I think itās fair to hypothesize that VTās recent surge is due in part to their young role players getting minutes throughout the season. However, their schedule has to be part of the equation too. I think theyāve played 6 of 8 games at home and no opponent in their winning streak is a top 70 team in Kenpom.
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Like, Reece (!!) is a dpoty candidate and he got schooled in the post, too, which is one of the main reasons we lost the Wake game. (Tbf, Williams is probably a POTY candidateā¦
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So Kihei may be a terrible defender if playing the 4? And maybe Kody and Malachi too?
And oh yeah Igor is terrible defending the 5 where he kept getting garbage time minutes???
and how did he perform in the other half of the game (you know when the other team has the ball)? I dont mean to say hes not power 5 capable (I should have been more precise, Ill adjust my claim to rotation guy on a top half ACC team), I wish he were playing more too, but I do think its a fantasy that he would be a net positive guy in even medium ACC minutes based on 74 (!) minutes two months ago. Theres a prove disprove issue here. He is not currently a contributor to a p5 team and presumably has access to a reasonable opportunity (just has to outplay Kody Stattman) to be one, that aint zero evidence. Either Tony canāt see that Taine is better, or maybe, just maybe, Taine isnt better at the moment.
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I also love guys who talk about guys ability on defense as if this were lacrosse or football . Itās about the net effect on the game in both ends.
And itās about the net team effect on both ends.
And Iāll be honest - I donāt like Poindexter playing over Taine but his net effect when playing 100% of the 8 minutes that Clark was out was a +8. Clark was a -17. Thatās kinda what happens when Reece aināt forced to play with an undersized non shooting lineup
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He canāt outplay Stattmann if he doesnāt play at all. Time after time CTB has gone with more reliable players with lower upside. In some seasons, where earning a high seed is plausible and very beneficial for a tournament run, that makes sense. But we arenāt doing that this year. In the end we are going to look back on this year as very wasted if we donāt make the tournament.
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Also, Taine did a pretty bad job guarding Casey, too, in the last time he get extended (any?) minutes. The most Tony-charitable interpretation is that Taine is (1) bad at defending ACC guards (in practice, I assume), (2) not the net positive on offense we assume from limited game minutes, because his shot isnāt consistent enough, (3) not that good at defending ACC 4ās, and (4) is loose with the ball.
Sixth pillar - forget all the pillars, kids. Be loose with the ball, and youāll be a pillar on the bench.
Anyone else reading Intangible? Iām too much of a pessimistic cynical skeptic to really embrace it, but it does have some interesting infoā¦
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man he plays against him everyday in practice. you realize you only see a small fraction of the output these guys are generating correct?
Then lord have mercy because that would mean that the 2020 class is yet another colossal miss
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thats a great point! poindexter plays because heās not a negative on the defensive side and is neutral (takes care of the ball) on offense, taine can only play defensively against certain matchups and you have not presented convincing evidence that over a reasonable sample his offense would outweigh how negative he would be in the wrong matchups. I guess if assisted baskets get to count double, maybe it would work because those spot up threes against Iowa would be worth 6 pts!
give him another year or two, if we get to have him that much longer (that is the big issue).
I kinda but not wholeheartedly like reading these posts. Things will get better with UVA Basketball. No microwaving anything with Coach TB, thatās what Iām wholeheartedly about. Even if itās a year from now, still no microwaving success and no cheat codes.
Loose with the ball?? Thatās so funny I was literally guffawing. The top 3 guys in lowest turnover % rate are Igor, Franklin, and Taine. And the only reason Franklins rate is so low is that his airball s donāt count as turnovers or else heād be close to worst on the team.
Murray has 4 turnovers in 130 minutes.
Igor has 3 turnovers in 97 minutes.
Because heās not allowed to play guard
To be clear here, Iād personally have preferred seeing more Taine minutes and seeing them at what seems to be his natural position (SG or SF), but Iām trying to give the rationale in good faith hereā¦
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And Poindexterās turnover % is worse than everyoneās except Clark and Caffaro.
Malachi have 2 in 96 minutes
And leads the team in hot potato touches. He literally never tries to make a play.
Edit -
Might lead the Acc in passes right back to the guy who passes to him
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Hav makes a great point about stats showing if you donāt play meaningful minutes in your 1st year, you are unlikely to ever play meaningful minutes (absent a red shirt). The new reality has essentially taken away the red shirt unless the kid and coach specifically agree on the year of development.
Part of the equation though is that kids on the bench as first years, when we have been loaded at 1 - 7, have, to be charitable, not exactly been All-ACC material, mostly because it has been really difficult to recruit at a high level when you know you will be buried on the bench for a year or two. Maybe Taine and Igor will be the exceptions (kids who didnāt technically red shirt, but in reality did). āPatience Grasshopperā is a tough sell.
One other point, I honestly believe that CTB believes his job is to win every game and to finish at the top every season. Next season will take care of next season in his mind and he sets his lineups and coaches accordingly in the here and now. We can disagree with that approach and, with what by UVa standards is a āmediocreā season, wish for him to take a longer view and give us, the fans, something this year for next year. If thatās CTBās biggest flaw (along with loyalty to upperclassmen), then Iāll live with it (notice, I did NOT say I like it), because as Dragon has pointed out, I truly believe the next 4-5 years are going to be amazing. I worry about a 2nd natty (ha - not really), but the time will come much sooner than we are ready for when Tony moves on to the next phase of his life.
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All Poindexter does on offense is pass back to Clark or Beekman. I could be not a net negative on offense if that was my only job, especially if the other team doesnāt guard me since they know Thats my only job. (Not withstanding the fact that my man not guarding me makes everyone elseās job that much harder).
Someone who would present at least a plausible enough threat to do something on offense that they required someone to actually defend them could be a net positive to the offense as a whole even if they turned the ball over occasionally.
I have no idea if thereās a stat that could capture that impact. I donāt think opponents defensive efficiency when Iām on the floor vs not would be that accurate, but maybe thatās the one.