Lance Terry has made 50 percent of his three-point shots in Tech’s wins this season. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Virginia Tech is a study in contrasts.
The Hokies were ranked 21st in the AP poll in mid-December.
They also sputtered to a 1-7 start in the ACC.
They have wins over Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.
They also didn’t collect a road win until Saturday, when they fended off Notre Dame 93-87.
Even sixth-year senior Justyn Mutts acknowledged, “We haven’t been playing to our abilities.” Despite a not-insurmountable NET ranking of 57, the Hokies may have to repeat as ACC Tournament champions if they want to earn a sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance
Record aside, Virginia Tech still ranks an impressive 25th nationally in offensive efficiency. Grant Basile (16.3 ppg), a 6-9 transfer from Wright State, comes to McCamish having scored 33 points in back-to-back games. At 235 pounds he leverages defenders well, but he also has more range than his predecessor, All-ACC center Keve Aluma, hitting 44 percent of his three-point tries over his last four games).
Virginia Tech still runs a voluminous amount of halfcourt sets, all based on misdirection and “gamesmanship” according to Pastner. One of their favorite plays is a “Zoom” action, where a shooting guard comes around a pindown screen, then takes a handoff from the “5” man on the wing. Not only does it tax the guard who’s chasing around the pindown, teams can run all sorts of slips, counters and throwbacks out of that action. Virginia Tech uses Basile both as the pindown screener and in the handoff of their Zoom sets.
Head coach Mike Young surrounds Basile with polished shooters like sophomore Sean Pedulla (15.6 ppg) and senior Hunter Cattoor (10.6 ppg), both of whom move well and make the heady, “hockey assist” passes that can lead to open looks. The 6-7 Mutts (13.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 4.7 apg) is the ACC’s ultimate Swiss Army knife, a preseason second-team All-ACC forward who’s a terrific passer and post-up threat.
Among the keys for Tech Wednesday: Stay alert, make multiple effort plays, and avoid overhelping on Virginia Tech’s endless actions. Their zone defense has also bothered the Hokies in recent seasons. Can those mixing defenses throw off Virginia Tech’s precision and timing?
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As a high school senior, Basile earned first-team all-state honors in Wisconsin while playing for his Dad, the head coach.
As a high school senior, Georgia Tech assistant Julian Swartz earned first-team all-state honors in Wisconsin while playing for his Dad, an assistant coach.
Basile and Swartz grew up 10 minutes apart from each other. Basile hails from Pewaukee, Wis. (hometown of the Watt brothers), while Swartz is a native of Waukesha. Swartz may have bragging rights, though – not only did he earn all-state honors his senior year, he won Wisconsin state player of the year.
Sean Pedulla, meanwhile, hails from Edmond, Okla., making the “ACC point guard from Oklahoma” comparisons to Mark Price inevitable.
Pedulla is averaging 15.6 points per game as a sophomore.
Price’s scoring average his sophomore year at Tech?
Also 15.6 points per game.
