Hokies Hoops Gets Run By Wolfpack 53-69

The Virginia Tech men's basketball team traveled to Raleigh coming off a string of head-downing defeats. They took the bus back to Blacksburg on Saturday with a feeling of deja vu, as the Hokies lost to NC State 53-69.

The game followed much of the same story from the rest of the week. Tech didn't shoot the three ball very well, suffered cripplingly long cold stretches and allowed their opponent to hit a high percentage of their field goals.

That's not a recipe for success for any team in college basketball, but especially not this one. And though Buzz Williams' squad kept it closer than the final score indicated for much of the night, a Wolfpack run in the final 10 minutes inflated the tally.

Devin Wilson had a poor night both from the floor and defensively. The sophomore point guard went 1-8 from the field, 2-4 from the line and couldn't run out on many State wings in time to contest their looks.

Also, Malik Müller couldn't get a thing going on either end. Mark Gottfried had his defenders flying in the Umlaut's direction every second he was on the court, and the officials' inconsistent block/charge calls caused to early foul trouble. The combination lead to the German playing just 12 minutes and taking a single shot.

(Let me clear something up. I thought that the officiating was questionable at best for both sides. It seemed that every call around the hoop was just a flip of the coin as to whether or not it would go against the offense or defense.)

There were bright spots. Justin Bibbs shook off his funk, scoring 19 points at 57 percent rate. He single handedly made it a contest at the back end of the first half, scoring 10 consecutive points to keep the deficit in reach heading into intermission. Adam Smith also hit a couple of clutch triples, as he's known to do. They were, though, the only two consistently effective offensive weapons.

I don't know what can be said about Tech's rough shooting performances over the last week, other than that they simply can't win when they put forth even an average showing. The big problem is that the secret's out about these guys.

Everyone the Hokies face between now and the end of the year know the deal. If they defend the three point arc as well as they can, it will cause major problems. Clemson, Miami and State were all able to do that, and all ended up winning by 16 or more.

Buzz's rotation was interesting to say the least. Satchel Pierce didn't see a minutes of action and Jalen Hudson only saw one. Will Johnston, still making his way back from an injury to his right elbow, found himself playing the high post when subbed in.

I don't see practices, so I can't criticize any sort of playing time situation. I will say that I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see Hudson more. He's turning into a favorite of mine, if only because he'll have at least three moments each appearance where he reminds us that he's as explosive as they come.

Though it was another bad loss, I'm not particularly broken up about this result.

The growth of this team will eventually make away games easier. As Bibbs, Hudson and Ahmed Hill get older, they'll become more composed and fans will no longer just assume that road visits will be automatic losses.

Watching them develop both mentally and emotionally is going to be like watching a Richard Linklater movie (but hopefully more interesting). Considering that they'll all come up together makes it even more fascinating, like a four year social experiment that we can all observe.

When watching them, I often find myself wondering which player is the leader. Smith is the most vocal and usually the most positive, however just because he's the most vocal doesn't necessarily mean he holds the reigns.

One of my favorite ways to describe leadership comes from Trent Dilfer talking quarterbacks. In that article Dilfer said that he really wants to know "who drives the car"; if there is a group of quarterbacks together traveling somewhere, which one will drive everyone else there?

It seems like a stupid, somewhat trivial way to look at the most important position in football, but I think there's some logic to it. People usually don't drive a group by accident, or "just because". If you're going somewhere in a pack, the person driving probably likes to be in control and is, more likely than not, the alpha of the gang.

Look at this bunch. Who grabs the keys?

Right now, Buzz Williams drives the bus and it's not close. But, when his guys morph into a successful, winning basketball team, at least one of these players will have to take the next step leadership-wise.

None of them are there yet, and I'm okay with that. But I wouldn't be shocked if someone asserted themselves ahead of the pack during these last few games.

Until then, all we can do is sit back and watch it unfold.