chrisisbuck#2

What I saw last night when I watched the BC game was a team who played with no heart. I saw a team who doesn't want to be a part of the field of 65 in March. I saw a team that right now, doesn't deserve to be in that field. This team better do some waking up fast, because if we play like that on Saturday, we will lose by 40 points. In probably the most crucial game of the season, what was that last night?! That was not the team I have watched all season. That team last night reminded me of the one last year, who underachieved all season long. I thought this year's team was a lot different than last years. They still have time to prove me wrong, but now I am skeptical about how much this team actually wants to play in March...in the only tournament that matters. It's time for Malcolm to be the leader this team needs in the final 3 games. It's time for Jeff Allen to play smart, because with him in the game we are a very good team. But the last 4 games, he has hardly played. We need Hudson to get back to being the player he was from the VMI game up till the Wake game. If those 3 are all on the same page, we are a team who could surprise some people in March. But if they don't get it turned around soon, we won't even be playing then. Saturday will tell a lot about this team. Whether they are going to keep on fighting til the end, or just give up and chalk up one in the column of: another disapponting season.

Coming into this basketball season I did not know what to expect out of this team. I knew we had a great scorer in Malcolm Delaney and a solid post player in Jeff Allen, but other than those 2 a lot of our players were unproven. Now that we are approaching March, I could not be more pleased with the way the season is unfolding. Dorenzo Hudson has emerged as the #2 scoring threat on this team and has become a team leader in the process. At the beginning of the year it seemed like we would have trouble scoring...and at times we still do...but ever since the game against VMI, Dorenzo Hudson has played with a chip on his shoulder and is possibly the most improved player in the ACC. Hudson is one of the main reasons we are such a good team this year. JT Thompson has been a huge lift off the bench in all ACC games this year. He has come into the game with matchup problems at times, but he has held his own, and more times than not, outplayed his opponent. Thompson has been a vital part to the success this team is having right now. He can be counted on from game to game. The play of Terrell Bell, Cadarian Raines, and Erick Green should not go unnoticed either. They have brought a toughness to this team that has lacked in year's past. Bell has become a lockdown defender who will throw in the occassional block every now and again. Raines has come in during crucial moments when the team is in foul trouble and been a presence down low, something Tech has lacked as well. And Erick Green has been a very valuable piece to the team. Although he hasn't had his shooting storke in a while, he provides quality minutes off the bench to let Delaney play off the ball for parts of the game. And his defense has been key in shutting down the opponent's point guard. Everyone on this team knows their role. And then of course we have Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen. At time, Allen can be very frusturating to watch, but when he is on his game, he is one of the most talented players in the ACC. He has plenty of quickness for a player his size, and he can pose matchup problems for opposing teams. The team will go as far as Jeff Allen takes us. When we have 3 threats out on the court at the same time we can be tough to stop. And as for Malcolm, he seems to be getting healthy at the right time. He had a nice shooting game against Wake last night. We will need for him to be the go to guy from here on out. With defenses focusing on him for much of the game, that has opened up plenty of opportunities for other to step up. And everyone else has taken advantage of them. We have a huge game with Duke on Sunday. If we win that, it will almost guarantee a trip to the Big Dance this year. It won't be an easy task though. Everyone will have to play a great game and most importantly, play like a team. It's what has gotten us to where we are right now.