* 3 of the players didn’t have their jersey tucked in before the game and Anya had his sweats down below his a$$ cheeks. That told me they weren’t taking it serious, that this wasn’t a business trip and they weren’t being held accountable for discipline and representation of the school.
* On the first 6 possessions (WF and Pack combined), Abu missed a gimme layup, committed a turnover, shot a baseline 10 footer with a 6’3 man on him and committed a foul. He should’ve been subbed for immediately (and yes he is one that didn’t have his jersey tucked in.)
* All of our shooters float sporadically on their jump shots. On a jump shot, you’re suppose to be jumping straight up or slightly in. Ours guys jump to the left, to the right or backwards. That’s why our shooting percentage is horrendous (looking at you Mav and twin A). Cat Barber is the only one who shoots in rhythm. Simple mistakes that are fixable.
* Our bigs play defense with their hands and not their feet. That’s why their constantly in foul trouble.
* Those other guys on the bench have to play. FEET TO THE FLAME!!
* Cat Barber obviously put in the work over the summer with someone. Why didn’t everyone else?
* These guys need to be on a 2 to 5 ft. leash and be held responsible. I’m afraid their roaming free around the yard….
I disagree on several points here. I don’t necessarily equate jersey tucking with caring or being prepared. I also don’t equate that with a team that’s not held accountable. Seeing things like that and drawing negative conclusions is pure speculation. But moving on to the game:
*Who should sub for Abu that early on? Freeman? At least with Abu you’ve got a chance at a gimme layup; or if he’s fouled, a chance to make a FT or 2. The bench is extremely short.
*Floating jumpers – no disagreement.
*We are short-staffed in the front court and the ones we have aren’t all-stars. They give it effort, but it’s things like foot movement that separate the “capable,” “good,” and the “greats.” Right now, we’ve got borderline capable. At least they can rebound and block. Connect on a few more put-backs and we’re in business.
*Again, our bench is short and Kirk is not ready as evidenced in the Michigan game. Stick him in any ACC game right now with significant minutes and a small deficit turns into double or triple b/c you completely lose any and all offense and defense on both sides of the court. It’s not worth his feet getting burned to lose any chance we have of winning a game – and we’ve had the chance to win each ACC game we’ve lost. Despite all the places this team lacks on the court, if the guys could somehow improve FT shooting we could steal some games. FTs definitely would have won the VT game, as well as against Louisville, and it’s only one aspect of the game. That’s how close this team is to breaking through.
