Birthdays and Basketball

...but mostly basketball.

Last weekend was definitely one for the books.  It was a weekend of celebration, in more than one way!

To begin, both my roommate Laura and I turned 21!  She turned last Thursday, and I turned on Friday.  Perfect timing for us!  On her day, she got to celebrate with her sorority sisters at their semi-formal, while I stayed in and watched my favorite Disney/Pixar film 'Brave' with a friend (fantastic film, by the way.  Did you read my review of it?  You should).

On my actual birthday, I went to a nice dinner with my friend Jordan at a local brewhaus called Bull & Bones.  It wasn't super fancy, but compared to what college kids usually eat, it was like dining royalty.  We enjoyed our burgers--which were massive and delicious--and I ordered my first legal drink, a "Southern Belle," which was a heavenly mix of orange juice, cranberry juice, Captain Morgan's, and peach schnapps.  Mmmm.  I'll have to remember that one for another special occasion.


Last Friday and Saturday had to be two of the greatest days of the semester.  It was so great to celebrate my and Laura's birthdays with some of our best and closest friends, fantastic food, and a classy glass of white wine!  I could not have asked for a better birthday weekend.

* * * 

Another great part of my birthday weekend was seeing my Hokies play some of their best basketball I've seen in my time in Blacksburg.  Last Saturday, the Hokies played Oklahoma State in Cassell Coliseum, and I have to say, that was the greatest Hokie basketball game I've ever seen (in person, the 2011 Duke game was incredible, but I had to watch it on TV, sadly).

As I've said before, going into the season, I really had no idea what to expect.  With the coaching changes and player transfers, anything could have happened.  My friend Kevin and I bought season tickets anyway, because we're basketball freaks--at least I am--and we just love going to games.

Thus far, we have not been disappointed in our purchases.

The Hokies started the season 6-0 for the first time since 1982.  We knocked off Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, 95-79, which I'm pretty sure was the ACC's first win in the series.  Then we beat Oklahoma State at home, 81-71.

Did I mention Oklahoma State was ranked #15 in the country when we beat them?  Well, they were.

Side note: tell me this guy (OKST freshman guard Marcus Smart) does not look like Mr. T:

Photo from YahooSports.com

So what's working with the Hokies this year?  On the whole, basically everything.  We're shooting well, making our free-throws, not making silly mistakes (or at least as many as past seasons), and scoring off transitions.  We have this guy, Erick Green, who is an offensive monster.  He's the second leading scorer in the nation.  Green has scored 20+ points in all eight games so far this season.  Look how happy he looks after beating OKST.  I'd be that happy if I scored 28 points, too.  Aside from crazy scoring, he knows how to run a point, and he isn't afraid to drive.  He trusts his teammates, and they trust him.

Erick Green
Photo from USAToday.com

Then we have this dude Jarrell Eddie.  Guess what his 3-point percentage is.  51%.  Enough said.

Eddie
Photo from HokieSports.com

Two new faces to the Hokies this year are Marshall Wood and Joey Van Zegeren, who Kevin and I have affectionately nicknamed "Flattop" and "Dutchie," respectively.  These guys are tall and great to have under the basket to grab some boards.  Wood is a solid outside shooter, and Van Zegeren has been great at muscling up some shots from right under the basket.

Van Zegeren (left), photo courtesy of HokieSports.com
Wood (right), photo courtesy of me.

  

The only places I've seen trouble with us in up the middle and under the basket when the other team is on offense.  We struggled with that against Oklahoma State and West Virginia.  We have a habit of leaving the middle open and letting the other team score easily.  Solution?  Cadarian Raines.  He's huge. Keep him in the middle as a wall, and have fun getting over or past him.  He's also good at under-the-basket shots, too, like Dutchie.

In past seasons, rebounds were our demise. Rebounds, both offensive and defensive, are essential to winning games.  The less rebounds we grab, the more chances we give the other team to score. We have improved with rebounding, I think, but there is always room for more growth.

Even though we were handed our first loss this weekend to West Virginia, the Hokies are still 7-1, and I could not be more proud.  A loss was coming eventually, but I'm glad it came before ACC play begins.  We fought hard at WVU, and proved that we have what it takes to play within the conference and put up a good showing.  I am so excited for ACC play to begin in January, especially for that team from Durham to come back to Blacksburg so we can show them what we're made of this year.

And I really want to chant "Who's your daddy?" at Seth Curry again.

Go Hokies!!

Hokies 

Who doesn't love the Hokie Bird? :)