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Hoke

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Member since: October 07, 1999
Last post: 05/09/2022 07:59 AM ET

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Needed to drop about 20 lbs and firm up his body

Not sure he'll be as motivated to do that with the transition to Rutgers. I think his shot will develop (witness his decent foul shot mechanics and percentage). I think he would have developed into a very good college big man had he stayed at Tech. More risk on his development now. He's never going to be an NBA prospect though. Which unfortunately means he's doing the right thing by maximizing his college earnings.

Is this the first time that he's the best player on his team?

I wonder if playing professionally so early led to this dynamic. I.e. he wasn't the primary scoring option always hunting his shot, he could take plays off, etc. Definitely not how US players have been brought up in the AAU/HS showcase team systems.

Gurdak is a huge liability on defense

Doesn't grasp the principles of the team D construct, constantly out of position and makes the wrong read on the high pick and roll. He's young, so he will learn. But until then his playing time will be uneven. He has the chance to be special on the offensive end of the floor -- but that's only half the game.

Seemed like Gurdak was part of the problem on D in 1st half

Had a great offensive half but misplayed actions on D repeatedly. Am I wrong?

As a HS coach I sometimes wanted to get smoked in a scrimmage

In order to reinforce or send a message. "Oh you thought we were a good defensive team -- you just gave up 80+ to DUQUESNE" "You don't want to run our sets at end of game possessions -- how did that work out in the scrummage?" "You're complaining about more minutes -- how well did you produce in the minutes I gave you in the scrimmage?"

His defense was NOT serviceable

The average fan watches on ball defense. His off ball positioning and help principles were putrid. Mistakes that you don't see middle school players make. His mistakes made his teammates look bad to the average fan. He lost more games for us on D than he won for us on O. To offset his defensive liabilities he needed to score 20/game -- which he didn't do consistently. I won't quibble about whether he was a starter or not -- but there's a reason his on his 3rd school in 3 years.

He has above average strength for a PG

You need either quickness or strength, preferably both (but those PGs aren't coming to VT). He tries to string too many moves together. Needs to make one move and go, use his strength to muscle by the defender. Attack the open shoulder to get past, attack the closed shoulder to draw fouls. Also needs to get lower when he makes his move (that's why defenders get tip aways at times). Also doesn't use a space dribble -- pull back or back dribble to create space. All these are technique points that should have been taught to him by now. He does have good ball handling skills. Strong fast dribble, and he's not loose with the ball.

Reichsteiner is a good ball handler just lacks confidence

It also appears that he isn't being taught several ball handling techniques that would help him handle pressure better.

Let's look at Wessler this way

Here's a list of the ACC starting centers for 2023: Armando Bacot Kyle Filipowski DJ Burns Federico Federico Quentin Post Efton Reid Brandon Huntley-Hatfield Jordan Minor Norchad Ormier Carey Booth Baba Miller PJ Hall Maliq Brown Baye Ndongo How many of the above list are you comfortable that Wessler can guard? How many can he have success against on the offensive end? For both questions above, what is the skill set that he possesses that will enable success? I have my own strong opinions on this, but will wait to hear how others answer.

Not familiar with Synergy

Hudl Assist has some of that capability Can see every shot attempt for an opposing player for the entire season -- but no markers for catch & shoot, PnR etc Marks BLOBS and SLOBS Tracks some efficiency metrics This is a quantum leap at the HS level, and not that expensive. But I'm sure not advanced enough at the college level. I was curious what the technology leap was from HS to college. And you helped answer that, thank you.

How much does technology help at the college level?

As a high school coach I'm amazed at the power of Hudl Assist, especially the leap compared to say five years ago. I'm assuming similar technology was available at the college level much earlier?

Last night was a matchup that favored Nickel

BSU played a tall lineup with little quickness. So Nickel could matchup with their height without having his deficiencies exposed. Kudos to our staff for recognizing and taking advantage. MJ is in for his defense and ability to guard quicker guards/wings. And to offset Pedulla's liabilities on D.

Yes turned his ankle twice

MY sent a sub to the table both times, and HC waved them off. Worried about this as a lingering issue -- past sprains have affected HC's shooting for several games.

The Lounge 3 y ago

They're closed on a lot of football weekends in the fall too

They must charge a king's ransom for private parties ... otherwise it makes no business sense.

The Lounge 3 y ago

Which is a personal choice by MLB players to value HR over BA

MLB players steadfastly refuse to hit the ball the opposite way (you know, like even average hitters do). Which boggles my mind, especially in critical late-game situations -- just punch the ball through the open side of the infield! So banning the shift is the one rule change that I don't support. I think eventually the pendulum will come back the other way, and things like BA, SB, bunting, etc. will return to the game.

The Lounge 3 y ago

They are both quite an achievement

The level of difficulty for getting a 3.9 and a 1.0 is very high

The Lounge 3 y ago

As the father of one recent grad and one current student

They were challenged in classes by the material and forced to learn. They were not handed "A's", unlike other programs that I'm aware of -- just to produce students with high GPA's. They also have a lot of prominent employers recruiting at the school. And they had their choice of job offers at high salaries. As a parent I care about the two things above -- not rankings.

The Lounge 3 y ago

Briggs and Riley

Very high quality -- but not cheap. I've had TravelPro in the past, and IMO B&R is better. ** Edited by Hoke at 10/27/2022, 9:53:32 AM

The Lounge 3 y ago

Many use sports as a tuition recruiting tool

I've seen plenty example of this locally. Play to kids egos that they are good enough to play a sport in college. Kid shows up and finds 50 players on a baseball team roster, 35 of them are freshman (real example). By then the kid is enrolled and paying tuition. But hey, he and his parents get to say that he's a college baseball player (for a month, at least)!

@Chris Coleman @Will Stewart dropped off the 1970s programs

and left them on your conference tables. Sorry I missed saying hello. Hope you enjoy the additions to your collection! Hoke

The Lounge 3 y ago

Best alternative I can find

is high income equities. At least you know your strong dividend performers will continue to pay out. And yes, even the dividend yields aren't great.

The Lounge 3 y ago

My question is how did they come up with the $125k income threshold?

Is it because they think anyone making less than $125k can't afford a $10k personal loan? If so -- that's absolutely mind boggling to me. Would have had less of an issue with the whole thing if the threshold was say $50k

Make sure you go to The Brick Tavern

Owned by a former Hokie Bird -- great place for VT fans to hang out

The Lounge 4 y ago

Harder to pair those areas with a Birds game though

Easy to park and walk between the Harbor and Camden Yards. That's the unfortunate part.

The Lounge 4 y ago

So what happened to Inner Harbor in Baltimore?

Went to an O's game yesterday for the first time since before the pandemic (lifetime fan, but we live 2.5 hours away). Harbor Place was mostly closed down -- the restaurants still there were barely operating. Just a complete disaster -- what happened?