I haven't been able to re-find a good link for it, but if any of you remember the Sacha Killeya-Jones video where he dropped 30 points/10 rebounds on L.C. Bird, you might remember that L.C. Bird's defense was non-existent in that video. I wasn't surprised by Kenny's decision since he should feel very comfortable playing for a team where defense is not a pre-requisite for playing time. We know that Bennett is very honest with his recruits and UVA has back-to-back 30 win seasons because of its defense. Tony didn't go small with 3 smaller guards this season for any significant length of time because that becomes a major liability for the pack-line defense. And if anybody thinks that Tony might change this philosophy and sacrifice a little bit of defense for some needed shooting, I would suggest you look to the hiring of Brad Soderberg as evidence that the pack-line defense will continue to remain the priority. So, KW was looking at competing for time at 2 spots on the floor (the 1 and the 2) with: Next year: Brogdon, Perrantes, Hall, Thompson, and occasionally Shayok at the 2; his second year: Perrantes, Hall, Thompson, occasionally Shayok, Guy, and Jerome; his third year: Hall, Thompson, occasionally Shayok, Guy, Jerome, and whoever else we bring in (Matt Coleman?). Given that guys that play defense are the ones that see more playing time with Tony, it should have been clear to KW that the competition for PT was going to be very tough and his strength is on the offensive side of the ball. In reality, UNC is probably a better fit for KW. Our strongest need right now position-wise is at the 3 with someone that has guard skills but the length of Justin or Marial to be able to close-out on the opposition's 3 on defense and help inside as well. Meanwhile, players improve under Tony and every year someone has taken a major step-up in their game, so I think we'll be just fine next year. And I for one don't want Tony to change one bit about his defensive philosophy - it works! I can't wait next year when he'll be able to substitute during a game with a lineup of Thompson, Brogdon, Shayok, Gill/Wilkins, and Tobey. Talk about scoring droughts for the opposition! Good luck to our opponents trying to score against that lineup with a new 30-second shot clock.
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