A few weeks ago we wrote about the youth of Mike Young's Virginia Tech basketball team, and how wins would be tough to come by as the ACC conference slate progressed. But we also said to look for statistical improvement and a product that passes the eye test more often.
Remember, this Hokie team is relying on the growing maturity numerous freshmen and sophomores, and the assimilation of mulitple transfers into a system that relies on fluidity, role clarity and confidence. It takes time. Though Tech has lost three straight, there are some seeds of improvement that appear to be taking root.
Today, we'll take a look at freshman Tyler Johnson as an example of some of that growth. Johnson, a 6'-5" guard out of Orlando, FL, is one of seven freshmen and sophomores seeing meaningful minutes this season. In the season's first 13 games, Johnson averaged 19.5 minutes per game. He's averaged 27.1 minutes in the seven games since.
The raw numerical production that has come with those extra minutes isn't eye-popping: a modest bump from 5.5 points per game to 7.9 and an increase in rebounds from 4.8 to 6.0 per game. But there has been an eye-popping increase in his shooting percentages:
FG% | 3-pt % | FT% | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pre-1/1 | 40.6% | 21.4% | 72.7% |
Post-1/1 | 55.6% | 45.5% | 90.9% |
This improvement is indicative of Johnson's confidence on the floor and his understanding of role. It's encouraging to see this quantitative improvement backing up the eye test that Johnson and the team are passing with greater frequency.
This team plays extremely hard for Coach Young which, coupled with their growing comfort in his system, is a recipe for future success. It will keep them in games against quality teams like Clemson yesterday. It should yield some momentum-creating wins along the way as well.
There are other examples on this squad that we'll dig into as the season moves along. But if Tyler Johnson's steady progress is any indication, better days are ahead for this program.