Okay, it was against ETSU, but nonetheless pay attention and take note: Virginia Tech freshman Dorian Finney-Smith scored 10 points, claimed 16 rebounds, blocked four shots and also had five assists in his debut.
| Sunday's ACC Games | ||
| Teams | Time | TV, or close enough |
| South Carolina State @ Virginia | 2:00Â | ESPN3 |
| North Carolina @ UNC Asheville | 4:00 | ESPNU |
| Morehead State @ NC State | 6:00Â | ESPN3 |
| UNC Wilmington @ Maryland | 8:00 | TheACC.com |
|
||
No matter how you cut it, that's an impressive debut. Seth Greenberg has called him a "poor man's Magic Johnson," and those stats do look somewhat like an Earvin Johnson line.
They both agree that he has an instinct for the ball and with that statline, it's hard to argue.
On the downside, he was 2-7 from the floor.
Tech only won by 11, which is magnified by the fact that ETSU shot just 19-64 for 29.7%. They were also just 13-22 from the line.
Part of that is no doubt Virginia Tech's defense, but if they had shot 37.5% from the floor and just two more free throws, they would have won.
Still, that's a great game out of a freshman. Better keep an eye on him.
On Sunday, Maryland starts their season against Wilmington. It's going to be interesting to see how Mark Turgeon has (or hasn't) made progress with his new team and how he deals with his depth issues. We were excited about his move to College Park and we still are, but this year could be tough. But you have to admire the fact that he's not at all scared to follow Gary Williams.
The other games are or should be pretty straightforward: we can't see Virginia losing to South Carolina State, N.C. State should certainly beat Morehead State although playing with CJ Leslie could come back to bite them, and there is absolutely no chance Asheville will beat UNC.