Tech Talk Live Notes: Nahiem Alleyne And Mike Young

Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech guard Nahiem Alleyne joined the Tech Talk Live group on Thursday. (ACC photography pool)

Virginia Tech guard Nahiem Alleyne and head coach Mike Young were Thursday night’s guests.

Nahiem Alleyne

On his family introducing him at home games…

That’s a great experience. I love seeing that intro. I was a little teary-eyed. I was kind of mad that my brother wasn’t in it, but I feel like I have the best intro.

On his ten-year old brother…

He’s a big boy, a big, physical guy and he wants to play football. I’m going to support him either way, but I told him when he grows to 6’5”, he’s going to be on that court.

On his work in the weight room…

David Jackson helped me a lot during the summer. I was like 185, but introducing me to him helped me put on 15 pounds, which definitely helps me on the court.

On the sophomore class’s progression this year…

It definitely helped out a lot to get all of that experience. We definitely have the mental game now and know how college basketball is now. We were working overtime in the offseason, and everybody has been working. Now, we have more experience, and that’s been great for us.

On what he worked on in the offseason…

The little things: footwork, making consistent jump shots, but ultimately, I just wanted to stay confident. That’s the big thing with everybody. If you don’t have confidence, you don’t perform well.

On bouncing back from the loss to Pittsburgh…

Obviously, we reflected on the loss today. Bumps and bruises happen along the way, but we have to continue to keep fighting and get better every single day. We’ll keep getting ready for the next one.

On shooting slumps…

When I’m in the zone, the basket just gets bigger and bigger. When you’re in a slump, you just can’t lose confidence. You have to do the same routine, and I just try to stick on that every single day.

On his academics…

It’s been going really well all thanks to Alise [Svihla]. She’s been working hard with us on our classes in study hall to make sure all of our assignments are done on time. I think I’ve been doing really well in the classroom. I’m just staying the course.

On his future goals…

My ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA, but after that, I’d like to be a coach or a therapist.

On his attacking mentality on the court…

It’s just all confidence. You have to stay confident in yourself because if you lost that, you lose yourself. I just try to attack every single day, and every single man that steps in front of me.

On his growing leadership role…

I’m still quiet to this day, but I try to be as vocal as I can be. I just try to tell the young guys that this is college basketball, and you have to step up to the plate every single day.

On his near double-double against Notre Dame…

I just want to give a big shoutout to Wabissa Bede for stealing my rebound. Me and Justyn [Mutts] had the game plan with about two minutes left. Justyn and I were around the free throw line talking and he said, ‘You’re about to go get this rebound.’ I guess Wabissa didn’t get the message. He stole it from me and I was so sick. Then, Coach subbed me out. I was definitely aware of where I was.

On Tyrece Radford…

We definitely miss Boots, but we all have to step up to the plate. We all have to collectively do his part now, rebounding and that hustle part for us.

Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young talked about playing yet another ACC road game. (Matt Gentry, ACC Pool)

Mike Young

On Nahiem Alleyne…

I’ve seen it so many times throughout my career where a guy like Nahiem, who is so smart, but is quiet and has a hard time making eye contact with you. Late in that freshman year, they turn and start to get one eye on you and then they continue to grow and come into their own as people. You see them communicate effectively and organize thoughts. That’s what college is all about.

That’s what it did for us, and he’s done exceptionally well here academically, and he’s a fantastic basketball player. He’s just a great man. His parents down there in Atlanta are just the finest people that you’ll ever come across. There’s a reason kids come out and turn out the way Nahiem has. He had a great upbringing.

On the highs and lows of the last week…

We were great on Saturday. Really just a great ballgame, and I thought we were great in the first half when we were down 29-21. We had really good shots, I thought the ball moved, and I thought we were very good defensively. Then, we got the same shots in the second half and we made them. We continued to guard in the second half and limit UVA to under 40% shooting. I think we outrebounded them too.

I was nervous about loading it up and turning around to face a Pittsburgh team with a different style. I warned the team about the hangover after a big win. That next one out is a trap. It was none of that. Our team was fired up and ready to go, but we didn’t play very well. Pittsburgh did play pretty good basketball. They outplayed us and they won the game. It’s as simple as that.

On the absence of Tyrece Radford last night…

We missed his toughness and his work on the glass. That’s one of those games where he’ll have nine rebounds and 15 points. He can get into the teeth of it and get you an easy bucket in transition. He would’ve been a better matchup on Toney, maybe not Johnson, but he would have been a better matchup. That matchup enhances some of the other matchups.

On the offense’s struggles…

I thought we had good shots, but we didn’t shoot the ball very well last night. I hate to squander 47 points from our front line. Aluma was exceptional, and Justyn Mutts was really good. Mutts’ work on Champagnie, an all-league player, to limit him to ten points, Justyn did a really nice job taking away his catch-and-shoot from three. He made him work for everything he’s got. I think Champagnie leads our league in rebounding, and he did have 13, but that’s not on Justyn because many of those were on the defensive end. Just a tough night on that end of the floor, and I thought it affected us defensively. That bothered me to allow 83 points last night.

On Justyn Mutts…

I say this with the utmost respect, he’s really good. I’m so happy that he’s here, and he’s added a great deal to our basketball program. He’s in graduate school here and doing very well academically. I think he tried to recreate himself early on, but over the last two or three weeks, he has gotten back to who he really is. He’s a hard-nosed, rebounding, great defender that scores around the basket. He’s doing a nice job in that area.

He had a really nice week defensively. I thought he did a nice job on Sam Hauser who can light you up for 20. Then, Champagnie is the leading scorer and rebounder in the ACC, which is really hard to do. I think it’s safe to say that Justyn Mutts outplayed him last night. 

On keeping the team level-headed…

It’s just part of it. It’s a long year. When you head out there on the road, I don’t care what you’re playing, it’s hard and you have to play your best ball. We didn’t last night. We don’t get too high or too low, we have to keep it in the middle of the road and learn.

We wiped the slate clean. We watched film this afternoon, cleaned up what we needed to clean up, erase the board and move onto Miami. I think that’s the way it has to be. If you get in that hole and get all flustered about what happened last night, you can’t let that effect Saturday. In a season when you’re typically playing 35 games, you have to move on to the next one. The next one is Miami, who won their last one against Duke and outplayed Duke. I watched that game today. That’s what athletics calls for and that’s a part of coaching.

On having to play five of six on the road…

In the Southern Conference, they probably stuck my rear end out there nine straight times. That’s what the schedule dictates, so you roll your sleeves up and go figure it out. Everybody has a tough stretch. That’s hard with five of six, that’s less than ideal, but let’s go play.

On make-up games…

I talked to Paul Brazeau (Senior Associate Commissioner for ACC Men’s Basketball Operations) today about a couple of things today. We lost the Florida State home game which was Tuesday of next week. Clemson’s open date is next week, so that doesn’t fit because we’re only scheduled to play them once this year. The only way we would have a midweek game next week is if something happens this weekend. If somebody has to pause and there’s another team scrambling for a game and we have the opportunity to fit that in.

I don’t know anything about a make-up date for Florida State or Boston College at home or UVA on the road. We’re not going to make up all of those games because we don’t have the spots. Do we make up one or two of them? We don’t have the answer, and I don’t know if the ACC office has the answer to that just yet. We are going to play the ACC Tournament; I do know that.

On team’s leaving Wabissa Bede wide open…

I thought he took a couple of shots that I was not comfortable with, but we’re going to ride with him. He rose up in front of me the other night and hit a huge shot against UVA. There is an opportunity for him to swing it quickly and go ball screen. If his guy is going to back off of him and make it more difficult for Mutts and Aluma, go ball screen. There’s no hedge, and if there is a hedge, that guy is on his horse trying to get to the level ball. That’s less than ideal for the defense. He brings too much to the table in terms of defense and leadership and taking care of the ball. He’s been a big part of it since I got here, and he’ll remain a big part of it.

On Miami…

Wong is still capable of scoring 25 or 30 and giving you tons of problems, and I think the Stony Brook transfer has finally come into his own, Elijah Olaniyi. He’s playing pretty good basketball for them. Walker is a really athletic kid that didn’t play a lot here, but is playing more now. McGusty is back, he didn’t play in game one, but he’s a talented scorer.

There’s not as much defensively, it’s man-to-man. These guys don’t have a great record, but they beat NC State on the road and beat Duke and Louisville. I just watched that Louisville game and it wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Miami played harder and guarded Louisville well. We’re going to have to play a good ballgame.

On Isaiah Wong and Kameron McGusty…

It’s hard to shrink the floor as much with McGusty out there. In the first game, we really wanted the two outside defenders with their feet on the elbow when Wong was at the top of the key. We wanted to make it hard for him to drive it. Our ball screen defense was good, but will have to be better on Saturday. We’ll rebound well enough. They’re a capable, talented rebounding team, but I think we’ll be fine there. Let’s get down there and play hard, guard them well, put the ball in the basket and get out of there with a win.

On defending the Hurricanes…

Bede will take the lion’s share of the responsibility with Wong. He’s the straw that stirs it. Man, he’s just a gifted scorer. He’s better off of the bounce from 15 and in, but he can make a shot. I think his three-point percentage in the last five games is good. He had the ball at the end of that first meeting, and he just scares me to death every time he touches the ball. That thing did everything but go in the basket. We did enough defensively to get the miss and that was that.

We’re not going to alter a whole lot on how we defended them last time. They seem to go at Brooks a little early in both halves. Needless to say, we’re going to try and keep Aluma out of foul trouble. I think they’re trying to go right at him to get a foul on him. There are a lot of things going into it, but we’ll be ready to go.

On Joe Bamisile…

He’s practiced better and he’s becoming more comfortable defensively. He’s a really talented offensive guy, but so many times, the strides that have to be made defensively aren’t easy. The schemes are different. You have to play so darn hard, and so many things are on their plate. Sometimes, with that much on their plate as young people, their feet slow down, and they don’t get to where they need to. He is practicing well, and he is passionate about it. He and Maddox are both going to be really good players around here, as is David N’Guessan. Just stay the course and hang in there.

On Darius Maddox and David N’Guessan…

It’s probably the way the thing is supposed to go. You see a glimmer of sunlight and development in their game and then, like a bug on the windshield, you go splat. If you hang in there and continue to play hard and immerse yourself in the scouting report, there will be another uptick as we head into the latter portion of the schedule. We need for those guys to continue to come along. 

4 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Coach does not sound too confident about winning at Miami.. We can’t “play scared” must attack The U.. too bad Boots won’t be with us and Miami is better than Pitt.. GO HOKIES!!!

    1. I didn’t read anything that CMY indicated that would make one think he’s not confident about winning tomorrow at UM! CMY is always above board and confident and tells it like it is!

  2. David gets it as a freshman forward…very pleasant surprise. Next season after strength training and diet maximization he’s. Going to take a quantum leap forward.

    1. Agreed. Considering what his doing so far, he will become a force to be reckoned with after putting on some muscle.

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