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I love a good pu pu platter. You've got your fucking egg rolls on there.
Spare ribs. Fucking chicken wings. Beef teriyaki. Various meat skewers.
Fucking fried wontons and crab rangoon. Skrimps. And that tiny little hibachi. |
My good friend Becca was at the hoops scrimmage yesterday afternoon. A few takeaways (not all of them good):
- Top three players of the scrimmage: Brog, Darion Atkins, and Evan Nolte.
- Akil Mitchell looks like a man. Fully built, fully stacked.
- Anthony Gill has skill, but he seems a little bit weak down in the post.
- Nolte has put things together and plays really smooth, with a great shooting stroke.
- Atkins might be a forgotten man by fans, but he'll be a huge factor for the team this season.
- Nolte and Mike Tobey are both a lot bigger.
- Devon Hall and London Perrantes both look really green, as you'd expect true freshmen point guards to look.
- As such, expect Malcolm Brogdon to start at the point.
- Teven Jones seems improved, and should see plenty of PT, especially when we go small with Brog at the 2.
- Justin Anderson is explosive, but still seems a bit raw from a skills standpoint.
- Given his size and skill level, there might be real concern that Mike Tobey could leave early for the NBA. (Spencer Hawes is a pretty good comparison, and he left Washington early.)
Anyway, in five minutes of discussion this morning, we were able to re-slice the 200 minute pie for this season. Here are our rough expectations for how the playing time will be distributed:
Starters
Malcolm Brogdon -- 28 mpg (not all at the point)
Joe Harris -- 30 mpg (can take more breaks with Nolte more prepared to play)
Justin Anderson -- 25 mpg
Akil Mitchell -- 28 mpg
Mike Tobey -- 20 mpg (might only be able to handle 15-18, but he'll play as much as his endurance will allow)
Rotation
Darion Atkins -- 18 mpg (don't sleep on Darion)
Evan Nolte -- 15 mpg (ready to step up this season)
Anthony Gill -- 12 mpg
Teven Jones -- 12 mpg
Devon Hall / London Perrantes -- splitting 12 mpg (expect to see them minimized as the season moves along)
Meanwhile, a popular NC State site uses various maths to deduct that...
Interesting.
I remain terrified that this team will not be able to handle the weight of expectations. But the squad is freaking loaded and we have a world class coaching staff, so I won't be bashful with those expectations. Can't wait to see the JPJ rocking this winter. I bet our fanbase does a lot to repair the damage football season has done to its reputation.
Ugh. Speaking of (*groan*) football...
I don't have much to say today, other than if we end up going with a defensive-minded head coach to replace Mike London (like maybe Tim DeRuyter, Pat Narduzzi, or D.J. Durkin), I would like to submit a name for consideration for our Offensive Coordinator position: Rhett Lashlee.
There are three offensive architects that I admire more than anyone in college football right now: Art Briles, Mike Leach, and
Gus Malzahn. I linked articles pertaining to Briles and Leach
this week and
two weeks ago. Go check those out if you'd like to dive into some fun Xs and Os.
Meanwhile, here's a bunch of good articles about Malzahn. Weekend reading for the wannabe-knowledgeable Hoofan.
If you're not on the bandwagon that a bold new offensive identity for Virginia Football is the absolute key to awakening this sleeping giant... then you are not on the same page as me. If you think the Stanford model of power football is the way to go... then you're just not paying attention.
I couldn't be more jealous of Baylor, Washington State, and Auburn right now. And I couldn't be more desperate to see UVA bring in an offensive system like one of those in order to have us start pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps.
Meanwhile, I'll be in Scott Stadium tomorrow to watch us beat our heads against a wall trying to run this popgun pro-style bullshit that we employ. But I'll close my eyes and envision a no-huddle hurry-up misdirection razzle-dazzle Air Raid offense, and I'll feel inspired to wait for a fun future for Virginia Football that may never come. Offensive creativity is the magic elixir. We as fans just have to be vocal enough in pining for it.
