LBS Game Thoughts-

Tobey might be one of the most frustrating players that I've watched in a UVA uniform in my life. So much potential, but stupid fouls, not finishing at the rim strong and slow rotations because we don't have the quickness that we did in the past to cover it up is exposing him to the point he got pulled pretty early in the game which I have no problem with. He didn't start 2nd half, so message has been sent.

LP, MS and DH knocking down those three point shots definitely helps open up our offense where we can pound the ball inside.

Defense still needs some work adjusting to the rules. To be quite honest we're just not as quick with the rim protectors that we've had the last two years so there are going to be games where we're going to give up plays especially in transition versus quicker teams.

If we shoot the 3 ball like we did tonight then we are a scary team.

Our defense will be pretty good this year, but I think we're going to need to average 6 to 8 points more game to overcome some of the deficiencies because we don't have the rim protector of years past.

I still think this team needs to push it in transition more than in years past because our three point shots seem to be better when guys can spot up that way and we can wear down other peoples bigs where we will get points from our big running the court as well.

I definitely noticed some sort of adjustments from the GW game and it was really neat to have this scheduled right after the GW loss where we could grow as a team and tinker with the rotations without too much issue with competition and by the way all my students who give me crap about us losing to GW, did you see who Ohio State lost to tonight

I like the fact that Tony started taking some minutes from guys who are not performing. Our depth is allowing for guys to be held accountable and do things that are asked of them or they will sit on the bench.

Dear Coach Bennett. As a life long Hoo fan, I have to get this off my chest or I will just EXPLODE!!! I LOVE YOU MAN!!!!

I love how you recruit such outstanding kids to the University. Each and every one I would be proud to call my son.

I love how you teach these kids the Pillers, and teach them the keys to a successful and fulfilling life.

I love the pack line D, the concept of TEAM DEFENSE of rotations and help, of "playing as one", and of taking more pride in STOPPING an opponent that show showboat dunk.

I love how you make adjustments, work to find the right mesh AS A TEAM and not allow any one kid or any inflated ego dictate how your line up.

Win or lose, I know the University has the best coach in America at the helm. Thank you and know that we are ALL so appreciative of your time energy and effort on behalf of the greatest University in America.

UVA was hitting on all cylinders tonight. TB demonstrated that he is not worried about playing the bench. He played many combinations, and most worked very well. Shayok got us started when Brogdon was cold. Gill had a very good all around game. Tobey played well early in the second half, and Salt showed up late in the second half. Hall and Perrantes shot extremely well. Nolte, Wilkins, and Reuter hustled and play good defense. UVA fans were frequently on their feet cheering the play of the team. I have a feeling that the George Mason fans were hoping for a Long Beach win.

I think we know who this years JA has to be

The floor balance when he's in the game because he can stretch you out and make shots gives us better floor spacing

If MS can just knock down the three ball at 38 to 40% we will be OK and his defense isn't half bad either

I had hoped Notle would be that guy, but if he can't consistently knocked down a three point shot open off a pick and pop it will never happen

I don't care who the team we were playing was. That was a welcome sight because teams are going to pack in their defense until we make them pay for doing so. Tony has allowed us the freedom in transition if we get stops to take those shots and boy I can't wait until the next few classes come in where we actually have guys whose games tailor to that style of basketball.

Getting ready to go down in Charleston between Long Beach State and No. 6 UVa. I'll have updates throughout in this thread.

As always, have at it folks...

1. Since its military appreciation week, will London be wearing head to toe camo again? Or maybe a marine corps full dress uniform? Or an Air Force flight suit? The possibilities are endless.

2. Since we're playing at Papa Johns stadium, how many halftime pizza slices will Mike London wolf down?

the turtles are down to Rider. Doubt they hold on but it would be pleasing ! Go Cavs ! A little surprised we are 16pt favs vs 3-0 Long Beach St.

In recent weeks, in regards to retaining or firing London, I have seem several comments from knowledgeable and well connected UVA people to the effect that because he (London) is such a nice guy and very likeable the powers that be decided to give him more time to see if he somehow could improve FB results. Losing the last 15 road games, going 1-19 against key rivals, never beating in state rival, overall record of 26-45, evidently that is not sufficient evidence. No where else in America in a FBS program would that level of complete failure be tolerated. And the additional head scratcher.....it appears that is if he had somehow pulled off a 6-6 record this year thus making a bowl game, he would have been retained. Beyond incredible!

the stripes call this game or how Duke looks with a young but obviously talented team. I hope the stripes call a fair game and not in coach Ks favor. I like the new VCU coach Will Wade, he had allot to do with VCU making that NCAA Final Four run.

The odds makers have the spread at 9.5 in Dukes favor and 155 for O/U.

If we really want to be a half way decent program why not skip the d2 or lower less power 5 guys who are all just a crap shoot. Why not pony up the money and go pay Jim tressel a ton of money and if winning is important let's stop acting like our coaches have to set some super high moral standard and go get a guy we all know can win. We all know winning pays the bills and no one else out there from what I have heard could come in here right away and win.

Out of the 120 minutes of game action so far, I have visually seen around 25-30 minutes. I have listened on the radio around 40-50 minutes. I have missed the rest. I have read in detail about the team and examine boxscores. I didn't get to watch the GW game but I know a 6-0 lead was given up quickly and GW took control of the rest of the half. Gleaning from that, the early Morgan State struggles, and tonight's 22-19 deficit to Bradley, this is a team that is still searching for a fluid identity and the more they play together, the better they will get. The first and the third games produced near knots or deficits at the 20 point mark only for UVa to cavalanche most the rest of the way. This is going to take time. Two key cogs are gone and the team has to learn who they are. The good thing is, there are some amazing parts. Even if UVa had no one else, Brogdon/Gill/Perrantes are going to get you 20 wins and to the NCAAt. The keys are how well Wilkins/Hall/Thompson/Shayok progress this year. If they can steady themselves and produce the 22 ppg and 14 rpg (rough estimates) we are missing from Atkins and Anderson's departures, we will end up being damn close to as good as last year in the end. I think UVa will win this tourney and get to 5-1. I am really looking forward to the real road test after that against Ohio State.

If UVA comes through tonight, we will have an all-Virginia final.

The UVA fan base needs a reality check. We've won more games than any other team with a roster full of 3 stars ever should. We aren't Kentucky or even Duke, we don't have a roster loaded with AAU superstars who can play iso-ball to generate instant offense. We are a team built on a system.

I don't doubt that UVA will be better now that we are genuinely recruiting high 4 star/5 star talent. But i don't expect our system to change. We will NEVER be a team that relies on individual talent. TB's system is about the sum of the parts, not the parts themselves. I firmly believe, down to the very depth of my soul that this is how UVA will win a championship.

The NCAA put up a road block for us this year. I agree with Mark Titus that it was almost exclusively designed to slow us down. I admit that I underestimated how much it would affect us. It's already slowed us down on the high hedges which was an essential component of our D. Does this mean the pack line is dead? Of course not. There's no person on planet earth who I would trust more to figure out how to adapt our D to the new rules than Tony Bennett. But as I mentioned in the game thread, its just going to simply take time. That's not a satisfying response, but its the correct response.

The UVA fan base is fundamentally infected with a sense of pessimism. For years and years and years, we were praising a 9 win football season or a 20 win bball season. I get it in football, there's a track record to support a coaching change, but the tide has turned in BBall. Are we going to win every remaining game this season? No. Not ever close. We may even lose 6-7. But I would encourage, no, I would implore the fan base to resist turning on this team and the coaching staff like you did after the GW game and just let the process play out. Tony Bennett isn't Jesus, but he's one of the best basketball coaches in America. We have a roster loaded with talent. Just give the team a chance to gel, both offensively, and defensively, and see what the results are. It's just not going to be a long season unless you have unrealistically high expectations vis a vis the new rules.

He was aggressive in looking for his shot and had a couple of nice drives to the hoop. He needs to continue this type of play all year. MS looked solid shooting the ball from deep. We need to be hitting these outside shots consistently all year to make a long run into tournament.

some of the could called tonight were horrible.
Some where never called.

I have not figured out the interpretation of the rules yet.

MS might be the better option in the starting lineup for now. Gives DT the chance to be the sixth man when we need points.

Tobey hasn't gotten much better. Still can't catch when the ball is passed to him. Don't get me wrong, there are times he plays well, but the inconsistency shows too much for a kid that is a SR now.

This freedom of movement crap is really bothering me as I see it almost being a UVA rule and other teams getting away the same crap. But of course they don't want the game to last three hours so that'll be their explanation for when we aren't seeing the calls on the other end of the floor. I really think Tony will adjust to this, but I also think on made baskets we need to pick up three-quarter court with our point guard pressuring the ball because teams are getting the ball up the court too easily and with the 30 second clock we can adjust to harass the ball a little bit better.

I'm not liking our offensive movement right now. Yes in the second half we were able to abuse the JV squad with our Hi-Low action, but this team is not attacking off of curl and flare screens the way they had in years past. That'll just have to come with timing or we need to knock down shots because teams are absolutely clogging the paint on us right now.

JR needs more time. I know it's early and we don't want to hype kids too much, but he has certain assets to his game for a freshman that are just eye-opening and he'll only get better over time.

LP played a lot better, but every commentator who does the Virginia game is absolutely correct, he has to be more than cool and take his game to an elite level for us to have any chance to be a final 4 team.

Coaching- we still have a lot of work to do as there are moments that this team is not even playing like a top 25 opponent, but it's early and the staff has proven time and time again that they will adjust to make the right moves.

Rotation if I am coaching after 2 games-

LP
MS
MB
AG
MT (his minutes need to be cut)

DT
DH
JR
EN
JS
IW

Wilkins still hasn't impressed me enough even if he did play a little better last night. I might roll the dice on JR and JS more in this tournament just to get a feel because the guys behind them who are a little older like Nolte just aren't playing well enough and those guys are bangers and give us a different dimension.

LBS will be a test. We need to come out and punch them in the mouth early.

About a half hour or so before UVa's first game of the Charleston Classic tips off. I'll have in-game updates in this thread shortly.

As always, have at it folks...

Boy am I glad we don't have to play Maryland anymore. What a bunch of punks, players and fans.

As TB said in the post-game presser, we got outplayed by GW. Let's accept that and move on. Getting outplayed by a formidable team in our first road game of the year does not mean UVa's packline will be rendered ineffective by the new rules, no player will become a consistent outside threat, or TB has lost his coaching edge.

Given we all know that outside shooting is this team's weakness (of which we have very few others), the question for the rest of season outlook should be "what other things does the team need to excel at to have a successful season if the 3 is inconsistent?" You can count on our defense--Monday was an aberration. TB and staff will adjust the guys to the new rules in time. You can count on solid production from MB, MT, AG, and LP. You can count on (marginal to substantial) growth from DT, DH, MS, IW. EN is what he is--and last year in Anderson's absence, proved he can help the team...but further growth is wishful thinking. Contribution from JR or JS is a bonus.

So--what does UVa have to excel at to be a great team this, if outside shooting remains a weakness? Great defense. Effective and regular penetration. Selfless passing. Consistent mid-range shots. High percentage low-post offense. Opportunistic offensive rebounding. Physicality and length (inherit to the team already). Mental edge. Great coaching.

Virginia has the tools for a great season. It's going to be a fun ride as fans.

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Full report:

Out

Zach Bradshaw (lower extremity)

Mark Hall (upper extremity)

Cory Jones (medical)

Divante Walker (lower extremity)

Connor Wingo-Reeves (medical)


Doubtful

None


Questionable

Richard Burney (lower extremity)

Ben Hogg (lower extremity)

LaChaston Smith (lower extremity)


Probable

None


All remaining players on the Virginia roster are available to participate. Please note the status of an injured student-athlete’s ability to participate can increase or decrease between the time this report is issued and game time.


Key:

Out = Definitely will not play

Doubtful = At least 75% chance will not play

Questionable = 50-50 chance will not play

Probable = Virtual certainty will be available for normal duty



Out for the season

Malcolm Cook – upper extremity

Ryan Doull – medical

Calvin Epps – upper extremity

Jake Fieler – lower extremity

Eric Gallon – lower extremity

Andre Levrone – low back

Michael Mooney – lower extremity

Austin Petty – lower extremity

Jahvoni Simmons – upper extremity

Eric Tetlow – lower extremity

I've watched quite a bit of cbball so far this season and I have yet to see a game that has been called so tight as ours. Anyone else watch a game so far that was called as tightly? It seems they were making a point to call fouls in our game even very questionable fouls.

Some of the articles I have read the last 24 hours after 1 loss haha! I even have Hokies talking trash to me

http://m.bleacherreport.com/article...-of-the-2015-16-ncaa-basketball-season/page/5

Do we change lineup to send message? I say no, but just out of boredom

Send LP a message-

Hall
Thompson
MB
MS
Gill


Go 4 guards and bring MT and LP off the bench

MT played good the other night, but defense was slow. LP is a little too cool for his own right now