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.

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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.