I know I didn't do a write up on the Florida State loss and I hope as a fan you could understand why I didn't jump at the chance to do so. That game was a great game, it was a game where the Hokies played tough, through a lot of injuries, and it came down to the very last second. It just didn't go Tech's way and fan's can blame whomever they like but in the end we lost by one point to a ranked team that was able to play roughly twice the amount of scholarship players on that night. In short it was a hard pill to swallow and I wanted to write that night about poor coaching, poor recruiting, poor execution, poor time management, and poor free throw shooting. But in the end I decided to sleep on it, which was pretty hard to do, and I woke up the next day with a different attitude. Of course I was still upset and it was one of those days where I did everything I could to avoid espn, but I ended up being able to focus more on the positive.
In the Florida State game we were short handed to an extent where anyone going in to that game must have felt like we had zero chance to win. But by the time the game was over I think we were able to prove that we were tough enough, had enough leadership, and had the talent to play with anyone in the ACC. We just didn't have the legs and that is the true disappointment, this game proved that we are too thin on the bench as it seems we are year in and year out. I think Seth Greenberg, not unlike Frank Beamer, gets more out of his kids than most coaches could. I think he gets the type of kids that he knows he can motivate and I think he looks for kids with higher upside that he can develop in to what he believes will be a winning team. I think you can see these traits in almost every kid on this Hokie team, our highest rated recruit (Dorian Finney-Smith) had a stretch where he missed 25 shots and required some extra coaching from Greenberg and since then has played at another level. Seth shows that he can help kids develop and help them get through slumps and turn them into winners.
The struggle comes when you have that type of plan where you recruit talent that might need some work and couple that with injuries and your core graduating. Basically you end up with a lot of young talent that needs work to improve and sometimes that is tough to watch especially on this four year cycle we seem to be on. Every four years we have a big group graduate and big group of young guys come in and unfortunately it seems that most of the recruits that came in in the middle of that group of four years, who would have been the leaders for the young guys, have transferred elsewhere due to lack of playing time or ____ you fill in the blank. Luckily we have Erick Green, Dorenzo Hudson, Victor Davila, and Cadarian Raines to help show the younger guys how to play tough and get stronger and just compete in the ACC. But as the injuries keep popping up I think it shows that no matter what type of talent you recruit you better have a lot of it if you want to compete every night in the ACC. Hopefully we can hang onto to everyone on this current team, except the seniors of course, and add some guys with staying power to go into next year, because this year may be tough but I think the system shows that if the team can stick together we will see some great things next year and these close games will start going our way.
Moving on to the Georgia Tech game, I was able to attend this game and I am glad I did. After a game like the heart breaker we had at Florida State I was worried about how the team would respond and how the fans would respond. The team played as well as one could expect them to, being short handed again with no Victor Davila, and everyone having to play more minutes at different positions to shoulder that loss. I think the team missed Davila but Raines and C.J. Barksdale both stepped up and provided some great production, combining for 21 points and 8 rebounds. It really is a shame that C.J. twisted his ankle against Boston College because he had practiced well enough to get the start for that game, he came out strong in that game, and I have to think if he hadn't gotten hurt he would have made the Boston College win a little more comfortable and I know he could have provided the difference against Florida State. C.J. is another great example of a kid who is finding himself as a player late in this season and I am sure will only progress into next season where he will challenge Cadarian Raines for the starting center position.
All in all this was another good team win, I know it would be nice to get a win against one of these bad teams with a little more cushion instead of a last second three pointer (thank you Dorenzo) but this young team just needs to learn how it feels to win and what it takes to win in the ACC. The blow-outs will come and maybe they are saving up to hand the waaahoos one on Tuesday. You never know with this team and against uva anything can happen, it certainly would be sweet to sweep the hoos.
To my second worry about how the fans would respond. Again after a loss like the one we had to Florida State you just don't know what is going to happen with the players or the fans. I should have known that Hokie fans are too good to give in as they showed me once again why I am a Hokie. I don't get to go to many games, this one will probably be my only trip this year, but I am glad that this game was the one got to go to. Not just because we won, or because we won on a last second three pointer in overtime against a team we love to beat at home, but because I got to see the fans respond to a heart breaking loss in a great way. I am not saying every seat was filled and people screamed the whole time, but there was a great crowd and for fans who just lived through that loss I think we mustered everything we could. When Dorenzo got that shot off and the final buzzer sounded there was a palpable sense of joy and relief, and I think everyone in there realized that no matter what these guys are giving us everything they have and if nothing else they deserve our support. I look forward to the rest of this year no matter how long it lasts and can't wait for next year because if these guys keep improving and playing as hard as they are we are in for a great year. Go HOKIES!
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