Hokie ClubThe Virginia Tech men's basketball team lost two tough ones this past week to Clemson and at Boston College. Here are some of coach Seth Greenberg’s comments following the ACC teleconference on Monday morning:
On his plans for the upcoming week:
“We’re going to take the first two days of the week and work on us. We’ll get a lot of shooting in, work on timing, work on execution and work on technique. We’ve slipped a little on our closeouts and we’ve slipped a little on our blockouts, and we’ve slipped in our ball screen defense. It’ll be very short – maybe an hour or an hour and 15 minutes – because it’s a long week. We need to improve our post defense, especially against N.C. State because they run their offense through [Ben] McCauley.
“I’ve been disappointed in our ball-screen defense the past two games and we’ve got to be tougher in our blockouts. Let’s face it, we’re a blockout away from having a great road win at Boston College.
“Those are the main areas and keeping our guys focused on the present. When you play in the ACC, you’re going to have some hiccups. The only way to deal with it is to stay in the present and not let the hiccup snowball. And it can easily snowball in this conference. Let’s get past it, let’s stay in the present and let’s move forward.â€
On Tech’s struggles with N.C. State:
“It’s that damn, red jacket, I’m telling you. I can’t guard that red jacket. Nah, they have good players and teams that have good players are going to give you problems. We’ve had good games with them. The team with McCauley and [Engin] Atsur, the team that Herb [Sendek] left, that was a really good team. They still have McCauley and [Brandon] Costner and Fells, and they play with great spacing. They’re efficient and they get good shots every time.
“We won four in a row against Boston College and lost the other day. What comes around goes around. It’s a new game. The last four don’t have anything to do with the upcoming game. It’s important because it’s the next game and we have a chance to be 5-3 in the league. If someone had told me we’d be 5-3 at the halfway point, I’d take it. That’s pretty good in this league. We’ve got a chance to be plus 1 and that’s why this game is so important.â€
On why is it tough to hold on to a lead:
“There is no quit in any team in this conference. The teams are so talented and can get it going. Then you get a little self-doubt. A 3, a turnover and another 3, and all of the sudden, a 12-point lead is a six-point lead. That can happen in a minute. You’ve got good enough players and competitive players that it has happen. This is a talented experienced, mature league that has competitive coaches and players who never give up. Teams find a way to get back in the game.â€
On needing another scorer:
“We need a fourth scorer. There’s no doubt about it. The more people we have contributing, the better off we are. We’d love to have someone step up and be more consistent and be that guy. We’d love to have a fourth and fifth scorer. I think we have some guys who can do that. We’ve got to get it consistent. The teams that have a fourth and fifth guy consistently contributing are the teams that have separated themselves.â€