#15 R.P.I. Duke vs. #66 R.P.I. Virginia Tech: 

Virginia Tech men’s basketball has gone from Bubblicious all the way to a bursting version of… Bubble, Yum?

The Hokies are Trident, Juicy Fruit, and Aqua Fresh (the one with the Orange core) all rolled into one. The Hokies must be butter… ’cause the Hokies are on an Owens Dining Hall, roll! The only question is, does this A.c.c. underdog Hokiebird gone 40-minutes removed from A.c.c. champion understudy have a VicTorious curtain call left in it? As they now draw a swansong Duke and Coach K who check-in at: 28 up against 5 down overall. That being great for: (16-4 in interleague play) or 1st-best, gold-medal and blue-ribbon atop the Atlantic Coast standings— at the moment. As the only peeps who called all of this were the 5 coaches and 13 ballers on the 2o21-2o22 Virginia Tech men’s hoops squadron! Nonetheless, what you wanna know is… who is gonna win and by how much, rights? So, read on… to finds, out!

Duke Head Coach: Michael William Krzyzewski: Age=74, 1,196–366 (.766) overall,
1,123–307 (.785) at Duke. Rep’=best, ever?
$8,982,325.oo

Fare the well final-year Touring… Coach K is pretty good, and this just in, rain is rumored to be, wet. As this is about as well preserved of seven-decade-years-old gentlemen as you will ever ever see. And his resumé is about as well-heeled as any you will ever sporting read.

Among them {sic: accolades}: Baller K Played at West Point under Bob Knight as a 5′10″ combo Pt.G/Shooting-G. He was captain of the Army basketball team in his senior season, 1968–69, leading his team to the N.I.T. as Vietnam-era West Point finished fourth in the tournament. From 1969 to 1974, Krzyzewski served in the United States Army and directed service teams for three years. In 2005 he was presented West Point’s Distinguished Graduate Award. And thank you for serving –after that Mike has not really done much of anything as a coach…

…he has only won nine, that’s (9) Gold Medals for the USofA! He has only won five, that’s (5) National Championships in men’s hoops (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015)! He has only won thirteen that’s (14) Atlantic Coast Tourneys. Among men’s college basketball coaches, only U.C.L.A.’s John Wooden, with 10, has won more NCAA Championships than Coach-K.

Coach Krzyzewski has the most wins of any coach in college basketball history. Coach-K became the first Division I men’s basketball coach to reach 1,000 wins. And is only a six-time national coach of the year and a five-time A.c.c. coach of the year; that’s all. He is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2001 for his individual coaching career and in 2010 as part of the collective induction of the “Dream Team.

Additionally… Coach-K has only won 24 (varying) Coaching Awards, he is National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame inductee (class of 1991), he was the 2011: Sports Illustrated “Sportsman of the Year”, the United States Military Academy named the “Coach Krzyzewski Teaching Character Through Sports Award for him, and he was merely inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2014 in the area of sports. That’s, it!

Coach K is back after a (family) contact-tracing close call.
St.Nikephoros bless!

And God Bless the Emily Krzyzewski Center (charity) that he and his wife (Carol “Mickie” Marsh) founded to honor his reposed mum. Daddy K and Carol have
three daughters and nine grandchildren.

Duke at a glance:

• 3rd in Assist:Turnover ratio!!! (Now: 2nd best, ⇔ move)!!!
• 6th in Scoring O!!! (Now: 8th best, ⇔ move)!!!
• 9th in Turnover Margin!!! (Freefall down to 118th!?! ⇓)
• 18th in Shooting (overall)!! (Now: 11th best, actually, improved, ⇑)!!!
• 18th fewest personal fouls “whistled” against!! (Now: 11th fewest, wow, ⇑)!!!
• 31st in Steals!! (Now: near plummeting to 161st best?!?, ⇓)
• 33rd in Swats!! (Now: 9th best in bpg, ⇑)!!!
• 47th in Free-Throwing!! (Now: dropping to 120th, surprisingly, ⇓)
• 53rd in 3-point Shooting! (Now: 25th best; dang… ⇑)!!
• (Lowest team metric is 164th in FTA’s as a counter; may not be the most physical team of all-time is what that tells yah) Still yet, this is a very complete-looking team to me; @both ends.
• NOW: ascending to a hurtful 1-n-done 24th best in Defensive-Rebounding index. You’d better not miss vs. Duke!
• NO injuries listed. (“THX” @Coach God!)

Returning Starters=3! (Pretty good fo’ them!)

Duke Strengths:

• Seems mo’ physical than b4.
• #FINISH! #MOTIVE! #ENDINGS!
• Eye wonder if they wanna send K out as an A.c.c. winner???
• 6′5″, 214 lb., third-year Wendell Moore Jr. Wendell is an S/F who now gets you a team-pacing 13.5 ppg with 5.4 rpg on 4.8 apg on 1.5 spg. This is way up from his 2o20-2o21 of: 6.9 ppg and 3.7 rpg when pitch-hitting; which is not the worst production. He is also way up from his somewhat anemic-looking 31% overall and 21% from behind the arc last year. All the way up to a nifty twine-tickling 5o.5% overall and nearly 4o.9% from behind the arc this year. Can you say: “Most Improved”? Tho’ do recall this kid was 2nd-string All-A.c.c. preseason and yah; mo’ was expected here. As this Wing struggled with turnovers last year as a super VHT (very highly touted) recruit three seasons ago. Tho’ the dutiful nod fo’ making the All-A.c.c. Academic team is rightfully bestowed. Ditto for the Two-time USA Basketball gold medalist for the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and for the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup. And for being the #1 Carolina H.S. kid who was 18th in the nation (ESPN) and only won back-to-back N.C. AAA state titles along with winning back-to-back North Carolina state finals MVP honors. So, there has to be something real here, maybe something cardiac-clutch. And Coach-K and Co. are really waiting for it to Richmond, Va. homespun Wayans Bro’ lookalike emerge. Team Captain never sucks, and neither did being named one of 11 players nationally to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Player Development Coalition. Basically, an honorary focus-group or Pride Team the NC2A brings in to ask ballers up (Top—>down) on: “how (we) doin’?” And “Mister Windell” went arrested development and shed one lb. and yet found 1″ in height this off-season. Go fig’ on dat? As he appears to have found some right-mass upstairs across his deltoids/shoulders to me. (UPDATE: ⇓ mo’ than a bit, in particular on scoring itself).
• One #5, 6′1o″, 252 lb., rookie or nugget year Paolo Banchero, and all his flexing and on-court snarling may be the next on-court BIG Duke thang. Well, for exactly every how long he suits up on a Duke court that is. As this is a next-level guy by most accounts. (Fore$hadowing intended). 16.8 ppg married to a team-leading 7.8 rpg and a decent enuff for a Four or P/F big 3.2 apg is not bad debuting work at a P5 conference D-1 celebrant program if you can get it. As this is only the #3 overall recruit from ESPN.com who was only (already) named: Preseason A.c.c. Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year! With a second-best 1.1 spg if you need ’em as well. No biggie and no pressure there, right? Nor is being the 6th MaxPreps National Player of the Year award winner in the last decade to ink with Duke. wowzo! His H.S. box score was good, per 22.6 points, 11.0 rebounds; this while also being his high school’s… Qb, 1! Wild, ain’t it? Does seem to have cooled off a bit from his Buster Poindexter “Hot! Hot! HOT!” start of late; tho’ make no misQ, this guy will obey the Associative Rule. And oh by the way(s)… did Eye mention Lindy’s: Newcomer of the Year, Most Versatile, Top N.B.A. Prospect, and Most Entertaining preseason awards, yet? (UPDATE: …not only has he improved nearly straight-across, his plural or teammate-friendly metrics have improved the most, double up’s for dats, ⇑⇑).
  

  

• Trevor Keels is a 6′5″, 221 lb., play-right-away framed/sized Off-G, by Commonwealth escapee way of:  St. Paul VI, (Va.). Seems to be finding his stroke and game again after a hiccup of sorts after his initial handful of collegiate contests. As Keels has the feels for: a third-best 12.3 ppg, with 3.8 rpg on 3.o apg with a team-best 1.4 spg. On centrist 43% overall and 32% behind the arc shooting. So, the defense is already downloaded and fully installed to boot. This is from the 20th ranked baller outta H.S. per ESPN.com. And 1st in the whole Va. H.S. landscape as well. Six, that’s (6) big-O or Magic -esque Triple Doubles his senior scholastic season speak to his versatilely fluently enough. 2020-21 MaxPreps Virginia High School Basketball Player of the Year while winning a V.H. State bling speaks highly of him. Seems to have a cooking with CH4 or explosive outburst at least wannabe look to him, and frankly he does not look soft on film. This is a determined and interesting prospect for it methinks. (UPDATE: VERY mixed guy, some went up some went down, yielding a lateral or ⇔ grade).
• Second-year, true-C and 7′, 242 lb., Va.Beach escapee Mark Oluwafemi Williams sure looks the physical/enforcing part. As this kid is really tore-up physique-wise or physically speaking. 30th ranked baller overall (ESPN) and was more parts scholastic rebounding and defense with the offense hopefully collegiately emerging. 11.1 ppg, with 7.4 rpg, a swipe, and 3 big swats all conspire to speak to this. Tho’ MOW did net 24 ppg on the high school all-star touring circuit. So, there is some measure of developing a more powerful offensive game hopefulness in play here. And who does not need size, rpg, and bpg down-low? All-ACC Academic Team for brain-factory Duke never hurt. His older sister, Elizabeth, played for Duke from 2011-15 and now plays for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream— family Genome Project ‘big poppin’ never hurt either. Nor does his put-back and dunk-a-thon 71.1% from the floor. As this kid’s development has surprised me just a scosche; and do not be surprised if he floats an overseas check-in for it. (p.s. A.c.c. S.W.A.T. Team leader at the moment spank you very much!) (UPDATE: on a percentile or Indexing basis? You can not move upwards much more than this and still play a 40-minute game. wow! ⇑⇑⇑!)

Duke Weaknesses:

• Roster turnover is massive here; yet again… as we only face one true rotational guy from what we caught from Duke at the end of last season. (and ‘yes’, I know… 337 other D-1’s would indeed like to have Duke’s Equipment Manager’s uniform issuing problems; indeed!)
• Tho this is a lotta Exodus type basketball even for a 1-n-done true Factory School such as Duke. (Only two of the Top-Nine I hit up last year are back!)
• There is only one basketball to go, around.
• This is not a highly experienced hoops club. Pretty nubile by the bye.
• Retirement Tour… distractions?

Dukie Bench: (depth=3 or four (foreshadowing intended), ‘ish.)

(Rarefied) Senior-year, 6′6″, 2o6 lb., Joey Baker (S/F), may or may not be the next B.M.O.C. (Big man on campus). Tho’ he may be the next Chrissy Laettner. Tho’ they both sure spend a lotta time cropping their lettuce (hairstyle) and motif/looks overall. With no word yet from Brian Davis. This is your other Team Captain, and 4.8 ppg with 1.3 rpg with a marksman-looking 4o.8% long is not the worst leadership-heavy substitute look. No. 33 overall prospect per 24/7 Sports may have not overachieved any. Tho’ that shooting might still merit an exported sniff. And Duke.edu up on the wall is a good look. Did I mention his hairstyling-n-profiling, yets? (UPDATE: shooting is holding on, rest has been nearly halved, plural guy, giving of himself to the rest, tho’ still down here… ⇓)

A.J. Griffin is a 6′6″, 22o lb., true-Fr. year S/F or Wing from Ossining, N.Y. Who seemed stronger than his listed metrics to me upon film study. Good looking near specimen typea kid. Only ESPN’s no.9 baller overall. And only #1 in N.Y. and likewise the #1 S/F in America itself. That’s no bad thing… neither is having a poppa-bear like: Adrian Griffin. He only balled a decade in the N.B.A. and is currently an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. That can’t hurt 1ι (one-iota). Nor can wearing a: gold medal. Which Griff’ hung with Team USA at the 2o19 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Girls still dig on, gold; rights? 6.1 ppg with 2.4 rpg on a Duke blue-ribbon 46% when dialing long-distance digs a lotta things down the next level road too. (UPDATE: And a lotta improvement since I wrote that; as A.Jay is now at: 10.1 ppg with 3.7 rpg and 1.0 apg. On a mere 48% connectivity from way downtown, ‘bang’! ⇑!!!)

6′9″, 242 lb., Theo John is a grad-transfer (Marquette or Al McGuire land) P/F. Who does indeed look the older more matriculated more physically mature part. Might not get carded in fact if you need to go buy some Friday Night Drill suds. Second-ranked Golden Eagle shot-blocker ever (198 send-backs). Though big-John plays mo’ for his D’s than fo’ his O’s. As he is even down from his Marquette metrics of midrange single digits on scoring rebounding what with marking 3.7 ppg with 2.7 rpg on 56% at Duke. Still yet… what if he gets 2 diplomas and 1 ring for this? As this is a glue-guy who does all the little things right at the expense of mistakes themselves. Theo is also a physical, intimidating sort… almost has a little ‘Zo Mourning build to his look to boot. (UPDATE: …consistent guy, only off by a few tenths cumulatively, or a flat grade of: ⇔)

With no regular Guarding in the 6 through 10 warm-up line-up, one could dare to opine that this
is a very, Forward, facing crew indeed.
(Tho’ shooting they gots).

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Dukies who could duke it out @Tech=all?

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is…

…will they let Mike Young get taken with the All Coaching Championship Award at the end of the year?

As this is one helluva a rally-cap or dorsal-fin or handful of O&M 4-leaf clovers just in time for St.Patty’s Day next week!

---

Yah; the other guy is a Hall of Famer, Eye guess?

Yah; he’s won all there is to win, Eye suppose?
And he is a short-timer here.

So, maybe that swing votes the sentimental whole shebang?

Tho’ what mo’ can Mike Young do?

💯

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a… and before we get there… I tried to only run the recent in common teams… as the overall Fourm Guide was (of course) Duke lopsided seasonally indeed. (Duke by: 38-points!). Mo’ recently, however, and since more pertinently Mike & Staff went on a flippin’ tear you ask? Well, the Forum Guide has come plum unhinged and is calling for a spectacular +19-point VicTory (BIG) Dance here! When taken pro-rata it is merely calling for a +3.166-point Tech Triumph. Tho’ I’ll take just the o.166 point win, call the whole shebang off and I won’t be giving it back, either! (WILD raised to the trippy-power; ain’t it???)

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… Duke is up a nominal looking +2% in shooting percentage margin overall (+1% better on O and again on D alike, no biggie here); then, these two championship combatants canceled each other out in 3-point percentage margin (per: VeeTee being up +2% in 3-point shooting and yet Duke was –2% allowed thriftier vs. the same), and yet Duke was up right at +4 caroms collected in rebounding margin in annual terms. (VeeTee was a reasonable+2, it is just that Duke was backboarding better at nearly +6 year-to-date).

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… Duke is now up +3% in shooting percentage margin (they are shooting very efficaciously of late, VT is shooing kind-good, tho’ defending better than Duke); and yet the F’n Gobblers are up a noticeable +6% in 3-point percentage margin of late (ALL of this was on a really starting to tighten up Techman-D, as they were only .3% apart on O; both shooting well if not great from deep), and still, the Dukies were up an okay looking +3 misses Windex Wiped in rebounding margin in the last couple of weeks. (V.P.I. is a positive +3, and yet Duke is mo’ half-full at a useful looking +6 off the fiberglass).

Armchair Pt.Guard’s:

VeeTee is a .667 Swiss; whereas Duke is 1.oo (4-nil) as a Neutral
VeeTee is (now) up +2% at the charity stripe for the year.
Duke is up +4 in R&R in about the last week.

The Call…

No.1o Net Ranking Duke vs. no.33 Net Ranking Virginia Tech:

So, in brief… here is what I latest late nite found…

• Both teams have improved of late… and this just in, rain is still rumored to be, wets.
• Coach Mikey and Company “like it” they “like it’! Tho’ Coach-K has really shuffled his team to magnify his late 2o22 strengths and to cover (if not nullify) his earlier 2o21 weaknesses. Both coaching (the verb) the asses (the noun) off of late. As the two best-coached A.c.c. teams are the only two left-standing. 3-cheers at each on dat!
• When I ran the seasonal numbers… Duke has been beaten once in the last 33-days. (U.n.c. got them by: a clean 13). And yet nobody in the A.c.c. has mo’ wins than VeeTee does since late Janurary overall!
• i.e., these are surely the hawtest 2 A.c.c. teams, period!

–oOo–

the closer...

Right now? At this wee-hours ante meridiem moment?

Yah; the head says pick Duke. Better. Deeper. LOT to departing Coach-K play for, rights?
(And yet this just in… the 3o4 rain tonite you ask?)
(…it be turning, white, yo’!)

So, (bleep-it)!!!

I’ma gonna pick with the Hokie-Heart for the 1st-time maybe ever?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

As we were only down 4 at the half @Duke last time out.

Then we were up 8-points after that decently into the 2nd-half itself!

Meaning… Duke is NOT beyond our reach— and with an A+++ they are prolly within our, grasp!

Tho’ do be R.A.T.T. awares… 165-minutes in 4-days/nites time is a tall tall ask. Coach Mike has to use his TO’s for pure R&R. And prolly give a foul or three to stop the clock.
He has also gotta downshift and decelerate this game overall.

And in all candor Eye woulda rated the less coachable pure athletes of U.n.c. a worse match-up. That squarely struck… Duke has put up not less than 8o-points per game since 23rd February 2o22 A.D. Meaning: we won’t be winning a track meet or Formula-1 sprint with Duke here. They throttle up on us? And our odds to win go way way down.

We just gotttttttttttta stay close, stay within proverbial ‘contact’ and then let the highly favored noose-knot tighten around the Dukie’s neck(s) and hang them out to dry.

We do that early?

We (somehow) abscond with this one, late!

🦃 >>> 🏀 >>> K

(44% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=77, Duke=76

please support the VT F.C.A.!

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**