Tech Talk Live Notes for December 7, 2015

Buzz Williams

It’s difficult to have balance in anything, whether it’s in your daily life or coaching. Sometimes Buzz has to slow himself down and make sure the kids understand what they need to understand to execute the gameplan. Sometimes he thinks he might put too much on them, and he has to step back and make sure he doesn’t. How much do they focus on the opponent, and how much do they focus on their own team? Good teams can do both, but Tech isn’t a good team yet.

There were a ton of fouls called in the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game. Tech doesn’t have a good assist-to-turnover ratio, but they are improved at dribble to pass ration. They want to have as many passes as dribbles. Eventually that will translate to more assists and fewer turnovers.

Tech wants to score in transition. Their transition is going to come from what they do defensively. They have to improve defensively to improve in transition.

Everything Tech does should be geared to winning on the road and winning after Valentine’s Day. They haven’t won a road game yet since Buzz got to Tech. The best defensive teams will win on the road and win after Valentine’s Day.

The biggest key to winning on the road is being the toughest team. People define toughness in different ways. Tech hasn’t even been the toughest team at home on a consistent basis. At some point in the growth of the program, they have to get tough enough to win on the road. They want their culture to include being the toughest team, regardless of where they are playing and who they are playing.

Jalen Hudson is the most talented player on the team. Buzz adores who he is. He hasn’t been the most sane coach to him…he is pretty tough on soft players. However, Hudson is starting to get it. His best game of his career was against Arkansas-Pine Bluff because he played well on both ends of the court. He had the best practice of his career on Monday.

Justin Bibbs need to rebound better and get to the free throw line more.

Tech isn’t consistent enough yet. Who is going to defend tonight? Who is going to protect the ball tonight? Who is going to get to the free throw line tonight? Nobody is providing consistent answers to questions like that yet.

The best teams are coached by players. Tech isn’t there yet, and they shouldn’t be there. Except for Devin Wilson, most of this roster is starting their second year or first year at Virginia Tech. He is pushing them hard because he believes in them. If he didn’t believe in them, he wouldn’t have recruited them.

Radford will be very excited to play Tech. They start four seniors and a r-sophomore. They won at Georgetown and Penn State. The Hokies will have to be at their absolute best to have a chance. It’s a great opportunity for their athletic department and basketball program to host an ACC team.

Mike Jones has done a great job at Radford. They are sound on both ends of the floor, and they have a distinct style of play. They have built their program to win long-term. It’s sustainable.

Tech would like Satchel Pierce to be an important piece. He’s a great kid, and he’s skilled. They would like him to be more than he’s been so far. Buzz would like for him to be consistent. When his motor is running, he can do some things, but he has to start doing that every day.

Michael Brewer

It’s hard to believe that his career is almost over. He never thought he would end up in Blacksburg, but he’s happy with the way it worked out. He can’t thank Coach Beamer enough for the opportunity. He’s excited to get Beamer one more win in his last game.

Brewer is banged up, so he’s glad to have some time off. He had a bit of a foot injury against UNC, but he’s starting to feel better.

Brewer is savoring the last few practices with his teammates. At the time, he was afraid his injury against Ohio State would be the last play of his career.

Shreveport is about 20 minutes from the Texas border. There will be a lot of Brewers at the Independence Bowl. One of his best friends from high school plays wide receiver for Tulsa.

UVA presented some matchup problems for Tech, but the Hokies never got frustrated and stuck to their plan. They were eventually able to hit some shots downfield, and the UVA defensive line got tired and couldn’t rush the passer as effectively.

Not only is Brewer is almost done with college football, but he’s also very close to being done with school. He’ll graduate with a Master’s Degree in December.

The end of the UVA game was special. To win in dramatic fashion and then seeing how happy Coach Beamer was was really special.

Brewer definitely thought there were more Virginia Tech fans in Charlottesville than UVA fans.

The team has a tremendous amount of respect for Frank Beamer. He has a great legacy, and everyone realizes how much he means for the University.

Brewer doesn’t know what direction he’s going in. He’ll go back to Texas after the bowl game and figure things out. A lot of people are telling him that he needs to coach. He’ll think about that. Who knows? Maybe he’ll end up back in Blacksburg one day.

Brewer has talked to Justin Fuente briefly. He hasn’t sat down and talked to him in detail. They want to sit down and get to know each other and talk some football.

Brewer has talked to a lot of the players about coaching changes. Since high school, he’s had to learn four new systems. Tech needs to be more consistent, and they need more depth. Injuries have hurt them. It will take some time to get that depth back through recruiting.

Dwayne Lawson is a very talented young player. He can run, and he can push the ball down the field. He’s one of the best talents Brewer has seen in a long time. He can’t be a freshman anymore, and Brewer is sure Coach Fuente will make sure that he’s not.

Isaiah Ford has a great work ethic. Brewer has never seen a receiver work harder than Ford. He and Ford spent countless hours together in the indoor facility over the summer, and the maintenance people weren’t very happy with them.

Brewer is ready to air it out in his last game, but they’ll evaluate the film and come up with the right gameplan.

Brewer will probably miss running out of the tunnel in Lane Stadium more than anything else at Virginia Tech. He’s played in a lot of places in the Big 12 and the ACC, and there’s nothing like Lane Stadium.

Virginia Tech has held the Commonwealth Cup for 4027 days. #Hokies

— Commonwealth Cup (@CommonwlthCup) December 7, 2015