#3o5 R.P.I. Maryland–Eastern Shore @ #113 R.P.I. Virginia Tech: 

Virginia Tech men’s basketball returns to the post-Christmas court for a homesteading run vs. a not very offensive Maryland Eastern Shore Hawk team Sunday evening down in the unusually warm New River Valley.

The Hokies have been getting by since they got back from Hawaii. Although admittedly, some games have gotten by a bit better an some a bit lessor than others since we have gotten back home on the mainland. As our offense has been capped and the basically cannot make a “2” with a pencil Hawks prolly ain’t gonna up the scoring ante much at all come Sunday night. Still yet, you wanna know who is gonna win and by how much, right? So read on; to find… out!

Maryland-Eastern Shore Head Coach: Jason Crafton: age=37, 48–12o (.303) overall, at M.E.S.U. Has a rep’ for: well, not for much of anything Holiday Cheer wise a this has been one tough row to hoe.

$156,000.oo (base) with C.O.L.A. due this year; and another $35k in incentives that he is a long long way removed from ¢laiming at the moment.

Baller Crafton played college basketball at Nyack College, where he was named team captain his junior and senior seasons. (Nyack is a Christian Seminary school in the Big Apple; Godspeed!)

After graduation, rookie videographer Crafton joined Jay Wright’s staff at Villanova as a video coordinator for two seasons until 2005. The lowercase whistle Crafton accepted an assistant coaching position at Navy where he’d serve under fellow former Villanova staffer Billy Lange as well as a season under Ed DeChellis.

Coach Crafton would return to Nyack to become the school’s head men’s basketball coach where from 2012–2018 he compiled a 47-108 record before accepting an assistant coaching position with the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. Coach Crafton also has D-II and D-III summer travel squad international experience down in New Zealand.

On April 24 Coach Crafton was named the head coach at Maryland Eastern Shore. Big Whistle Crafton has signed a five-year contract in order to give him ample time to put his fingerprint on the program.

Coach C’ has never had a winning season and he has only won >7 games, twice!

Best I can see… peep Crafton is unwed, and not a poppa-bear just yet. (second time I’ve seen this in my life and -insanely enough- the second time this season. (may St.Xenia (Patroness of Singles); bless!)

Maryland-Eastern Shore at a glance:

• 22nd in steals per game!
• 330th in 3-point defense!
• 333rd in defense overall!
• 341st in defensive rebounding!
• 347th in FT-makes!
• MESU, has a unheard of 18 metrics 316th or worse outta the 31 D-1 team markers I track!!!
• (NO injuries listed— ‘thx’ @Coach God!)

Hawks Returning Starters=3

Maryland–Eastern Shore Strengths:

• “ahhhhhhhhhh”, “errrrrrrrrrrr”, “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”… seriously; I could end this section right here. As no Hawk soars for ≥4.3 rpg and no Hawk scores for ≥8.2ppg!!!
• Worst I’ve ever seen and I’ve been at this for a decade… or two.
• 6′ 4″, 196 lb. lead-G Ty Gibson -no, not the pasty actor Ty Gibson- is your third-year first-place scoring leader for the near possession grounded Hawks. As a paltry 8.2 ppg is your alpha maker here; (and it only gets worse after him…) Ty is a Brooklyn NYC hoopster and a Gulf Coast State College transfer in addition to that. Gibby has his C.St.College associate degree already in hand (.edu good on dat); and he hits 34.7% of his shots overall and 31.7% from 3-point land. His favorite personal quote is: “I got it out the dirt”… and yes, the next time I know what that means will be the first. However, he does mess around and get you a couple of steals and drops a couple of dimes and that’s about that.
• #zero, one AJ Cheeseman is a 6′ 7″, 215 lb. Forward in his final year by way of Snellville, Ga. A.Jay is about as close as poor M.E.Shore gets to fielding a legit big and he does what he can at 6.1 ppg and the team lead in board-work at 4.5 rpg. Cheese’ also paces the Hawks in FT-makes at 77.3%. He is willing, he does come to work tho’ he’s undersized for this sport here. As Cheeseman had a few football looksee’s coming outta High School in addition to hoops. 35.5% from the floor and 0% long is just not a good 2019 soon to be 2020 look; as Cheeseman played at Gordon State College and University of New Orleans prior to arriving at Eastern Shore. And three schools in four seasons is typically not a great sign. As Cheeseman was the one Hawk who even received 3rd-string all-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference honors. That said, he has been dinged and/or outright dented off and on for most of his collegiate career. Including upper-body and knee injuries alike. (St.Nikhon bless!) So, this is prolly your alpha Hawk if/when he gets it together and gets fully healthy. That all said, A.J. says 1984 is his favorite book (never baller read that one before) and he did net a nifty looking 27 on the A.c.t. So, Coach God willing, that will serve him well later on in the game of, Life.

  

• 6′ 1″, 175 lb. Canaan Bartley is your One or Pt.Guard Hawk. Canaan is from St. Petersburg College —do you see the trend, here? Barty is second in scoring (7.1 ppg) and second in pilfering (1.1 spg) and his 3.1 rpg ain’t hurting much of anything. However, the same as above… 36.5% and 28.9% from behind the arc chips a lotta orange paint. Canaan did run T&F in high school where he picked up a state title so speed is not an issue here, and he had a decent enough looking A.a.u. career down in the sunshine state prior to all of that.

Maryland–Eastern Shore Weaknesses:

• there is only one guy >6 7″, and only one guy north of 220 lbs. You do the maths…
• why are there so many transfers or such a massive/missive Roster toggle? (i.e. the light at the end of the tunnel; might just be a train).

Hawks Bench: (depth=4 or 5)

Mighty mite 5′ 6″, 165 lb. -instant crowd fave just add: P.T.- Glen Anderson leads the 3-point way at an okay enough 38.5% —although only two other Hawks spread their 3-point-wings for ≥30% or three outta 10 guys in the playing-rotation from deep. Even if his 35.5% from the floor is not so shiny, to be so south of large, Glen is actually a kinda muscular-looking Harlem, New York kid. He drops you 4.2 ppg and gathers in 3.1 rpg and antes up 2.0 apg. This while leading the Hawks in mpg (playing-time) off the bench (29.1 mpg). Accordingly, it might be interesting to check back and see how his half-pint grows into his 2023 game?

Gabriel Gyamfi 6′ 1″, 2o6 lb. is easily the only kid I’ve ever previewed by way of: Brampton, ON, Canada Colby Community College; “eh”. No word yet from Bob & Doug or if Gabriel digs on mutants in the Forbidden Zone or Elsinore beer in his spare time. I do however know that he was just named the: Most Improved Player by the coaching staff. I doubt that hurts 1ι (one iota). And I also know that 3.9 rpg on a whopping 45.5% overall in relief is a breath of fresh air.

Bryan Urrutia is a Pt.G who stands 6′ 1″, 2o6 lb. Sr. Pt.Guard from Chihuahua, Mexico. This is precisely and entirely why he was included here… as I do not recall seeing a Mexican baller on an opposing roster, before. ‘Olé’! And oh ‘si’, Urrutia balled at Cochise College prior to arriving at Eastern Shore and remarkably enough, Bryan was a Top-3 assist leader in the Nation during his sophomore year at Cochise; NTTAWWT. (although Bryan has yet to suit-up this season | Dios los bendiga.)

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Hawks who could soar @Tech=nadda. None. Nil.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is… so, I (accidentally) went back and reread the former two previews I wrote for Maryland-Eastern Shore a couple of years back…

And it was really remarkable that I had the same thing to say back then that I am want to say today.

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As what I am want to say today is… Merry Christmas and all… however, this is a very impoverished D-1 men’s hoops program no matter how frugal or generously you slice the Christmas cake. I mean this is a very poor team on O; nearly indigent in point of fact. And frankly, I was/am surprised how nothing at all this squad has improved, because if anything, this club has actually (somehow) regressed.

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a soon to be 2020 A.D. check back. Nonetheless, M.E.S. has been smoked by any D-1 power-conference team they played; only once coming within Ace-10 (blackjack, or 21) of the competition and nearly being blown outta the D-1 big-boyz water after that. With a downright ugly looking –21 up to –42 deficit as power conference range when taking an L goes.

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… V.Tech is up a whopping +16% in shooting percentage margin overall (little mo’ on O, tho’ M.E.S. ain’t defensing anyone either), V.Tech is up a backbreaking +20% in 3-point percentage margin (same as from the floor), and V.Tech is up +12 misses in rebounding margin (almost all of which is M.E.S. sucking on the glass).

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… the Hokies are now only up +6% in shooting percentage margin from the floor (mostly due to Hawk shooting misses), the Hokies are now only up +9% in 3-point percentage margin (again, mostly due to Hawk 3-ball misses), and the Hokies are now up a basically de facto +7 in rebounding margin (finally, due entirely to M.E.S. getting mugged on Windex work).

Notice however, that only M.E.S.’s defense has improved outta anything here between these two in the last fortnight of runs. As V.Tech is in a noticeable -if not a serious- statistical regression since we got back from T.Mag’s crib.

(unusually enough) V.Tech is up +7 % at the charity stripe for the year.
V.Tech is a combined +5 on R&R in the last fortnight and should have ‘fresh-legs’ here.

• V.Tech’s bench has been showing signs of late— and yet Nolley Jr. and Alleyne are 3 for their last 22 combined and Horne is merely 27% in the last fortnight of shooting.
• Nolley has a total of three steals in the last six outings.
• Virginia Tech has allowed 66 points or fewer in all nine of its victories. Mid-60s allowed is your forward-facing early Winter barometer a.c.c.ordingly.

The call…

The Hawks -seemingly, and to their modest credit- were not tabbed for last place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference by any of my pre-season magazines.

They were however pegged for the penultimate to last place by all of my pre-season magazines.

As this Maryland-Eastern Shore roundball program is a lotta things… and ‘good’ or even ‘average’ just ain’t among ’em.

Seriously… this Princess Anne, Maryland team is hurting for hardwood points. Although their bowling team strikes-out like a champ’. Like a three-time National Champion in bowling since 2008.

The hoops team?
Not so much.

As even an 8-10 split remains elusive here.

–oOo–

As you can see up above -and for a striking change- me and ESPN, agry. As in… ‘all things being normal’? There is indeed a 98.6% chance that Virginia Tech successfully defends its very own Cassell in this one and if anything the R.A.T.T. odds might just be better than that.

As the hurrying Hokies prolly only need tally 57 points to put Maryland-Eastern Shore down this Sunday. As the Hawks have had their offensive wings clipped by a hard-cap on the scoreboard as they have not hit for north of 57 points since nearly a fortnight before Thanksgiving.

That all being fairly said… the strange thing is that our beloved Hokie hoops gang has been stuck on 63 or 64 points 75% of the time post our rather uneven looking Maui tournament.

As M.E.S. is indeed bad; and on offense, they are nearly awful. Nonetheless, we/VeeTee are not progressing as a hardwood team.

We are in point of fact regressing in M.Young’s inaugural run.

Still yet, Mary.East.Shore’s only win was vs. 741 students strong D-III’s Clarks Summit.

We/VeeTee really should be able to pinnacle that.

(97% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=69, Maryland–Eastern Shore=52

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**