All Hokie, All the Time. Period. Presented by First Bank & Trust Company

L
lax cpa OP
Feb 18, 2026 at 10:53 AM ET
Why didn’t we switch to some type of zone or creative defense in 2nd half?
We obviously just needed to focus on stopping Donaldson but guess coaches just assumed he would cool off

22 Replies

S
Squatro
5mo
Very few teams play zone these days
And the ones that do, don’t do it for very long. I think we should’ve adjusted earlier and double teams Donaldson off the screens. Sure that would leave somebody open for a second, but he was just killing us. And I don’t know what Tobi was thinking when he ran out body checked him instead of playing solid defense. I think he had a “little rush to the head“, as they say.
V
Vippie1
5mo
This teams biggest deficiency
is the lack of quick strong on ball guard with adequate size to make star scoring guards uncomfortable. We've been torched time and time again. No shame, a lot of those guys will be in the NBA. Benford did the best he could last night but it is what it is. Mixing in a little zone, maybe? But those type guards will eventually torch that even worse if you stick with it. The real solution is go out and recruit the next Bede, or Gordon or Dowdell. A dawg that can get in the grill and make an elite scorer at least a little bit uncomfortable. If you want to control a Jerry Rice in M2M , you better have an elite cornerback. ** Edited by Vippie1 at 2/18/2026, 12:31:01 PM
S
Squatro
5mo
The team’s biggest efficiency is lack of
A rim protector. The top teams all have a giant in the middle who can block shots and collect more rebounds. Look at Duke, Carolina, UVA, even Florida State had an excellent big. The next biggest deficiency is not having elite athletes like many of these teams. In general, we have very skilled players, but we don’t match up in size and quickness against the top teams. We do have good athletes, but not enough elite athletes.
VermontDDS VermontDDS
5mo
it's no surprise guards have monster games vs VT
the lack of size in front and back court lead to a lot of drives to the basket.
A
ancient alien 2018
5mo
VT's basic plan, like a lot of teams, will depend on how much cash is
available for NIL. Have money like Miami, Clemson. Lewisville, and VT moves into the top 1/3 of the ACC. Sad commentary on college sports but that's the current game.
H
hokie1120
5mo
Very true
va.tech va.tech
5mo
He said we don’t play zone. We will never play zone.
So we play the whole game running around in circles, chasing their players around, wearing ourselves out until we get blocked by a screen. Which creates a foul or leaves their players a wide open shot or a free lane to the basket. Otherwise, things are going well.
F
fakehokiestolenvalor
5mo
Who cares what MY says
What’s he been saying about TJs injury and how’s that align to reality? The time for talk is over. Bye MY
A
ancient alien 2018
5mo
Thanks for your medical diagnosis, Dr. CMY and VT are limited by HIPPA
laws as to how much information they can release about college students. This includes athletes.
F
fakehokiestolenvalor
5mo
Damn
How do other teams give accurate injury reports meanwhile we say rodney rice has mono. Isn’t that against hipaa to say false ****. Like TJs coming back 2 weeks ago Edit: Also this is besides the point. The primary point is who cares what he says?talk isn’t moving the needle for results and performance ** Edited by fakehokiestolenvalor at 2/18/2026, 2:13:12 PM
GCHokieof91 GCHokieof91
5mo
What other teams are giving accurate injury reports?
Cite specific examples. Otherwise you’re full of crap.
F
fakehokiestolenvalor
5mo
Unc
Caleb Wilson?
GCHokieof91 GCHokieof91
5mo
Did you ever give any thought that
it is up to the injured player, and that injured player only, as to whether he/she wants the specific injury information released?
F
fakehokiestolenvalor
5mo
Yea did you
Give thought to if neos still first round? You posted about 300 times he is and that anyone thinking otherwise was stupid
GCHokieof91 GCHokieof91
5mo
You need to check my username again there, Bud
F
fakehokiestolenvalor
5mo
my bad
** Edited by fakehokiestolenvalor at 2/18/2026, 10:52:25 PM
S
SynthHokie
5mo
Need better dudes not a different defense.
It's fairly accepted that man performs better than zone over any large sample size.
A
ancient alien 2018
5mo
LOL I like "better dudes" And it's true. Need more $$ also for that too.
A
ancient alien 2018
5mo
Name 2 D1 basketball HC's who play, or actually practices, zone.
Most coaches don't use it because they don't recruit the type of players that played, or were on Zone teams in HS. Zones sound great but if VT were in a zone, Donaldson may have gone off for 45.
C
cbhokie1
5mo
I have seen MULTIPLE teams switch into zone against VT alone.
No college team uses it as their main defense but it definitely doesn’t hurt as a wrinkle depending on the matchup/situation
VermontDDS VermontDDS
5mo
miami is the first half
L
lax cpa OP
5mo
Switching to a zone temporarily , not the entire half