Wow. Three teams in AP top 25. VT isn’t one of them. Duke unc and uva
I know we lost aluma but got a LOT in portal and coming back. Pretty ridiculous
26 Replies
3y
Return 2 starters....sure we struck magic in the acc tourney and that was awesome but that doesn't warrant a top 3 pre season. Especially when you consider a lot of other teams have more returning.
Again, I think we are capable of being quite good if the transfers and freshman play well but our resume doesn't warrant being picked to win the acc. People need to shed the O&M glasses.
Plus it's not a bad thing to have our guys with a chip on their shoulder...
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
G
gman86
3y
The ACC is a premier basketball conference. There is a reason why the ACC gets (or should get) 7 or more teams in the NCAAT.
VT can be a great team this season. And so can UNC, Duke, uva, Miami, FSU, etc. Both things can be true. If VT is truly on a par with these teams, then so many games are going to be great battles this season!
LETS GO!!!
(In response to this post by ME Hokie 07)
3y
about. We'll have plenty of chances to work our way in.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
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win-tech
3y
I think that we play better in Nov/Dec this year than last, and break into the top 25 before year-end.
The three-game stretch in early December (UNC, Dayton and OK State) will be big.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
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Vippie1
3y
or almost 3x football. not too many that lose 3 starters make the top 25.
I think most realize we are a good team, and capable of gelling.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
3y
Sure we have some good pieces that have joined or are ready to move up as starters. But as a whole the team is very unproven and needs to show results on the court in Nov/Dec to earn a ranking.
It’s all part of the process with a fairly new team this year.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
3y
What has this team done to say they’re top 25?
The answer is literally nothing
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
3y
#21 in KenPom, #25 in Torvik to start the year. We have 2 guys that project to be elite offensive players (Maddux and Cattoor) plus Basile and Mutts are somewhere around 3rd team All-ACC-level. This team should be ranked. But the more disrespectful part is they only got 1 vote. It says a lot more about how illogical most voters are than anything else though.
(In response to this post by soflahokie)
3y
Our football fans are bordering on insufferable this year, especially on that other online forum. There's no universe where a VT team that finishd 7th in the ACC and bowed out after getting blown out in game 1 of the NCAAT as an 11 seed should be in the top 40, let alone top 25.
That team alost lost 3 starters (40% of total minutes played), one of whom was by far our best player and another who transferred to a program that's viewed as a step up in almost every regard.
We brought in what, a decent low major transfer, another guy who didn't even start for a team that finished 10th in the CUSA, and a recruiting class that finished outside the top 30?
I don't know what it is about our fans not thinking this, but generally you need to prove that you're deserving before you get the benefit of the doubt like Tony Bennett has
(In response to this post by vthokieq)
3y
I hear you but Basile has better numbers and played in a tougher conference coming in than did Aluma . I think
we will compare favorably number wise at the 5 spot this year compared to the last 2 years scoring and reb.
I can't think of a VT program that has done anything comparable to the ACCT run . VT beat 3 teams in a row
that would go on to make very deep runs in the NCAA tourney were very talented and VT pretty much put
beat downs on them It was more impressive than anything I have seen out of VT sports.
I do think between Basile ,Poteat and Kidd that the 5 spot numbers will be very comparable to what Aluma did .
(In response to this post by soflahokie)
3y
Last season we knew exactly what we were getting from each guy with Pedulla and Maddox being surprises, this year in order to be competitive we need the following to happen:
- Pedulla averaged 4.6 fouls per 40 minutes, we absolutely cannot have our only PG foul out that often
- Maddox has to play a more active role in the offense, he's not option #4 anymore
- Basile is going to have to play closer to the basket, Mutts and Aluma were great because of their interior passing and finishing
- MJ Collins has to do what no freshman has done under MY, be ready to play big minutes day 1
- Rice has to come back healthy and contribute
- Cattoor can not fade in February, here are his January vs February 3p% splits the last 3 years: 2022 - 56% to 24%, 2021 - 50% to 35%, 2020 - 26% to 38%
- None of Kidd, Wessler, Buchanan, or Camden have played a meaningful D1 game, we need serious minutes from the latter 2
** Edited by soflahokie at 10/18/2022, 3:37:28 PM
(In response to this post by Coastal Hokie)
3y
VT now has a coach that is both well liked and well respected, so pundits "want" the higher ranking to be true. Also, he continues to build on the reputation that his teams outperform the conventional wisdom on the level of talent on his teams.
(In response to this post by soflahokie)
3y
...especially since UVA was in it (which I think much of it comes from). I don't think VT should be in top 25 and am actually glad they aren't...but I don't think UVA should be either. As you said though, there's certainly a lot of reputation that comes into play here. This same roster coming off an ACC championship with a different name on the jersey would likely get more votes and possibly ranked (ala UVA).
(In response to this post by soflahokie)
Plus ncaa position does not relate to AP
Look at all the automatic entries in lower rated conferences.
And u know that the tournament is all about matchups in early rounds
(In response to this post by vthokieq)
3y
That’s what ranked is, 6 seed+ in ncaa.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
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Woody
3y
They were not in the tourney last year, not really close and they're ACC #3 this year with same players and some freshman who don't know how to play TB's D? Huh? Clark, Franklin, Gardner are all OK, Shedrick is middling, and Beekman is uber athlete who can't shoot.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
3y
Also Bennett has proven time and time again that his teams get better with more experience in the system.
Saying the ACC should have more ranked teams is a good debate, saying VT on paper should be better than UVA is a major stretch
(In response to this post by Woody)
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Woody
3y
Position by position we are equal to better than them incl bench. Not sure how it's a stretch.
Pedulla> Clark
Maddox > Beekman (on shooting alone)
Mutts=Gardner
Cattoor>Franklin
Basile to be determined vs Shedrick but I think Basile is more versatile.
Really no discernable difference at this point between benches.On paper their freshman are higher rated but we've seen that before the past few years with transfers playing WAY more than their freshman.
(In response to this post by soflahokie)
3y
Based solely on production to this point, here's how it really looks:
Clark > Pedulla: 4 year starter who averaged 10/3/4 last year and is one of the best defenders in the league
Beekman >> Maddox: This isn't close, Beekman averaged 8/4/5 (top 30 national in APG) and showed major progression YoY
Franklin = Cattoor: Hunter is a better shooter, Franklin is more versatile, defense is a wash
Gardner = Mutts: Gardner is a MUCH better scorer, but he's not near the facilitator Mutts is
Basile = Vander Plas: They're basically the exact same player only Vander Plas played in a much tougher conference
Bench is probably a wash, UVA has more proven post depth but VT has more viable bodies. End of the day I'd give UVA a 60/40 edge if the teams played 10. I would give the coaching edge to VT because I think MY's system is really tough for the packline to defend.
Both teams are extremely thin at PG
** Edited by soflahokie at 10/19/2022, 12:49:42 PM
(In response to this post by Woody)
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Woody
3y
NO way I'd take Beekman or Clark over Maddox and Pedulla. Sure they can D but they were a large part of why last years team consistently had epic scoring droughts. Franklin was basically Naheim Alleyne last year- horribly inconsistent and at times could not hit the broad side of a barn.
(In response to this post by soflahokie)
3y
Sure UVA's guys aren't as good offensively, but at least they're able to stay on the floor. We go as Pedulla goes this year, last year he had some clunkers on teh defensive end.
St. Bona - Fouled out in 15 minutes
ND - 4 fouls in 6 minutes (LOL here)
UNC - 3 fouls in 16
UVA - 3 fouls in 12
UNC - fouled out in 17
Miami - 3 fouls in 22
UL - 3 fouls in 18
Clemson - 3 fouls in 23
As for Maddox, he just has to be more assertive. Too many games last year did he play 20+ minutes yet you could count his shot attempts on one hand.
(In response to this post by Woody)
3y
Everyone back and some good new pieces . I would definitely rate them higher than us
going into the season . TB good coach so their D will be very good the question on
them will be their O and do they have enough firepower to beat really good teams .
Vt lost 3 starters although that's deceptive because 2 of them were probably not as good as
the 2 behind them at the end of the year . Vt has more pieces to mesh together but should
have plenty of O but D will be the question . I do think we will be good and have a lot of upside
(In response to this post by Woody)
Pre season games of note will determine how that is changed then off to the
races we go! It would be decent if acc shows up this year against the BIG. Is that still a thing? With the media unable to keep up with roster changes due to transfers I'm not surprised we are not ranked.
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)