North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Virginia Tech
1/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 @ Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA (9,847)
TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Fox Sports South
OPPONENT— Virginia Tech is one of the most experienced teams in the ACC and is playing like it. On Sunday, the Hokies’ veteran guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon were matched against Georgia Tech’s youthful backcourt. Experience won as the No. 24 ranked Hokies earned a 73-65 road victory.
Virginia Tech used defensive pressure from Dowdell to disrupt Javaris Crittenton. The Yellow Jackets freshman point guard responded by shooting more and distributing less which led to sluggish ball movement and missed shots. The Hokies also did a good job defending the perimeter while making shot opportunities hard to come by inside.
Crittendon and Mouhammad Faye, the Jackets other starting guard, combined for 29 points but only 5 assists. The pair shot a combined 12-of-32 from the field with Crittenton 5-of-19. Meanwhile Dowdell and Gordon totaled 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting and accounted for 15 of the Hokies 19 assists.
Georgia Tech never led after Faye’s basket in the first minute of the game. Virginia Tech's biggest lead was only 10 points, coming on Coleman Collins' dunk with 17:43 remaining, but the Hokies never allowed the Yellow Jackets (13-7, 2-5) to pull any closer than three after Crittenton hit a 3-pointer 2:24 later.
The Hokies experience also overcame a lineup change. A.D Vassallo, replaced Deron Washington in the starting five and responded with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Washington came off the bench as punishment for an academic discrepancy and finished with 7 points in 28 minutes.
Crittenton wasn’t the only Georgia Tech player to struggle. Freshman forward Thaddeus Young finished with a season-low six points on 2-for-10 shooting while Ra’Sean Dickey went scoreless. The veteran 6-10 center was 0-for-3 shooting in 19 minutes. In all, Georgia Tech missed 17 shots in the paint, including 12 layups in losing its third straight game.
Anthony Morrow had 18 points to lead the Yellow Jackets, who began the game with the ACC's best field-goal percentage at 50.6 but finished with a season-worst 36.6.
The Hokies, who shot 59 percent for the game, have won three straight and six of their last eight.
In addition to having one of the most experienced teams in the ACC, Virginia Tech is extremely athletic, skilled and deep. Last season, the Hokies had trouble scoring at times, but that’s not the case anymore. In ACC games, Virginia Tech is No.3 in scoring (75.9), No. 2 in field goal percentage (.489) and 3-point percentage (.392).
For his performance in road wins over Miami and Georgia Tech, Dowdell, earned the ACC Player of the Week award for the second time in three weeks, Dowdell averaged 26.5 points, 6.5 assists and 3.0 steals in the two games.
Dowdell, who is one of the best one-on-one players in the league, is third in the ACC versus league opponents in scoring (21.7), sixth in assists (4.1) and leads the league in steals (3.4). He’s scored 20 points or more in 7 of his last 10 games and is averaging 21.5 points during that stretch. The senior has made 22 of his last 33 field goal attempts (.667).
Gordon, the team’s No. 2 scorer and a very well rounded, versatile player, ranks No. 3 in the conference in assists (4.3) and is fourth in steals (2.0). He’s struggled somewhat offensively in his last four games, shooting 11-of 32 from the field (.343) while averaging only 8.6 points. However, Gordon has been a steady rebounder (5.5) and distributor (5.3 assists) during that span.
Vassallo and Dowdell are the Hokies top long-range threats and account for 58 percent of the team’s 3-point shots. Vassallo, who is shooting 59 percent from bonusphere in league games, leads the team in 3-point field goals (40), attempts (89) and percentage (.449). Dowdell shoots nearly 42 percent from the arc.
The Hokies defensive effort has also improved. Against league opponents, Virginia Tech is fourth best in field goal percentage defense (.427), and No.3 against the 3-point shot (.310) while holding ACC foes to 73 points a game. Dowdell and Gordon are tremendous on-ball defenders while Collins, Washington and Cheick Diakite are solid defenders and have better than average shot blocking ability inside.
Virginia Tech is not a dominant rebounding team, but can usually hold its own on the boards. On the offensive glass, both the Hokies and NC State have had their problems getting second shots. Free throw shooting is also a weakness at times (.663).
Thanks to its outstanding guards, Virginia Tech leads the ACC in conference games in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.15-to-1) and is No. 2 in turnover margin. No team in the ACC has done a better job taking care of the ball this season than Virginia Tech. The Hokies average only 12 turnovers a game.
Depth is a big plus, too. In most games, Virginia Tech uses a 10-man rotation with nine of those players averaging 12 or more minutes a game.
Virginia Tech is 10-0 (3-0 ACC) at home this season. NC State has won the last two meetings, including a 70-64 win last season in Blacksburg.
PROBABLE VIRGINIA TECH STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
01 Zabian Dowdell G 6'2 Sr. 18.3 3.2 3.7
22 Jamon Gordon G 6’3 Sr. 11.7 4.5 4.5
21 Lewis Witcher F 6’9 Fr. 3.6 3.0 0.5*
13 Deron Washington F 6'7 Jr. 11.1 5.0 1.8
33 Coleman Collins C/F 6’9 Sr. 8.5 5.3 1.2*
TOP RESERVES:
40 A.D. Vassallo F 6’6 So. 11.4 4.0 --
24 Markus Sailes G 6'5 Sr. 1.8 1.5 1.4
03 Nigel Munson G 6'0 Fr. 3.7 1.0 1.4
34 Cheick Diakite F 6'8 So. 3.2 3.0 1.2*
A WIN--Would be State’s first this season over a team ranked in the nation’s top-25. The victory would break a Wolfpack two game losing streak and improve State to 12-8 overall and 2-5 in the ACC. The Pack would win for the second straight year in Blacksburg and beat the Hokies for the third straight time in the series. State’s victory would end a 3-game Virginia Tech winning streak and drop the Hokies to 16-6 overall and 6-2 in the ACC. The Wolfpack would become the first visiting team this season to win at Cassell Coliseum. The teams meet again in Raleigh on February 18th.
A LOSS--Would be the third straight for NC State-- its longest losing streak of the season. The Wolfpack would drop to 11-9 overall and 1-6 in the ACC. It would mark State’s worst ACC start since the 1996-97 when the Wolfpack opened 0-7 and finished 4-12 in the league. The Pack would drop to 1-4 on the road and snap a two game winning streak over Virginia Tech in the series. The Hokies would win their fourth straight game overall and improve to 17-5 and 7-1 in the ACC. Virginia Tech would remain in first place in the ACC and stay unbeaten at home this season at 11-0. The Pack will try for a series split when the two teams meet again in Raleigh on February 18.
WANTED: MORE DEFENSE –The Wolfpack is still looking for a complete 40-minute defensive effort this season. State’s last 6 opponents have averaged 79.7 points (478) and shot .422 from the arc (57-135).
A DIFFERENCE MAKER—Guard Engin Atsur is the Wolfpack’s only senior starter and its only point guard. The native of Istanbul, Turkey, was off to a great start this season when a pulled hamstring muscle against Michigan on November 27th knocked him out of action for 9 straight games. When he returned on Jan. 6 against Boston College, Atsur dished out a career-high 10 assists. Unfortunately, he reinjured the muscle on Jan. 7th and missed three consecutive games before returning against Virginia on January 24th. Without Atsur in the lineup, State is 6-6 (1-3 ACC).
ATSUR =FEWER TURNVOERS – When Engin Atsur has been out of the lineup, State’s ball handling has suffered. In 4 ACC games without Atsur running the offense, opponents scored 65 points off 66 NC State turnovers. In 2 ACC games with Atsur active, State committed only 22 turnovers that led to 15 points.
GRANT BACK AT NO. 2 GUARD –Junior Gavin Grant was forced into a difficult spot when Engin Atsur was injured. The slashing shooting guard was forced to play the point and it was a tough transition, especially against higher-level competition. Dispite playing out of position for most of the season, Grant leads the team in assists (85) and is its No.3 scorer (15.9) and rebounder (5.2) while leading the team in minutes played (36.6). The junior played every minute of six games this season. After 3 straight games scoring 20 or more points, Grant has struggled offensively, averaging only 7.5 points in his last two outings while shooting a combined 4-16 from the field and 1-6 from the arc.
BOARD BATTLE-- Rebounding has been a challenge for the Wolfpack this season. The Pack has won or tied the rebounding battle with its opponents 8 times this season and has a 6-2 record to show for it. When the Pack has lost the rebounding battle, State is 5-5.
A-C-C-LEADER--Redshirt freshman Brandon Costner is the ACC’s top freshman scorer and rebounder. That’s quite an improvement from last season which was cut short by injury after playing in only five games. The former Parade and McDonalds High School All-American leads the Pack in scoring (16.7) and rebounding (7.8) while shooting .475 from the field. He leads State with 31 three-point field goals (31-88).
3-POINT DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING –Those two areas have been issues for the young Wolfpack. In 6 ACC games, opponents are 57-124 from the three-point arc (.459) while outrebounding State 232-175 overall and 84-46 on the offensive glass.
BIG BEN --The most improved player on the NC State team is Ben McCauley. He’s the team’s No.2 scorer (15.9), leads the Pack in shooting (.581) and is tied for the team lead in steals (1.3) while running second in rebounding (6.6) and total assists (70). That’s quite a step up for a guy who saw very little playing time a year ago. The sophomore center averaged 5.5 minutes in 13 ACC games last season.
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE--State is once again a good free throw shooting team. The Pack is shooting .717 from the foul line (281-392). Last season, the Wolfpack shot .751 from the stripe.
RED HOT HORNER –Dennis Horner can shoot and his numbers reflect that. In his last 4 games, Horner has made 11-of-15 field goal attempts, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. The freshman forward recorded a career-high 14 points against then-unbeaten Clemson on Jan. 9th.
BOMBS AWAY? --State no longer relies as much on three-point shooting as in past seasons, but that does not mean the Wolfpack can’t shoot 3-pointers. In its last 5 games, State is shooting .402 from 3-point range (29-72). Under Sidney Lowe, the Pack is an inside-out team. Only 32 percent of State’s shots come from the arc compared to 46 percent last season.
CAN I HELP YOU? --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 59 percent of its field goals (295-497) this season. The Pack had 23 assists on 29 field goals in its loss to Alabama on 12/20/06.
