Sure we would love to have Liz back or Clara Strack. That is the only position at which we are at a disadvantage

Hokie sports. I posted something similar a week or so ago, most of our sports have a similar problem that Franklin found with football. Simply we are not talented, athletic and deep enough to compete at the highest level. He quickly sought to upgrade the talent level on the field and on the bench for competition. Many of our other programs are in the same or even worse shape. WBB is no different. I truly believe CMD has done an admirable job with the group she has, but to compete with Duke, Louisville, and ND we need a major upgrade. The difference between great players and good players comes down to one factor and that's consistency. Our kids are good and can play great on certain nights but they are not consistent night after night or even quarter to quarter. Hope success in football gives us the revenue to invest in our other sports. It would be exciting to see a competitive soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, swimming, baseball, or basketball team with a VT logo on their jersey ** Edited by gdot at 2/11/2026, 2:09:47 PM

like Elizabeth Kitley. The players around her were not world beaters but they were good enough to compete teams like Iowa, LSU (and could have beaten LSU). But the program would have needed a player beyond just Amoore and a coach that would have made it so the team didn't revolved around 2 players and had depth in their final year (that is a different topic). But the point is that it took a special player to elevate the program. Same with football, it took Vick (and not just Vick of course, he had help) to elevate football. Are we able to either draw or develop a special player... and are we able to develop depth. Even the best teams sometimes only got 7-8 deep if that against other good teams.. If some 8-10th player plays, the might get 2-4 minutes. But those good teams have more than just one player. Does VT have the money, draw, and ability to recruit or portal high level players?

Freelon has more length than Freelon, so Freelon's height is actually "longer" than Rose That 1-inch difference is not going to matter. Rose being 1 inch taller didn't make her more effective. I think Micheaux had more post-presence or moves than Freelon. We went inside to Rose more last year and she got better position, meaning she created better angles for drop steps to the basket. Freelon always has her back to the defender/basket and has to square up and face more often. Perhaps another issue is whether or not the guards look into Freelon as much as they good. Right now Freelon is a better rebounder than Rose was and has more energy that Rose did. Rose got into foul trouble a fair amount in key games. Freelon has gotten better. Neither could really handle the posts from the top teams in the ACC, i.e. Duke, NC State, and Louisville. Rose and the team could not handle the Iowa post last year. We have done decently against the interior players that Oregon State and Florida through at us.... The comparison of heights between Daley, White, Nelson, and Ekh really isnt that big a deal. They are not being posted up by their primary players they are guarding (not talking about having to switch). And the 1-2 inch different does not mean that they are not getting shots off or not stopping other teams from shooting from the perimeter. They are not having trouble seeing over players. It isn't a Nelson vs. White comparison anyway. They play two different positions. Daley basically replaced White and they are the same player except White could shoot 3s. Daley is just jump shooter from inside the arc. Her playing time dropped because her defensive effort faltered in the Virgin Islands. Peterson can't guard perimeter players. She can't put the ball on the floor against opposing 3s. She already struggles to guard an opposing 4 if that player drives from the free throw line.She would LESS time at the 3 because she isn't going to cut into the time of Suffren, Wells, or Daley. She is a person really without a true position in college. Not quick enough to play a guard. Not big enough to play a forward. That is likely going to be her career. Trent is getting time. She is a freshman. She has shown growth, but she is going to exposed by the top teams in the ACC. Yes, we don't do great against the top 3 teams in the ACC - Duke, NC State, Louisville. We were not going to this year at all and it should have not surprised anyone. Essentially, all three of those games, Tech was competitive in except one quarter was their undoing. It was the 2nd quarter against NC State and the cold first quarter against Duke. We are likely 1-year away from trying to claw our way into the top 4-5 of the ACC...as in next year. What lineup changes would be better? Suffren in for Wells? That would be it. We are not going to start Trent against top teams.

Freelon is a "natural 4" playing the 5 and Baker is a "natural 3" playing the 4. This off season & portal season, let's hope CMD finally learns that you won't challenge the top of the ACC with four guards. OK, Stork & TomTurkey rebuttal.

She does what she does with what she has. A 4-Guard lineup is not her go to. She plays the most effective lineup she can. When does she ever have 4 guards on the floor, anyway?

That was the issue last year, and its an even bigger issue this year given we lost our only big and our only consistent shooter and didn’t replace them. I like that Duffys first recruiting class, but we were horrific in the transfer portal and it resulted in a team that is a completr walkover against top 25 teams

Ekh averaged about 70 (69,69,78,63) threes per year. She was able to make her most threes when there was a dominant pg AND dominant post on the floor. These positions are extremely valuable for a shooter. The shooter becomes a spacer for the team and themselves. Both the pg and the post on the floor also were skilled passers. This makes a difference when it comes to %s and overall makes. This year, both Carleigh and Carys may not be at 39%, but their percentages are good enough that they are heavily scouted by defenses. They both are currently sitting at 48 and 49 makes on the year, which is not too far behind makes per year. Based on %s, Lani White was out best shooter last year at 50%. She made 35 last year. The positions around her helped her be successful. She also sits at 49 makes this year, but her % has also decreased, still a higher %, but not at the 50% due to shooting volume, team make up, def scouts, etc. I'm all for stating ideas, opinions, but sometimes the data does not always support the ideas/criticism shared on this board. ** Edited by Cam_HokieMom at 2/11/2026, 9:59:25 AM ** Edited by Cam_HokieMom at 2/11/2026, 4:14:44 PM

What do you consider to be a good 3 point %? My son who is 6'7" was considered to be an elite shooter by D1 coaches. He averaged 36% (36, 41, 38, 32). And defenses never helped off of him. ** Edited by Cam_HokieMom at 2/11/2026, 10:57:04 AM

3-point percentage. Sorry, but I consider that bad.

I would like to know where we compare with P4 conferences. FG% and 3FG% are very different, but rely on the flow of the offense, discipline of the offense, off sets run to release outside shooters, the mismatches, and the comp of the defense. The players have remember the sets, read the defense, and make reads beyond the 1st option. Also FG% are usually higher when there are good passers in a half court set. Passing is a huge under-rated skill.

team field goal percentage. And #8 in team 3-point percentage. Talk about a drop off.

FG%= 41% 11th FG% Def= 39% 5th 3%= 34% 7th *with everyone taking 3 point shots who have limited makes 3% Def= 31% 9th And everyone wants to complain about TOs... In ACC, our assist/to is still #6... not too bad. Our TO margin is also positive +1.62 ranked 6 as well. Clemson ranks at the top of 3FG made 102/308 at 33% BC is 9th with 86/307 at 28% VT is 14th with 77/227 at 34% ND is 40% 88/219... but still is 6th for 3FGs The top 5 teams for 3s made Clemson 33% FSU 29% Cal 36% Louisville 33% NC 32% I'm using threes because you said we are a bad OUTSIDE shooting team... then you switched it to FG%. ** Edited by Cam_HokieMom at 2/11/2026, 12:59:18 PM

As was UKy getting Asia Boone from Liberty. Both are 3 point marvels and seemed "recruitable" (Augistinate was a rising junior from GT and Boone was a rising junior from Liberty). Not sure if we tried for them, but man that would have been sweet to have one. Maybe next year we will find one of that caliber from the portal....

but she is a defensive liability when you look at the overall game. The other player you mentioned is shooting 36% 69/192. She has taken 50 more shots than our 2 current shooters (37% and 35%) on our roster who both are right at 50 makes as well. People want to say it would be nice to have a shooter but fail to realize we have pretty decent shooters on our own roster.

two this year. Last year we had 4, that's the problem. Easier to shut down two.

** Edited by Stork at 2/11/2026, 3:22:08 PM

and relevant data that supports your criticism. As a parent who has raised D1 hoopers... I love to talk basketball and data. And as a teacher... I will defend the young ladies and coaches in the trenches. Surprised that a vocal poster like yourself has trouble countering with relevant info without switching it up or muting. Sorry not sorry if you can't handle defending your statements.

"Uva sux" and "757" Next time he contributes any knowledge or insight will be the first.

Spends the day on message boards. Muting might be a blessing here as well. Stork probably unmutes me to see what I wrote and then mutes again. 😆 Dont worry Cam, Stork sees it 😆 even after muting. Carry on 😜 Sometimes checking this board is INSPIRING 😆 ** Edited by Popsof1 at 2/11/2026, 4:34:59 PM

and it did not help us play D or benefit us come tournament time. It did impact our rebounding last year, we are +7 more per game this year than last. Having "4 shooters" last year led to 16 assists per game, which is the same as this year. Our scoring offense is very similar... 76 last year... 74 this year. The complaint made earlier was that we are a bad outside shooting team. That is what I addressed hoping that people compare the shooting to other teams and realize that most teams do not have multiple people shooting volume threes at decent/higher percentages. Even one of our "shooters" last year only made approximately 1.5 threes/game. The ACC and NCAA sets limits of at least 2 or 3 per game when they look at eligible athletes for ranking purposes/3FGs made. ** Edited by Cam_HokieMom at 2/11/2026, 2:16:19 PM ** Edited by Cam_HokieMom at 2/11/2026, 4:09:29 PM

her volume of shots has increased... although she is still shooting a high % at her new school, it is no longer 50%.

two in Ekh and White and didn't get a replacement. Some of the losses like Miami, BYU and ND could have been overcome by that. I won't say Duke, Loserville or NCState, they are ahead of us talent wise overall, might take a year or two to catch up if we get the money

low post scorer, and our PG has no confidence shooting. The first problem means we can't dump it inside and get the defense to collapse for open 3s. Plus, when we do, Freelon is not good at passing out of they post. We could have had tons of open 3s vs ND but when she got doubled she was like a deer in headlights - froze, and turned it over. Also, sometimes Baker, our best 3 pt shooter, is working on the inside, which leaves only 1 consistent shooter on the outside. Nelson isn't even being guarded on the perimeter any more. That severely closes off driving lanes, so now the drive and kick is much more difficult. Those two factors are costing us open shots, and therefore our offense is not as good as last year. And neither of those have anything to do with "having good shooters." However, or defense is night and day better than last year in both the post and especially in the perimeter. Ekh and Rose were both well before average defenders. So our D is ++ over last year. We are not a perfect team this year, but we're better than we were last year.

Ekh averaged about 70 (69,69,78,63) threes per year. She was able to make her most threes when there was a dominant pg AND dominant post on the floor. These positions are extremely valuable for a shooter. The shooter becomes a spacer for the team and themselves. Both the pg and the post on the floor also were skilled passers. This makes a difference when it comes to %s and overall makes. This year, both Carleigh and Carys may not be at 39%, but their percentages are good enough that they are heavily scouted by defenses. They both are currently sitting at 48 and 49 makes on the year, which is not too far behind makes per year. Based on %s, Lani White was out best shooter last year at 50%. She made 35 last year. The positions around her helped her be successful. She also sits at 49 makes this year at 39%.

of her opponents too, plus Baker and Wenzel usually can get much higher than a lot of their opponents. The lack of consistent outside shooting by Wells, Suffren and Nelson has been an issue though. That tall player for State (#18) was lucky if she could get more than a few inches off the floor. We didn’t have answer for Zoe Brooks though.