I was excited for this game. I had this game circled on my calendar for a while, but I did have to watch this game after the fact. The game started at 6:00 PM EST, and I agreed to do a podcast with a mutual of mine Eamon Cassels at 5:30, so I’m sitting here at 10:00 PM watching the game on a school (work) night.
Watching it this way did make me smile a bit, though. Without even realizing it I found the YouTube channel you used to watch the full length games on. Not to mention the fact that I’ve started to watch BlueGoldNews.com’s YouTube channel for the pre/post game press conferences. I don’t think I could be more like you this season if I tried.
The game started off hot; I figured that Brenen Lorient would have a big game, but he got his first shot pinned on the backboard by a 6’4” guard, and he just never really looked confident after that. Luckily, Jasper Floyd remembered who he is. I’m not really sure what got into him, honestly. The last two games he seemed very passive but he flipped the switch tonight.
Pitt did give me a scare at one point, I won’t lie. About halfway through the first half Pitt went up 15–10, and it started to feel like Stress Virginia was back in full force. To our credit, we forced a shot clock violation and it felt like maybe all hope wasn’t lost. After Honor Huff hit a three off of a floppy, I knew all hope wasn’t lost. He didn’t shoot that well, but that one shot was enough to turn the tide.
The story of the first half for me was our true freshman, DJ Thomas. He had 10 points for the game and all of them came in the first half exactly when we needed it. He’s a 6’9” forward from Texas and he is a BEAST. So strong but he’s got a really refined game. He can stretch the floor for us, and if we can keep him in Morgantown I think he’s going to be REALLY good.
We ended the first half on a 20–4 run, and after that it really was belt to ass. Couldn’t have happened against a better team too. Everything just started to go our way: the student section was rocking and giving Pitt hell (they were yelling at their older players to get a job,) our shots started to fall, and even the refs were giving us calls. It really was just our night.
I want my praise to be as loud as my criticism. You know how critical I’ve been of Harlan Obioha, mostly because he’s 7’ tall and only averaging 5 more rebounds a game than I am, but he had a GREAT game tonight: 19/6/2, went 8/9 from the field, and had 2 blocks. Hopefully this is the game that he needed to always be dominant because when he’s on, he looks impossible to guard.
Like I said earlier, Jasper Floyd looked like he did in Game 1. He finished with 13/5/7 and 3 steals, and you KNOW I love a guard who can do it all. The first game did give me some false hope with him, I think. I thought he would be a walking 20 this year but he seems more comfortable shooting 7–9 times a game and trying to defer to his teammates. I’ll always respect an older player trying to get his team involved, but I was kind of hoping he’d be a walking bucket.
The team stats looked great too: we won the rebounding battle 34–31, had 32 points in the paint, and 21 points off of turnovers. Doing the little things like this and winning these kind of battles are the hallmarks of great teams. I’m not positive that we are a great team yet, but I’m hopeful that we will be one day.
We’re now 4–0, and I don’t want to get ahead of myself but there’s a chance that we can go undefeated before conference play which would be HUGE for us. I also can’t even remember the last time we started 4–0 but it feels like decades. I think Coach Hodge has really got these guys to buy in, and even if it doesn’t result in a National Championship, I feel really good about our season.
It’s now 11:30 and way past my bedtime, but I’m glad I got to watch this ass beating on Pitt. That also means that we did pull off the football/basketball Backyard Brawl Sweep. I’d like to think they did that for you. I’m going to head to bed now so I’m not completely useless at work tomorrow. I love ya, Dad. I miss you. Oh, and I almost forgot: EAT SHIT PITT.
Round The Game 
Leave a comment