Virginia Basketball: Non-conference Peek
Wednesday, September 03 2008 by Ben
I love cupcakes.
There's a place in my hometown that serves only cupcakes. It's a sweet setup - very old timey. Heck, I even think that it's a "Shoppe." When those puppies are come out with mountains of frosting and a cold glass of moo juice, I'm tempted to pass out at the table. It's that good.
The drawback to the scrumptious delicacy? That damned wrapper. It's a dirty reminder of your nutritional misdeeds. I can almost hear the wrapper now: "a banana would've been more nutritious," "at least peanut butter has some protein," "I'm a talking wrapper, sell me on Ebay."
The point that I'm trying to make (other than the obvious "too many cupcakes will spoil dinner" reference), is that's exactly what you get when you schedule too many weak out of conference opponents. You're left with a unsightly residual: poor execution.
As a college basketball coach, you must, simply must schedule tough non-conference games. Cupcakes in the short term mean disaster in the long term.
That was Pete Gillen's strategy for years. The drawbacks became wholly evident to me then. First, it artificially raises expectations about your team. When you lose a couple of games in January, everyone jumps on the "you should've played better competition in Nov-Dec, you must not be that good" - bandwagon and simply buries your team (justly or unjustly).
Second, your team doesn't learn a darned thing about how run a proper offensive or defensive set. Most of these games are played in November, December, and early January. Given the turnover on most college basketball teams, early in the season, coaches are still working out a bevy of kinks. Playing crummy competition allows your team to be sloppy and still come away with a W. Sloppiness becomes bad habits, which begets underachievement.
Finally, it's one of the only things about the schedule that the coach can control. He can't control how good his conference is, but a strong non-conference slate can make up for that. Ask Bob McKillop or John Calapari.
Arizona has played a murderer's row non-conference schedule for years and while it hasn't resulted in a national champion, they've gotten into the big dance with teams that display more than their fair share of suspect chemistry.
In this vein, Dave Leitao has cobbled together a decent, but not overwhelming non-conference schedule. There's five in-state opponents that come to the 'ville: VMI, Radford, Liberty, Longwood, and Hampton. These are all teams that Virginia ought to beat handily. Virginia probably will beat Brown and South Florida - two pretty abysmal teams.
If they come out of those games unscathed, that's good. Even one loss wouldn't be horrible, remember, this is a young team that lacks an experienced point guard.
There's four games in there where Virginia will earn its mettle: Syracuse, Minnesota, Auburn, Xavier. Success in those will bode well for a good season. However, an 0-4 record in them doesn't preclude a bad one. Four quality L's (and yes, there are quality L's) wouldn't be the end of the world for the young squad.
Syracuse came to Charlottesville last year and narrowly edged the Cavaliers in a messy game. It was one Eric Devendorf's last game before a season-ending ACL tear. The returning squad lacks Donte Green, but has Jonny Flynn, who is probably a top five point guard. Flynn can play, even better than this Johnny Flynn. He will present a major challenge to whomever Virginia tries to cover him with.
Virginia plays Minnesota as part of the ACC-Big Ten challenge. It's a game rife with intrigue - is it not? Ralph Sampson III playing against the school his father helped put on the college basketball map? Tubby Smith coaching against the school that wanted him so badly (and perhaps the job he should've taken)? These teams are well matched and it should be a close game. I'll preview it more as the time grows closer.
Like the three previously previewed teams, Auburn is a solid, middle-of-their-conference type foe. Last year, the Tigers were pretty potent offensively (106 points per 100 possessions), but sub-par defensively (107.6 points per 100 possessions). They also wear orange and blue. We had it first. (I think.)
In their final real non-conference test (hopefully, they'll cruise by Brown) Xavier comes to town. For those of you unfamiliar with the beatdown given to the Cavs up in Ohio last year, good, forget about it. This is an entirely different Xavier team that doesn't possess nearly the firepower of yesteryear. Hopefully, by early January, Dave Leitao and company can work out the hangups and lay the wood into Xavier.
That would be the icing on the non-conference cake.
(On a lameness scale, that last sentence is about a 7.5 out of 10.)
3 comment(s) and 0 trackback(s)
Points will be at a premium for this squad. Their best shot to win is to ugly up the game. It will not be a pretty season on the offensive end.
I don't like the Syracuse game at all.
We play another exhibition, then 4 cupcakes at home, then have to travel to 'Cuse. That's gotta be a loss unless this team gels real quick.
I kind of wish the Minnesota game was first. I think that game is more winnable for us and we could use that momentum and confidence to scratch out a win at the Dome. Going to NY first I just don't see it.
I don't know much about Auburn except that I think we beat them in Richmond a couple years back at the Siegel Center and I went to that game. I think you're right about us having the colors first. We've had them since 1888 and Auburn wasn't even Auburn then (in fact, it had a worse name than VPIS(sic)U - Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama.
I think we'll beat them for that reason alone.
This is going to be an interesting year. It has the potential to be very good - there's little doubt we have some significant talent on the roster. Just there's no one like SS.
There are so many unknowns on this year's team. There is depth at every position (save for PG probably). There is talent all around. But there isn't a go to player, and there isn't anybody on the roster that truly scares opponents.
We could be very good if we develop some cohesiveness, especially defensively. We could also be very bad if we can't find anybody to score consistently.
I could see us sweeping these OOC games, and I could see us losing 4 or 5 of them. Obviously we should beat the in state teams, and we will. But I could see us losing to USF, as well as the others.
Also, yes, that last sentence is terrible.