2006-07 Hokie Hotline Notes for 11/27/06

The Hokie Hotline (football and basketball season)

When: Every Monday from 7:00-9:00 during football season, 7:00-8:00 during basketball season.

Where: Click here for a list of radio stations, and to find the link for listening to the show on the Internet (look to the right on the hokiesports.com page that loads when you click the link). You can also watch the archive on hokietv.com.

• Greenberg said he was disappointed with a couple of things from the Old
  Spice Classic. First of all, the team didn’t guard as well as they were
  capable. And second, no one established a frontcourt presence until the last
  game against Southern Illinois.
• The team played very hard except for about seven minutes in the first game
  against Western Michigan. Dowdell and Gordon turned the ball over a little
  more than usual in the games Tech lost. It was nice to see Cheick Diakite
  play well against Southern Illinois.
• They want Coleman Collins to play well, but until he does, someone else
  will get a chance. Diakite will start against Iowa on Wednesday. Lewis
  Witcher is back from his injury that forced him to miss Sunday’s game.
• Greenberg likes the team a lot, especially the perimeter game. He thinks
  the team came together some in the Southern Illinois game, if you judge from
  the reactions of the players on the bench during the game
• There is no formula that will light a fire under Collins. He has some
  issues that he has to get through on his own.
• Jeff Allen is as good a frontcourt player as there is in the country. Gus
  Gilchrist is 6-9 and physical. Terrell Bell is long and agile, similar in
  some ways to Deron Washington. Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson are guys
  who can score. The staff is very excited about this recruiting class.
• The Hokies lost to Southern Illinois in the first three minutes of each
  half. However, he was pleased that each time Tech got down by 11 or 12, they
  came back. They kept fighting back.
• Greenberg believes Virginia Tech’s perimeter game is as good as any in the
  ACC with Jamon Gordon, Zabian Dowdell, Deron Washington, A.D. Vassallo,
  Markus Sailes and Nigel Munson. They will win some games for Tech. But they
  need the inside players to step up as well.
• Iowa has a good tradition of basketball. They are the defending Big Ten
  tournament champs. They are young this year, however. Their perimeter game
  is very strong. Their inside players are long, but not overly athletic. They
  will mix man-to-man and zone defenses.

• The Hokies do have a shot at an at-large bid to the BCS. They are going to
  do everything in their power to take advantage of that opportunity if it
  presents itself.
• Weaver said he would hope the Chick-fil-A Bowl would not pick GT over VT
  if the Yellow Jackets lose to Wake Forest on Saturday. A lot of things could
  happen, and we just need to let it all play out.
• Weaver said he thinks the Rose Bowl will play their own game and create a
  Michigan-Notre Dame rematch. The Rose Bowl operates totally different from
  the other bowl games.
• Bud Foster has done a lot in his coaching career, and it would be
  understandable if he had aspirations to be a head coach. Weaver is unaware
  of Foster’s involvement with any coaching vacancies.
• Weaver isn’t sure whether the ACC will extend their contract with
  Jacksonville for the ACC Championship Game. It will probably depend on this
  weekend. But the Gator Bowl people do a great job of organizing the event.
• The Hokies would love to play Tennessee. They have a chance to play them
  in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
• Weaver said he hasn’t been contacted by any other school about getting
  permission to pursue Frank Beamer.

• Beamer is proud of his team for hanging in there and winning the way they
  did this season. The defense played great every week. The offense played
  hard. Not always well, but they were opportunistic.
• Virginia Tech only allowed two touchdowns in the last six games. The
  defense has been extremely consistent for six straight games.
• Beamer expects all injured players to be back for the bowl game, including
  starting left guard Ryan Shuman. Sergio Render and Branden Ore should be
  good to go as well.
• It has been a great accomplishment to win 10 games with this football
  team. There were a lot of holes to fill. A lot of inexperienced players had
  to play, and they did very well for the most part.
• Beamer told Roth that he and his staff are staying in Blacksburg. They got
  their contract situation squared away last year, and they have no plans to
  go anywhere.
• Beamer said NC State had a good head coach in Mike O’Cain, but they
  decided not to keep him. They will go after a big name coach to try and
  match UNC’s hire of Butch Davis.
• Right now, the Hokies don’t have any underclassmen that are petitioning
  the NFL for their likely position in the NFL Draft. The forms came in
  recently, but as of now, no one has been involved with the process.
• Brandon Pace has been a really good kicker this year. It was a shame to
  see his streak come to an end against UVA, but he could very well have a
  future at the next level.
• Beamer said it is interesting that the BCS people haven’t released
  Virginia Tech. That gives them a possibility to land in the BCS. After that,
  the bowl situation isn’t clear. Any bowl is a good bowl.
• The Hokies only had three penalties against UVA. That has been a key in
  the winning streak. Tech has played with discipline.
• Beamer and Mike O’Cain go way back. They coached together at The Citadel
  and Murray State. He is a good coach. He has done a great job with Sean
  Glennon this year. Glennon has played really well for the most part. O’Cain
  is always very calm.
• One reason why Beamer loves Tech so much is that he has been a part of its
  growth. When he looks around and sees new facilities and new practice
  fields, it feels good to know he was a part of it.
• Brandon Pace deserves to be a finalist for the Lou Groza Award for best
  kicker in the nation, but unfortunately he was left off the list. That’s not
  fair, because he is definitely one of the best kickers in the country, if
  not the best.
• If Reggie Ball gets hot, then Georgia Tech has a great chance to win the
  ACC. But Wake Forest is on a roll and playing good football and Beamer
  thinks they’ll win the game.
• Notre Dame has a lot of appeal across the country. There are a lot of
  different opinions about the Fighting Irish, but it looks like they are
  heading to the BCS.
• It’s a credit to the players and coaches for how this season turned out.
  They have worked hard, they made adjustments when they had to, and they
  gradually improved as a team.

Monday was Day 730 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.