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December 9, 2015

Hoos 70, 'Eers 54 // Mike London to Maryland

A few quick thoughts before going back to work on my massive "Examining Broncoball" post...

-- Big win last night.  Big, big win.  In fact, I'm willing to say it might be the turning point of the season, similar to the Tennessee game (you know the one) from the 2013-14 season.

-- I am loving this functional depth... and Tony's willingness to use it.  We ground West Virginia into dust last night.

-- Huge propers to Anthony Gill and London Perrantes. They were fantastic against West Virginia.  Gill kept us afloat during the horrendous first half, and Perrantes carried us over the hump in the second.

Cali Swag

-- My friend Becca and I agreed this morning: we really, really like the lineup of Perrantes, Darius Thompson, Malcolm Brogdon, Isaiah Wilkins, and Gill.  When those guys are on the floor together, good things seem to happen.

-- Mike Tobey is what he is: a key role player on this team.  The ghouls will say "blah blah blah, Tobey sucks, Tobey's soft, blah blah," but look, when we face teams that don't put a traditional center on the floor, Tobey is going to struggle.  He can't handle mobile and athletic power forwards playing the 5.

-- Putting out an APB to find the lost Marial Shayok.  He's in a bad slump, losing playing time, and I'm sure that wrist injury isn't helping.  My hope is that the exam break gives him time to get right.

-- Kudos to Devon Hall.  He has surprised me this season, and has emerged as a useful reserve.  Specifically, his ball handling off the bench allows for Perrantes and Thompson to play stretches on the floor at the same time, yielding our most explosive lineup (see above).  I'm happy to eat crow on Devon Hall.

-- Needs to be said: Evan Nolte isn't scoring, but he's playing pretty darn well of late.  Looks like a senior glue guy to me, and that's a useful piece to the puzzle.

-- Jack Salt is better than I expected him to be.  Still only a 10 mpg player... but honestly that's about 5 minutes more than I expected him to give us each game.  I like the concept of Tony's hockey-style "lines" frontcourt pairings; Salt/Gill and Tobey/Wilkins.  I like the concept, but I think we play our best when Gill and Wilkins are together in the frontcourt.

-- I came into the season with 1- or 2-seed, Final Four expectations.  After seeing us play the first eight games, I adjusted those expectations down to 4- or 5-seed, Sweet Sixteen.  But after last night's turning point type of win, I'm back up to 2- or 3-seed, Elite Eight.

-- It's been a while since I've done a UVAMBB Power Rankings, but here's a quick one off the cuff for this year's team so far...
  1. Malcolm Brogdon -- No doubt, Brog is the engine that drives this team.
  2. Anthony Gill -- Without Gill's scoring in the post, our offense is nothing.
  3. London Perrantes -- His offense is the x-factor that can spur us to greater heights.
  4. Darius Thompson -- DT's the athletic backcourt presence we've lacked since Mustapha Farrakhan.
  5. Isaiah Wilkins -- He's coming on, and his continued improvement will be instrumental to raising our ceiling in March.
  6. Mike Tobey -- Settling in as a 16 mpg, 7.5 ppg producer.  Not meeting expectations, but a key role player all the same.
  7. Marial Shayok -- We need him at 100%, hitting his shots, and providing hustle plays.  He'll get there, and the team will be much better when he does.  I really liked him attacking the basket last season, I hope he gets back to that.
  8. Devon Hall -- Has a knack for providing a timely lift off the bench.  I'd like to see him shoot more from outside.
  9. Jack Salt -- Just bang, bro.  Deliver a few more HARD fouls when you're in the game.
  10. Evan Nolte -- Don't stop shooting!  Don't stop hustling!  Don't stop believing!
  11. Jarred Reuter -- Probably won't play most nights, but he's clearly an above-average fifth big.



~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, by now you've probably heard that Mike London has accepted the job of defensive line coach and associate head coach (whatever that is) at Maryland.  Here's what I have to say about that:

-- It's absolutely a win for Maryland.  Good for them.  London can recruit the state of Virginia, and especially the 757.  He'll definitely be a thorn in our side.

-- Nice job by Mike London - steal our money while running our program into the ground, then skip off to join one of our biggest rivals in recruiting.

-- What little respect I had left for the guy is now completely gone.  He's in Al Groh territory (minus the clear Xs and Os acumen) as far as I'm concerned.  Sorry, just being honest.

-- I spent so much time cursing Mike London's name these last three years, I can't now turn around and feel consternation over him joining the staff at Maryland.  Just can't do it.  Mike London can pound sand.  Thanks for nothing, you shitbag.

-- Now... Not trying to put on a tough face, but even without Beatty (who may or may not join Bronco's staff at UVA), I'm not worried about recruiting.  There is a very specific type of player who will be drawn to this program under Bronco Mendenhall.  It's a total paradigm shift for recruitniks.  I think Virginia will be casting a much wider - and much more strategic - net than it has in the past.  I, for one, can't wait to see it unfold.


Eat shit.


14 comments:

  1. Sorry, but what happened at UVA might not have been all of Mike London's fault:
    (1) They gave him a crazy schedule year after year.
    (2) They fired all of his support people and hired their
    own.
    (3) UVA did use hime to recruit state talent - which he
    did.
    (4) He kept the kids out of trouble and he kept them in
    class.
    (5) The man just got a job close to home to continue to
    support his family - What's wrong with that?
    (6) I'm for one am happy for him and yes - I have a kid on the current UVA team!

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    1. Probably a totally different viewpoint, that of a player's parent vs. that of a fan.

      I get it -- Mike London is a good guy. Bottom line for me, however, is that he didn't win games, and he left our program in worse shape than when he found it.

      Moving along to one of our biggest recruiting rivals after accepting a $3mil buyout from us is fairly insulting to me. And you know what? I'm entitled to that opinion.

      How does your son feel about Bronco Mendenhall?

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    2. yea, i can see how he might struggle to support his family after a $3,200,000 buyout at uva. poor guy.

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    3. My thoughts exactly. Not to mention the other millions UVA forked out for just one winning season. I was done with him during the VT game in 2012. I would have fired him as he walked off the field. Totally agree w/ Kendall here. Eat shit.

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    4. So far he thinks Bronco is great - his message was well received. He just wants to win!

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  2. You and about 50% of our fans are the shitbags. Your lack of support and your constant bitching help to pull this program down just as much as London.How can you not have respect for a man who ran a clean program, graduated his players, and represented the university in the right way. Now, you have a right to be frustrated about not winning enough games, but to say that you do not respect him is childish. How old are you, 10. Mike London is a good man that gave the program his best. Sometimes your best just isn't good enough. And when you have horrible fans like yourself calling for the coaches job after just 3 years, the job becomes even more difficult. How long will it be before you start calling for bronco mendenhall's job. Are you already creating your potential coaching list.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry if I hurt your feelings, man.

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    2. Yeah, let's not confuse the two. You won't find a bigger UVA football fan than me (FAN, not booster). 4-8, 8-5, 4-8, 2-10, 5-7, and 4-8 w/ an ACC record of 14-34. The players and fans deserve a coach that gives us a chance to win.

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    3. Im not saying that you can't be frustrated with not winning. I'm frustrated with losing as well. My problem is with the lack of respect and support that mike london received when he was here. You should be proud and support anyone who wears the blue and orange and tries as hard as he did. And i laugh when i here the fans deserve a coach that can win. Well the players and coaches deserve fans that won't quit on them when things are not going well. If you want Uva to be a big time program, the fans are going to have to do their part as well, meaning filling the stadium and showing support for the team.

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    4. Darryl, we employed him for six years, paid him the third highest salary in the entire ACC, and gave him every possible chance because he was such a good off-the-field coach. Had he gone to any school other than Maryland, Duke, UNC, or VT, I'd have said, good luck- and, as a person, I still say that. But on a coaching/business level? He can get bent. When I went, I went for anonymous' kid. I went for the players. That's who I supported, and still do- NOT Mike London.

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  3. Mike London is a good and honorable man. The kids loved him. That speaks volumes. The kids could have quit on him out of frustration. They kept fighting for him. That speaks volumes.

    He got the money he was owed. He didn't steal it. The university agreed to pay him x dollars for y years, not for guaranteed wins. The buyout was also owed him per terms of the contract. There's not a person here that would turn down the money they were due.

    Maryland is not our football rival anymore and he has to get back out there, both to rebuild his career and just because he's the type of man who has to work. He's not just going to sit around. So, yeah, he's going to recruit some kids we're after, and I'm not thrilled about that, but it's business. I'm not going to whine about it and curse the man for not coddling me orliving his life by my petty expectations.

    I'm sure some people at BYU are calling Bronco names right now, too. They'll live. So will you.

    I'm moving on. Brand new era for UVa football.

    Go Hoos!!!

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    1. Well said - I agree on all of your points. Go Hoos!!

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    2. You choose the high road, I choose the low road. We're both entitled to our opinions. I'd argue that mine are generally more cathartic and fun to read.

      PS -- Mike London wasn't paid millions to be a guidance counselor.

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  4. Kendall--as a fellow blogger I must admit--your shit is fucking hilarious. I absolutely cannot stop laughing at your articles. Your brutally honest commentary is flat out spectacular. Way to hang your balls out there, kid! Jon Oliver--a true shitbag. The media needs to tear that guy to pieces. Mike London was handcuffed in a lot of ways due to Jon Oliver and unfortunately--Bronco might have the same fate (let's hope not). As for London--incredible person--I was highly critical of the man in my blog as well. Incredible person--horrible HC. Jon Oliver did not help things. I'm still not sold the Jon Oliver problem is fixed. Only way to truly fix it is to get rid of JO. Will Littlepage ever bring his balls to the table and fire this guy? What kind of blackmail does Jon Oliver have on Craig Littlepage? These are all very legitimate questions. That said, Mike London's clock management was absolute shit. I wanted him gone after not calling a TO on the road against VT a few years ago. That's when I knew it was time for him to go. London had a few fatal flaws during his handcuffed tenure at Virginia--his QB selection was flat out puzzling, his clock management flat out horrendous.

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