Many of the Virginia Tech basketball previews are coming out in various media sources, and we are only a few weeks away from tip-off for Hokie hoops. This is arguably one of the most anticipated years for Virginia Tech in men's basketball in a long time, with virtually the whole team back (besides Deron Washington) from a squad that came in fourth in the ACC and won a few games in the NIT. There's young talented guys with a year under they belt and sights set on a NCAA berth if Seth Greenberg can pull the right strings.
So hit all the Virginia Tech sports sites in the links section to reads some great previews, but here are the top 10 things I'll be looking for this year:
10. Point Guard - last year we had 2 freshman at the position, one who's a bit small (Hank Thorns) and another who's better at the 2 guard (Malcolm Delaney). Overall they fared well, but how much better will the position be with a year of experience? Plan is to start Delaney at PG with Thorns as the back up, but as mentioned, putting Thorns at PG with Delaney on the wing better suits both players.
9. Terrell Bell - this is one of the frosh we didn't see much last year but should at the 3 spot this year. Bell is long and athletic, figures to be the a key defender (like Washington was last year), but again we haven't seen much of him and it will be interesting to see him on the court.
8. 3-Point Efficiency - look at the stats for any college game and the team with the higher FG % and 3pt FG % usually wins. That's why it was soooo nice having clutch shooters A.D. Vassallo, Delaney, and J.T. Thompson last year. Note that the 3pt line has been moved back a foot this year. So will the Hokie sharp shooters still light it up?
7. Vassallo - speaking of A.D., the senior from Puerto Rico is the arguably the teams best player and a top one in the ACC. Not just a shooter anymore, he's a scorer and a decent defender. The sky's the limit this year for A.D.
6. Free Throws - Virginia Tech was not a great free throw shooting team last year, only 2 players (Delaney and Vasallo) shot over 70% from the line. Not surprising for a young team, but this makes for nail bitting game endings and hopefully improves this year.
5. Lewis Witcher - Will the light finally come on for this talented big man? Witcher will start for the 3rd year, and while a solid inside player, his numbers are average and his play never seems to match what your eyes tell you his potential should be. I heard he pretty much won the slam dunk contest on midnight madness night, so that's a start.
4. Out of Conference Games - many years Virginia Tech has hurt itself with bad losses to out of conference opponents early in the season. This is normally as the team is gelling and just gets beat by a team that comes back to haunt them when NCAA tournament selection time comes. Can the Hokies avoid a stupid loss to Navy, Garner-Webb, or Mt. St Mary's this year, and better yet get a good win against Missouri, Xavier or Wisconsin in the ACC - Big 10 challenge?
3. Victor Davila- this is the prized recruit for this year. Davila is a freshman from Puerto Rico who is a big man with offensive skills, and makes free throws!! He'll have to earn minutes but hey, we played a lot of freshman last year.
2. Jeff Allen- this a gifted inside player that Virginia Tech has rarely seen. Post skills like Allen's don't come along often, and while consistency was his main problem last year, he supposedly had a great off-season and is in great shape. Watching Jeff Allen could be really special for Hokie hoops fans.
1. NCAA Berth - anything less this year will be a disappointment.
Time for some hoops! Go Hokies!!!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Good list!! I like number 2. Jeff should be fun to watch this year.
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Delaney will continue his run at PG… he was at Chris Paul’s camp this summer… but he will also look for his shot. Delaney will be the undisputed leader of this team. Delaney will not move away from the PG until next year when Beg Boggs plays (he is a physical PG with the size of a Zabian Dowdell or Jamon Gordon). We are going to be good this year, but the next two years will be special.
Jeff Allen lost a lot of weight and we need him to average a double-double every single game. There is no question about that. He needs to take over on the defensive end of the court. We will not lose those games that we lost last year… we will beat Mt. Saint Mary’s and Gardner-Webb… and Richmond. If we can beat Wisconsion, which I think we can, the sky is the limit for this young Hokie squad (Badgers are young)… I think we beat Duke on the road on January 4… that’s how confident I am.