It’s December, the first week of the longest month of the year for most kids under the age of 12. It’s also the end of football season and the beginning of the core of the basketball season.

Both basketball teams have gotten off to solid starts. The women’s team is nuclear pile hot, and the men’s team with on sort of disappointing loss is hot but not as glowing as the women.

Women’s Basketball is Ranked #9

Kenny Brooks looks like he just might have found that magic combination. The win over a very good Nebraska squad wasn’t just a solid win over a peer non-conference opponent. It was a full on shellacking. Junior point guard Georgia Amoore produced the program’s first triple double, and played the entire 40 minutes. Liz Kitley wasn’t far behind her with another double-double (they are becoming so routine you worry when she doesn’t get one), and played all but a few minutes, herself.

If they can clear the Tennessee Volunteers off their court, we could see the #9 ranked Hokies push into the Top Five women’s teams in the country. It’s way too early to crow too too much about it, but wow is it tempting.

Hokie Men’s Basketball

Tech’s men’s team isn’t ranked yet, but it’s powering its way into the ACC opener against North Carolina in the Cassell tomorrow. The last game, Mike Young played with some muscle arrangements to beef up the Hokies’ presence under the basket and down low. Poteat and Basile got lots of inside work, and Basile isn’t known for it. The combination really worked out well. The Hokies used the entire game but steadily controlled and then put up a double-digit win on Minnesota.

It’s going to be important to bring those lessons to the court for the UNC game since inside play is their strength and you can’t always rely on draining threes and running back to defend.

There is enough excitement that the 2023 home games are quickly selling out.

Football

Football might be over, but it’s never really over. Is it? We have seen two players already hit the transfer portal, DJ Harvey and Mattheus Carroll. We anticipate more deciding to try their luck in other places as the 2nd season of the Pry Era requires a near total rebuild. We aren’t kvetching about the moves at this point. This is a major personnel revamp, and the scholarships are going to be needed for the necessary upgrades in transfer personnel coming in. If you mine the portal to your benefit you can’t complain about losing depth players to it, either.

With no bowl game in the offing, the program has gone quiet and isn’t producing a ton of hype. Since the UVA game was cancelled (it was inconsequential to both teams’ prospects so it was for pure pride and that seemed inappropriate given the tragic circumstances) the chance to honor the Seniors will be taken on the basketball court, Sunday December 4th for the UNC game.

So, Let’s Talk Some Turkey

Your Time to Sound Off as the Semester Ends

Only three more shows before the end of 2022. Maybe something exciting will happen before the holiday break, who knows?

As Always!

GO HOKIES!!!!