Virginia Tech fought valiantly against No. 4 Duke but in the end, the Hokies were simply outclassed and outmatched on their way to an 88-65 defeat against the Blue Devils inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The effort was definitely there from the Hokies and they were able to hang with Duke for the first ten 10 minutes before a 17-2 run blew the game open with the Blue Devils slowly widening the margin from there led by 24 points from Cooper Flagg.
So with that said, here are my takeaways from the Hokies' 88-65 defeat to Duke.
Tobi Lawal Shown Offensive Growth While Embracing the Road
Let's start with some of the positives headlined by Tobi Lawal.
The VCU transfer led the Hokies with 19 points and five rebounds which included a career-high 3 three-pointers. After the game, Lawal had this to say about how he's made strides in his game as a three-point shooter.
"I put in the work. I trust my work that I did in the summer and thank God I have coaches that believe in me, that help me work on my game, that make it easy for me to expand on it and feel comfortable shooting it," Lawal said.
Prior to this season, Lawal was 3-7 from three-point range in his career. Through 13 games this year, he's 9-21 (42.8%) from three-point range, with his expanding range not only opening up space for him to drive, but also helping him become a more refined player to add to his tremendous, NBA-level athleticism.
Part of what helped Lawal in this game as well seemed to be how the VCU transfer wasn't intimidated by Cameron Indoor Stadium, but rather embraced it and enjoyed getting a chance to play in one of basketball's most legendary arenas. That was most clear right before tipoff where he was loose and smiling while chatting with some of the Duke starters including Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach.
After the game, I asked Lawal about where that mentality comes from that allows him to be loose even in the most hostile environments.
"If I'm being honest, every game's a blessing. You got to be happy that you're on the court, there's people who are injured who can't play, that's one. Two, I love great environments. I'm not saying it gets me going, but it helps, it doesn't hinder me because obviously I played at VCU for two years, they used to call us road warriors for a reason. It's fun to play on the road. You're always gonna see me smile. We're blessed to play the game that I love. There's nothing else to do but to be happy," Lawal said.
That type of appreciation for simply getting to play the game shows with Lawal and is a big reason why he's able to have the success that he has. It's also a great lesson for anyone to appreciate the gifts of life and enjoy the opportunities life gives up rather than stress about the littlest of things.
