Welcome to the inaugural issue of the 2021-22 edition of UVA Hoop Thoughts. Hoop Thoughts is published at random intervals throughout the Virginia basketball season, with the aim of providing a space to discuss random things about UVA basketball that I deem to be important.
Oh, and yeah, I stole the idea from The Athletic’s Seth Davis. Sue me.
As you may have noticed from the headline, this time out we’ll begin by talking about Taine Murray’s coming out party. Then we’ll touch upon Armaan Franklin’s ups and downs, and expectations for him going forward. Next we’ll discuss the ACC’s performance in non-conference play and against the Big Ten (hint: not good), and how that affects Virginia. Finally, we’ll set the stage for Virginia’s next game.
So here we go. Hoop Thoughts number one. Hope you enjoy.
No Taine no gain
Taine Murray’s 51 minutes this season are not enough. The first year has played only sparingly, barely seeing the floor over the first seven games before bursting out for 14 points off 4-6 three-point shooting to lead Virginia’s improbable comeback against Iowa.
I alluded to this after the Iowa game, but Murray is one of a few members of the roster that need to see more of the floor. The other two are Carson McCorkle and Igor Milicic—together, the underclassmen trio has been crowned “the three M’s.”
But what do the three M’s bring to the table?
Simple. Shooting. Though the sample size for each is small, Murray and Milicic are shooting the deep ball at 71.4% and 36.4%, respectively. McCorkle has also shown flashes, but some recent misses have brought his percentage down into the 20s.
And yet, McCorkle cannot be held fully accountable for his diminishing three-point percentage. Reliable three-point shooting requires getting into a rhythm, something which is extremely difficult to do when only playing a couple minutes per game. McCorkle—like Milicic, like Murray—deserves more playing time.
So why, then, does the title of this section specify Murray as the player warranting the most minutes?
Because Murray is the hot hand as of late, and should be treated as such. Virginia needs more shooters out on the floor (these shooters must also be able to play defense, which is why Kody Stattmann has been omitted from this group), and they’re going to come from the pool of M’s. Right now, the best option is Taine Murray.
The unpredictability of Franklin’s shooting
At Indiana last season, Armaan Franklin connected on 42.4% of his three-point attempts; at Virginia, he’s only hitting 26.6% of his tries from deep.
There have been flashes, though, of the Franklin we were promised. The 5-8 night from deep against Radford, the 4-6 outing against Providence and the 23-point display against Georgia were all inspired performances. In those games, we saw a confident, mature player capable of hitting shots and attacking off the dribble.
But aside from the Radford and Providence games, Franklin is a gruesome 4-28 from beyond the arc (14.3%, for anybody who needed that definitive number of suckiness).
We’ve seen Franklin’s highs, we’ve seen his lows, now it’s time for him to pick a nice spot somewhere in the middle and stick to it. Preferably it’s closer to the top than the bottom.
State of the ACC
Unsurprisingly, the ACC lost the ACC/B1G Challenge, falling 8-6 to the superior Big Ten. The Challenge was actually closer than many expected. A couple points here or there could have knotted the teams up at seven games apiece.
Still, the ACC is not in a good spot right now. The Big Ten, itself, is experiencing something of a down year compared to its recent prestige. But we didn’t need the Challenge to show us that the ACC is near the bottom of the power-six hierarchy.
Duke may be one of the best teams in the nation, but Florida State has looked shaky, Virginia Tech (which is supposed to be good this year) is underwhelming, and UNC is clearly still figuring itself out despite a dominant performance against Michigan. The rest of the league is mostly uninspiring.
Virginia is one of the teams pointed to as evidence of the conference’s drop-off, but while that may be a valid point, the lower quality of Virginia’s contemporaries means that it has an opportunity. In the high-caliber league of years past, Virginia would be middling at best; this year, it has a good chance of squeaking into the top three.
Virginia vs Pittsburgh preview
Among the more feeble members of this edition of the ACC is Pittsburgh, which has looked absolutely terrible. The Panthers began the season with an embarrassing 15-point loss to The Citadel, lost by the same number to West Virginia a few days later, and have since fallen to Vanderbilt, Minnesota, and… UMBC.
By the transitive property, if Virginia beats Pitt by more than 10 they will also have beaten UMBC. Can’t argue with the facts.
But seriously, Pitt is awful. Their lone triumphs came by a combined 12 points over UNC Wilmington and Towson. Not exactly an impressive pair of victories.
The Panthers got off to a hot start last year, but by season’s end had lost their two best players to the transfer portal. The current depleted roster is led by sophomore forward John Hugley. Virginia’s main defensive vulnerability this season has been three-point shooting (always a weak spot with the packline, but more pronounced this year), but Pitt’s 26.7% average from deep will not exploit that weakness.
Pitt is the ideal opponent to open ACC play with. It seems fairly certain that Virginia will spend Friday night notching win number one of the ACC campaign.
Pittsburgh vs Virginia will tip at 8 pm Friday night at JPJ, and air on ACCN.
Image – Virginia Athletics