ACC Roundup - TJ Power Debuts For Virginia
And a modest debut it was.
In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Notre Dame broke Stonehill 89-60, Georgia Tech beat West Georgia 85-62 and Virginia got by Campbell, 65-56 to kick off the post-Tony Bennet era.
Former Blue Devil TJ Power started for the Cavaliers but didn't do much damage: he took three shots, two of which were three points attempts, and hit one of the treys for three points in 19 minutes. He also had three rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Freshman Jacob Cofie came off the bench for 16 points, six rebounds and an assist in 29 minutes, shooting 7-8 including 2-3 from behind the line.
Oddity of the night: Virginia shot 57.1 percent - against Campbell - and won by just 11. Campbell shot just 37.5 percent, chunking up 29 attempts (and hitting 11).
Virginia was up by just five, with 1:46 to go.
It’s possible that the dark cloud that Bennett’s departure left could be affecting Virginia’s energy and that would certainly be understandable. It’s something to keep an eye on.
And while one game isn’t enough to get a sense of anything, we thought that Power would have a bigger role on a team that last season struggled mightily on offense. We’ll see what he does next time out.
If you haven’t caught on to this yet, pay attention: Micah Shrewsberry is turning Notre Dame back into a serious power. A very serious power.
Keep this in mind: Shrewsberry learned much of his craft from Brad Stevens. And keep this in mind too: the guy is recruiting as well as anyone in the ACC not named Scheyer.
This year he has his son, Braeden, who is a terrific three point shooter, Logan Imes, who is a very useful all-around guard, and Markus Burton, who had a terrific freshman season.
All three are sophomores. Kebba Njie is a solid junior big man (6-10/254) and he’s going to bruise some people in the lane. Remember Butler’s Matt Howard? Think of that guy with a better body and more talent.
There's not a whole lot to learn against Stonehill though. Quick: where the heck is Stonehill?
Yeah, that’s what we thought.
They’re in Massachusetts and compete in the Northeast Conference and are in the process of transition to D-I.
The epitome of a buy game, really, and that’s fine. Shrewsberry is still building his program.
The backcourt is the key for this team and Burton and Shrewsberry combined for 36 points. Burton shot 6-17/2-6 while Shrewsberry was better at 6-9/4-5.
Princeton transfer Matt Alloco had 10. Those guards combined for 46 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals while Njie and Tae Davis both had nine each. Njie also had 10 rebounds.
For the Irish, remember, Shrewsberry is building for the future. If it turns out that Notre Dame is ahead of schedule, that’s great. If not, this is a team to keep an eye on over the next few years.
There’s just not much to learn from Georgia Tech’s win over West Georgia and Damon Stoudamire, like Shrewsberry, is still building. The Yellow Jackets had an easy night, going up 50-29 at the half and shot 57 percent in the first stanza.
Javian McCollum, a senior transfer from Oklahoma, had 18 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Kowacie Reeves finished with 15 points and four rebounds.
Special props to Jaeden Mustaf, who played just about a week after his father, former Maryland star Jerrod passed away. That can’t be easy.
Thursday’s games feature NC A&T at Wake Forest, Florida A&M at SMU and Cal Poly at Cal. We’d keep an eye on Wake because A&T is only about 40 minutes away and those guys probably play pickup in the summers. We’re not saying the Aggies will pull an upset but could we imagine it happening? Yeah. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.
- Virginia outlasts Campbell to give interim head coach Ron Sanchez a victory in his debut
- Five takeaways in Virginia basketball’s win over Campbell
- Five takeaways from UVA basketball’s season-opening win over Campbell
- Irish down Stonehill to open the year
- Shrewsberry, Burton lead Notre Dame past Stonehill
- Braeden Shrewsberry and Markus Burton lead Notre Dame past Stonehill 89-60 in season opener
- Noie: Give these Irish guards their ACC due sooner than later
- RECAP: Javian McCollum Leads Georgia Tech Past West Georgia 85-62, Yellow Jackets Open Season 1-0
- Yellow Jackets roll past West Georgia in season-opening win
- Tech shows balance, depth, versatility in season-opening win over West Ga
- Georgia Tech Handles D-I Newcomer West Georgia in Opener