Johnson talks Hokies-BYU
The last time the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team played a game, it lost by 36 points.
So coach James Johnson had plenty of reasons to fret as the undermanned Hokies headed west for the second straight week. They will face Brigham Young at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Their size is a concern. Their depth is a concern,” Johnson, whose Hokies went 1-1 in Las Vegas last weekend, said in a phone interview Thursday. “The fact that we’ve got to get back out to the West Coast … is a concern. Our lack of depth is a concern.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have some legs, but you never can tell. These West Coast trips are long, and we’re short on bodies. Even with practice, every guy’s got to go just about every rep.”
Today’s game will be played at the Utah Jazz’s arena in Salt Lake City, not on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah.
The Hokies (9-3) will be playing their third straight game with only seven scholarship players. Reserve forward Marshall Wood is sidelined with a broken foot.
Tech beat Bradley in overtime last Saturday in the Las Vegas Classic, but playing on back-to-back nights proved to be too much of an obstacle. Colorado State thrashed the Hokies 88-52 in the Las Vegas Classic title game Sunday.
Colorado State (10-2), which returns four starters from an NCAA tournament team, started three seniors and two fifth-year seniors in that game. The Hokies trailed by just six points at halftime but were outscored by 30 points in the second half.
“We just didn’t have enough in the tank in the second half,” Johnson said. “Colorado State was a really good team. You don’t see a college team starting five seniors. You’re talking about an older, veteran group who played in the NCAA tournament. … We’re not panicking.
“We had to expend a lot of energy to get that [Bradley] win. We were a step slow [against CSU].”
Tech’s Erick Green (25.4 ppg) is the leading scorer in the nation, but he will need more help from his supporting cast than he got against Colorado State. Green was 10-of-21 from the field in the loss, with the rest of the team shooting 9-of-32 combined (28.1 percent).
Guard Robert Brown is shooting just 13.3 percent from the field the past four games combined.
“He’s taking the same shots that he was hitting early on in the year,” Johnson said. “I don’t know whether fatigue’s setting in on his legs.”
BYU (9-4) is outrebounding foes by 4.5 rebounds per game. Their lineup features 6-foot-9 forward Brandon Davies (20.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg), an All-West Coast Conference pick last season, and guard Tyler Haws (19.3 ppg).
Men’s basketball
Saturday
Virginia Tech vs. BYU
2 p.m. at EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
Records: Virginia Tech 9-3, BYU 9-4.
TV: ESPNU
Last meeting: BYU won 70-68 on Jan. 25 at Tech.
Va. Tech probable starters: F Jarell Eddie (14.7 ppg), F C.J. Barksdale (5.4 pgp), C Cadarian Raines (7.5 ppg), G Erick Green (25.4 ppg), G Robert Brown (10.4 ppg).
BYU probable starters: F Brandon Davies (20.3 ppg), F Josh Sharp (4.5 ppg), G Tyler Haws (19.3 ppg), G Matt Carlino (7.1 ppg), G Brock Zylstra (6.8 ppg).
Notes: BYU has lost by double digits to Florida State, Notre Dame, Iowa State and Baylor. … BYU forced 24 turnovers in an 84-54 rout of Northern Arizona on Thursday. … BYU returns three starters from a team that made the NCAA tournament. Haws was not on the team the past two seasons because of a Mormon mission, but he started for BYU in 2009-10. … In last season’s meeting, then-Cougar Noah Hartsock blocked what would have been the tying layup by Green with 3 seconds left and Brown missed what would have been the winning 3-poiner at the buzzer.
December 28, 2012 - 12:36 PM
Hi Mark,
Thanks for conducting the phone interview with the VT coach! Could you conduct analysis or make a prediction on the game? Any additional information that you may have as the Hokies BBall beat writer, and at least general BBall analyst would be great! As fans, we would really appreciate it.
I kind of felt like no one really paid attention to the LV games, and its probably really tough to understand why VT lost the CSU game in such a lopsided manner- hopefully I can help share a little info:
THE ORLEANS ARENA
I was one of about 10 VT fans outside of player family members that attended the games in LV. This is what I saw-
1. It was an empty, 10,000 seat arena for all of the games. Bradley had a contingent of about 50 fans, CSU about 35 and VT probably less than 20. There were maybe 50 addl local fans or free ticketers. Did VT do any sort of promotion for these games? The Continental Tire people definitely didn’t. The only other group of the attendees were guests from the local VA center, I think.
2. When VT played Bradley, their bench was as loud or louder than their actual fans. The announcer was a complete Bradley homer, and after exchanging comments with random people after the game, we all agreed that he was announcing as if it was a Bradley home game- with loud support for Bradley and little for VT.
This was repeated for CSU as well- it was pretty bizarre, and both games were definitely “away” games for VT.
GAME #1 v. Bradley
3. When VT played Bradley, it seemed that they were still adjusting to maybe new schemes in the absence of Wood? You would see an occasional break away to get down the court, but there was a definite absence of the previous run-n-gun style that I had seen during most of the early VT games. VT looked like they had better players, in a Bradley atmosphere which made a HUGE difference.
VT seemed not to defend the 3 pt shots at all in the first half, as if this was a strategy (given Bradley’s previous 3 pt shooting weakness prior to this game?). They were 6-12 in the first half- this resulted in 18 pts! Halftime score: Bradley 35-25. After the first half, Bradley was only 2-11, so VT obviously adjusted. VT played an extra five minutes in OT to win.
Bradley had some big guys. C Raines played 34 min. Two Bradley starters fouled out during the game, and a 3rd had 4 fouls, so Green and Raines definitely earned their pay and played hard. Raines looked exhausted all 2nd half but still scored 16 pts in his season high, and over double his season average. Given opponent size, he was critical to the game.
GAME #2 v. CSU
CSU had an even bigger guy- Colton Iverson (and more of them, and all Seniors). He was a little taller and probably 25 lb heavier than C Raines. He owned the basket. Raines was already physically exhausted in the 1st half of the game, and he just couldn’t keep up in the 2nd half.
VT had previously had to put extensive effort into their game against Bradley, while CSU needed little effort to beat Portland the night before. As a result, CSU was able to platoon some of their players (ex. F Greg Smith played only 8 min v Portland but played 30 v. VT). Raines, Brown and Barksdale all played 21 min or less, whereas Marquis Rankin played 23 min and Christian Beyer play 25! This was the first time I had seen Joey Racer play, and other back-ups I was unfamiliar with. As I’ve seen posted elsewhere, the big guys were basically just setting up screens, and then the double teaming almost never stopped the opposing player from getting the ball away, but often left a CSU player open.
By the 2nd half, the Hokies were exhausted. It was basically Eddie and Green, because no one else had been able to put down shots. By close to the end of the game, it was just Green, and then by the end, it was 5 walk-ons. All of these guys played hard, but they still were not stopping the 3 pt shots, and that of course led the way towards CSU working their way to the basket on every play with little to stop them.
Basically, VT’s condition now is what it is. They are great players and hard working people- there are just fewer of them playing right now compared to many other teams. It irks me a little to read about some team “taking them to the woodshed.” At this point, if one team is down to playing all of their walk-ons, then that team is going to get splinters anytime they play.
Mark, please keep up the coverage. I look forward to reading your pre-game analysis and predictions on the BYU game tomorrow, and then continued coverage as we begin ACC play. Any interest in highlighting your thoughts on the other ACC teams so far? Look ahead to Maryland?
Thanks again!
Thanks for the observations from your Vegas trip.
You shouldn’t have been shocked by the low crowd turnout. These type of tourneys aren’t designed as tourist destinations for teams’ fans. It’s not like fans flocked to Orlando when Tech played in that tournament. They are designed for TV, and to give teams the chance to play in a tourney. They aren’t expected to be attract teams’ fans like bowl games or the ACC Tournament. And no casual basketball fan in Vegas is going to show up to watch 4 ho-hum teams, not when there are much more fun things to do in Vegas.
I think you’re a bit generous saying the Hokies “are great players” however. The team has one great player: Green.
I don’t think it was a big surprise that they got beaten by Colorado State. This team just does not have the depth to play on back-to-back nights.
You wouldn’t expect a blowout loss to BYU, though, since the Hokies haven’t played a game since last weekend. They lost to BYU last year at home 70-68. This game could be close, too. BYU is a beatable team. But BYU will be playing in front of its fans, so you’d expect BYU to win against a depleted VT team.
We all knew going into the season that VT couldn’t afford any injuries because of its lack of depth. Now it has an injury, so it’s going to be much harder to win while Wood is out. Especially if a few players aren’t doing well or get in foul trouble (or both). It’s not like Johnson can just put 2 or 3 equally good players in the game if Raines or Brown aren’t playing well or if Eddie gets in foul trouble. He can’t.
Tech is not shooting as well as it did earlier in the season when it was winning. If Brown can’t break out of his slump soon, that’s going to keep hurting Tech.
Tech also needs to defend the 3. It’s no coincidence that in all 3 losses, the foe made 10 or more 3-pointers.
BYU has a good inside-outside game. Tech will need Raines and Barksdale to step up so it can also have a good inside-outside game.
Look at this like the Bradley game — expect Tech’s foe to win, but it would not be a shock if Tech pulled it out because BYU is not a world-beater.
I had forgotten VT was playing hoops today, especially after the football embarrassment (even winning the game, it was awful) last night. Unfortunately, I had to make a quick trip, and my car radio was already on. It sounds like Johnson’s lack of experience is showing, and the lack of talent for the players is also showing. Yikes, what an ugly game.
Ah, well. The end of the easy, out of conference games will be over as soon as this game mercifully ends. Then we’ll get into the tough part of the schedule. I’m sure Jim Weaver will be happy, as our travel expenses will be greatly reduced.