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He does, however, want to see his team
take better care of the basketball. The Hokies
turned the ball over more times—447— than
any team in the ACC except for Wake Forest.
That may come as a surprise to many
considering Tech’s talent in the backcourt. But
Allen himself turned the ball over more than
100 times. Turnovers mean empty possessions
and usually lead to points for the opponent.
“Seth’s turnover percentage was way
too high, and many of his turnovers came
about in one of two areas—he was making
tired decisions, or he was trying to force
something that wasn’t there,” Williams said.
“’Five’ [Williams’ nickname for Robinson]
was playing the hardest spot on the floor as a
freshman, and he was playing with an ultra-
talented guy [Allen] with the ball in his hands.
We told him, ‘If you think he’s [Allen] getting a
little reckless, you keep the ball a little longer.’
As a freshman. So none of that is good.
“The issue is when you take Devin off being
the primary ball handler. Is his defender
going to guard him? All of the sudden, you
have Devin’s defender playing help on ‘Five’
[Robinson] and Seth, which only compounds
the issue.
“So we [as a staff] need to be a little more
creative. They all need to be more disciplined.
We need to value the ball and the possession
at a much higher clip.”
Better defense, improved rebounding and
enhanced ball handling will help the Hokies in
2016-17. So, too, would a continuance of their
good fortune.
Last season, Tech won seven conference
games by seven points or less, including five by
four points or less. The Hokies also took care
of the bottom third of the league, finishing
the season with nary a blemish against those
teams (6-0).
A few more wins against the top third of the
league and those in this program could be in
line to get sized for dancing slippers.
But Williams isn’t looking that far ahead.
He never looks beyond the current day.
“I think we’re much more in tune with how
important the day is,” he said. “I think we’re
much better at embracing the opportunity
to get better within the day. I think we’re
more mature in knowing that we’re not good
enough to look ahead, and we can be absorbed
in the moment.
“The key going forward is do we have the
sustainability emotionally to stay on that
same track? It’s semi-easy in September in
comparison to what it will turn into. Will I
answer the same question the same way in
January? That will determine whether or not
our growth has been sustainable.”
SETH
ALLEN