VT-VMI Recap

In a very fast paced game, Tech toppled the VMI Keydets 95-80 in a blowout win in Blacksburg. Here are my thoughts on the game below:

First off, I’d like to congratulate Erick Green on reaching the 1,000 point mark tonight. He played a very efficient game and has become extremely well rounded. He shot nearly 69% tonight which is pretty incredible for anyone. To go along with that, he finished with six assists and only one turnover. What an impressive game he played. If that Erick shows up a lot of the nights, I think we will be pretty tough to stop.

To start the game, Tech was slacking defensively and went down early. We we’re giving them whatever shot they wanted and we looked so-so on offense, despite scoring nine points. Everything just looked sloppy. The defense picked up however and that really set the tone for the rest of the game. We began forcing tough shots and causing turnovers which lead to transition bucks for us. We proceeded to go on a 19-3 run and took a 28-15 lead and never looked back.

Early on we made an effort to get it to our big men and we really took advantage of the size advantage we had. CJ Barksdale and Cadarian Raines scored the first four of five buckets and each ended up in double figures. CJ set a career high in scoring tonight with 11 and really looked improved from the first two games. Let’s see if he can continue this success against bigger and more talented teams later in the season. We could really use him as Marshall Wood is a more natural 3 than 4. Cadarian was dominant tonight and finished with his second career double-double (back to back games) with 14 and 10. He had six offensive rebounds, shot 6-9 from the field, and was an absolute nightmare for the smaller Keydets. I’m really looking forward to having him for the next two years and am excited to see how much more he can improve. He could end up one of the most dominant centers in the ACC by the time he’s finished in Blacksburg.

Marshall Wood didn’t get as many minutes as he had the past two games but was still very effective while he was in. In 14 minutes of action, he finished with six points coming from two three pointers. He finally is starting to look comfortable with his shot. Like I said, I’m just waiting for him to have that blow up game where he shoots lights out. I know he can do it. He’s starting to heat up and that’s getting me excited.

I have been extremely surprised by how much trust James Johnson has in the walk on Will Johnston. He has played him a lot of the year and has really allowed him to do his thing. Shoot threes. This kid has a nice stroke and has now proven to everyone he can be a valuable part of this offense with his three point shot, especially when he gets hot. He finished with nine points on the day, a career high.

Coming into this game I was really looking forward to seeing how this offense performed when it played through Marquis Rankin. I didn’t really get to see that tonight Coach Johnson turned to Marcus Patrick to back up Green while Rankin sat on the bench. I’m not quite sure why this is still occurring, but I guess well find out soon. This leads me to Marcus Patrick. I love the kid, he goes at it hard, and it always trying, but he is way too out of control and looks like he’s going a speed faster than everyone (in a bad way). I also noticed that when Patrick is in the offense is practically playing 4 on 5, with him just standing in one of the corners. I know Marquis can bring more to the table and am waiting for him to get meaningful playing time.

Jarell had a solid night, finishing with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jarell seems like just a shooter, but has also surprised me with how well he can rebound the ball; he really has a knack for it (tied for the team lead in total rebounds). I guess playing the 4 spot for the majority of last year really contributed to his success rebounding the ball. He so far is averaging 14.3 points and is looking like the second man up for scoring behind Erick. Not only do we have him to rely on for scoring, but Robert Brown has been a go to guy as well. Honestly, he had a bad shooting night tonight and still finished with double digit points and 4 assists, he just has an incredible ability to score the ball, and the future looks bright.

WE SHOOT A LOT OF THREES AND ARE REALLY GOOD AT MAKING THEM. We shot 24 tonight, and made 11 of them, an excellent 46%. Coach Johnson is really letting them fire away and that gets me really excited. And why not? This team is one of the most talented shooting teams we’ve had in Blacksburg in a long time. All the players are very loose and just go out and make plays. They run and shoot, that the name of the game. If only we had depth, we could see what Coach Johnson likes to do defensively and really see a successful team I think.

What do we need to improve on? Our offense against the full court press. It’s clear that teams are going to be pressing against us to help stop us running. We looked wild out there against it tonight and it really slowed down our offensive production. Many times, we ended up 3 on 2 after getting past half court and came away empty handed. That CANNOT happen in ACC play. We need to maximize every chance we get. Hopefully the team will get used to this and can improve in the next few games.

This game was not as close as the final score indicated. The Hokies were up by 30 when they subbed out the starters and VMI proceeded to go on a run. James Johnson was furious at the backups and ended up putting the starters back in the game.

Random notes: Tech didn’t an excellent job on the boards tonight, out rebounding the smaller team 44-33. All five starters scored in double figures tonight showing how well this team spreads the ball and passes.

Stat of the Game: Tech shot 46% from behind the arc. We’ve shot 40% for the year and that is including Marshall Wood shooting 0-8 from three the first two games. I could easily see this team finishing around the 40% mark from three. That’s how good this team is at shooting the ball.

Mike’s Player of the Game: Cadarian played excellent tonight, but I have to give it to Erick Green. He scored his 1,000th point and was dominant throughout. He is averaging 23 points per game and is looking like a future pro. He has yet to have a bad game and is absolutely dominating the other teams.

The Hokies next game is next Monday at UNC Greensboro. It’s a 7 p.m. tip and will be on ESPN3.

What’d you guys think of tonight’s game? Share in the comments below!