Another top 5 moment
Can never cheer for UNC
I guess its a lesser of two evils question. For me, UNC has been punished enough this year. Too bad they could take down Duke. But at least we can celebrate UNC finishing last in the ACC.
Did they drop bellow Pitt with the loss?
Pitt is 13 UNC is 14 and in our bracket for what would be their game 4 after beating Louisville lol
Yes. They are dead last.
Only thing that would make it better is with Duke next to last.
Welli couldnāt have happened to a better group
Sweet pic man! Nice hoody, I ordered the same one!
This tweet by Braxton aged well.
`Good first day with the squad today.. gonna surprise a lot of people this yearšā³ #GoHoos
ā braxton key (@btwice_11) August 28, 2019
Tyās tweet from November. Straight facts
Highlight of my weekend Big B. thats awesome
same my man. we were big in there
this Legend beat me 3 times in ping pong at the Kardinal afterwards. and told me I was better than him. hahah
I like how even in our weakest season in at least a few years and we still went 1-1 against Louisville when they were good.
And swept Duke and Carolina.
Final regular season write-up. What a long strange trip it has been, and Saturdayās game was no exception. This yearās team may go down as my favorite team to hate watch. Absolutely love the effort and the heart the teams shows day in and day out. Absolutely hate watching them play at times, itās not pretty basketball. Itās nerve wracking, dealing with the 2-3 point games. This team has certainly aged me, but Iāve also grown to love certain players who will forever hold a place in my heart.
When I think of players Iāve grown to love Kihei Clark is at the top of that list with a bullet. Iāve said it before in these write-ups but it needs to be said again, the growth heās shown since his first year, hell the growth heās shown since December is amazing. Iāve never seen a player grow their game so much in just a few months. Never thought Iād say this but Kihei may go down as one of the greatest PGās in UVa history when itās all said and done. Saturday Kihei controlled the game for the Hoos with 18-5-5. The dagger he hit with a few seconds left in the game lifts him into Ty Jerome lore with his fearlessness to take a big shot in a big moment. His defense was my favorite part of the game. It looked like Kihei was picking up the Louisville guards with 3/4 court pressure throughout most of the game. This is something he did a lot last season but has not been able to do as often this year. The added pressure disrupted the Louisville offense causing them to start their offense behind schedule and it definitely disrupted their PGs. For my money Kihei is a first team All-ACC defender and a definite honorable mention or 3rd team All-ACC player.
Mamadi Diakite is Mr. Consistent. Itās funny writing that considering that in early January, I questioned if he made the right decision coming back for his senior year. Since that time, he has cleaned up his play and the Hoos have benefited. During the win-streak Mamadi is averaging just bellow 15 pts and 7 boards a game. More impressively his turnovers are down to 1.5 a game during that stretch. Mamadi is learning to channel his passion and energy and he is leading the Hoos. I loved the edge he came out with on Saturday. Louisville was physical with him and he stood up and fought back. Showing that edge along with some big dunks early set a tone for the rest of the game.
I was concerned that it appears Woldetensae has entered another shooting slump. He was held to 3 points going 1-5 from deep on the day. That marks 3 consecutive games where he has been held virtually scoreless. If the Hoos want to make a run, Wolde needs to get going again. Iād love to see them run some more actions to spring him. Iām not sure Iāve seen an elevator screen all season for him.
Jay Huff brought the energy early and feasted off some solid looks from Kihei. I was most impressed with his ability to get to the line attempting 5 FTs and connecting on 4. Huff has the potential to be a wrecking ball down low, he needs to commit to it though.
Louisville went with a small lineup for much of the game which limited the Hoos rotation. Only 7 players logged minutes. Stattmann and Morsell got on the court for decent minutes. Iāve noticed that being a trend when teams play Virginia a lot of them are going small and forcing the Hoos to play small ball. While the team is certainly capable of playing that style, itās not how this version of the team is built for success. The Hoos small ball lineup is a very short rotation. CTB has traditionally played a short rotation come tournament time, but Iād feel more comfortable if there was more flexibility available with the lineups. Right now it looks like the Cavs have their starting rotation and thatās about it. If thatās the case it makes it difficult if their backs are against the wall and they need to shake things up.
I canāt finish this write-up without shouting out Braxton Key. Saturday was the epitome of a Braxton performance. He was everywhere and left his fingerprints all over the game. He was tasked with chasing Jordan Nwora for much of the game. And for about 30 minutes he held him in check. Nwora finished with 18 when he started to get hot late in the second half, but for the majority of the game he frustrated and slowed the POY candidate. Key wonāt go down as an all-time great, he wonāt get post season honors at any level but the impact he made on the Hoos cannot be overstated. He has been the glue for two seasons doing all the scrappy dirty work that allows the team to click, especially on the defensive end. You can find scorers, you can make passers, but you cannot teach effort and heart. Braxton plays with both at a level that is not often seen.
23-7, thatās an impressive number. Time to wipe it clean and enter the postseason.
Another great write up by The Dragon. Have enjoyed these all year man and almost always agree with every part. Watching the team and coaches figure it out this year has been lotta fun for basketball purists. score 90 points a game and play til the buzzer then look up and see who won seems to be way many teams play now. Personally prefer to stack up the wins through the season. Hope we make good post season run
The Dragon has saved his best for last. I agree with every point he made. Great description of the team and the individual players. I get frustrated at times but Coach Bennett has done his best coaching job so far and we seen every player grow this year. Go Hoos