It's time for Q&A from Twitter.
@universityball how do you play football
— RMJ=H (@rmj_equals_hero) September 23, 2015
I’m not sure. I’m a Virginia blogger. What I do know is that you’re not supposed to commit penalties (those are bad), drop the ball (that’s bad, too), allow your opponent to run and/or pass for a lot of yards (yep, bad) or do the same thing over and over again on offense, expecting a different result (that’s bandied about as a definition of insanity, actually: bad). Also, there are 11 players allowed on the field, and while Virginia is attempting to further their reputation as a research hotbed by attempting to play with as few as 9 or 10 and as many as 12 or 13, that is also considered bad.
Our neighbors to the Southwest think they’ve got it down, but recent history disagrees. Maybe try asking someone from the SEC — I’m sure they’ll be eager to tell you.
@universityball what 2016 basketball recruit do you think will contribute first?
— Cavalier Blue (@CavalierBlue) September 23, 2015
The 2016-2017 ‘Hoos, barring attrition or injury, will be wild. They’ll be without the services of Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, and Evan Nolte, but bring on a class that includes Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, Jay Huff, and DeAndre Hunter and welcome ’16 redshirts Austin Nichols and Mamadi Diakite. They probably won’t be better than the ’15-’16 version, but watching them grow up and into a cohesive unit feels like it’ll be a blast and maddening at the same time… much like raising a toddler, which runs the gamut between unbridled joy and unsurpassed frustration.
Spitballing CTB’s 2017 rotation: London Perrantes will continue to eat minutes at the point, with Darius Thompson (and maybe the perennially underappreciated Devon Hall) in reserve. That’ll cut down on the impact provided by Ty Jerome, who I see focusing on the point in college. Marial Shayok is good for one wing spot (and I’m excited to see how his complete game fills out by the time he’s an upperclassman), which will limit Hunter (who should play the three). Up front, Nichols and Isaiah Wilkins will dominate minutes as starters, and Jack Salt, Jarred Reuter, and Diakite will all have an experience advantage over Huff in the hunt for time off of the bench.
That leaves the second wing spot, where the incumbent candidates (Thompson and I suppose Hall, who I don’t see taking off here) are many things, but are not prolific perimeter threats (at least, in October of 2015). Generating space is important, so assuming he’s not a complete trainwreck on defense, Kyle Guy will get a lot of time right off the bat. Guy can fill it up off the bounce and spotting up, and offers a skill set not duplicated by anyone on the 2017 team.
The short version: Kyle Guy is the 2016 recruit most likely to make an immediate impact, but we all know that the real answer will be whomever masters the principles of the Pack Line first, because you don’t see the floor without doing so. Ask Tristan Spurlock how much difference your recruiting ranking makes.
@universityball Salt or Reuter gonna get any PT ?
— RickytheHoo (@RickytheHoo) September 24, 2015
@universityball I know he probably won’t get a ton of minutes but I’m really excited to see what Jack Salt can do this year. Your thoughts?
— Ryan Adam (@ryanadam24) September 22, 2015
First, Ryan Adam: I know you probably get this as much as Ryan Adams gets Bryan Adams, but thank you for a.) taking 1989 seriously, and b.) for actually releasing it and not filing it away underneath some pinball machines in the basement of PAX-AM with every other unreleased record you’ve recorded. It rules. I have made the slow progression from an embarrassed fan of Taylor Swift’s 1989 (I drove across Charlottesville to buy the vinyl from a different store than my usual) to a proud one (the songs rule, let’s fight about it), and hearing Adams (who has always been a favorite of mine — Love is Hell rules) interpret it was a lot of fun. I hope he tours.
Now, to Salt and Reuter. The short answer: don’t expect too much from either of them this season.
Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, and Isaiah Wilkins are the big dogs up front, and they will be fed often and early. Evan Nolte will probably also moonlight some as a stretch four in some lineups (I don’t hate pairing him with say, Shayok), and that takes more minutes off of the table. CTB doesn’t like to go more than nine deep in games that matter, and London, Brogdon, Nolte, Gill, Tobey, Wilkins, Shayok, and Thompson have spots one through eight secured. That leaves room for a fourth big, but Devon Hall and his nifty passing and heady floor game will also want in, so maybe Nolte just counts as the fourth big and Devon plays. I think we’ll see Devon and Salt (who will have an edge on Reuter from the year he spent getting swoll with Mike Curtis and studying the Pack Line) platooning in the ninth spot depending on matchup and need, with Reuter seeing spot minutes to get his feet wet.
Big men take more time to develop — especially when jumping up a level of competition, or when they didn’t grow tall until late — so I would advise patience with both Jack and Jarred (who I would mention as a redshirt candidate if we didn’t have so many players beginning their eligibility next year). Salt and Reuter will make some stickbacks, set some tough screens, and commit some fouls (“laying the wood,” as Jason Williford called it) when needed, but there are just too many guys ahead of them for either to play a heavy role in 2016.
@universityball Does UVA “need” the one and done 5* players to win national championships or are the 4 year players CTB recruits sufficient?
— Chris Fender (@CavaHoos2014) September 23, 2015
I think the players CTB recruits will be capable of winning a national championship. In fact, I’d be beating that drum this offseason if Justin Anderson had decided not to go west, and I honestly thought that the 2013-2014 team had as good of a chance as anyone to win it all. As the level of talent coming in increases, the odds of Virginia hanging a banner will increase along with it.
The idea that one and dones are necessary to win titles is John Calipari propaganda. Lousville won the NCAA Tournament in 2013 with a senior, three juniors, and a sophomore in the starting lineup. Connecticut won it in 2014 (beating Kentucky in the final) with three seniors and two juniors playing the most minutes. The Wisconsin team that beat the unbeatable Kentucky team last spring started two seniors, a junior, and two sophomores. I think very talented experience generally beats wildly talented inexperience. It doesn’t mean that inexperience can’t triumph — I just think the advantage has become overstated.
The bigger question, at least from what I’ve seen on Twitter, is if our style of play is conducive to winning a title. I don’t think there’s an answer yet. No team that has won the tournament in the last five years has finished the season averaging within four possessions of our average pace, but CTB has said he’s willing to play more of an uptempo game if he thinks it would suit the roster.
Also, I think the pace issue is overblown. If CTB landed the perfect storm of a team that made it through a season healthy playing bulldog defense and developed a scorer willing and able to get a basket in an emergency (think Malcolm against UNC in the ACC Tournament), I think we could win one on our terms.
Thanks for your questions.
