Why Virginia Tech Basketball's Losing Skid Differs From Last Year's 2-7 Stretch

16 Comments

1. 

   grosehokie January 18, 2023 at 7:28 AM

   Mutts should stay the course - others need to step up. Trying to do more for him looks similar to Pedulla at this stage. Need better shooting from the wings and tougher play from Grant. I didn’t think Storm could turn it around at this level, but he proved me wrong. Pedulla will turn it around, just may not happen this year or until others are healthy enough to spell his minutes.
2. 

   JT4VT January 17, 2023 at 9:07 AM

   The other thing I see is that with the lack of outside shooting threat, teams are all over Pedulla and have made it difficult for him to penetrate. Him kicking it back out doesn't hurt the other team as much so they clog his driving lane.
3. 

   nkhooch January 17, 2023 at 12:43 AM

   The adjustment for now has to be that Pedulla takes less shots until his % comes up. Just eliminate the ones early in the shot clock and that will help. Others will naturally get more shots.
4. 

   vtgriff09 January 16, 2023 at 10:29 PM

   Recruiting poorly has caught up with this team. We have an elite coach, but we have G5 recruiting. Pedulla is the type of G5 player that plays awesome vs subpar competition, but the athleticism is not ACC level. He will be a great player as a Sr...because that is the equalizer for G5 talent, age abd experience bridge the gap. We need athletes..it is very obvious that we are not near the level of athleticism of our ACC opponents.
   1. 

      Hubman January 17, 2023 at 12:14 AM

      “Elite.” Hmmm…
   2. 

      VT8207 January 17, 2023 at 6:58 AM

      Poor recruiting? Pedulla was the #10 CG Rice was a high 4* CG Wessler was the #27 C Collins was the #28 CG Maddox was the #16 SG Cattoor was the lowest rated recruit on the team this year.
   3. 

      pebblebrookhokie January 17, 2023 at 7:53 AM

      Nonsense. See the other reply about horrible recruiting.
   4. 

      atlhokie1 January 17, 2023 at 8:08 AM

      Pedulla's issue isn't athleticism, it's very poor decision making. He feasted on poor competition and he isn't getting his teammates involved. Hopefully Rice gets used to the game quickly and Pedulla can be yanked off the floor when he makes poor decisions.
   5. 

      Arch72Hokie January 17, 2023 at 9:04 AM

      "G5?"
   6. 

      VTaimhigh January 17, 2023 at 9:35 AM

      Disagree, but not totally. The only thing to add to David's piece is our lack of toughness. We are getting out-muscled and bullied. Watch our 10-0 run against Syracuse. It wasn't because the Cuse let off the gas; it was because we finally toughened up and played hard during that period. Just not sure we can do that for 40 minutes. That's where talent and depth come in.
   7. 

      Arch72Hokie January 17, 2023 at 9:47 AM

      "Recruiting poorly? See VT87 below. Yor recruiting in the wake of an ACC championship, isn't going to be "poor." To wit: UVA was a basketball backwater prior to winning the ACC Tournament in 1976 - as the #6 seed. UVA fell off to 12/17/2- the next season, 1976-77 after losing the MVP of the 1976 tournament, Wally Walker to the NBA but still managed another ACC Final, again vs. UNC. But Terry Holland lured HS AA Jeff Lamp - and his teamate, Lee Raker to Charlottesville from under the nose of hometown, Louisville and Denny Crum. In 1979, Holland won the Ralph Sampson sweepstakes and UVA was on its way to becoming an elite program. Mike Young had the best recruiting year for Tech in memory in the last cycle. By any measure, Rice and Buchanan are elite players. As for Pedulla, he's a Sophomore. Storm Murphy was a 5th year Sr. Neither JR nor Erick Green were the players they were as 20-year old Sophomores as they were as 22-year old Seniors. Holland's Wahoos won the 1978 ACC Championship in his 2nd season, compiling an overall recordof 3025 and back-to-back 4-8 conference records. Mike Young won the ACC Tournament in his 3rd season, w/a comparable overall record to Holland's of 43-35 but a significantly better conference record, 27-26 vs. 8-16. And even after winning the ACC Tournament in 1976, Holland's his records after his 3rd season were 42-42 and 10-26 (ouch!). Mike Young hasn't had a losing season since he came to Blacksburg and I don't think he will in his 4th. Half the fan base wanted to fire him halfway through last season. As they say in Philly: "enough already!"
      1. 

         MACE HOKIE January 17, 2023 at 10:56 PM

         Very well said and factual.
         1. 

            Arch72Hokie January 19, 2023 at 9:27 AM

            Thanks and I stand by my analysis evn after last night. UVA won because Keihi Clark, a 5th year player schooled Sean Pedulla, a 2nd year player, at least that's what I saw. Pedulla will lean. Btw, where's that guy who beat up on Maddox? Also, we had 2-FT's, UVA 13. A little imbalance there? Nice to see Cattoor back. Oh yeah, correction to above: after winning the ACC Tournament in 1976, UVA fell of to 12-17/2-10 the next year but still advance to th eFinal of the ACC Tournament. Not to worry. Trust in Mike Young. .
            1. 

               No_Limit_Hokie January 20, 2023 at 4:15 PM

               I believe and hope that you are correct. The 'buzz' worshippers are predictably coming out of the woodwork at the moment.
5. 

   2hhoop3 January 16, 2023 at 6:20 PM

   Thanks David! Good and informative analysis, at least in my opinion.
6. 

   GO_HOKIES_GO January 16, 2023 at 6:05 PM

   Not sure if the stat is available, but what is the % of contested vs. uncontested 3-point shots year-to-year? It would seem that there are less open 3’s this season and therefore there are less made 3-point shots. Also, are 3-point assists the same as last year or are guys shooting more outside the design of the offense this season (often referred to as “jacking up a three”)?