Mike Gminski's Blog

A look back- It was interesting to talk to Roy Williams on Sunday about his team.
You could hear the frustration in his voice in post game press conferences when he
discussed their performance. He told me his frustration comes from his squad making
the same mistakes over and over. He has had to do alot more teaching with this group
and they are having a tough time retaining information. He vows to keep working and
teaching until the light comes on. They were impressive in the second half of their
game against Virginia Tech. Larry Drew was solid at the point and he and Will Graves
gave them good 3 point production. Ed Davis is a star and continues to solidify his
position as first team All-ACC.Marcus Ginyard proved his worth as a lock down
defender when he cooled off Malcolm Delaney in the second half. Delaney was
spectacular in the first half, scoring 20 points ,but  he could manage only  6 after
the half. Dorenzo Hudson had 14 but was only 7-22 from the field. Jeff Allen was
disappointing, scoring only 4 points on 2-5 shooting. He has to produce more
offense, especially against the upper echelon teams, for Tech to compete.

My first Raycom game turned out to be Tony Bennet's first ACC win when Virginia
traveled to Raleigh and beat the Wolfpack. It is going to take Bennet a while to
change the culture at UVA and he is first working on getting his team tough-minded
on defense. They were terrific in the second half, with Sylven Landesberg leading
the way with 23 points. He has an incredible knack for scoring in the lane and
getting to the line. Mike Scott is a big key. When he produces, it gives UVA a post
presence and takes pressure off their perimeter. Sammy Zeglinski has proven to me he
is a legitimate ACC guard, probably a little bit better off the ball as a scorer.
This team will win some games this year that it shouldn't because of Bennet's
abilities.The Boo's were very evident as the Wolfpack fans were very disappointed in
the final result...and then...

There's no "D" in Seminole! NC St. goes to Tallahassee and beats the 'Noles on
Tuesday- scoring 88 points in the process! I have to wonder about FSU's defensive
numbers. In their last two games against ACC comp, both losses, they have given up
77 to Maryland and 88 to they Pack.They have an RPI of 60 but their strength of
schedule is 219. FSU came into those two games allowing 59 points a game. Was that
number built on weak competition? We will see how it holds up during the rest of
conference play. Kudos to Scott Wood and his career high 31 points. The Pack hit 11
3's and outscored FSU at the line by 4. What a turnaround from Saturday! It's going
to be a crazy year.

My next Raycom game is Saturday, back in Raleigh, when Clemson visits NC St.for a
noon game. The Tiger's have a HUGE game Wednesday at home against Carolina. It will
be interesting to see if their press can get into UNC's guards. They are always a
little more active in their press at Littlejohn.The Pack should have some of their
confidence restored after that big win vs. FSU. Javi Gonzalez and Farnold Degand
will be a big key against Clemson's pressure.Shooting the three, especially Wood and
Dennis Horner, will also be a bonus.  The Tiger's must create room for Booker to
operate in the paint. Teams are really crowding him and forcing him more on the
perimeter.

Then it is over to Durham for the Wake-Duke matchup on Sunday night! Should be a
great matchup.Ish Smith is turning into one of the best clutch scorers in the
league- Duke is going to have to deal with his speed and quickness. Best matchup-
Kyle Singler vs. Al-Farouq Aminu! Can't wait for the weekend!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.