University of Virginia Library

Crypto-Coach

What has happened to the
Amazin' Cavaliers? Since their
loss to North Carolina, they
have had many close games and
a pair of inexcusable losses to
Penn State and Duke.

This is the same team that
demolished Maryland and was
untouched for its first twelve
games. Why have the Wahoos
had such a terrible slump?
There are several reasons for
the poor play of the team.

First of all, there is the
constant pressure of being
ranked sixth in the nation. The
opposing teams always give an
extra effort to pull off the big
upset. Both Penn State and
Duke played excellent games
against us. In doing so they
eased the pressure by knocking
us out of the Top Ten. From
now on, we will not have to
keep such a high emotional
peak for every game.

Secondly, the schedule has
become very unfavorable. On
two occasions, we have played
four games in eight days.
Besides being emotionally
strenuous, it is physically
exhausting. Fortunately, we
have enough talent on the
bench to allow for frequent
substitutions.

From a strategic viewpoint,
the 'Hoos have shown a glaring
inability to blow a tight game
open. The offense is a
shambles. Very seldom does
the team move well without
the ball. Also, there is not
effort to set up shots for Jim
Hobgood, who has been
burning the nets at a 53% clip.
Finally, Mr. BP would be even
more valuable if he would look
for the assist and forget about
protecting his ACC scoring
lead. He would be able to set
up some easy baskets and
therefore decrease the
defensive pressure on himself.

On defense, the full-court
press has given up as many easy
layups as it has produced. I
question its value. The brief
appearance of a zone defense
against Clemson was long
overdue. It needs a little
practice, but it definitely can
clog up the middle. In
addition, it insures the
rebounding position needed to
ignite the fast break. The
running game has been
conspicuously absent in the
past few weeks.

In summary, I believe that
the Wahoos should return to
their early season go-for-broke
running offense, and settle
back into tight and hustling
zone defense.

These changes, along with a
fair shake from the referees,
will hopefully bring an ACC
title to Coach Gibson and his
Cavaliers.