Everyone is so focused on Nolley's recent play. While I agree that is a concern, IMHO what is really killing this team is the hole we are digging on offense, and also IMHO that is primarily due to our starting PG, not Nolley.

I'm not a stats guy, but here are some numbers I found by looking at Hokiesports.com. In our most recent four losses, Bede is shooting 33% from the floor and is averaging just under 5 points per game. For the season, yes he leads the team in assists, but that would be expected from someone who ranks 2nd on the team in minutes played, and has the ball in his hands the majority of most offensive possessions when he is on the floor.

Overall this year, Bede has played more mins than anyone but Nolley, and he is 8th on the team in FG%, 9th in FT%. I don't think it is possible in modern basketball to win with that kind of limited offensive production/threat from the PG position. This reminds me so much of watching VT the year that Devin Wilson started at PG, who also struggled with shooting and finishing. VT did not start to achieve its potential until 5 took over from Wilson and teams started having to defend the PG position rather than cheating off it.

I would argue that at this point of the season, Bede needs to become a 6th or 7th man, and let Cone start at PG, with Alleyne and Cattoor (who moves the ball quickly when he touches it) helping to run the O. From the "eye test", Cone appears to struggle with TOs more than Bede, but if you look at the numbers, both are averaging around 0.7 TOs per minutes played. As teams continue to defend VT out to the arc, the only way we can combat that is to have more shooters on the floor and prevent double teams. We are not going to magically grow some taller players over the next few weeks, so we need to maximize the number of outside threats. I just don't think we can have any hope of breaking this slump while teams are confident they can play 5 on 4 defense.