Hey there! This started as a place to consolidate my thoughts on all things UVa basketball for my own enjoyment. A year later, and I’m blown away by the number of folks who have stopped by to read and give thoughts/feedback. It’s been such a warm and engaging welcome, we’re going to keep this thing going!
My favorite part of being a fan is the detailed analysis: who is playing, what strategies are being implemented both from an in-game perspective, from a roster construction/utilization/recruiting strategy perspective, and from a historical perspective. I like to think critically about what is going well, what isn’t, and why that’s the case; because part of the fun for me is to consider what I would do in the same position. What would I change? What would I keep the same? What do I think the take aways and lessons learned are? If you’re reading along, surely you will agree with me at times, and disagree others – and hopefully that will be part of the fun for you as well. As such, much of the time I may be critical about what’s going on, decisions, players, etc., because it’s more of a challenge and more fun (for me) to think about what to improve. But I am thrilled with the total body of work and the culture that has been created during the GOAT’s short tenure, and firmly believe he is the best thing to happen to UVa athletics:
I also have so much appreciation for every player who puts on that uniform and their commitment to the program – this has been a hobby/labor of love for the program.
What kind of content will you find on this site? I do detailed review of all of the games (or, most, I wasn’t able to get to three in total last season) where I watch each live, and then at least one more time again with a fine-tooth comb. I’ll pull usually between 20-30 clips to illustrate thoughts, points, and themes, around player performance, playing time, coaching decisions/strategy, and lineup composition. This can range from smaller points on a game-to-game bases to large sweeping themes that occur over a larger period of time. In the offseason, I’ll do a lessons learned article where I try to objectively reflect on my thoughts from the previous season to apply that moving forward, I’ll do a State of the Team piece (or multiple pieces) where I focus on areas for improvement that stood out from the film dive of the previous season, I’ll do individual player spotlights on transfers coming in, historic pieces or current player spotlights, and then will start to round into the season with some preview pieces on relevant content (like trips abroad, scrimmages, etc.). Amazingly, doing this has gotten my ear a little closer to the ground, as well, so I’ll include knowledge from that in my opinion as well.
Most of my content will attempt to harmonize what the film shows about the team with what the metrics say, and vice versa, with the goal being to share some informed opinions on what’s going on with the program and what I’d like to see happen. In a way, this site is kind of like if someone asked me to “show your work” when having opinions about the team. If you like to really go deep into this stuff, this might be your place. If you’re of the opinion that there should be no critical thinking/discussion about the program from outside of the program, then this may not be the site for you. But, if you’d like to see for yourself, or would just like a stroll down memory lane, the reviews from (almost) all of the games from last season as well as other content can be found at the bottom of this page.
So, who am I to be giving all of these opinions? No one, really. A fan! I grew up on the outskirts of Charlottesville near Ivy, Va, and graduated from UVa in 2006, after which I moved to the D.C. suburbs. I played competitively growing up from youth ball to AAU through high school varsity. I have coached some at the youth level, have written some for local and small publications in the past… but mostly, am just someone who enjoys watching, dissecting, and absorbing the game. This is where I will try to organize my thoughts in so doing. Come along with me if you’d like!
Cuts from The Corner (@CutsfromCorner) / Twitter
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Cuts from The Corner: UVA Hoops Musings 