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 see the show in person at Awful Arthur’s in Blacksburg, and you can also watch the archive on hokietv.com.
Hokie Hotline Notes, sponsored by Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech
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Seth Greenberg
- Seth is really proud of his players for their focus and intensity in
coming back from a tough loss against Duke. They took care of the ball, and
obviously rebounded very well. It was a great road win. - Tech has won overtime road games at UVA and Boston College, both tough
places to win. They both have some very good players. This was Tech’s first
win in the Conte Forum, and their first win in the John Paul Jones Arena. - J.T. Thompson embraced his opportunity. He was more confident and
aggressive. They had been trying to get him to attack. He shoots it better
than people realize. His best asset right now is being aggressive on the
inside and running the court. - You can talk about the missed free throws, but you can also talk about the
Hokies getting offensive rebounds and scoring five points off missed free
throws. - As soon as the Duke game was over, it was important to get ready for BC.
They traveled to Boston, had two very good film sessions and a great
practice. They approached it well, and the players handled it well. - Tech didn’t foul BC at the end of regulation for a number of reasons.
First, there were over 10 seconds left. If it had been under five seconds,
they would have fouled when BC inbounded. Also, Tech was having a poor game
from the free throw line at that point. With the way they were shooting,
that’s not where you want the game decided. Tech would have been forced to
go back to the line during that scenario. - Plus, with BC at the line, what if they decide to make the first and miss
the second and try to get the offensive rebound? Tech would have had to have
brought Cheick Diakite in, who is their worst free throw shooter. If he got
the rebound, you’re talking about Cheick being on the free throw line with
the game on the line. A lot of thought goes into situations like that. - Give Rakim Sanders credit. He made a great shot. Sometimes great offense
beats great defense. - Hank Thorns made his free throws down the stretch, hit a big three and did
a great job controlling the tempo. - The coaching staff is still working with the young guards on fast breaks.
They have to know where to go with the ball, when to push it and when to
back it out. Thorns and Delaney were much better in that regard on Saturday. - The
officials have a tough job. The games are so intense right now, and
everybody is a little on edge. How the game is officiated depends on the
crew you have. Some crews call it tight, some teams let them play. - J.T. Thompson played so well, and not just because of his points and
rebounds. His attention to detail defensively was very impressive. Thompson
will get significant playing time. He’s earned it. - Florida State has excellent guard play. They have four guards who are in
their fourth year or fifth year. Sometimes they go with four guards. They
are very good with that lineup. - Florida State is desperate. They are 2-4 in the league. They are very
capable. They blew out Florida. They won at Georgia Tech. They had Clemson
beat, but Tiger center Trevor Booker banked in a three-pointer. FSU is a
very good team. They are very athletic. - Last year Al Thornton scored 27 points against Tech in the second half. He’s
gone, and this year they are doing it by committee. They feed off their
energy on the defensive end. They remind Greenberg of Tech’s team last year.
Their greatest strength is their experience. - Jeff Allen is at full speed. He practiced with the team last week, and he
had a good practice on Monday. Greenberg expects him to play at a very high
level when he gets in the game, or if he starts the game, depending on what
the staff decides to do. - Coach K and Greenberg walked off the court together on Thursday night, and
Coach K told Greenberg he was very impressed with how hard Tech played. He
was also concerned about the scheduling situation, with the quick turnaround
to BC. He didn’t think that was fair. - Virginia Tech has created a monster in Matt Causey. He’s been going off
since he scored 30 on the Hokies. He’s a very confident player right now. - The Hokies have played fewer home games than anyone in the ACC. They still
have six home games remaining on their schedule. If you can win your home
games, you create possibilities. - Last weekend wasn’t a good week for the home teams. Four home teams lost
in ACC basketball last week. - The ACC won’t go to 18 games in the next three years. They have already
voted on that. All the coaches are decidedly against 18 conference games. - Tech didn’t do a good job in regulation with their free throws against BC,
but they were perfect in overtime. That was good to see. Greenberg is proud
that Hank Thorns knocked down his free throws in overtime. - A.D. Vassallo is averaging almost 10 rebounds per game in the ACC. He’s
doing an excellent job there. - After the Georgia Tech game, Greenberg was chastised via email by Jamon
Gordon for letting Matt Causey score 30 points. Greenberg didn’t get an
email from Jamon after they beat BC, maybe because Jamon could never win up
there. - The staff sent Jamon a care package last week with some Hokie gear. The
ownership Jamon shows excites Greenberg. He expects to hear from Gordon
before the FSU game, because Gordon and his grandma always got fired up for
FSU since they are from Jacksonville. - Glen Combs made a gift to the new practice facility. It’s great to see
these former players getting involved in the program. They are past having a
basketball team. Tech now has a basketball program.
Monday was Day 1,157 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the
Commonwealth Cup.
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