Tech Talk Live Notes for January 27, 2014

Kurt Kanaskie

If you came to practice on Monday, you wouldn’t guess Tech was on a losing streak.  The enthusiasm and hard work is there.  The players haven’t stopped working for one second.  BC is the only thing on their minds.

It’s tough to gameplan sometimes because they have so many guys banged up that they aren’t sure who is going to be available going into each game.  That has hurt them in the first half in some of their games.  They have been able to make good halftime adjustments.

UVA is 6-1 in the ACC.  They have had a 20 point lead in the second half in all six of their ACC wins.  They are playing very good basketball right now.  They are committed to what they are doing defensively.  The players have bought in.  The Pitt-UVA game should be fun to watch.

Devin Wilson’s shooting has improved a lot.  In the past he has always split time between football and basketball, and now that he’s doing basketball full-time, he’s developing a lot.  He always guards the opposing team’s best backcourt player.  He guarded Joe Harris on Saturday.

Jarell Eddie puts too much pressure on himself.  He gets down in the dumps when he misses a shot.  The greatest shooters in the world don’t care if they miss.  They forget about it quickly.  He needs to do little things like make his teammates better, get some offensive rebounds and stick backs, and make it easier on himself.

Ben Emelogu practiced on Monday.  He’s not close to being 100%.  His loss has been felt.  Adam Smith won’t play in the forseeable future.  He has a stress fracture.  C.J. Barksdale is banged up and didn’t practice on Monday, and they don’t know whether he’ll be able to play at BC.

When Kanaskie played, you couldn’t put hands on players and restrict movement.  They are trying to change that with the new hand checking rules this year.

Boston College is the most experienced in the ACC.  They have had a difficult season, but they have had a very tough schedule.  They have a lot of shooters and they will stretch your defense.  Ryan Anderson is really good inside.  They are tough to defend.

The Hokies have to get some stops against BC and get out in transition.  Tech can beat BC up and down the court.  In the halfcourt, they have to be patient and find some looks inside.  Shot selection will be critical.

This year might be the last time Maryland visits Cassell Coliseum, unless it’s in some future ACC-Big Ten Challenge game.

Joey van Zegeren is a really hard worker who has come a long way.  He’s a great student.  He’s improved his scoring ability and his mobility.

Patrick Mason

Tech started baseball practice on Friday.  It’s not exactly baseball weather, but they do have a nice indoor hitting facility now.

Opening day is February 14.  That’s the first allowable gameday.

Mason has been into head coach mode since September with practice plannings, etc.  The real thing starts in a couple of weeks though.

Mark Zagunis has been a two-year starter for Tech.  He’s on most preseason All-American lists.  Sean Kaselica and Brad Markey are back and looking for a spot in the rotation.  Can Tanner McIntyre come back from his injury?  He has a 10-0 record at Tech, though it’s mostly out of the bullpen.  He’s a r-senior.

Tech lost a lot of good players off last year’s team, and there isn’t as much name recognition this year.  However, they do have six guys coming back who made starts in NCAA Regionals.  Mason feels like Tech is primed to do a good job at the plate.

Tech has a different name on the recruiting market right now thanks to playing on a national stage last year.

Mason is looking forward to Baseball Night in Blacksburg.  Bull ‘n Bones will cater the event, and Chuck Hartman will be there.  All the information can be found on HokieSports.com.

Monday was Day 3,349 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of The Commonwealth Cup.

4 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Thanks for the write-up. I was most interested in the TTL show for a 30 second hello from the new Coach, but he probably has many other things to take of than stopping by the BnB.

Comments are closed.