Virginia Tech (17-11, 8-6 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (16-11, 6-8 ACC) Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 7:00 TV: RSN (check local listings) Roster Card: Click here
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Johnson is a great athlete with a 41 inch vertical jump. A student of the martial arts, he is 21-0 in competition. His father was a world kickboxing champion. He has the pedigree of a great athlete. He's also a good basketball player. He is a versatile offensive threat. He can jump over you for the dunk, he can make post moves, and he can even shoot the three-pointer. His three-point percentage (28.4%) is solid, but he's a better shooter than that. Shot selection has been his Achilles heel at times this year, holding his percentage down a bit. The other freshman is guard Jeff Teague. Teague is a good three-point shooter (37.1%), and like Johnson, one of the top overall freshmen in the ACC. He is also third in the ACC in steals, averaging two per game, although he doesn't rank in the top ten in the conference in league games.
Like Malcolm Delaney of Virginia Tech, Teague has a somewhat slight frame right now, and at times can have trouble finishing around the basket. Sophomore point guard Ishmael Smith makes the offense go. A cat-quick point guard, Smith loves to get to the glass. He can get from one end of the court to the other in a blur. He's good at finishing inside, he can dish it off to a teammate, or he can pull up for a jumper from around the free throw line, as the Hokies painfully found out back on December 23. Stopping Smith's penetration will be a key for Tech. He has hit just 22 three-pointers this year. That's not his shot. When he does get to the glass, foul him hard and don't let him finish. His free throw percentage is amazing, in a bad way: Smith is just 15-of-51 from the charity stripe on the year for a very bad 29.4%. Sophomores L.D. Williams and Chas McFarland round out the starting lineup. Williams is a physically strong guard who can take it to the glass, or shoot from the outside. Virginia Tech recruited him heavily. He's not great at anything, but he's a solid all-around basketball player who gets the job done. McFarland has been hot lately, and he's one of the most improved basketball players in the ACC. A true center, McFarland has size combined with good athletic ability. He plays with his back to the basket most of the time, but he can hit an open jumper from close range. He has a good array of post moves.
In three meetings with Virginia Tech, Hale has been completely off. He is just 8-of-30 from the field (26.7%) and 3-of-20 from three-point range (15%). He is the X-factor in tonight's game. Jamie Skeen is another fairly athletic post player for Wake, but his minutes have been dropping recently in favor of McFarland. Skeen isn't particularly effective on the inside, but he has hit 23 three-pointers this year while shooting at a 35.4% clip from the outside. When he's in the game, Tech needs to pay attention to him out on the perimeter. Other players off the bench include freshman guard Gary Clark (a VT recruiting target), sophomore forward/center David Weaver and forward Cameron Stanley. They provide solid depth to a balanced Wake Forest rotation.
Thanks to the improvement of Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney, Tech has been very good recently in turnover margin. Since the first Boston College game on January 26, the Hokies are averaging a +2.67 turnover margin. They have had a negative turnover margin just once in that nine game stretch. I'm expecting a fairly fast, up tempo game in Cassell Coliseum tonight. Both teams have a lot of athletes, and they both like to run the court. It should be a fun, exciting ACC basketball game, and it will go a long way in determining the NCAA tournament fate of both teams. |