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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
- It was a good week for Tech basketball. The Hokies got a win, and then
they got to sit around and watch everyone else in the conference beat each
other’s brains in. It doesn’t get any better than that. - The intensity of games at this time of the year is incredible. If you have
a chance to make the Big Dance, they become that much more significant. - The second half of the Boston College game, in terms of balanced offense
and defense, was the best 20 minutes of basketball Tech has played this
season. - Is the week off good or bad? We’ll find out this week. The Hokies
certainly had things going pretty well. - The players got two days off, and they’ve had some very good practices.
They had a good practice on Monday in preparation for Wake Forest. They are
a very good team. - They’ve spent a lot of time in practice guarding ball screens, because
that’s what they’ll be facing against Wake Forest. - The difference between Wake Forest and Boston College is that Wake’s
players will move a lot up and down the court. They’ve got a lot of freedom
to go out and make plays. - Tech did a great job on Tyrese Rice. Malcolm Delaney was terrific, and
Jeff Allen and Lewis Witcher did a great job of stepping out and helping.
Tech pressured the ball very well at the elbows and pushed BC out. That’s
how you defend the flex offense. - Wake Forest has a lot of talent. Chas McFarland is coming off a great
game. James Johnson might be a Tracy McGrady waiting to happen. He has a
very diverse offensive game. - If the Hokies beat Wake Forest, they will clinch at least a tie for fourth
place in the ACC. It will be a tough game. Wake didn’t just beat Duke. They
beat them soundly. - Virginia Tech leads the ACC with 61 starts by freshmen, and they have a
chance to finish in the top third in the league. -
Image provided by TechHoops.comMarcus Travis will start in place of Lewis Witcher for Senior Day, and Deron
Washington will start at the 4-spot. Travis has been a great leader and a
great ambassador for Virginia Tech. - In ACC games, Virginia Tech is averaging 28.4 free throw attempts per
game. That’s the best statistic in the league. The Hokies have a lot of
players that are capable of getting to the free throw line. - Officials have a tough job, especially at this time of the season. The
games are so intense and so physical. The Hokies will have Karl Hess for the
fourth time in four games. He’s basically got his own parking pass at
Cassell Coliseum. - Lewis Witcher has had another great week of practice. He has played at a
very high level recently. He’s jump hooking with either hand and he’s active
on the offensive glass. He’s starting to not only expect the ball, but to
ask for it. That’s exciting. - Wake has played well, but lost some games. That happens in this league.
You can play well and lose games. - You have to take care of the ball against Wake. They’ll bring it on you as
quickly as any team the Hokies have faced this year. They are very quick in
changing ends of the floor. - Tech has won six of the last nine games. Everybody has improved. As the
team progresses, their roles start to define. As the season moves along, you
have a better idea of what exactly each player can do. - The team is working hard. They practiced at noon on Monday, and everybody
was there by 11:30. The only negative is that Cheick Diakite badly
dislocated his finger. Hopefully he’ll be able to go against Wake. - Greenberg got a chance to see Victor Davila play last week. He left that
game and immediately called the Tech assistant coaches and told them that he
not only has a chance to be good, he can be great. His footwork is as good
as any player Greenberg has ever recruited. The frontcourt has a chance to
be really good next year. - Greenberg
likes to have big wings because they are effective defensively and they can
hit the offensive glass. They create matchup issues. They have the ability
to get in passing lanes. - Deron Washington is playing at a very high level. He is guarding the other
team’s best player on many occasions. He did a great job on Georgia Tech’s
Anthony Morrow down the stretch. He did a great job on BC’s Rakim Sanders.
His middle game has improved tremendously, and he’s rebounding the ball. - Terrell Bell is going to be a pretty good shooter. Dorenzo Hudson, with
confidence, will be a pretty good shooter. We already know Malcolm Delaney
can shoot. - Tech’s freshmen haven’t really hit a wall. They are competitors, and they
are starting to get that adrenaline rush from playing in big games at this
point in the season. - J.T. Thompson’s ankle is doing fine. He had a very good week of practice.
Hudson had a good week as well. Overall, it was a solid week, and Lewis
Witcher had a “terrific” week. - Right now, the players aren’t worried about what other teams do. They have
a good trust, and they are having fun playing. They also know that they
could lose their next three games. They are really locked in to what they
have to do to win games right now. - Greenberg doesn’t look at J.T. Thompson as a 3 or a 4. He looks at him as
a basketball player and as a guy who is relentless in his effort. - Tech plays Clemson on Sunday. They are a very good team. They remind
Greenberg of Tech’s team from last year. They’ve got some very good seniors
who have provided a foundation for the program. - Clemson has gone 11 years without shooting better than 62% from the free
throw line. Greenberg is happy that he doesn’t have Oliver Purnell’s email
address. - It’s going to be an emotional night for Deron and his mom, Denise. She’s
become a fixture in Blacksburg since she moved from New Orleans following
Hurricane Katrina. She’s like the team den mother. She has become really
fond of Blacksburg. - If you’re playing games of significance in March, then you’ve had a pretty
good year. Greenberg is very proud of the players. They really bought into
the concept of not using their youth as an excuse. A lot of people expected
them to fall flat on their faces. Every time they’ve taken a hit, they’ve
bounced back. They are staying in the present. - There is no pressure because there were no expectations. They just need to
go play and have fun, and concentrate on the next play.
Monday was Day 1,192 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the
Commonwealth Cup.
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