Erick Green scored 29 points on his Senior Night, leading the Hokies to a 69-61 win over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday evening in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies have now won two of their last three games, and improved to 13-16 overall and 4-12 in the ACC. Clemson dropped to 13-15, with a 5-11 mark in conference play.
Green was his usual efficient self, scoring his 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 5-of-7 mark from three-point range. He was also 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He threw his entire offensive arsenal at the Tigers, scoring on runners in the lane, three-pointer off screens, ankle breakers, and the charity stripe. It was a good way to go out for the nation’s leading scorer.
“Getting a win [was the best part],” Green said. “My teammates came out and played hard for me on my Senior NIght. It was a special moment for me. I was teared up coming out there with my family.”
With his 29 points, Green became the third player in Tech history to score 700 points in a season. The others are Bimbo Coles and Dell Curry.
Green had help. For the fourth consecutive game, C.J. Barksdale was the team’s second leading scorer and the leading rebounder. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. The Hokies would not have beaten Florida State or Clemson without his contributions.
“I think I’m just adjusting [to the speed of the game] and being more aggressive out there,” Barksdale said. “I’m looking for my shot and playing more confident. It comes a time where you just have to stop thinking out there and start playing. That’s what I’ve been doing, and I’m going to keep doing it for the rest of my career.”
Robert Brown also had a nice game for the Hokies, scoring 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He was 4-of-8 against Florida State and 3-of-8 against Miami. Brown has attacked the basket more, rather than settling for jump shots.
“It’s a little bit of everything. The game is slowing down, and I’m getting more comfortable,” Brown said. “I’m getting my confidence back. Staying in the gym. I know I’ve been telling ya’ll that I’ve been in the gym, and I’ve continued to stay in the gym with Coach Johnson.”
Virginia Tech outrebounded Clemson 33-21. They also outshot the Tigers 54.8% to 42.6%. The Hokies were 6-of-13 (46.2%) from three-point range and 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the free throw line.
Tech will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Duke. Tipoff is set for 7pm, and the game will be televised by ESPNU.
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I think Green has influenced the underclassmen more than any other player that has come through VT in a long time. Those that remain are able to look at what he accomplished and how he did it. They are able to compare how much one summer putting up 20000 shots in the gym will do even for such a lousy percentage shooter as Green was before last summer.
I think Green has already given his parting gift to the coaches, players, and the program with his example of what hard work can do. I think more than one player on this team is going to do the same thing Green did last summer. If that prediction holds true, we should be fine next year.
Didn’t Bob Ayersman have 700 points back in the 50s?
POINTS SCORED
Season
1 Bimbo Coles (1989-90)……………………………….785
2 Dell Curry (1985-86)…………………………………….722
3 Bimbo Coles (1988-89)……………………………….717
4 Bimbo Coles (1987-88)……………………………….702
5 Wally Lancaster (1987-88)………………………….679
6 Dell Curry (1983-84)…………………………………….674
7 Malcolm Delaney (2009-10)……………………….667
8 Allan Bristow (1971-72)………………………………650
9 A.D. Vassallo (2008-09)………………………………..648
10 Allan Bristow (1972-73)………………………………644
1957-58 Bob Ayersman, F………………………………..393
1958-59 Bob Ayersman, F………………………………..556
I was glad that Erick Green’s last game at Cassell ended with a win. What a super guy and super player he is. Contgratulations to all the players for a great effort in this win.
I was worried the last 10 minutes of the game. Their passing in the face of the press was pretty bad, too many long passes giving Clempson time to pick them off. If it hadn’t been for the turnovers, the Hokies would have won by 20. Still, I have impressed with CJ’s play the past few games. He hasn’t been afraid to fire up that 15 foot shot from the free throw line.
For Tech Hokie13, “Not so fast my man!” Unless JJ’s recruites can REALLY PLAY, next year will be super ugly. Erick Green not only scored, he had many assists.. Coach Johnson will be given three years to show significant growth, but the ACC has added many more “speed bumps” in the road to success, namely:Syracuse, Pitt, L’ville and ND.
I hope TechHokie13 is correct, but doubt it. GFB-VT`63
Going back a year or two, no one would have expected Green to have the kind of year he has this year either. Obviously some guys will need to step up but this is the case every year.
Other guys will step up to fill Green’s departing points and assists. Strangely enough, oftentimes when a team loses an ace liks Green, they’re actually better the following reason because the returning guys all know that they can’t count on the ace to bail them out any more.
Next season will be an interesting one for sure. Counting transfer Adam Smith, there will be six new faces on the sideline next season, all of whom will likely be getting significant playing time.
One thing’s for sure: Adding 7’0″ Trevor Thompson and 6’9″ Maurice Kirby to go along with Cadarian Raines, CJ Barksdale and Joey Van Zegaran, nobody will be able to complain about VT lacking size down low next season.
Very happy for Erick Green, a great lesson for all youth players out there about hard work paying off.
Looks like attendance was only about 5.1K, that is a little disappointing given all that Green has done this year.
I thought that the crowd was still pretty loud for only 5.1 K, IMO
As happy as I am for Erick Green and for how well his senior night went for him, I think my favorite part of this writeup is that last bit of the quote from Brown, “I’ve continued to stay in the gym with Coach Johnson.” I absolutely love that a: Johnson didn’t give up on his players when they weren’t performing (yes, I know options were limited and playing time did decrease, but still) and b: Brown worked his tail off and he and his teammates want to work their tails off for JJ. As disappointing as it is to see Green leave, I’m pretty happy with where the program’s going right now. We’ve seen flashes from all these guys, and hopefully with the new guys coming in, this team can be pretty good next year and beyond.
In the close losses to teams like Miami and NC State as well as the big win over Oklahoma State, they’ve shown that that can compete at a high level when everyone is on their game. I know our record looks ugly at first glance, but I don’t think the program is in nearly as bad a shape as many others seem to think that it is.
CONGRATS TO ERICK GREEN !!!
Congrats to the Hokies for the WIN !!!
Keep taking the ball to the hoop and have fun guys! Good to see Robert and CJ doin well and having fun!
/r
Slim