Radford Virginia Tech basketball preview:

#193 R.P.I. Radford @ #2o9 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

 

The Radford Bobcats, errrrrrr, ahhhhhh, I mean the Radford D-1 Highlanders invade our Cassell this Sunday afternoon in men’s hoops.

This Radford Big South conference squad is currently a very very pedestrian looking 4 up and 3 down after a softy start. In their most recent game, Radford struggled to beat little ole Texas aTm Corpus Christie, whatever that means? If that gives you any idea…

To put it mildly, just like Dean Martin used to call fellow rat-pack member, Sammy David Junior, this team is “S, m, all…small.”

I mean really small and not very vertical.

As you won’t be seeing my giving Virginia Tech the frontcourt check-mark turned basketball.gif edge down below in the match-ups section of this preview. Enjoy it while it lasts as this one has big game for Joey and company written all over it.

Radford at a glance:

  • 290th in 3-point percentage (29.1%)
  • 296th in FG percentage offense (39.2% makes)
  • 89th in Blocks (4.4 swats)
  • everything else is +/- 1 S.D. from average more/less
  • NObody shooting >33% from range.
  • no injuries reported

Radford Backcourt: (returning starters=2 of 2)
Rashun Davis: A Big South All-Freshman Team selection last year a 5’11” 181 lbs. of second-year Point in what is basically a double-1 backcourt with two full guys who can handle and likewise distribute the ball. Rashun is more the true(r) point-G of the two. 10 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 3.4 spg on 33% from downtown and a team leading 80% from the charity stripe. A nimble speedster at the One, who is bouncy and active at both ends. Does not appear to be that physically strong on film, is also a little turnover prone at times.

R.J. Price: 5’10” shortie point-G senior year 180 lb. baller from Richmond. Nice, quick, on-the-ball defender with very active hands. Top-14 in points, assists and steals all-time at Radford indicates a balanced if not epic career. Second with 11.3 ppg right now with a couple of rebounds and dimes (assists) alike. Not shooting very well thus far in his final campaign, as 31% from the floor and 28% from 3-point land connotes. Is second in steals (1.1 spg) and does show up bigger on the bigger stage, has won some post-season honors accordingly. Second in Big South 3-pointers last year, so you know he can and eventually will shoot the rock. Also lead Radford in assists last season. Prolly only improves from here on out, as experience is not an issue and he has been better, before.

RU Frontcourt: (starters back=3 of 3)
Brandon Holcomb: 6’7” 210 r-freshman Cali product who is a P/F for Radford and a S/F anywhere else. Overachiever, who hustles, blocks shots, defends and rebounds here and there a bit as best he can. I type this not to be critical, I type this rather to be point-blank, as I’m not sure I’ve read a less exciting high school resume` than this one. So I’d have to say that getting 4.4 ppg, a second best 6.1 board-work and a team leading 1.6 swats per contest is a bargain-bin gone S.K.U. prince label extraordinaire. This is however one of the better scouting stories I’ve ever uncovered in 12 years of doing this, as I’ll assure you right now, I found nothing as an indicator or pathfinder suggesting this off of Mister Holcomb’s scholastic dossier. This is just the kinda kid who is easy to like, who tries hard, and does all of the little things the right way. Every team needs a Brandon Holcomb. And he prolly could assist us off the bench at the Three spot here and there; and with 3.7 seasons left to play, he’ll only get better.

Javonte Green: 6’4” 2o5 lb. shooting-G turned S/F in his final year outta Moses Malone’s hometown of: Petersburg Va. This may not be a “Fo’, fo’, fo'” all-time Kareem Abdul Jabbar abuser just waiting to happen, in the history of mankind only one person ever was. Nevertheless, this is a serviceable 2-Guard, if he could only play his home spot. The former Group AA Division III Virginia State Player of the Year is the jack of all trades at Radford, and he’s slowly yet surely become a at least a face-card of a scorer. 13.1 ppg and a staggering 10 rpg both lead the way and each makes you wonder what he do with a few more inches of height? Now mix in an assist, a steal and a block and you have a lb. for lb., or should I say an inch for inch box-score stuffer. J.Green is actually a little off  his previous scoring tempo of at least 15 ppg for the last couple of years. That said, he is surely all-Big South Conference at a 6’4” double-double per night. And this is assuredly Buzz’s starting 2-Guard in O&M terms. This kid is that good, this kid is overseas good, great on him!

Kyle Noreen: senior, 6’4” 210 lb. Three, who also is a shooting-G anywhere else. A thinking man’s Three, almost a Chapter 13 version of a undersized Point-Forward. And I do place the emphasis on the “thought” process itself. Graduated high school with a perfect linear-A’s, a 4.o no B’s Summa Cum Laude. Big South All-Academic first-team, N.A.B.C. Honor’s Court member at Radford.

Someone at Duke or uva may wanna quibble with this, maybe even rightfully so … however, this may be the smartest kid we face all year. Little bro’ to Kevin Noreen of wvu fame, is netting you 3.6 ppg to go with 3.9 boards although only on 28% from beyond the arc. Runner up for Mr. Basketball in Minnesota in 2011, who is prolly gonna be a erudite success story in whatever he does do post-basketball. And if you need any help with your taxes, this Accounting major is prolly the one to call.

Highlanders Bench: (depth=1 and change)

  • Ya Ya Anderson: Ya-Ya (EPIC name) plays for sure and after him 3 others play here and there as match-ups allow/deny. 5.3 ppg on 28% shooting is not much thus far this campaign, this from a 6’5” 195 lb. shooting-G who was the 2011 Virginia Group-AA State Co-Player of the Year and who can put the biscuit in the basket when he is on; as his 43 point career high connotes. Does have 3-point range, is not gun-shy on shooting.
  • Cameron Jones: 6’4” 180 lb. big time JuCo numbers guy from down the street at Roanoke Va. … what with averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game at Brunswick (N.C.) Community College. Not so much thus far at Radford, with 3.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg. and .3 assists on 26%.
  • Kion Brown: 6’7” 210 lb. undersized third year Four. Former Va. Prep Player of the year who chips in with 3 ppg and a couple of boards off of being  vertically active player who will attack the rim. Seems like he could make a decent explosion based substitute 2/3 in the right system.
  • Jalen Carethers: 6’8” 2o5 lb. lean looking senior P/F. Shot blocking springy looking Four who has never quite filled in/out physically speaking. 4.4 ppg, 2.7 boards and a block in relief on 50% overall. 2-time defensive player of the year award winner form the State of North Carolina in high school. Will earn his Cee.Jay (Criminal Justice) degree per the same. Good on him.

Radford match ups

After 7 games at 1 game above .5oo (at 4-3 overall) ... VT is what?

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Illation, conclusion (s) and OPT digits:
Radford -and to their credit- has rallied a bit to win 4 of their last 5, and the Highlanders are also +4 in rest. All 5 starters return off of a team that won 22 D-1 games last year; that does not suck. Neither does being picked 2nd or 3rd in the Big South Conference by every single preview I read. Neither does being the reigning C.B.I. post-season tournament champion after offing P.a.c.-10 big boy Oregon in the same last year.

Which, I’ll confess, surprised me with having surveyed the Highlanders staring line-up in mind. As this is either the smallest or the second smallest hoops team we will face all year –take thy pick.

RU coach
At RU size matters??? Doh!

Or in other words, bring you eraser if you’ve already penciled this one in as a gimmie home-court Hokie out-of-conference W for December.


Why would I say that? Well, after reading every single preview I could find, and then looking back at my Excel match-ups spreadsheet … something did not seem right. So I went back and double checked each column. Sure enough, most of them favor Virginia Tech in a pure match-up head-to-head direct comparison unit by unit sense. The Hokies win the backcourt due to the lack of Radford size –ditto the frontcourt for the very same reason. J.V.Z. and Smitty give Tech the bench edge, Buzz gives Tech the coaching as a verb edge.

Legos which is Greek for word, would suggest that our Legos of the Day while not exactly upset is …more like …odd. As this is an odd looking one when you see just how high the pre-season prognosticinit tabbed these 2014-2015 Highlanders to be. Some of the same labeled Radford as even possibly NC2A good — and nobody (that I know of) even labeled Virginia Tech as C.b.i. enough.

***

See what I mean? It’s not that I feel like Radford will invade our Cassell and pull the upset rug out from under us. It is more like my late mum’s British idiom of: “… when 10 men tell you your drunk, you’d better lie down.”

I may not be drunk, although something about this game seems has just a whiff of a buzz to it. Or one beer too fast as opposed to one beer to many.

This is precisely why I went back in and changed the “intangibles” column to “push”.  I can not tell you Radford is gonna win with a ready-mind. To so such would be to publish a renunciation of the truth; and I choose to live a higher life than that, of my own accord.

Rather, I keep wondering what did I miss in ‘capping this game that so many -which is to say every single one- of the preseason rags I surveyed found?

Radford is also o-3 on the road and has been blown out in two of those three for a reason. Virginia Tech may not be on the Richmond or T.c.u. conference threat level of Def.Con.1, however Virginia Tech should have enough birds in the air to win comfortably vs. this level on their own O&M homecourt.

(82% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech
=74, Radford=59

LETS GO!

Hokies!

 bourbonstreet**