Share This Post
It’s not often that a non-power school without a lot of tradition can go out on the recruiting trail and convince one of the nation’s best to come to their school. However, that’s exactly what Seth Greenberg did. Dorian Finney-Smith is a Boo Williams AAU kid who had offers from the majority of the schools in and around Virginia.
What is so intriguing about Finney-Smith is his natural athletic ability. He has a developing jump shot but Dorian is a natural “slasher” who has the ability to penetrate the lane at will. Honestly, that slashing off the ball scoring threat is the one thing this Virginia Tech team has been missing since Greenberg took over.
Name: Dorian Finney-Smith (Nickname is Doe-Doe)
Position: 2 or 3 (Shooting guard or small forward)
Location: Portsmouth, VA
School: I.C. Norcom High School
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 190
Offers: Virginia Tech, Florida, Old Dominion, Richmond, Maryland, VCU, and UVA
Recruiting Rankings
Prediction Based on Film Evidence
I haven’t seen much film on the kid but what little I have seen is impressive. You can just tell he’s going to be an All-ACC caliber player in time, much like those who saw Delaney in the same light. Because I haven’t seen much of him, I’ll turn it over to the experts at ESPN to deliver their thoughts:
Smith is a very skilled forward who shows the ability to play outside/in. He has a smooth handle that allows him to get by his man from the perimeter, and be a secondary ball handler against pressure. He makes very good decisions with the ball and can deliver passes in the open floor off the bounce. Smith makes it extremely tough to defend him with his ability to knock down the open 3. He has a good stroke with range out to 23' to go with a strong willingness to attack the rim off the dribble. Smith does the majority of his work attacking the offensive glass where he gains extra possessions consistently for himself and his team.
Overall, whoever gets this multiple-skilled forward with have a gem. He showed throughout the summer against the best players in America he was one of the elite. His most effective place to play may be somewhere they are more guard oriented or play a less physical brand of basketball.
Upshot For The Rest of the Class
With JT Thompson’s season ending knee injury, it will throw a serious wrench into this class. At first, the Hokies were set to take five players to replace our five seniors this year. But with JT now returning in 2011, Tech will only have four scholarships available at the beginning of next season.
Tech is still involved with a few more highly touted kids and I don’t think Greenberg is going to waste a scholarship this year. He’ll continue recruiting those few kids we’re after, if we miss oh well. If we get them, I’m sure he has a plan to make the numbers work.
Follow us on our Social Media Sites
Enjoy this post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed and never miss another! Or sign up to get exclusive VirginiaTechFan.com Sports Analysis delivered straight to your inbox!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Doesn’t Finney-Smith have a fractured foot, a torn ACL, and a heart ailment ?.
Seriously, it’s a relief to see some good news for the basketball program for a change.
Seth Greenberg is showing what good energy and charisma can accomplish in recruitng at Virginia Tech and if he can get on the other side of the luck factor he just might outperform the football program in the next decade.
I hate to say it but it’s starting to look that way. I would love to see Beamer do some more recruiting but with his age, I’m just not sure he’s up for it. Plus CFB rules restrict the head coaches more than CBB rules do.
This class is ranked 10th in the nation by ESPN, if we grab Parker or Baru, this could be a top 5 class.