Another selection show has come and gone and for the third straight season, the Virginia Tech logo never appeared on screen. The Hokies had amasses a quality resume with a 23-8 overall record, a 10-6 mark in conference play but perhaps the 344th ranked non-conference schedule was the anchor that officially kept the Hokies from reaching their ultimate destination.
The arguments are abound of why the Hokies failed to make the big dance and while some of the talking heads of ESPN and other sports sites have come to the aid of Virginia Tech, it still doesn’t fill the emptiness this season now possesses. Perhaps if the Hokies could have won against Miami on Friday, perhaps if Erick Green’s three pointer could have fallen against Maryland, perhaps if Tech could have managed to beat Temple when they had the chance earlier in the year the Hokies may have been dancing this week.
Instead, Tech is relegated to being a one seed in the NIT for the second time in the past three years. Just let that thought sizzle a little bit. Twice in the last three seasons, the Hokies have been one of the first four teams out of the NCAA. Tournament. If that’s not a punch in the gut I don’t know what is.
Since I tend to be an optimist, I’ll spend the majority of this blog entry focusing on the positives of this situation. While it would have been nice for this team to gain some NCAA tournament experience heading into next season, the Hokies will still be able to gain a few more weeks of practices, which will pay off in the long run.
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Odds are this will be the last National Invitation Tournament. The NCAA has made it clear that they want to expand the tournament to 96 teams and it appears that their dream could come to fruition next season. Because of that, the Hokies could enshrine their names into the history books if they are the last team to ever win the NIT tournament.
With the Hokies in the NIT, which is scarcely televised up until the third and fourth rounds, it will keep Malcolm Delaney out of the limelight ending any thoughts he had of turning pro after this season. This leads me into my last point in saying that this year was definitely a stepping-stone into next season.
The Hokies will lose Lewis Witcher and the teams best character in walk-on Paul Debnam. Honestly, losing Debnam may hurt more than losing Witcher. However, everybody else will return and the Hokies will have the services of Allan Chaney, the walk-on from Florida, as well as freshmen Jarrell Eddie and Tyrone Garland. Needless to say, the Hokies should have a pretty good team next season.
So while it’s disappointing to see Virginia Tech once again passed over come selection Sunday, Hokie fans should keep an eye towards the future because this team and this program has not even come close to reaching it’s full potential.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I’m a MD fan, but can’t believe VT didn’t get in the tournament. After the MD/VT game, I saw a team that could be very dangerous in the tourney. Much more so than Wake or some of the other teams limping into the tournament. I know there’s arguments either way, but come on….
John