FanPost

Opinion: In order for the Hokies to go deep into March, Justin Robinson must play better

As the Virginia Tech Hokies ready themselves to take on a beleaguered Wake Forest squad on Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum, the focus will be on doing the little things well once again. Doing the little things well, as Buzz Williams has alluded to countless times throughout his tenure in Blacksburg, are of utmost importance throughout every basketball season, but especially once a team enters conference play.

When the little things aren't done well, especially in the ACC, games can get out of hand in a hurry. The Hokies found this out the hard way on Tuesday night, as they dropped their first conference game of the season in an 81-59 romp at the hands of their biggest rival, the Virginia Cavaliers.

Virginia is the fourth-ranked team in the country. They're phenomenal. They have an excellent defense as always, and now, they feature a top-tier offensive attack. There's no shame in losing a road game to a great team in conference play.

There is however, shame in getting embarrassed, especially when the Hokies entered the game ranked ninth in the nation. And while everyone needs to be better, both offensively and defensively, to ensure that this type of loss doesn't happen again, one player's improvement is especially crucial to the team's success moving forward.

That player is Justin Robinson.

While Robinson may not be the team's best player, he is certainly the most important player. Nickeil Alexander-Walker steals all the headlines as an NBA talent, and rightfully so. Alexander-Walker is as athletically gifted a player as the Hokies have had in Blacksburg in quite some time. But if Alexander-Walker is Batman, he needs a Robin, and there's no better Robin on the Hokies' roster than Justin Robinson, who at his best last season emerged as one of the nation's top point guards.

When at his peak, Robinson is virtually unguardable. He has an unbelievable handle, excellent court vision, and has the ability to take the ball off the bounce and score at all three levels. When at his best, he's been one of the most reliable scorers in the ACC.

This season however, especially over the last eight games, Robinson has been more of a liability that a weapon on offense. Take a look at these numbers for Robinson, outlined by David Cunningham of WUVT and Tech Lunch Pail:

These number are a far cry from what we have come to expect out of Justin Robinson, who averaged 14 points per game on 46.4% shooting a season ago. Even more baffling are Robinson's struggles from three, where he converted on nearly 40% of his attempts last season.

Robinson is one of the hardest working players on the team. Buzz Williams gushes over Robinson's work ethic and his ability to make everyone around him better. Given this, it is safe to assume that he will get things turned around.

But what if he doesn't?

The Hokies have their most talented team in Blacksburg in about 30 years. This is a veteran-laden group with NBA talent that can take the program to unprecedented heights. That's not to say, however, that the team is flawless. Their frontcourt consists of 6'10" Kerry Blackshear, and that's about it. The depth of the roster on the front line is not ideal for a contending ACC team, but the Hokies can make it work.

This is only the case though if they get consistent offensive contributions across the entire rotation of this guard-heavy group. The non-conference schedule is over. Leaning only on Nickeil Alexander-Walker won't work when playing the blue-bloods of the ACC. Once the Hokies played their first top-flight opponent of the season in UVa, they got blown out. Alexander-Walker was fine, but Blackshear got into foul trouble, Ahmed Hill didn't contribute until the game was a blowout, and Justin Robinson had another tough game on offense.

After Alexander-Walker, Robinson is the best weapon the Hokies have on offense. His ceiling offensively is second only to Alexander-Walker, and we've seen it at his best. If Robinson can't turn it around, and quickly, the Hokies will be left to rely on second option scoring from foul-prone Blackshear and Ahmed Hill, who has played well, but has had consistency issues of his own throughout his career in Blacksburg.

With the upcoming ACC schedule, the Hokies will need Robinson at his best. It only gets tougher from here in the best basketball conference in the country. His turnaround on offense is paramount to a successful season for Virginia Tech, one that players, staff, and fans alike, hope to last deep into March.

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