2006-07 Hokie Hotline Notes for 3/5/07

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.

Pete
Dye River Course of Virginia Tech has new expanded non-resident areas that
qualify for a lower membership rate. They are also waiving the initiation fee
for new members from now until April 1st! For more information, visit RiverCourseGolf.com,
or call 540-633-6732 or 1-888-PeteDye.

Seth Greenberg

• The Hokies played very hard to come back and take the lead against
  Clemson. Dowdell’s missed shot on Tech’s last possession was a great look.
  It was a much better look than the Hokies could have gotten by calling a
  timeout and drawing a play up on the sideline.
• A 20-win season with 10 wins in the ACC was good enough to get the #3 seed
  in the ACC tournament. The team is still in very good spirits. They really
  wanted to beat Clemson, but they are very upbeat about their chances in the
  ACC tournament.
• The Hokies took Monday off and will practice on Tuesday. They’ll practice
  twice on Wednesday, and then travel to Tampa.
• Nigel Munson played very well against UVA. He did a great job of pushing
  the ball offensively, and he played good defense as well. They fell behind
  early against Clemson and they wanted to play with a bigger defensive
  lineup, so that’s why Munson didn’t play.
• Munson has started to make good progress. He struggled in the middle part
  of the ACC schedule, but he’s starting to turn it on again and has had some
  very good practices.
• Lewis Witcher has to be more assertive and aggressive. He has to be more
  consistent on the defensive end. He’s a guy who can score on the inside with
  either hand. If Tech plays a team with a big lineup, such as Georgia Tech,
  Witcher could very well get the start.
• Not everyone is going to have freshman seasons like Dowdell, Gordon and
  Collins. There is depth on the team now, and these freshmen don’t have to
  start like those three guys did three years ago.
• Next year’s freshman class will play a lot. They will rely on their
  returning players a great deal, but those young guys will have a great
  opportunity to play as freshmen.
• The
  hardest part of the tournament is the first four minutes of the first game.
  It’s important to get off to a good start. The coaches plan to use a little
  more of their bench because they plan to stick around in Tampa for awhile.
• Greenberg said he didn’t call a timeout when Clemson got up early because
  he wanted the team to play through it. If he had called a timeout two
  minutes into the game, they would have gone back out onto the court with the
  same emotions still running through them.
• Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon both deserved their All-ACC honors.
  Dowdell was named to the First Team and Gordon the Third Team. Both were
  named to the All Defensive Team.
• You can build a case for about five guys for ACC player of the year. It’s
  very tough to vote this year if you’re a member of the media.
• Tyler Hansbrough probably won’t be affected by the facemask he’ll have to
  wear for his broken nose. Generally those masks affect guards more than
  inside players.
• Greivis Vasquez was left off the ACC All-Freshman team, but he was very
  deserving. He is playing as well as just about any guard in the league right
  now.
• The Hokies have won a lot of big games with Coleman Collins. It’s easy for
  people to talk about him now, but Coleman helped the Hokies beat UNC, Duke,
  Maryland, etc. He has invested a lot of time and effort into the program.
• It wasn’t a player that cost them the game. It was one play. A missed
  dunk, a shot banked in by Hamilton when he tried to shoot it straight in, a
  shot stuck under the rim, one three-pointer, etc. If any of those plays had
  gone the other way, the Hokies would have won.
• When you build a house, you start with the foundation. The five seniors
  for Tech are the foundation of the program, and now they need to build upon
  them.
• Greenberg said he they are still evaluating several guards for their final
  scholarship. They need one who can complement the players already in the
  program.
• Dorenzo Hudson is a big, strong guard. He may have to lose a few pounds.
  Malcolm Delaney is in great physical condition. He is similar to Zabian
  Dowdell in that he can create space and get his own shot.
• The ACC tournament is wide open. There are a lot of teams who think they
  can win it. UNC has a tough draw with Maryland, Florida State and Clemson in
  their bracket. From top to bottom, the ACC is the best conference in
  America.
• You’re always nervous until you actually see your name on the screen on
  Selection Sunday. Everyone else says the Hokies are definitely in, so
  Greenberg hopes they are right.
• The NCAA tournament is all about matchups and style of play. For example,
  the Hokies don’t want to play Syracuse in the first or second round in
  Buffalo.

Monday was Day 828 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.