a fairly regular story. It hurts VT bball because even now with some money available that narrative makes people skeptical of the entire operation. It also made retaining players last year next to impossible because if you feel like you've been misled the first time then even if the school can make a good offer the next time there is a trust issue at play. VT had to overpay, relative to what was on the table for him at the time, to retain one of the guys from last year for the same reason. The players that left VT both supposedly got right around that amount at Vandy fwiw and Byington being at JMU (where TN's dad works) and having recruited Nickel the first go around was very aware of this fact and took advantage.

Kenpom right now and they essentially don’t have NIL.

...just throw their hat in on any recruit and hope it works out. Both Seth Greenberg and Buzz Williams were very very very good at understandings which players VT could compete for and then going out and working like maniacs to win those battles. I think the shortcomings of VT aren't crippling in basketball it just means you have to know where you are and have a specific plan - that's true for the other schools you mentioned as well.

...come back for and if he had been happier here it's very possible VT could've come up with a lower number than what it ended up being to keep him but that's just how this works. For Pedulla in general I don't have enough confidence either way to play in hypotheticals.

...or show a zone press and then match up or soemthing like that. Including teams like that there are around 160 teams that at some point in a game will show a possession or two in a specific situation. There are currently only 7 D1 teams that play majority zone which is the lowest I ever remember that number being.

...he sometimes references this in interviews but as someone who has watched almost his entire head coaching career - early in his career he had teams that played a good deal of zone and teams that mixed in zone against certain opponents or when they were having certain struggles. Up until 2012-2013 Mike Young's teams were typically majority M2M mixing in zone so regardless of if he's making the correct decision he is someone who has been willing to do that in his career. I think every coach leans a certain way in their prep and coaching and Mike Young is always going to be more offensively oriented in his approach - the biggest concern (at least to me) is when you tilt your approach to that side of the ball and the team is as bad offensively as this team currently is.

…you are right about teaching principles and concepts - the challenge is it changes your entire way of practicing and your prep if you are going to play both. I coached in college teams with elite M2M D and coached teams that ranked among the best zone D’s in the country, I never coached a good defensive team that mixed the two though even though I tried. The challenge at that level is prepping for what the other team will run - you can know your concepts really well, you still have to know the other teams sets against zone and be prepared to guard them and that is what makes it hard for coaches to sprinkle it in. I think the best zones to play part time are unique ones that exist against a limited number of attacks. One of the best reasons to be a full time zone team is that your prep becomes easier - teams offenses and quick hitters against a 2-3 are far more limited than what they can run against M2M but if you are only going to do it for 10 or fewer possesssions then you give away that advantage while making your scouting prep much much more difficult. Mike Young used to play zone and man years ago at Wofford and his teams that did that were not very good defensively fwiw.

...beyond just doing it on baseline out of bounds.

...requires a tremendous amount of practice and preparation - also changes your scouting quite a bit even if you're only playing it for a few possessions. Fwiw Jacksonville had been much better on the year against zone coming into the game today.

...shot the ball well and the way Penn State is playing they are fighting for possession churn and will give you a quick open shot and trust the odds are in their favor over the course of the game. I also think typically effective pressing teams have shortened Mike Young's playbook in a way that has hurt VT but with this year's team it could very well be that the pressure and pressing opens some offensive opportunities that may not be there in a more halfcourt game and plays to VT's hands, hard to know until they toss the ball up.

...they can to get him. Don't know how it will all shake out but Young, at one point, had him as his favorite player VT was pursuing in the entire class.

...deeper range and harder to stop getting to his shot.

...bitten by some decisions on how he runs the overall program? I think he's doing an overall good job but I also think that a lot of the concerns when he was hired have ultimately proven to be an accurate concern of his shortcomings at the ACC level. It's possible that a lot of those issues wouldn't be as big of a challenge with a huge NIL budget but that still wouldn't mean Young has always made the right decisions with his staff.

...did a lot of good things to build energy around the program and keep VT bball in people's minds when it otherwise wouldn't be. I think there are a lot of ways to keep up energy and attention around the program and I think both the head coach and the athletic department carry some of that responsibility.

...that isn't a new thought for me either. I think there are a number of ways to do it but I see no sign that MY has any interest in any of those ways. The staff has almost always been structured in a way that one assistant has had to carry an enormous recruiting load and there have been internal politics and nonsense as well to deal with. The first staff had two coaches who should've been strong recruiters but it really just never clicked with Jackson. Chester Frazier is one of the best assistants in the country and did an incredible job carrying more weight than one assistant should carry. A lot of Mike Jones' guys didn't work out but he also carried a gigantic weight with his role in the program (and this is where the internal battles of guys fighting for Mike Young's approval and to make themselves look good really started) and JD Byers has done a good job as well but there are too many internal issues and too many structural problems within the program. Add in some own goals in recruiting with a HS class that was set up to be very strong and it's more reason that it's time for some big changes.

...don't think VT is the favorite for either but have done a hell of a job on Mingo imo. I honestly couldn't tell you on other prospects, VT made some really big bets on guys they ultimately didn't get and I think the convo now is do you restart or do you just wait until the spring and maybe take late HS kids that are open along with the transfers you need.

...by the amount of money offered. That hasn't been my experience in a lot of these HS recruitments where kids narrow it down to a group of schools in a similar range and then make a choice. Schools, rightly or wrongly, are also making pretty strong choices to cap where they will go with money toward HS players knowing the arms race that's coming in the spring with transfers. This cycle VT has won recruitments where they weren't the biggest offer and lost them where they were. Obviously more money helps and if VT would tank the football program in the short term they could go head to head with anyone in the country in bball and land a top 5 class, but at least on HS kids even schools with a lot of money available have a clear idea of where they want their roster to be leveraged with regards to HS players.

…this HS cycle has been very competitive and what you’d hope it would be. I don’t think that has been the big factor in not getting anyone that was targeted. I can’t speak to how it will shake out in the spring with roster retention and bringing in transfers though which is where those issues become much more pronounced and may make some of the HS misses more costly.