Dear Old U.Va.

This is a Bummer, Man

Friday, September 26 2008 by Ben

I didn't set out to write a post about how depressing the beginning of the ACC schedule would be.  It just happened that way.  I swear.

Look at this: at Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech, North Carolina, at Maryland.

Seriously? Ouch.

Beginning the conference slate with Georgia Tech on the road wouldn't be that big a deal by itself.  Sure, we had all kinds of nature problems last year and Virginia did squeak by when they did manage to actually play the game.  So, you might think that Virginia might not have any problems reeling off a win in their first ACC game.

You might be right, too.  Paul Hewitt's ACC record doesn't really knock your socks off.  His only above.500 finish in the ACC occurred in that memorable 2004 campaign when they made the NCAA Tourney finals (even then they were only 9-7).

You'd invariably be wrong about Hewitt's club, though.  See, Hewitt has done an excellent job at remaining competitive. He has a bevy of 8-8 and 7-9 finishes.  It sounds stupid, I know, but treading water in the ACC for a school other than UNC or Duke (even one with a pedigree like GT) is an amazing feat.  Herb Sendek used to do better than that each year, and look where it landed him.

Hewitt's clubs always push the ball (their tempo often ranks in the top 50) and are usually rather efficient on offense.  For GT, winning is just a question of defensive intensity.  That 2004 squad was just impossible to get good shots against.  The last few years haven't exactly measured up to that same level.  When you don't play D, you get maddeningly inconsistent results and that's exactly what the Ramblin' Wreck has been for the past few years. They sure fun to watch, though, as Hewitt seems to have penchant for getting smooth, athletic players who excel on offense.

Next year's team features senior D'Andre Bell.  Bell is a guy who's been described as a "left-handed shooter who follows a distinguished line of southpaw stars at Tech, including Kenny Anderson, Travis Best, Tony Akins, Jason Collier, Clarence Moore and Isma'il Muhammad." OK - you got me - that's from the Georgia Tech Athletics site.  Still, Kenny Anderson in the same breath with Clarence Moore? Really?

I digress.  Bottom line: An inexperienced squad opens their conference schedule with a solid GT team = not good.

Their next ACC game is almost a fortnight later at Virginia Tech, after (hopefully) momentum-building games against Brown and Xavier.   

Full-disclosure: I must admit. I'm a fan of the program that Seth Greenberg is building in Blacksburg.

The whole attitude just works.  They don't dazzle you - save for a Deron Washington dunk every now and again (thank goodness he's gone).  They just bring their work pail to the defensive end every game.

In his five seasons, Greenberg has taught his crew how to play solid fundamental defense.  Since the 2003-2004 season, the have forced fewer turnovers, but their defensive efficiency has increased over that span. 

It's not a popular way to do things. Turnovers are sexy.  They lead to breakaways, which lead to dunks, which leads to this. Unfortunately, the sword cuts both ways. High pressure D gives up cheap buckets, thereby reducing defensive efficiency.  Efficiency, boys and girls, is how you win the game.

So, needless to say, I'm not happy about going to Blacksburg.

Then, there's North Carolina.  Tea anyone?

Finally, the four game gauntlet finishes with Maryland in College Park.  While I think that Dave Leitao can't magically make the Wahoos 4-0 to start, a 2-2 start has to be considered an unqualified success.  Even a 1-3 record would be a victory for Leitao's staff.  That being said, Maryland is probably the easiest game on this slate.

Gary Williams' teams have been somewhat mediocre of late - that's not a dig, either.  The problem is that Williams' squads in the early part of the millennium were so good.  Finishing in the ACC's top three used to be automatic for the Terps. 

Not so much anymore.  Thus, many people felt as though last year's squad was a disappointment.  That's not really the case when you delve into their season a little more. 

They upset Carolina early, setting the expectations high for the rest of the ACC season.  In truth, that Carolina game was the aberration.  As the season wore on, it became obvious that Maryland only had two consistent threats on offense: James Gist and Greivus Vasquez.

It was clear that Vasquez wanted to make the Terps "his team."   What he didn't realize, ultimately, this is where Williams failed the team, is that Vasquez was outstanding in the post.  He dominated when he got the ball down low.  Yet, he felt the need to drift outside and shoot threes, because, well, it was "his team."  He should've left more of the three point shoot to Eric Hayes, who shot them at a much better clip (39% versus 31% for Vasquez).

If the Cavs 0-4 at the beginning of the conference schedule, the sky is not falling.  The schedule is backloaded with a set of winnable games.  Finishing well is always preferred to starting well.  So, keep your heads up.  We'll tackle that next week.