Hokie Basketball Signs Four; J.T. Thompson Out 4-6 Weeks

The early signing period for men’s basketball began yesterday, and the Hokies
received signatures from all four of their committed prospects for the class of
2009. There is a chance that Virginia Tech might not be done with recruiting in
the 2009 class as well.

The highest rated recruit in the class is Manny Atkins, a 6-7, 200 wing from
Stone Mountain, GA. He averaged 20.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and three assists per
game as a junior last season. He chose the Hokies over offers from schools such
as Auburn, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Marquette and Michigan.

Atkins is rated the #89 prospect nationally by Prep Stars. He carries a 3.8
GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society, making him a very
well-rounded prospect.

Ben
Boggs is a 6-4, 185 wing guard from Roanoke, VA. He is a star player for Hidden
Valley High School. As a junior at Hidden Valley, Boggs averaged 19 points,
eight rebounds and three assists per game, and he is ranked the #26 shooting
guard in the country by ESPN.

Boggs is also ranked as the #105 player nationally by Prep Stars. He is known
as a Seth Greenberg type player who is tough defensively and who can get in the
lane and score.

Erick Green, a 6-2, 180 point guard from Winchester, VA, will play his senior
year of high school at Paul VI in Fairfax. As a junior at Millbrook High School,
he averaged 18.5 points, three rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He led
Millbrook to the AA state championship, and was named the Region II Player of
the Year.

Green is a pure point guard, which has been somewhat of a rarity around
Blacksburg over the past few years.

Cadarian Raines is a 6-8, 210 post player from Petersburg, VA, where he stars
for Petersburg High School. His stock went up over the summer after an
impressive showing on the AAU scene. He averaged 14.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and
5.8 blocked shots per game at Petersburg.

Prep Star ranks Raines as the #174 player in the nation, though that ranking
could be going up after another successful season. Scout.com ranks Raines as the
#62 overall prospect in the nation.

Besides these four players, Virginia Tech is also recruiting Oak Hill Academy
point guard Lamont “Momo” Jones. Jones is a former Louisville commitment who
opened up his recruiting. He has already taken two visits to Blacksburg, and the
Hokies reportedly stand a good shot at landing his services. He is known as a
scoring guard who went to Oak Hill to improve his skills at the point guard
position.

Click
here to see VT’s 2009 Basketball Recruiting Class

There was also bad news coming out of the basketball department yesterday.
Sophomore forward J.T. Thompson, who was expected to play a major role on the
wing and in the post this year, has been lost for 4-6 weeks with a sports
hernia.

The problem was diagnosed on Wednesday, and Thompson will have surgery on
Friday. Virginia Tech’s season also begins on Friday when they host Gardner-Webb
at 8pm.

Thompson made a splash last season when Jeff Allen was suspended. He
established himself as a tough inside defender and rebounder, and as a player
who could get up and down the court and make plays. Thompson’s speed and hustle
create matchup problems for opposing forwards in the open court. He averaged 5.6
points and 4.1 rebounds per game, but those stats are skewed by the first half
of the season in which Thompson didn’t receive as much playing time. In ACC
play, he averaged 7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.