THE SETUP:
It is time to put your pigskins away and pick up your… hmm… synthetic leather, I guess.? It is time for another season of Hokie basketball!? The season tips off this Sunday at the Cassell against brown?in a Preliminary Round Game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic!??If you were to ever call a game a “tune-up game”, this is it.? On Sunday the Hokies will entertain the brown bears, and in all likelihood take them behind the woodshed and administer a Shawne Merriman on Tila Tequila type beating.? brown finished last place in the Ivy League last season, going 3-11 in conference and 9-19 overall.
You may be asking, “Niemo, what is the Philly Hoop Group Classic?”? Good question – I have no idea.? Apparently the teams play zero, one, or two ‘Preliminary Round Games’, then play one or two ‘Championship Round Games’.? There are seven schools participating: brown, delaware, siena, st. john’s (can the Hokies ever play in something that doesn’t include the red storm?), temple, Virginia Tech, and my personal favorite – university of the sciences in philadelphia (insert Revenge of the Nerds Tri-Lambda joke here).? I’m not sure yet, but I believe the champion is decided on using an elaborate system of duct tape and ball bearings.? According to the president of The Hoop Group, this event features a Top 25 team.? I’m still trying to figure out who that is since none of these teams are ranked (siena is close, but not ranked, and VT doesn’t play them).
THE opponent:
Update: brown won their opener on Friday night against st. francis (New York) by a score of 68-64.? Not surprisingly, Mullery, Peter Sullivan, and Williams scored in double digits but the surprise was freshman?Jean Herbert-Harris who led the team with 18 points off the bench.
brown is, in four words: young and not good.? They are about what you would expect from an Ivy League school since they cannot give out athletic scholarships -?not athletic, not very big, and hopefully smart for their own sake because these guys won’t be playing in the NBA.? brown has just two upperclassmen – both juniors.? Their roster also includes six sophomores and six freshman.?? The bears finished in the bottom half of the Ivy League in almost every statistical category last year.??The only one they weren’t in the bottom?half of was assists, and they lost their top two assist men.? ?They were rock bottom in steals, and therefore were poor in turnover margin.? Plus, they give up a very high percentage on threes and field goals in general.? Not a very good combination.? brown is decent on the defensive glass, though that will be tested against the bigger, more athletic Hokies.
The good news is they do return their top three scorers from last season: Matt Mullery (16.1), Peter Sullivan (14.3), and Adrian Williams (11.0).? They scored approximately two-thirds of the bears’ points last year.? Mullery is by far this best player.? He can score and averaged over two blocks per game last year inside.? He is thick enough to battle Jeff Allen in the paint.
SIX PACK OF THINGS TO WATCH FOR:
- Will the Hokies play more up tempo?? They say every year they will, do for a while, and then get back to a half court style.? This team can run and pressure up the court.
- What freshmen will play and how much?? I expect to see a lot of minutes for Erick Green, who should be an improvement in perimeter defense.? Ben Boggs should see some time at shooting guard or wing, but I doubt he’ll see much time.? Not sure if they’ll use Manny Atkins much, but if they do, he’ll be at the wing.? Gene Swindle (redshirted last year) will likely get a chance to show what he can do while fellow freshman Cadarian Raines is out injured, but I think Raines will take over Swindle’s minutes once he returns.
- Who will replace Vassallo to compliment Allen and Delaney?? Luckily, on defense, a scarecrow would probably be an improvement.? But on offense, it will be interesting to see who fills his shoes.? Dorenzo Hudson really needs to step up his game and he showed flashes last year.? J.T. Thompson scored almost all his points in the paint last year, we shall see if he’s improved his game facing the basket and can hit jumpers.? Terrell Bell needs to shoot a lot better.? And then there are?the freshmen.? None of them are lights-out scorers, so I’m not sure how much they’ll contribute.
- Who will hit the three?? We know Delaney can.? It will be interesting to see who else can.? Allen has apparently been working more on this aspect of his game and he shot well from the outside early last year before focusing more inside.? Hudson, again, is the key here.? And can Erick Green hit open threes when defenders leave to double Allen or Delaney?? This will help free things up for others.
- Post presence: who will it be?? Allen is a known quantity.? But Witcher has not lived up to his potential to date.? Victor Davila showed flashes on offense last year and is a decent rebounder, but was not a strong defender.?? Swindle is tall, but will he just get pushed around inside?? Is he quick enough?? If no one steps up, J.T. Thompson will have to move inside again which is not ideal since he is just 6’6″.
- Back to basics: Greenberg hung his hat on tough defense in his early years.? But the last few years the Hokies have not been a great defensive team.? The drop-off after losing Dowdell and Gordon on the perimeter, who both finished in the top five all time in steals, was huge.? Not only did they get a lot of steals, they also got their hands on a lot of passes which made it difficult for opponents to set up their offense or feed it inside.? But Delaney and Hudson have not proven to be lock-down defenders on the perimeter, and VT’s interior defense was very poor last year – allowing teams to set up in the paint and receive the ball for easy buckets.? Tech must make strides in this area to get back to the Big Dance and it all starts Sunday.
Finally, and you’ll see this in every preview, the Hokies must win.? It seems so simple and easy in this game, but every year Tech loses to a marshall or a directional michigan or a georgia or some other team that should have been an easy win.? Tech must go at least 12-2 out of conference.? They have a weak schedule and need to rack up wins before the ACC slate to help get them to the Big Dance.? And since there’s the possibility Allen and/or Delaney could bolt for the NBA after this year, this is the year to do it.
STATS:
| 2008-09 Numbers | brown | Virginia Tech |
| W-L | 9-19 | 19-15 |
| Conference | Ivy | ACC |
| Conf Record | 3-11 | 7-9 |
| Place | 8th (last) | t-7th |
| PPG | 61.1 | 72.6 |
| Pts Against | 67.8 | 70.7 |
| FG % | 43% | 44% |
| 3-Pt % | 32% | 34% |
| FT % | 66% | 72% |
| Leading Returning? | ? | ? |
| Scorer | Mullery – 16.1 | Delaney – 18.1 |
| Rebounder | Mullery – 6.5 | Allen – 8.4 |
| Assists | Mullery – 2.0 | Delaney – 4.5 |
| Steals | Williams – 1.0 | Allen – 1.8 |
| Blocks | Mullery – 2.1 | Allen – 1.3 |
?
PROJECTED STARTERS:
| Position | brown | Virginia Tech |
| Guard | 11 Williams – 6’1″ | 23 Delaney – 6’3″ |
| Guard | 14 M. Sullivan?- 6’6″ | 5 Hudson – 6’5″ |
| Forward | 25 P. Sullivan – 6’5″ | 33 Thompson – 6’6″ |
| Forward | 1 Taylor – 6’8″ | 0 Allen – 6’7″ |
| Forward | 45 Mullery – 6’8″ | 21 Witcher – 6’9″ |
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BORING FACTS ABOUT brown:
Notable alums:
- Ted Turner
- JFK, Jr.
- John Krasinski (Jim from The Office)
- Lisa Loeb
- Chris Berman
- John Heisman (yes, of the Heisman Trophy)
- Joe Paterno
- Wallace Wade (whom duke’s football stadium is named for)
- Scout Willis is currently attending brown, daughter of Demi and Bruce
Other boring facts:
- Ranked #1 for America’s Happiest College Students by Princeton Review
- Undergraduates: 5,900
- Postgraduates: 2,100
- Endowment is over $2 billion
- Located in Providence, RI
- Founded in 1764
- 7th oldest college in the US
- Private school
- Named for the Brown family thanks to a gift bestowed by Nicholas Brown, Jr.
- Colors: seal brown, cardinal red, and white
The school’s original mascot was a burro, but they did away with that ass after it would get frightened at football games (yes, they had a live donkey at games).? This led to them becoming the bears.? And yes, they used to have a live bear at the games – first Helen, then a series of Brunos.? This lasted until the 1960s when they went with a student in costume.
They have 37 sports teams but have won nothing of any significance that I can tell.
Popularity: 19% [?]
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Before Sunday’s game, what are your thoughts on the new ideas for this year’s student section?
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/14657/generals-of-the-cassell-guard-storm-the-coliseum
The only commenter at this time is generally negative, but I like the idea. I feel that we as students are generally pretty loud, but the only cheer you’ll ever hear is “let’s go hokies”. I think in ACC games the intensity is much greater, but I’m hopeful that we can get rowdy before semester break as well.
What do you guys think about how the student section can improve?
I have disliked some of the past stuff (tie-dyed shirts… um, stolen from wake forest and was lame there) but I like this stuff. I like the idea of having select students to lead things. I know when I was at VT, the ticket guys always gave me the best seats because they knew I went to every game and would be into the game and get the crowd going. I like rewarding the best fans, and in turn, they will get other fans going. The cheer sheet actually did make me laugh, I’m not sure if the rest of the crowd will get into it, but we’ll see. “Sit down” has been a long standing favorite though we did it every time someone went to the bench (and added “you suck” which the Athletic Dept made us stop… why do they spend so much time worrying about things like that and “stick it in”?). As for improving, the key is getting people there. When the Cassell is packed and loud, it is very hard to beat us. The key is getting students to show. If they are there, they will be loud. So every student just needs to encourage their buddies to go, even if it isn’t an ACC game. I loved every game and who cares if it is brown or unc-g-spot? It is a 15 minute walk/drive. Get there.