Hokies making their rebounding presence felt
Tyrece Radford has adopted a simple philosophy when it comes to evaluating the play of his Virginia Tech teammates. If he sees you do it in practice, you’d better be ready to do it in a game.
It’s an approach that’s perhaps been most applicable to No. 15 Virginia Tech’s improved rebounding, which has been a byproduct of the addition of new faces in the frontcourt. Going into Tuesday night’s matchup against Penn State (2-1) in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Tech has turned rebounding into a strength in the early stages of the season after it was a liability last season.
“I would say playing hard-nosed basketball,” Radford said regarding the element that has led to improved rebounding. “Don’t be shy or scared to go get your nose dirty. If I see you rebounding in practice, let that carry over to the game. Don’t stop that. We need that.”
With starting forwards Justyn Mutts (team-best seven rebounds per game) and Keve Aluma (6.8 rpg, leads Tech with 17.8 points per game) joining the program after transferring from Delaware and
Wofford, respectively, Tech (4-0) has gotten its biggest contributions from guys still getting established.
Tech boasts a rebounding margin of plus-6 per game thus far — a marked improvement in a small sample size after finishing last season minus-3.3. In its 81-73 win Nov. 28 against then-No. 3 Villanova, the Hokies outre
bounded the Wildcats 40-31, led by Radford’s 13 rebounds.
Penn State, which is coming off a 98-92 overtime loss Sunday against Seton Hall, has also been effective rebounding, sporting a plus-3 margin. Forward John
Harrar, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, is averaging a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game to go along with 7.3 points per game.
Seth Lundy, a 6-6 sophomore forward, has been one of the most productive scorers in the nation, averaging 22.3 points per game for the Nittany Lions.
Tech should have guard Cartier Diarra back against Penn State. He sat out the Hokies’ 64-57 win last Thursday against Virginia Military Institute because he overslept the morning before the game and missed a coronavirus testing session.
VMI has been a common opponent for Penn State and Tech, with the Nittany Lions defeating the Keydets 86-65. Tech made just 4 of 27 shots from 3-point range in its win against VMI.
“I was scared as hell,” Tech coach Mike Young said of his team’s perimeter shooting against VMI after seeing the Hokies make 10 of 20 shots from beyond the 3-point line two games earlier against Villanova. “I was scared out of my mind. Doggone, it was like we were shooting at a dime up there instead of a rim.”