Basketball thoughts

Brad Brownell didn't seem down in the dumps yesterday when he met with the media. He was in good spirits despite two very disappointing losses in Virginia last week, and I like the fact that he didn't have a hangdog look when such a demeanor would be completely excusable.

This has to be a frustrating season for him. All these close losses tend to wear on you. The Tigers are 3-5 in the ACC, but there's still time to make this season memorable for the right reasons. Some teams are more fragile than others, and it might be safe to conclude that this group's psyche can only take so much hard-line coaching with so many freshmen and so few take-charge leaders.

A few thoughts heading into tonight's home game against Maryland:

-- Creating off the dribble was identified as an issue entering the season, and it's definitely been a problem. Demontez Stitt was so good at getting into the lane and breaking down defenses, and the Tigers just don't have that element this year.

Back in late November and early December, I thought T.J. Sapp was showing signs of being that kind of threat. But it's quite clear at this point that this kid is going to have to get much stronger in the offseason to keep from getting knocked around when he tries to get to the lane.

The pressing issue with Sapp at the moment is restoring his confidence and snapping him out of a lengthy shooting drought. But long term, the objective will be getting him bulked up so he can withstand physical defense. Teams gradually learned to play his 3-point shot, so he's going to have to do more off the bounce to become a feared player.

Sapp has scored a total of six points in the last six games, missing 11 of 12 shots from 3.

-- Rod Hall's minutes have decreased of late (16 total in the last two games), and the biggest reason for that has been Andre Young moving to point guard from shooting guard.

Opponents were successfully denying Young the ball when he played the 2 guard, so the move was made to give him more opportunities to score.

Hall's two biggest issues have been an inability to make shots, allowing opponents to back off and play the drive, and conditioning.

-- Brownell was asked yesterday about his team's late-game execution in all these close losses, and he said the execution has been fine as evidenced by the number of open shots in those late-game situations.

The loss at Virginia Tech was probably a really good microcosm: K.J. McDaniels couldn't make the first free throw, forcing him to intentionally miss the second. Clemson got a great break when the ball was tipped out to a wide-open Tanner Smith, but Smith rushed his shot from about 15 feet and it was slightly short.

When Brownell reflects on his team's seven losses by four points or less this season, he can think of a lot of open shots missed from the field or free-throw line. A coach can only do so much, and Brownell has put his team in position to win these games.

Is it a lack of skill or a lack of killer instinct? Probably a little of both.

"You gotta be a closer," Brownell said. "That's the hardest part. You put kids in position, and they've got to close it."

-- The biggest challenge Maryland will present tonight is the large number of set plays the Terrapins run -- probably more than anyone the Tigers have faced or will face.

The good thing is that Virginia Tech ran a bunch of set plays Saturday, with screens all over the place. So at least the Tigers are somewhat familiar with that approach.

-- No doubt the Tigers' focus will be on guard Terrell Stoglin. The Terps have taken 1,185 shots this season, and Stoglin has taken 362. That's 30.5 percent of the team's shots.

LW