North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Pack ?On Guard? For Virginia Tech
2/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
RALEIGH, N.C. –The secret to success in college basketball really isn't a secret at all: teams that receive consistent, productive play from their guards will almost always have an advantage over those who don't.
A perfect illustration is the Virginia Tech team that will clash with NC State (14-10, 2-7) at the RBC Center Wednesday night at 9 p.m. The backcourt combo of Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson has lifted the Hokies to an 18-4 overall record and a first half mark of 5-3 in the ACC.
Delaney, a tough, competitive 6-3 junior, leads the ACC in scoring with an average of 20.3 points per game. Against ACC competition, he's been even better, averaging 23 points per contest.
Then there's Hudson, who has emerged as one of the league most improved players. After putting up just 4.6 points per game as a role player last season, the 6-5 junior has more than quadrupled his output this season, averaging better than 13 points in 22 games.
Virginia Tech is in the ACC regular season race primarily because its guard duo has been producing night in and night out.
In fact, the top five teams in the conference right now are either getting tremendous output from both backcourt positions or feature at least one dominant guard who can control a basketball game and create plays at crunch time.
"Those are the guys out front," said NC State head coach Sidney Lowe, still the ACC's all-time leader in assist-to-turnover ratio. "They're the front line of defense and they control the game. Most of your turnovers come from out there, so if your guys don't turn it over then you're going to get opportunities. You have to get good guard play. Those guys are experienced and they're good basketball players. You talk about a guy like Delaney, he scores 30 points and 20 of those points are free throws. That's unheard of for a guard to shoot more than 20 free throws."
Delaney, in fact, was 20 of 23 from the line in Tech's win over Clemson on Saturday.
ACC leader Duke has two of the league's top four scorers in guards John Scheyer and Nolan Smith. Second place Maryland features the backcourt tandem of Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, a duo that combined to produce 42 points, 16 assists and 10-of-16 3-point shooting in Sunday's lopsided win over North Carolina.
Wake Forest is 6-3 in the standings thanks primarily to the savvy efforts of senior point Ishmael Smith, who ranks third in the ACC with an average of 5.8 assists per game. And Virginia has turned the corner at the halfway mark with a 5-3 conference record because sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg is capable of taking over a game at any given moment.
On the flip side, the teams that reside near the bottom of the conference standings right now have not benefitted from such consistency from their respective backcourts.
When NC State gets points and a solid assist-to-turnover ratio from its starting point guard, Javier Gonzelez, it tends to put itself in a position to win. Throw in good games from senior shooting guard Farnold Degand, and the Pack can be tough to beat.
The last time Gonzalez and Degand played well in the same game, the Wolfpack whipped Duke back on January 20, 88-74. In that game, Gonzalez and Degand combined for 26 points, 14 assists and just three turnovers.
In the four-game ACC losing streak that has ensued, the players occupying NC State's three perimeter positions, including small forward Scott Wood, have been shooting roughly 35 percent from the field. Other than junior center Tracy Smith, who has converted on 61 percent of his shots during the current four-game ACC slide, no one else has been able to find a comfortable groove on the offensive end of the floor.
"You don't want to tell a guy not to take a shot," Lowe said. "You want him to keep his confidence up. You just want him to concentrate on taking good shots. You can't tell your guys not to take the shots, especially if they're the guys that are your shooters."
Degand, who missed Saturday's 73-71 loss at Georgia Tech with a thigh bruise, is questionable for Wednesday's game against Virginia Tech. The senior from Boston was not able to practice on Monday.
"He did shoot free throws, but they didn't want him to go up and down the court," said Lowe. "We'll see how he feels on Tuesday. It's going to be a game day decision. We hope to have him back because, obviously, he gives us speed in the backcourt."
With Degand not available on Saturday, Lowe started Wood at the two-guard spot and inserted freshman Josh Davis into the starting line-up at small forward.
On Wednesday, he'll have to find someone who can slow down Delaney, who uses both skill and knowhow to get to the free throw line more than eight times per game.
"He's a very smart player," Lowe said. "He's talented, but smart. When you watch him play, he's got different gears. There are times when he'll speed up and get by you. There are times when he'll hesitate, then have a burst of speed. That's where he gets guys to foul him. He's just a talented, talented player."
Note: Wolfpack Sports Network coverage of Wednesday's Virginia Tech - NC State game can be heard in the Triangle area on 99.9 FM The Fan. Airtime will be 8:30. Wolfpack basketball will return to flagship station Mix 101.5 WRAL FM for Saturday's contest at North Carolina.
