The Hokie Basketball team got another big win yesterday down in Miami. That's 2 straight tough conference road wins and suddenly Virginia Tech is a hot team. I've said many times on this blog, I enjoy watching this year's team - there's lots of excitement and drama involved.
Most media coverage of the Hokies focuses on the fact that their scoring is dominated by the 'Big 3': A.D. Vassallo, Malcolm Delaney, and Jeff Allen. There's no doubt those are where the points come from. So is having a 'Big 3' a positive or a negative?
Sometimes "The Big 3" characterization comes off as negative, as if there is too much reliance on those players which creates a flaw in the team. I couldn't disagree more. Frankly, I can't remember the last time the Hokies had 2 "go to" scorers, much less 3. There are many years where we struggled to have 1 clutch scorer.
If you've watched this year, usually each night between Vassallo, Delaney, and Allen, you'll get a sense for which ones are in a grove. Sometimes only 2 of them are shooting well, getting good looks, and carrying the team. And the Hokies have won many of those games. Some nights, one player will simply be unstoppable (Allen against BC, Delaney against UVA, or Vassallo yesterday), and can be fed the ball all night.
If all there are scoring well, or 2 are putting up double digits while one goes for 20+, you've got a great chance for a win. Throw in points from role players like JT Thompson, Dorenzo Hudson, and Cheick Diakite and you've got a very solid basketball team.
My point is having 3 potential top scorers is great luxury, and night in and night out gives your offense a decent chance to success (hey it also works for the Boston Celtics). Sure you are taking points away from the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th player on the roster, but its not as if those players aren't contributing.
Those who characterize the Hokies' Big 3 as a flaw also are mistaken if they think this team does not have depth. Again, I've watched Virginia Tech basketball for a while, and this team has more depth in years. If you look at the big men, Seth Greenberg each night even seems to looking for the nights top performers as well: some combination of Allen, Thompson, Lewis Witcher, Diakite, and Victor Davilla. Again, I can remember many nights where the Hokies had 1 big man to guard a guy like Miami's Dwayne Collins. All we had was 5 fouls, and that was it. Remember how much larger the players Deron Washington had to guard the last few years?
So I'm going to ride this Big 3 as far as it goes this year. I'm hopes are getting higher.
Go Hokies.
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