#83 R.P.I. Virginia Tech @ #75 R.P.I. Wake Forest: 

Virginia Tech men’s basketball travels down Tobacco Road 122-miles to face 8 up and 7 down (and 1-4 in the All Coaching Conference) Wake Forest on a post men’s football national championship hungover nite.

The Hokies and Deacons kickoff at 9 PM over on the ubiquitous -and sometimes hard to find- A.c.c.Network. Nonetheless, the Hokies are streaking having gone 6-1 since early December. Whereas these Deacons are just plain streaky itself. A Ray Stevens kinda club as you will read below. That all being said… what you wanna know is: who is gonna win and by how much; right? Read on… to find, out!

Wake Forest Head Coach: Daniel Ricardo “Danny” Manning: age=53, 111–129 (.458) overall, 73–100 (.411) at Wake Forest.
$1,830,360.oo (+another 1 mill’ deferred from Tulsa!)

Baller Manning is the son of the late Ed Manning (R.I.P.), who was a longtime N.B.A. and red, white and blue; ball; A.B.A. player and then a professional and college coach. As a junior at Page High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, Danny averaged 18.8 points and nine rebounds per game, leading the Pirates to a 26-0 record and the North Carolina state title. Baller Danny Manning also won the national championship with the Larry Brown led Jayhawks in 1988 as a player. Danny left Kansas as the all-time leading scorer in Kansas basketball history with a mere 2,951 points! He was also the all-time leading scorer in Big-8 Conference history with 2,951 career points. Danny won the Wooden, Naismith, and Eastman Awards as the college player of the year in 1988. And K.U.’s 11 L’s that national championship year is still the most L’s of any crowned D-1 men’s hoops titlist, ever! Manning was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame with the 2oo8 class.

He was then the #1 draft pick overall in the 1988 N.B.A. Draft by the L.a. Clippers. Baller Manning spent 15 seasons in the Association. During his N.b.a. career Manning scored 12,367 points and averaged 14.o points per game. He was a two-time all-star, once the Sixth Many of the Year and a three-time A.c.l. victim who some say had a Hall of Fame ceiling if not for such ruinous knee knocks throughout his sympathetically gimpy professional career (Godspeed).

(Assistant) Coach Manning won another National Championship Jayhawker ring again on the K.U. coaching staff in 2oo8. After which he spent two successful years as the big whistle at Tulsa, garnering a post-season bid each time and an N.C.A.A. bid for his 21-win C-USA crowning second season. After which he inked with the Dec’s and posted two initial negatives (<.5oo) seasons before landing five games above .5oo this year as I type. Coach Manning teams have a rep’ for free-flowing, skillful; finesse based inside-out offense first, second and defense third; (if that). He is also thought to be something of a program-builder and a pretty decent recruiter by-the-bye.

Manning.edu earned his degree in communication from the University of Kansas in 1991.

Danny and his wife, Julie, have two children — daughter Taylor, who played volleyball at Kansas, and son Evan, who played basketball at Kansas and is currently a
basketball program assistant with the Deacons.

Wake at a glance:

• 24th most FT’s made. (A.K.A., Wake attacks the rack).
• 61st in FT percentage; (and converts when they do).
• 73rd in defensive-rebounding.
• 329th in steals!
• 329th in Turnover Margin!
• 331st in 3-point attempts! (g.State splash brothers; this, ain’t).
• (3 hurts listed | Coach God bless, thrice)

Deacon Returning Starters=4

Wake Forest Strengths:

• One no.zero (see: below), Brandon Childress is a legacy 6′, 196 lb., final-season, Pt.Guard and “yes” he is the son of associate head coach Randolph Childress— Randolph of full-blown bishop level Deacon 1990’s hooping fame who went on to ball for the Detroit Pistons recall. Son Childress also looks bulkier/stronger than listed (he found 5 lbs. of sinew this past summer), and squatter, too. Brandon may not have been carded recently as this is a very mature looking kid, and he does bring you a team-leading 14.9 ppg on a stunning –15 percent regression and now suspect looking 28.8% when dialing-long-distance. That said, Bran’ is also down five percent overall and is now netting you 39% of his shots while leading the Dec’s in dimes dropped at 4.6 apg. His mechanics/lift on his J may need a little ironing out and yet this is prolly was a star in the making; a Point-G who can score, pressure-defend and/or set-up on at least an overseas basis. Although the step(s) backward in Childress’ offensive game this year is puerile -not to mention surprising- indeed. As the son of the aforementioned associate head coach and star/legacy Deacon backcourter one Randolph Childress… this pair is the highest scoring father-son duo in A.c.c. history. Ever! Period. Nepotistic game over there. As pops only played for the Deacons from 1992-95, only earning All-America honors as a senior before being selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft. As this final year, junior goes… now mix in a nifty 83.3% on FTA’s and the blue ribbon in swipes (1.3 spg) and just south of three boards (2.9 rpg) and you’ve suddenly got a very viable Team M.V.D. (most valuable Deacon) candidate on your hands, or a very savvy all-’round baller or; both. Which I for one find to be descriptive of a solid tho’ regressing season so far; this from a kid with maturity questions, who was said to be mostly a distancing (shooting) Pt.Guard with credible distribution skillz and not much else. This from perhaps the lowest {sic: nationally} ranked **** or four-star baller I’ve ever studied. (UPDATE: Childress has been chilly of late… Winter is here).
• Chaundee -my chin-slinky is mo’ fly than you chin-slinky- Brown is a 6′5″, 22o lb., Jr. season, Orlando native sunshine state ball with a very springy looking game that has gone out and fund a little muscle since we saw him last. Chanundee started every game less one last year and is something of a streaky-three-point specialist who can move/groove as a pure athlete who can shoot in addition to that. An improving 13.3 ppg with a very improving 6.5 boards on 46% from the floor is not bad work. With consistency all that is really lacking here, as the body-kinetics seem most willing indeed. As this offensively versatile Wing can score inside and out’ (35% 3’s) when he really gets it going. ‘dee was ESPN’s no.31 baller and also the Gatorade and AAAA (quad-A) Florida Player of the Year. As this is a quality finishing Two who only needs a little more length on his J. (UPDATE: Brown is now listed as: “QUESTIONABLE” after missing the last two contests with what Wake describes as a: “lower leg injury”. i.e. ankle/foot St.Sebastian bless).

  

• 7′, 255 lb., third-year Olivier Sarr gives you size and reach and try as we might: “you still can’t coach… height”. Oliver is from Toulouse, France, and plays above the rim way more than most Frenchy Four’s that you know. That plus he imported a whopping near 25 lbs. of sinew this off-season. And the nearly doubling or 200% increase in his metrics across the board seem to support this; with 12.4 ppg, the team lead with 9.1 rpg and the team lead in swats (1.2) are more than reasonable enough. Ditto the eleven percent betterment in shooting with Sarr now up to a lucrative 53% overall. This from a kid on the French National Team for the last couple of years who was merely ranked as the top prospect at the 2017 FIBA U-18 European Championships by ESPN Insider. Where he did have more of a defensive or rim-protecting, vibe; so, to speak. As this Sarr may very well have played himself into a home turf Euro’ contract of some sort and he is a very viable candidate for A.c.c. Most Improved. Lè felicitations on him.
• Andrien White is 6′3″, 2oo lb. Richmond, Va., area escapee (from: Thomas Dale High School) in his r-Sr. season after transferring and sitting-out from Charlotte. Andy White is fourth in scoring (7.6 ppg) with 3.5 rpg. Tho’ he’s now more parts stopper (1 spg) who tends to draw the opponent’s alpha-backcourt assignment. As he was more parts scored (15 ppg) who could net from all over his last season in Charlotte. And his big bro’ (Andrew) current runs hoops for the ATL.Hawks. A.c.c.ordingly, one could posit that more was expected, here.

Wake Forest Weaknesses:

• Jaylen Hoard (13 ppg, 8 rpg), Jamie Lewis (statless shirt) and Ikenna Smart (2.3 ppg and 3.3 rpg) all left. Hoard (“unexpectedly”) was all I heard. Tho’ that’s not a good sign thermometer wise for Danny Manning’s coaches seats climate control.
• Sunday Okeke -grate name- was listed as: questionable, and so is his: “uncertain” bad-back, his .o ppg and his 1.5 rpg this year, with (50% shooting with ~2 ppg last year). He is now however out for the year with an ankle injury (St.Wolfgang and St.Philip bless respectively). The 6′8″, 250 lb. strapping looking Lagos, Nigeria P/F was gonna provided some measure of frontcourt pine-squad help this season as you cannot coach bulk and/or work-ethos and toughs. And although a bit underdeveloped offensively at the moment, most non-scholarship, floor-burn type players do not want for “want too” as Bud Foster liked to put it. As this kid was ESPN’s no.60 kid back in 2015; he is said to be an all-conference caliber foütballer (soccer)— although he’s been on a circuitous path(s) ever since 2015. So, Godspeed on all that. As this is a big kid who is/was actually in elite fighting-trim.
• Big ole bruising Tariq Ingraham -all 6′9″, 255 lbs., Wes Unseld (literal) looking- of him are done for the year. St.Nikhon bless, on the blown (left) Achilles. Done as well would be his AAAA Keystone (Pa.) state title, his pretty big-time production rep’ up in Pennsylvania, and his pretty dang versatile inside-out game for being a big guy with a big/tough rep’. Both momma and poppa bear balled hoops in college at Seton Hall. So, you know the family tree was most wiling for this rookie year baller who will have to wait until next year.
• As you can see… Wake is only missing 12′18″, 500+ lbs. on the inside.
• And if the pretty dang physical Chaundee Brown can not go?
  This is quite a reduction in preachin’ Deacon metrics.

Deacon Bench: (depth=4 to 5)

Back-up Pt.Gurad, (grad-student), Torry Johnson, is a 6′3″, 175 lb. One, who nets you a bench trumping 5.9 ppg and is said to be a good individual stopper of a defender, as a shooter he just, ain’t; (35% floor and 27% long). He is, however, a Koufax or a lefty and that does give him covering advantages and he does (somehow) have a year of eligibility left as a 6th-year Northern Arizona transfer where Torry lead Nor.Zona in scoring at 12.1 ppg. Although he has had an injury-riddled colligate career after picking up two AAA Illinois high school rings and you have to wonder where he is on two good legs? (may St.Nikhon help).

Ody Oguama is a 6′9″, 2o5 lb. thinly lanky looking Ichy Crane type pointy-elbow frontcourter by way of North Carolina. Tho’ he did prep up in New England and frankly this one was something of a reaching take to me. As the highest recruiting ranking, that I could find was 1o5th (for P/F’s) and 516th, after that. So maybe D.Man’ saw something here others did not? Dunno… tho’ I do know that 4 rpg and a swat in limited minutes on 63.2% shooting makes you wonder if d.Man’ is da man, here? The offense (2.2 ppg) will come later… for this needs to add strength/right-mass Four who is more parts rim-protector/defender at this stage of his game. Tho’ so was a guy named Spiderman (i.e. John Sally) way back along the way. As the reminder is more than scant, here.

6′8″, 200 lb. nugget or initial year Ismael Massoud is a lean, multi-tasking Spaniard at the Three with a said to be fine shooting-stroke from the outside. 148th in all the land per Scout and pretty much all-anything Massachusetts wise in high school for the Harlem NYC native. 4.2 ppg with 2.2 rpg on 42% long only 15 games deeper into his collegiate career is better than you or I. And the Pequod and I both have to wonder where Ismael will be come 2023? Presuming Ismale survives the weight-room, a protein shake and a streak or three. As his length and range could develop into a serial overload at S/F in power conference terms.

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Decs who could preach it @Tech=4'ish.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is… Mike Young for the All Coaching Conference big-whistle of 2019-2020?

He’s gotta be the alpha head coach at the midway point; right?

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I mean… to install a brand spanking new offensive system… with a buncha (outside) shooting Wing Commander systemic refugee/inherited guys… who do not exactly fit a vastly more traditional One through Five (Pt.Guard through Center) system… and be an entirely parsimonious… 1st best in all the land in Turnovers per game?!?

(not to mention 3rd best in Assist:Turnover ratio… i.e. they are not only handling the ball they are setting this ‘new car scent’ O up like champs; already!)

I mean… if they are no.1 at this right now in Young’s debut A.c.c. season, what are they when we get to 2023 and he has his system firmly in white-board sideline place and his O&M roster a good deal more filled-in?

1st-place in the N.b.a.’s Eastern Conference?

As this is *the* best Revenue Sports coaching job in a while… including the Sweet-16 and including Fu’/Corny’s juxtaposed Pocket Qb1 in a Spread Set 2018 season.

👏 @Mike Young!

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a… entirely whacko 40-point or near seven TD VicTory in this one and that would be pretty much code for ‘rong in either revenue sport methinks. (due: to such Duke and Nc.State doing a lotta Deacon damage).

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… v.Tech is up nearly +5% in shooting percentage margin (mostly on D, actually); v.Tech is up +7% in 3-point percentage margin (just a smidgeon mo’ thanks to D, tho’ ahead on O as well); although it is w.Forest who is up +3 boards in rebounding margin for the duration.

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… the Hokies are now up +2% in shooting percentage margin (with Tech dropping on O tho becoming thrifiter on D to win the marginal day); the Gobblers are now up +1% in 3-point percentage margin (exactly the same reasons as above ↓ on O tho’ ↑ on D); however, the Dec’s are now up +4 carroms and in rebounding margin in the last fortnight).

Wake is up +3% at the charity stripe for the year.
V.Tech is +1 on R&R in the last fortnight tho’ must travel here.
V.Tech is .667 in your house and W.Forest is a likewise .667 as your host.

1. Virginia Tech and Wake Forest were picked penultimate to last and dead-last in the whole darn A.c.c. shebang just a few months back… I’ma jus’ sayin’…
2. I’m also sayin’ that here is what Coach Young is sayin’…  “I’m not shocked. Are you kidding me?” Hokies coach Mike Young told the media of his team’s unexpected start. “Never underestimate young people. Don’t. I’m not. Never have. There is a great deal of belief in that locker room.”
3. Virginia Tech’s very own: Radford, entered the week leading the ACC in shooting at 66.3%. That, and he’s 12-of-15 from the floor over his last three games. wow!
4. Junior Pt.Guard Wabissa Bede ranks third in the A.c.c. with 6.3 assists per contest.
5. Virginia Tech has won three straight meetings and 6 of the last 7 overall.

The Call…

 no.36 Net Ranking Virginia Tech @ No.1o5 Net Ranking Wake Forest:

Right now… same as last game… (on which Eye was thankful ‘rong)… Eye’d have to favor each team at home. Expect for the fact that this one is Away— and (some freakin’ how) for the third consecutive time since the start of the New Year… we ARE catching a hurting A.c.c. club proverbially enough… at ‘just the right time.’

Amazing, raised to the astounding power; n’est-ce pas?

–oOo–

This is a very streaky Wake Forest men’s hoops squad this campaign. What with 2 W’s, 3 W’s and 3 W’s again … against … 2 L’s and now 3 L’s in a row coming into this one. As Wake either gets it going or gets gone themselves.

As Wake is from Noah’s Arc’s neighborhood, as their outcomes do not travel if they do not travel in pairs.

That pirating attempt at satire per Operation Petticoat aside…

…and Ginkgo’ing that the A.c.c. visitor is a .3oo visitor out on the A.c.c. road historically…

We see a team passing itself in the proverbial nite… as the Hokies O (not named Nolley) is dropping and it ain’t exactly dropping a lotta shots of late; either. The Gobblers D, however, has re-tightened back up— pretty much close to where it statistically was prior to and up through game.no.1 down and way over in Maui. (while Wake has been very homogenous for the last month or so of play on O & D alike with only nominal statistical variants).

Wake has also dropped a couple in a row having not tallied a dub-a-ewe (W) since early January | with m.Young and company streaking the other way having nabbed six of their last seven.

And in the absence of any other evidence -and with Wake: same as ‘cuse and State dinged-up a bit- I’ma just gonna roll with the team that appears to have it rolling here.

A Chuck Daly ride the hawt hand pick if you will.

Feed an eater and keep the microwave on ‘hi’.
🏀
💯

(58% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=71, Wake Forest=63

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**