Random musings on the Stanford game
Nov 24th
Disappointing loss for the men’s basketball team tonight against Stanford in the semi-finals of something called the Cancun Challenge. Some random thoughts:
–It was good to get to see the team on television again. First game I’ve watched since last week’s South Florida debacle. Despite some disappointing play, it’s clear that Virginia is a different team than we saw earlier in the season.
–Down the stretch, I saw no urgency out of the Hoos. I hoped to see Sylven Landesberg get that look in his eyes, and take the team on his back. Didn’t happen. There was just no urgency to win this game.
–Jeff Jones was great on the offensive end, scoring 17 points on 5-9 shooting. That’s the JJ I’ve been waiting to see.
–Jeff Jones was terrible on the defensive end. Also terrible: Calvin Baker and Assane Sene. Just brutal. I can’t believe Coach Bennett will tolerate that kind of effort much longer.
–Shot selection was much improved over last week. That was the single point that I was most encouraged about. Unfortunately, they just missed some open looks. Combine that with poor free throw shooting (14-24), and that was the difference in the game.
–Mu Farrakhan didn’t play in the first half. No idea why, but it was a clear benching by Bennett, because he played (though not very well) most of the second half.
–Mike Scott had 7 points and 9 boards, and would’ve had more if not for foul trouble. He’s really the only offensive option Virginia has in the low post, and he’s a talented option at that. It’s an absolute must that Scott stay out of foul trouble if Virginia hopes to be competitive.
–In the end, I’m still seeing progress out of the team. I’m very happy with where Bennett has them right now. He just doesn’t have the horses to run his system. Yet.
–A final note: the game was on CBS College Sports Network, and it was, without a doubt, the worst television basketball broadcast I’ve ever seen.
Production values were awful. They couldn’t get the score correct for the first five minutes of the game. When they showed the starting lineups, they showed pictures of five random guys instead of the Virginia starters.
Worst of all, however, the play-by-play guy (I think his name was Thad Anderson) was the single worst sports announcer I’ve ever seen. Geez, this guy was brutal. He got everything wrong, and clearly had not prepared for the game at all.
I think it was actually this guy:
Watch the Hoos tonight
Nov 24th
It appears that tonight’s game vs. Stanford in the “Cancun Challenge” (whatever that is) will actually be televised. It’s on the CBS College Sports Network, which is channel 613 on DirecTV and 152 on Dish. I’m told Comcast has the channel too, but I can’t confirm that.
Jeff White is in Cancun with the team, and he has some news and notes here. I’m looking forward to watching the new-look Cavaliers tonight. The last time I was able to watch them was the South Florida game, and that was a disaster.
Someone help this guy out
Nov 24th
Someone help this guy get some tickets. It’ll be worth it, for all of us.
Tony Bennett’s offense
Nov 23rd
I’ve mentioned here my impressions that Tony Bennett is slowly starting to implement his offensive system, and that it will take a bit longer to install than his defense. Over at The Good Ol Blog, Kris has some thoughts on the “Developing System.”
The most frustrating aspect of the Al Groh era
Nov 23rd
But there is another measurement that, if not impressive to the general fan, resonates with those in a Virginia uniform. Sixty-five Cavaliers have gone onto the NFL after playing for Groh, including 22 selected in the NFL draft during the past five seasons. Groh produces NFL talent at a rate uncanny for a coach who has not had a 10-win season, much less a coach who might be unemployed in two weeks.
While watching this week’s Steelers game, they cut in to show a highlight of Jason Snelling scoring a touchdown for the Atlanta Falcons (he had two on the day). Then they came back to the game, and Heath Miller caught a pass for a long gain.
My Hokie friends are constantly asking how Virginia can be so terrible at football when they have players drafted — and drafted highly — into the NFL every single year. There can really only be one answer to that question, unfortunately.
There is, and has been, talent in the program. It’s gotta be the coaching (or lack thereof).
On Saturday’s Games
Nov 22nd
The differences between the football and basketball program were stark yesterday. The football team lost yet again, this time to Clemson. They did, however, give us all something to cheer about…briefly:
For one half of Virginia’s contest against Clemson, the Cavalier offense did everything that Al Groh is not necessarily known for: trick plays, unconventional formations, and overall outside-the-box thinking. Jameel Sewell, Mikell Simpson, and Vic Hall all took snaps under center. A very un-Groh-like, nothing-to-lose risk gave Virginia an improbable touchdown going into halftime and the team ranked 106th nationally in scoring offense and 118th in total offense had 21 points and 233 total yards.
Unfortunately, the defense stunk all day long. Then, after a few very interesting possessions where Virginia went away from the absurdly pathetic playcalling that has marked Al Groh’s tenure, the offense went back to the same old nonsense in the second half. As a result, it was three plays and out on almost every possession, it seemed, and Virginia meekly succumbed to their 8th loss of the season.
The basketball team, on the other hand, gave us a lot to be optimistic about yesterday in a 76-55 win over Oral Roberts. Mike Scott and Mustapha Farrakhan had good games, and Assane Sene played fairly effectively in his first game since returning from suspension.
The defense has been getting better every single game, which is refreshing (after some very poor defensive teams we’ve been forced to endure over the last decade). It’s going to take even more time for Coach Bennett to install his offense, but the Hoos are improving every game on that end of the floor as well.
Wins over Rider and Oral Roberts are not ordinarily reasons for enthusiasm. Most good programs take these wins for granted. We can’t think like that yet. How the Hoos are winning these games can’t be taken for granted, given the state of the program.
I don’t know where the program will end up, but there’s no question that Bennett has started in the right direction.
I can’t explain it
Nov 21st
Every time I see Al Groh on the sidelines (in crystal-clear HD today, for the first time this season), I feel sorry for the guy. Yeah, he ran this ship aground, but his time is almost up, and I just feel sorry for him.
Would love to see the Hoos finish out Groh’s tenure with a couple of big victories.
Jamil Tucker to return soon
Nov 20th
UVa. senior forward Jamil Tucker told ACCVirginia.com contributor Scott German tonight that he plans to be back with the Virginia basketball team after its trip to Cancun for the final two games of the Cancun Challenge.
Tucker was in street clothes for the Cavs’ 79-46 win over Rider Thursday night. The 6-9 sharpshooter was also in attendance for the team’s season-opening 85-72 win over Longwood last week and signed autographs for fans courtside as teammates took part in a formal autograph-signing session on the court following the game.
Tucker took a leave of absence from the team on Nov. 11 to deal with undisclosed personal matters.
It will be interesting to see how Tucker fits into the system that Coach Bennett is implementing. Opinions vary on that. Either way, I’m just glad to see that the kid is returning, and I hope he has a ton of success.
Great win for the Hoos
Nov 20th
Wow. Nice win last night!
Undoubtedly, there will be an ebb and flow to the Cavaliers’ performance in Bennett’s first season, but the progress shown in just one week is somewhat startling. Better shooting, increasingly consistent defense, more assists than turnovers and not letting up on a big lead – all of those categories showed improvement from the home opener with Longwood last Friday. Not surprisingly, that led to a stronger effort against Rider, a team that knocked off Mississippi State on the road.
It’s safe to say that no one saw the result coming….
The Broncs, meanwhile, expected to win the game after a 2-0 start that included an SEC road win.
“You look at it now and you realized that maybe your kids were a little tight tonight because I think we came down here expecting to win,” Rider coach Tommy Dempsey said. “I think that’s a good thing, but I also think we felt pressure to win the game as well. We were a lot more loose on Friday night at Mississippi State and then all of a sudden you win that game and you win the next and you’re getting votes in the AP poll and everybody’s talking about how good you are and then all of the sudden the pressure mounts and you lay an egg. Virginia made us pay for that.”
I wish it had been televised, because I would’ve loved to watch this performance. I had to settle for the radio broadcast, but that was pretty sweet in it’s own right.
I know a lot of casual Virginia fans will look at the score in the paper this morning (does anyone still read a newspaper?) and think, “It’s Rider. Virginia should be beating up on the Riders of the world.”
Well, yeah, I guess so. But Rider is no pushover this year, and I am thrilled with how well-coached Virginia appeared last night. The defense really put together a good night; we’d been seeing flashes of that in the earlier games, but they really sustained the effort last night.
I’ve been excited about UVa coaches before, only to be let down…but I’m on the Tony Bennett bandwagon right now. Mostly because, in the article linked above, Bennett is quoted as using the word, “nifty.”
Nifty.
