No. 16 Va. Tech to be short-handed vs. Ball State

The Charleston Classic is about to begin, and Virginia Tech doesn't know what kind of team it has. This is partly the product of the Hokies' unsteady season opener against Gardner-Webb last Friday, but it is mostly the product of forces head coach Buzz Williams can't control.

Chris Clarke had already been suspended indefinitely. Forward Landers Nolley still hasn't been cleared to play by the NCAA for reasons which have puzzled Williams and other people inside the program. NCAA skepticism over Nolley's ACT score has caused that situation to linger in a state of uncertainty.

That phrase -- state of uncertainty -- also applies to the Hokies' play, but their limited bench gives Williams less freedom to explore lineup combinations which could unlock the full measure of Virginia Tech's talents.

Williams, speaking after the Gardner-Webb game, did not try to evade the reality of his team's situation heading into Charleston.

"I don't think we're ready," Williams said. "We'll have to change drastically prior to Thursday."

Don't let the 87-59 margin over Gardner-Webb make you think that Williams is somehow sandbagging in the best of the Lou Holtz tradition. This team truly is an unknown entity right now. It coughed up 20 turnovers against Gardner-Webb and allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs to shoot 46.7 percent from the field.

The Hokies did force 29 turnovers, 16 of them with steals, but this raises the point that if Virginia Tech can't turn over its opponents in Charleston, it could give up even higher shooting percentages and find itself in trouble.

Not having anything close to a full complement of players will limit Williams' ability to explore solutions, but at least he has one player he probably wasn't counting on a few weeks earlier: Isaiah Wilkins.

The late signee thought he would be redshirted this season, but Williams told Wilkins early in the week before the Gardner-Webb opener that the freshman would not be redshirting.

Wilkins promptly scored 21 points against the Runnin' Bulldogs, making 5 of 7 3-point shots.

Wilkins was as surprised as anyone by the scoring burst.

"That wasn't me, that was Jesus -- it was him moving through me," he said.

His coach was equally surprised.

"His rate of growth ... was drastically different than I anticipated," Williams said.

Wilkins could be the piece of the puzzle that helps the Hokies handle Ball State while they try to cope with their lack of depth and solve problems on the fly.

Ball State defeated Indiana State in its opener and then gave Purdue a fight before losing by nine points, 84-75, on Saturday. The Cardinals led the Boilermakers early in the second half but then allowed a 24-4 run to lose control of the contest. They rallied to pull within striking distance late but never got particularly close down the stretch.

Ball State, like Virginia Tech, will need to focus on defending without fouling in Thursday's game in Charleston. Both teams fell into foul trouble in their most recent games. Two players on the Cardinals fouled out against Purdue, and two Hokies fouled out against Gardner-Webb.

Ball State head coach James Whitford addressed how the inability to adjust to a tight whistle affected his team in the Purdue game.

"The other thing that starts to happen is you start to play scared on defense," Whitford said. "That, truth be told, bothered me as much as anything. When they start driving or start trying to make plays, you get tentative on defense because you're thinking, 'I have three or four and I'm going to foul out.' It softens your defense."

Only one Ball State player, Tayler Persons, logged more than 25 minutes against Purdue because of pervasive foul trouble. He played 32 minutes, but without the starting five alongside him on the court, he struggled in the second half, going scoreless after posting a 19-point first half.

Ball State needs its best players. Virginia Tech, being as thin as it is, can't have two players foul out if a game is remotely close. The margin for error on the Hokies' side of the ledger is not very large.

This Charleston Classic opener could easily become a battle of attrition. Virginia Tech and Ball State need to adjust to the whistle and cope with the uncertainties that are part of early-season basketball.