By Andy Demetra
Josh Pastner looks at Virginia Tech with a combination of envy and dread.
The Hokies (13-1, 2-0 ACC), Georgia Tech’s opponent Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion, lead the nation in three-point percentage (44.1 percent). The Hokies rain down threes ruthlessly, an accuracy that has propelled them to a top-10 national ranking, the fifth-best offensive efficiency rating in the country, and their best start in 36 years.
“They just shoot the daylights out of it,” Pastner said.
Pastner, though, has long believed that his team can be one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country. That accuracy hasn’t quite materialized yet – Georgia Tech (9-5, 1-0 ACC) is only hitting on 30 percent of its three-point attempts, last in the ACC – so getting into a three-point contest with the Hokies may be a fool’s errand.
Yet after shooting 55.8 percent in a 92-79 win over Wake Forest, efficiency – and another dose of the Jackets’ switching, stifling defense – could help Tech spring the upset against one of the nation’s most dynamic offensive teams. Pre-tip reads before Georgia Tech returns to a raucous McCamish Pavilion (7:30 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network):
**
So how does Virginia Tech set up its three-point looks? Expect a lot of ball screens and dribble-and-kicks from a balanced, position-less lineup. Senior Justin Robinson (13.3 ppg, ACC-leading 6.0 apg), whom Pastner calls “one of the best point guards in America,” is a quick, cagey competitor who reads screens well and has a strong left hand. If defenses get sucked in, he can pitch it to marksmen like Ahmed Hill (46.8 pct. 3pt.), Ty Outlaw (51.2 pct. 3pt.), Wabissa Bede (44.8 pct.) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (47.2 pct.). Virginia Tech leads the nation in spot-up efficiency, according to Synergy, for that reason.
Pay close attention to Alexander-Walker, a Canadian sophomore who has shot into the first round of several NBA mock drafts. A cousin of Los Angeles Clippers rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alexander-Walker is a versatile, inside-out player with the ability to manufacture shots off the dribble. Down low, 6-10 Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14.1 ppg) can make teams pay for rotations.
Among the keys for Georgia Tech: avoid over-helping; make “multiple effort” plays in the halfcourt; identify Virginia Tech’s shooters in transition; and close out high and hard on skips and kickout passes. Tech’s spirits can’t sag if the Hokies make some contested threes. At 44 percent from beyond the arc, it’s inevitable they will.