2006-07 Hokie Hotline Notes for 12/11/06

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 is pleased with the way the Hokies have defended the last two
  games. They struggled offensively against Appalachian State, but they took
  care of the basketball and defended the entire 40 minutes.
• Markus Sailes gave the team very good minutes against Appalachian State
  when Jamon Gordon got in foul trouble. A.D. Vassallo defended better as
  well. He has 16 rebounds the last two games with 40 minutes of playing time.
• It’s good to see Lewis Witcher playing well. He comes from a good family
  and he’s a local player. It’s good for everyone that he’s playing so
  well. He’s only going to get better as he gets more confidence.
• Greenberg said they almost started Lewis Witcher from day one, but they
  decided at the last minute that he needed to come off the bench to get his
  feet wet first.
• Nigel Munson needs to improve his decision making. He has to get a better
  feel for taking over the team when he’s on the court. But his ball skills
  and his vision are great, and he’s a pure point guard. He’s going to be
  a very good player.
• The team will be off for exams on Monday and Tuesday. They’ll start
  practicing again later in the week in preparation for Wake Forest on Sunday.
• It’s important for Coleman Collins to get going. He can’t live in the
  past, he has to stay in the present.
• Greenberg said Zabian Dowdell is the hardest worker overall, when you’re
  talking about day-to-day activities. Deron Washington has worked hard and
  improved his overall skills, but how hard he plays during the game really
  sets him apart.
• In Virginia Tech’s region of recruiting, which is Virginia, Maryland and
  D.C., recruits want to play in the ACC. As time moves forward, Virginia Tech
  will become more familiar to recruits in this area, and it’s already
  paying off. Witcher and Munson were ACC recruits, and all five players
  coming in 2007 are ACC recruits, meaning they were targeted as sophomores.
• When you take the five players from 2007, and Witcher and Munson from his
  freshman class, then you’ll have seven young players on the team that can
  compete with anyone in the conference.
• This year’s game with Richmond is part of a two-for-one, meaning
  Richmond will play in Cassell twice, and the Hokies will travel to Richmond
  once. Greenberg wants to see how many Tech fans show up in Richmond next
  year before deciding if he wants to play future road games in Richmond.
• The Hokies can’t just play all of the smaller schools from Virginia just
  to pad their schedule. They need to play a national schedule with neutral
  site games that count as road wins in the RPI. And they need to play
  selected home-and-homes with some bigger name opponents.
• Tech has been talking to Gonzaga about playing two neutral court games.
  One would be held in Seattle, while the other would be in Roanoke or
  Richmond. It would be a made for television event that would bring the
  program national exposure. Tech coaches are in the process of determining
  whether they want to make such a long trip.
• The Hokies have a tough three-game stretch coming up with Seton Hall, Wake
  Forest and Campbell. Campbell is one of the top scoring teams in the country
  (88 points per game). Wake Forest is the ACC opener. They are a very
  athletic team. Kyle Visser is playing great.

• The Chick-fil-A Bowl is sold out. There are still tickets available on
  E-Bay and other ticket sites, but they are very expensive. 4,000 student
  tickets were sold in one hour and 15 minutes.
• There will be serious discussions in the offseason about the ACC
  Championship Game. The ACC has the option to renew their contract with
  Jacksonville, but other options will be discussed as well. Weaver favors the
  game being played in Charlotte. So many football fans of the ACC can get
  there with a one-day drive. That just can’t happen in Jacksonville.
• The lawsuit against Jimmy Williams has
  been dropped. Weaver has no new information about the case.
  Virginia Tech was working with the NCAA to get to the bottom of the issue.
  It’s up to the NCAA if the case goes any further.
• Weaver thinks there are too many basketball games, and it hurts
  attendance. There are a lot of games in November and December, and people
  still aren’t recovered from football season yet.
• The Virginia Tech Ticket Office has honored all preorders for the Chick-fil-A
  Bowl. Fans should start receiving their tickets in the next four to eight
  days.
• This is one of the hardest tickets of any bowl game in which the Hokies
  have played. The Chick-fil-A Bowl is one of the most popular bowls in the
  country, and it always features two high-profile teams.
• The Hokies will likely play one home Thursday night game and one road
  Thursday night game in 2007, as usual. Two of three teams, Boston College,
  Clemson and Georgia Tech, are the likely opponents.
• Tech’s
  deal with Nike is an outstanding step forward for the Virginia
  Tech athletics department. All of the Olympic sports will keep their
  budgeted dollars for equipment, but now they get to use that extra money for
  recruiting and other purposes. Joining the ACC definitely helped get the
  deal done. Weaver had been working on the deal since 1999.

• Most of the staff went recruiting right after the UVA game. Friday was the
  first day Stinespring spent in the office in a couple of weeks.
• Stinespring was on the road looking at players that have already
  committed, as well as trying to get a jump on the 2008 recruiting class. He
  doesn’t expect any decommits at this time.
• It’s an exciting time to recruit for Virginia Tech. The Hokies played
  great down the stretch, and they are going to another very good bowl game.
  Tech has a lot of momentum that they’ve built over the course of time.
• Stinespring can’t mention prospects’ names right now, but Virginia
  Tech will have some more January enrollees this year, as usual.
• Branden Ore isn’t quite 100% yet, but he has been running with the team.
  He has a brace on his ankle, but he’ll be fine and he’ll play in the
  bowl game against Georgia. They just have to be careful with him because
  they don’t want him to re-injure the ankle.
• Randy Shannon deserves the Miami coaching job, and Stinespring is happy
  that he got it. It is obvious that he is a players’ coach. He was the best
  man for the job, according to Stinespring.
• Some reports indicate that Kevin Rogers is a finalist for the offensive
  coordinator position at Miami. He would be a great choice for Miami.
• Stinespring pointed to the loss at Boston College as the time when the
  staff realized that they needed to get back to concentrating on running the
  ball instead of putting all the pressure on Sean Glennon.
• Stinespring said they shouldn’t have to make too many adjustments to
  their game plan against Georgia because Tony Ball is there. They already
  changed a lot before the UNC game because Danny Pearman was on that staff.
• The team will start practicing again next week. They’ll try to knock the
  rust off in Blacksburg, and then when they arrive in Atlanta they will begin
  their game preparation. The team will have five practices before they leave
  for Atlanta. They will have their normal game week practices in Atlanta.
• There are a lot of good linebackers in the ACC, and a lot deserving of
  All-ACC honors. Guys like Xavier Adibi, Jon Beason, Antonio Clay and
  KaMichael Hall did not make the team, and that says a lot about the depth of
  top linebackers in the ACC.
• Sergio Render struggled at the beginning of the season, but by the end of
  the year he was pretty good. He ended up being named a Freshman
  All-American.
• Sam Wheeler really improved at the end of the year and became an important
  part of the team. He did a very good job in the passing game.
• Georgia has a very good defense, and the Tech offensive coaches will begin
  breaking down game film on the Bulldogs this week. Stinespring watched all
  12 Georgia games on Monday. They run well, like any SEC team. They are
  opportunistic on defense.
• Winning the Chick-fil-A Bowl would be huge for Virginia Tech, especially
  in what was considered a rebuilding year. Winning 11 games would be a big
  boost of confidence heading into the offseason.

Monday was Day 744 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.