After all that talk, this team went to the Bahamas nowhere near tournament
ready. Even the announcers were commenting on our lack of defensive effort.
48 Replies
8mo
It’s one shot and bail out
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
Good lord y’all are worse than our board
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
8mo
(In response to this post by HOOBball79)
8mo
school, but not sure he can suddenly change at this point in his career.
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
possibly 10-8 in league play. That's 19- or 20 wins which spells NIT
(In response to this post by swishdeladish)
O
ombandit
8mo
(In response to this post by swishdeladish)
8mo
When he doesn't have talent, his teams generally overperform, because his system helps generate offense when players can't do that on their own.
But when he does have talent, his system handcuffs the abilities of players who would be better off not grinding away and running multiple ball screens every possession just to get a shot off.
Like many coaches who've been doing it a long time, bottom line is he's stubborn, is not going to change, and that's why VT teams will continue to struggle against the same scenarios season after season, no matter who is on the roster. I don't see him making another NCAA tournament at this point in his career, and VT can and should expect better than that, even with the current budget.
(In response to this post by swishdeladish)
8mo
high profile O recruits, but kept Stinespring as OC and didn't alter his O philosophy of play keep away ball control/maintain possession. He probably should have tilted to a more wider open scoring O with the better recruits instead of continuing using O to augment the D.
But allowing flexibility in your philosophy when you have good players, who maybe don't need the confines of a particular philosophy, has to be tough.
** Edited by hokienole at 11/28/2025, 8:50:33 PM
(In response to this post by Gobbler Guru)
8mo
I’d argue he hasn’t even over performed to his talent level in any year except for year one.
(In response to this post by Gobbler Guru)
8mo
one because his stubbornness suited them better? Why would less talented teams be more adept at "grinding away and running multiple ball screens every possession just to get a shot off'? Do you really think his demeanor will prevent this team or next year's (if his contract isn't renewed) from making another NCAA Tournament? As long as he's coached, wouldn't he be aware of that?
(In response to this post by Gobbler Guru)
8mo
is too stubborn due to his age. Gawdlemitey, he's just a mere lad.
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
R
RiverVT
8mo
More importantly , losing to VCU by 18 with a first year coach is a major step back in MY program and unacceptable . I expect a major turnaround against S Carolina otherwise it's going to be a long season!
As a coach I hope he looks inward and makes a determination the game has moved on .
If not his contract is over 2026/2027
Almost equivalent as losing to ODU as a program.
Like football another rebuild in store.
Women program following.
Gee what's going on up there in the major sports?
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
definitively a bust this year yet. Young is used to coaching teams with experience, and this was a huge overhaul with the Greek kid. One of our euro guys is good but inconsistent because the us game is different. I hate to say it but you are still probably a bubble team and going to be a tough out in your place. I think this will be a classic greenberg team, on the bubble at the end of the season and live or die with the last few games
(In response to this post by RiverVT)
8mo
slowly lol
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
Hell, yeah, I'm less than happy about Atlantis (it allegedly WAS underwater, after all), but only fans can create hype and then be punished by it when all the pretty balloons burst.
(In response to this post by maroonhiker)
8mo
…non-blue bloods. We have better talent on paper to at least be competitive. Hopefully MY figures it out but doesn’t look good.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
8mo
Okay, it's his sixth year, but third (?) consecutively building all-new chemistry and play-making with essentially new rosters from the previous season. Paper talent is irrelevant any way you look at it, and sure as can be doesn't promote competitiveness. It'll look good when he figures it out.
(In response to this post by GoldCoast)
8mo
It's nice that he (usually) eventually gets his teams in sync, but he doesn't have that luxury anymore. Granted, Lowal is clearly missed, but that should be no excuse for the way the team has looked the last two nights. They look like they have neither an offensive nor defensive identity.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
8mo
And even weirder that you haven’t figured that out.
(In response to this post by Windows NT)
8mo
for playing against better opponents?
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
O
ombandit
8mo
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
8mo
Especially what you said.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
8mo
rather than those who force square pegs into the round holes of their system, year after year.
When rosters change frequently (and what teams don't experience that?) then you MUST be willing and able to tweak what you want to run, based on what your players do best. The era of relying on players being in a system 3 or 4 years before they can operate at peak efficiency is gone forever. Not just at VT, but anywhere.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
8mo
(In response to this post by Gobbler Guru)
8mo
to get to a better place. Throw all the puzzle pieces in a hat and pluck them out to solve it. Some coaches have easier puzzles.
(In response to this post by Gobbler Guru)
8mo
Mike Young may be a good X's and O's guy, but his history at VT clearly shows he struggles with his players picking up what he wants and/or simplifying his system.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
8mo
Or the others need to set him up for their success. Lawal is athletic enough to be available for his magic.
(In response to this post by PhotoHokieNC)
8mo
led for about 30 seconds in the other. Both these games were total domination beat-downs.
Disappointing. We're still not playing help-out defense, giving up too many easy shots. In both games,
our opponents shot > 50% FGs.
Do St. Mary's and VCU have better players than VT? Do they have more talent on their rosters than VT?
Would Lawal's presence make up for the 12 point and 18 point losses?
I don't think so.
So what is the issue here?
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
I’m sure that GC34 guy has answers, probably with a lot of other condescending stuff to say.
But I was concerned in the first games when scores were getting up in the 90s. That’s a dangerous pace for a MY team to sustain. At some point, you have to play some defense.
(In response to this post by YBYSAIAHokie)
8mo
are also against Charleston Southern, St. Josephs, and Charlotte. Nothing was going to be sustainable, especially when the team faced real competition besides Providence. It isn't like Saint Mary's and VCU are the equivalent of quality ACC teams, so these losses don't bode well for when VT plays even better teams. The opponents were not scoring in the 90s. Only Providence did.
It isn't just missing Lawal. Some players are going to have Jekyll and Hyde tendencies.
What I have noticed against teams that try to play good defense is that our spacing is not good. We create crowded situations that make it easy for defenses to help and recover, and difficult to drive or post-up.
There are times we fall prey to 1-on-2/3 basketball where someone wants to drive into a crowd and put up erratic shots.
And, as you said, at some point, we have to play defense thought I am not sure if you comments about scorers in the 90s were about VT or the opponents because only one previous team scored in the 90s - Providence,
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
simply score less. Not how the usual MY teams are built.
(In response to this post by VAHokie89)
8mo
Conference record. Avdalas has a good offensive game but his defense is questionable. He has trouble with smaller, quicker guards.
(In response to this post by Maroon Effect)
8mo
Very experienced NCAAT team from last year. I was more surprised at the way we lost to VCU.
(In response to this post by YBYSAIAHokie)
8mo
(In response to this post by HwoodHokie)
8mo
Would look like. Epic beatdown?
(In response to this post by YBYSAIAHokie)
8mo
(In response to this post by YBYSAIAHokie)
8mo
Without him out there bumbling, fumbling and missing shots, the Rams probably beat us easily.
(In response to this post by Big D)