State pride missing in Cavs versus Hokies?

Scattershooting around the ACC, while expecting another down-to-the-wire, thriller-diller down in Blacksburg this evening when the Hokies and the Hoos mix it up …
With both of last year’s games decided in overtime, this one could be a nail-biter as well. But don’t expect the players from two teams to understand much about the state pride thing. There’s only five players total on the combined Tech and UVa rosters that hail from the state of Virginia.
The Hokies have three homegrown players from the Old Dominion, just slightly more than Puerto Rico (two Techsters hail from P.R.), while Virginia has even less, only two players from the state, matching the same amount of Cavaliers that hail from Nigeria.
Coach Dave Leitao’s Wahoos have already stolen one ACC win on the road, at Georgia Tech a couple of weeks ago, and a win at Virginia Tech would be a huge deal for the Cavaliers. At the same time, Hokies coach Seth Greenberg can’t afford to lose a home game, Tech’s first home date since Dec. 14.
Don’t expect the Hokies’ lopsided loss at Duke to have a negative effect on them when they take the court today. Tech’s 44 points against the Blue Devils were its fewest since 2000 when former Cav Ricky Stokes was in his first year as the Hokies’ coach. In fact, Tech will probably play harder than ever because the Hokies always get juiced up when the Wahoos come to town and because Greenberg has done a masterful job in the past of using such a defeat as a motivating factor for future games.
Hobbling Heels
Most of us were shocked at No. 1 North Carolina’s home loss to Boston College this past week, but there were underlying factors.
BC, which has since lost to Tommy Amaker’s Harvard team (so much for building momentum), took it to Carolina, played the Tar Heels more physically than any other team to this point and UNC coach Roy Williams wasn’t overly pleased with the way his team responded, or rather didn’t respond.
However, even though star center Tyler Hansbrough insists that his right shin and left ankle are no longer giving him problems, he clearly hasn’t been the same player that made him the national player of the year last season.
The big Tar Heel isn’t connecting on the off-balanced short shots after drawing contact from defenders, something he was famous for the past three seasons. He also seems to lack the explosive nature of his game around the basket.
Hansbrough blames some of his shortcomings on his conditioning, having missed four early games this season while nursing the injury bug.
“I think I’m getting back,” he said. “I think each game feels a lilttle better. My conditioning is getting there. The more I play, the better I feel.”
That’s not necessarily the case with guard Marcus Ginyard, who missed the first 11 games after surgery to correct a stress fracture in his left foot. Ginyard has played in the last four games, but clearly isn’t back to his old self.
Danny Green has taken Ginyard’s spot in the lineup and it seems that Ginyard has grown frustrated over not being able to clock the minutes he would like as a result.
Williams has always been cautious when bringing a player back and not rushing them into action before they’re ready.
Attention
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t like the way his players were performing against visiting Virginia Tech early in the second half of last weekend’s game and he let them know about it during a time out.
The result, Tech only scored nine points in the final 17:30 of the game in a 69-44 Duke cakewalk.
“He let us know that this is the ACC and it’s going to be a fight for 40 minutes,” said Duke point guard Nolan Smith. “We weren’t playing Loyola of Maryland anymore. It’s the ACC. It’s Virginia Tech. We had to bring it.”
Obviously, the Blue Devils did just that.
Oops
No sooner had Maryland coach Gary Williams spouted off about how his Terps deserved national recognition (meaning a Top 25 poll
appearance) than his team was stunned at home against Morgan State.
“At 11-2, hopefully we get some national recognition,” Willaims said. “If you look at the polls, I think we have as good a wins as a lot of those teams that are in the lower part of the poll. Hopefully someone will take notice.”
Unfortunately for the Terps, the most national attention they received were the shocking home loss shortly thereafter.
Quote of the week
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg on the Hokies’ league-opening loss at Duke:
“It’s one league game. You overreact to one league game on the road in this league, you’re a village idiot.”
Stat of the week
Wake Forest’s 13-0 start is the school’s third-best in school history, but the Deacs’ No. 4 national ranking is their highest since 2004-05 when they climbed to No. 1 for a short time.
Grant’s charge
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell is encouraged with the emergence of sophomore forward Jerai Grant, who has contributed some nice numbers in scoring and rebounding of late. Should Grant continue to improve it will allow Purnell to give Trevor Booker more rest or to provide a suitable substitute when Booker gets into foul trouble. Grant is also showing he can make clutch free throws, somewhat of a rare commodity around Tiger Town in recent years.
Free throws …
ACC fans are sure to mark Feb. 23 on their TV calendars, the date when HBO Sports airs its documentary entitled: “Battle For Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina,” which will chronicle perhaps college basketball’s greatest rivalry. … Note to readers: the ACC “Our League” page will return to The Daily Progress this coming week now that league play is in full swing again.