There was a weird dynamic inside John Paul Jones Arena as Virginia took on Stony Brook. With most students away for the holidays, and a mid-major opponent that wasn’t expected to give the Hoos much trouble, it wasn’t much of a home-court advantage. Thus, we can attribute the sluggishness of the game to the overall mellow crowd. On top of that, this was the first game for Virginia coming off of a 10-day exam break. So it’s fair to say that there are certain factors that combined to make this a fairly odd game. But we are past the point where we can say, “Oh, it’s early going, they’ll clean it up before conference play.” We are now just over two weeks from conference play. We need to start seeing improvement in a hurry.
Luckily for the Hoos, it’s a really easy start: Virginia Tech, @ Boston College, and Syracuse. None of these games should be a problem, even if Virginia goes totally cold from the field. The three teams rank an average of 107th in AdjO per KenPom.com and, unsurprisingly, Virginia is first in AdjD. But after that, it gets harder, with two games against No. 19 Florida State before January is over. So let’s look at what we learned about the Hoos from the Stony Brook game.
1) The Stars Are Playing Well
Kihei Clark, Mamadi Diakite, and Jay Huff combined for 39 points, accounting for nearly 70% of Virginia’s offense. Clark, in particular, came up big, going 5/10 from the field with 2 threes. Clark’s feel for the game has been really impressive so far this season. In a number of games, the little dude has hit big shots to stretch the lead just when it seemed like the other team was about to make a run. He also dished out 6 assists, despite committing the same number of turnovers.
Similarly, Mamadi Diakite had a great game, going for 13 and 6. In this game, you could really see why he’s being talked about as an NBA prospect. His strength and agility allow him to get to the rim for easy baskets, and he’s developing a mid-range game. Every game, the similarities between Diakite and Deandre Hunter become clearer and clearer. One thing Diakite needs to work on—as evidenced in this game—is his decision-making. There were a few times when Mamadi pulled up for a jumper when he should have taken the ball to the hoop, or vice versa. Another thing that is considered a strength of his is the three-point shot, yet in the last two games, he’s only shot once from deep (a make against UNC). Diakite continued his stellar play, and there is so much more room for improvement—a scary thing for UVA’s future opponents.
Somebody else with a high ceiling is Huff. The 7’1” junior went for 12 and 7 in a limited role off the bench. Huff does very well getting behind the defense for easy baskets. He scores most of his points from inside the restricted area, mostly on dunks and layups. Plus, he’s a much different defender from the lanky, weak guy that arrived on campus a couple of years ago. His defense is much improved, and it showed as he did a great job the other night on that end of the floor. Overall, Huff is looking like a solid player as we approach the start of conference play.
2) Three-Point Shooting is Here to Stay
Against North Carolina, Tomas Woldetensae and Kody Stattmann were a combined 4/8 from downtown. Against Stony Brook, they were 3/7. Nothing special, but better than their prior results of… well let’s just say they were bad. The team as a whole wasn’t great, but at least the 31.3% that they shot from three was respectable. While in no way can we be sure that this will be the new normal, it is certainly a step in the right direction. Woldtetensae and Stattmann need to be constant contributors from three for this team to reach its ceiling. Let’s hope they continue with their hot shooting.
3) The Defense is Not Invincible
Yes, Virginia only allowed 44 points last Wednesday. But those 44 points came at the expense of a defense that is possibly vulnerable. We saw it in the UNC game, when UNC missed wide-open shots to keep themselves in the game. We definitely saw it against Purdue, when the Boilmakers torched the Hoos for 69 points. And we saw it again against Stony Brook, getting through unharmed by virtue of, well, how bad they are.
Before you pull a Norman Dale and lose your head (yes, that was a Hoosiers reference, realize that I am in no way saying that Virginia is a bad team defensively. Quite the contrary in fact. I’m just pointing out that there are weaknesses that can be exploited.
To start with, the packline defense can always be beaten by the three ball. That’s the risk you run when employing it. Needless to say, the risk is more than worth the reward, but it’s a point of concern for the future. The other thing that is more specific to this team is the lack of an interior defender. What I mean by this is that although UVA has two seven-footers, Huff is weak enough to be pushed around by a bigger guy, and Caffaro is still learning back there. It may be one of Tony Bennett’s best ever defenses, but in no way is it invincible.