Buzz Williams
It’s a delicate balance of allowing the team to celebrate and helping them figure out what needs to happen next. Buzz generally tries to find something from the past to connect to the future. The best way to teach is to tell stories, and that’s what he does with the team.
Williams was worn out after the game last night. It isn’t hard on him physically, but it is emotionally. It takes a long time to calm down and gear down.
It’s too shallow of an answer to say that Tech did a great job of preparing for the UVA game since the NC State game. It was all about what they’ve been doing since this group first got together and how they carry themselves on a day to day basis.
In the basketball facility, everybody who is a part of the program has their name on a Hokie Stone. They are the foundation of the program.
It says a lot about Tech’s players that they were able to weather the UVA storm early in the second half. UVA does a great job of taking advantage of the opponent’s lack of discipline, and the Hokies stayed disciplined. They didn’t completely unravel when UVA went on their big run.
Buzz maybe should have used a timeout during that big run, but teams have one fewer timeout this year, so you have to be cognizant that you might need that timeout later in the game.
Buzz was texting with Jon Gruden about the VT-UVA game on Tuesday. He watched the game earlier in the day.
Seth Allen is playing point guard right now. He’s their leading turnover machine, and the Hokies moved him into the point guard role, which might not make a lot of sense.. Despite that, Tech has had two fantastic games when it comes to turnovers. He’s played well.
Tech needs to get better tomorrow. By then, what happened on Monday night was an eternity to go. Any elite competitor can easily put nights like Monday behind them and move on to the next thing. It’s a great start. It’s two wins. But it won’t matter if they can’t build on it.
Buzz is expecting to be compared to Curly from the Three Stooges when he visits Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Duke is playing four guards with Amile Jefferson out. They cause plenty of matchup problems with their talent and how they spread the floor. You have to keep them off the free throw line. Grayson Allen is playing at an incredibly high level. Tech will be fighting an uphill battle.
Tech has won two home games, but they have to some ground to make up. You shouldn’t lose to Alabama State. Good teams win on the road, so they need to start winning some road games.
Coach K will go down as the greatest coach in the history of college basketball. Nobody will come close to what he’s been able to do. Staying at one place for as long as Coach K has just doesn’t happen anymore. There won’t be anybody else that will be able to have his resume.
Buzz is 0-2 against Coach K. He lost by five points to the Kyrie Irving team, and then lost a close one in Cassell last year.
The team had Tuesday off. They’ll lift on Wednesday and do individual workouts. It’s rare in ACC play to get so much time off between games.
Kevin Dresser
Tech took more time off this year than they’ve ever taken off. They competed in Las Vegas on December 5, and they didn’t compete again until January 3. It was a different approach this year. They gave the team 8.5 days off in the month of the December.
Tech has eight guys ranked in the top 20. They are still fighting injuries, and they hope to get everybody back healthy in the next few weeks.
Tech has two events coming up at the Moss Arts Center on January 15 and 16. They wrestle Northern Iowa on the 15th and UNC on the 16th. It should be a great environment. It has an MMA feel to it.
Tech has finished in the top 10 for three straight years. You have to be surrounded by a lot of good people. It takes a lot of good people to make a championship program. But this program isn’t at the top yet, so they’ve still got work to do.
Tech’s final home match will be on January 29th in Cassell Coliseum against West Virginia.
Virginia Tech has held the Commonwealth Cup for 4056 days. #Hokies
— Commonwealth Cup (@CommonwlthCup) January 5, 2016
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