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.
Seth Greenberg
- It’s always good to win your first ACC game in December. When you look
at the ACC standings for the next few weeks, Virginia Tech will be tied for
the lead. - Shot selection was bad in the first half against Wake Forest. But the
Hokies fought through it and continued to defend, which is very impressive.
They also took care of the ball and rebounded better in the second half. - The Hokies have defended the perimeter better the past few games. The
staff overestimated the team’s athleticism to start the season. The
defense was extended a bit too much, and it was hurting help defense. But
they have made adjustments, and the Hokies have been much better against
dribble penetration. - Wake point guard Ishmael Smith was leading the ACC in assists, but he had
just one assist against the Hokies. - Tech’s big men need to shape up and be a little more aggressive. Wake
put so much pressure on the ball early in the game that they were worn out
at the end. Plus the Hokies started competing better offensively in the
second half. - Zabian Dowdell had a tough game shooting, but he continued to do the
little things like rebound, pass and play defense. That is important and it’s
a sign of maturity. - Jamon Gordon’s knee injury doesn’t appear to be serious. He’ll
practice some on Tuesday and he’ll likely be ready to go on Thursday
against Seton Hall. - Robert Krabbendam gave the Hokies great minutes. He worked hard on the
glass and had five rebounds. He’s a very good off the ball defender. - Markus Sailes also played a great game. He knows what kind of player he
is, and he plays to his strengths. He has a very good understanding of the
game. - Nigel Munson is going to be a very good point guard. But Markus Sailes
gave Tech the best chance to win on Sunday because it was a low scoring
game, which fit Sailes’ style of play. - The Wake game was positive for Coleman Collins. He blocked a shot and made
a couple of very nice hustle plays. He just needs to pick up some
confidence. - Seton Hall is led by freshman guard Eugene Harvey. He was coached in high
school by former Duke point guard Bobby Hurley. His school was a point guard
factory. He is very quick, he gets in the lane, and he is a very good on the
ball defender. He’s not a great shooter, but he’s a very good player. - Seton Hall is very aggressive and very persistent. They get after you.
They have tough players and they force 20 turnovers per game, but they
“don’t shoot it all that straight.” - For the last two weeks, Tech players have been required to shoot at a
minimum 100 free throws per day. A.D. Vassallo hit 49 out of 50 free throws
in the walk through before the Wake game. He just happened to miss a few
during the game. He is a very good free throw shooter. - Greenberg is interested to see the points of emphasis the officials make
during games once conference play really starts up. Will we still see
carries and palming calls in January and February? - Tech’s non-conference schedule is boosting their RPI. The Hokies are
62nd in the latest RPI, with a strength of schedule of 57. - Tech recruit Malcolm Delaney’s team played against a team that featured
three future Syracuse players over the weekend. His team was down by 15
heading into the fourth quarter, but he scored 15 consecutive points down
the stretch to lead his team to victory at the buzzer.
Jim Weaver
- Virginia Tech and Georgia received the same amount of tickets in the same
sections, only on opposite sides of the stadium. The Hokies don’t have any
choice about what tickets they receive from the Chick-fil-A Bowl. - A lot of the best seats were sold by Chick-fil-A. But according to Weaver,
there is no bad seat in the Georgia Dome, so everyone should be able to see
fine. - Virginia Tech will be allotted 4,000 tickets for the LSU game next year.
Ticket applications will go out sometime in late February. People will get a
chance to order their tickets based on Hokie Club point priority. - Virginia Tech will have next season’s football schedule in hand on
January 15, 2007, or shortly thereafter. - The student section in Cassell Coliseum is behind the opposing team’s
basket in the second half. They can make an impact on games that way.
Frank Beamer
- The Hokies have practiced well since they began workouts again on
Saturday. They have gotten better each day. The team will be free to go home
for a few days following Tuesday morning’s practice. - Beamer admires Ike Whitaker for taking the correct steps to get his life
straightened out. There is no question in his mind that this thing will end
successfully for Ike. He has a big support group, and he’ll be okay. - Cory Holt is back as the #2 quarterback. He is starting to get more reps
in practice. He’ll be fine mentally; they just have to get him used to
taking a lot of reps again. Everyone thinks quite a bit of Cory Holt. - Georgia has great athletes who are well-coached. And of course, they’ll
have a great crowd. Their defense is ranked near the top in most categories.
They have talent on offense, and it looks like true freshman quarterback
Matthew Stafford has stopped throwing the ball to the other team. - Branden Ore has done everything full speed through the first three
practices. He isn’t quite 100% yet, but he should be by December 30. - These practices in Blacksburg are like a bye week practice. They are used
to get the players physically and mentally ready for the game. The practices
are short but have a very quick pace. That keeps the players focused. - The Chick-fil-A Bowl will be big for Tech. It is a Saturday night game,
and it’s the only game that night. A lot of people will be watching, and
it will be great for the program. - Beamer is very proud of the program, especially this season. For a team
that featured a lot of players that hadn’t played in games before, they
really accomplished a lot. - This is a very important bowl game for the Tech program. They are playing
a big time SEC team in Georgia, in their home state. This game means
something. - With Tony Ball on the opposite sideline, the Tech coaching staff has to be
careful about getting away from some old habits. Ball will also know Tech’s
personnel very well, but there is nothing the Hokies can do about that. - The Hokie defense was better than a lot of people would have expected this
year, especially after losing so many players to the NFL. Sean Glennon has
played better than Beamer thought he might. He is confident, and he has
learned and progressed. - Noland Burchette and several other players deserve a lot of credit for
getting the team back on track after the two losses to Georgia Tech and
Boston College. - The offense wasn’t as flashy as the defense this season, but they did a
good job of capitalizing on opportunities. The perfect example was the Miami
game. The Tech offense was shut down for most of the night, but scored when
they needed to at the end. - (At this point, with about 15 minutes left in the program, 105.3 “The
Bear” in Christiansburg began playing music, for the remainder of the
show.)
Monday was Day 751 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.
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