Hokie Hotline Notes for 3/2/09

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.

• Tech didn’t get off to a good start against Duke. They got some good looks on a few putbacks right under the basket, but they didn’t hit the shots. The Hokies weren’t assertive enough defensively. They let Henderson go to his right too much.
• The Hokies made a great run in the second half, and they did a much better job on Henderson. They got what they wanted offensively down the stretch, but they just couldn’t finish.
• There are calls that went both ways in Saturday’s game. Obviously Greenberg would have liked a few more calls, but that ultimately didn’t cost the Hokies the game.
• The Clemson game was a well-played game on both sides. Tech did a good job of attacking the press, and they did a much better job defensively on Trevor Booker in the second half. Hank Thorns started and he did a great job.
• Tech is 7-7 with a week left in the season. Greenberg wishes they could have won a couple more of those close games, but they’ve won a lot of close games too. They also rallied from 18-points down against NC State, and that’s not something that happens every day.
• Virginia Tech is the first ACC team since FSU and Clemson in 2004 to play four straight games against ranked opponents. It’s a challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity. If they Hokies can play good basketball for 40 minutes against either UNC or FSU, they can punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament. That’s the approach they have to take.
• The Hokies have to keep the game in the 70s against UNC. Win, lose or draw, Tech then has to get past the UNC game and get ready for Florida State.
• The walls and ceilings are going up on the basketball practice facility. It’s a massive facility.
• Hank Thorns is feeling better, and he’s been cleared by the team doctors. He didn’t practice on Monday, but he shot a little and did some non-contact work. They’ll evaluate him further on Tuesday.
• Malcolm Delaney is really banged up right now. His hip is really bothering him and he struggled through practice on Monday. He’s only about 80%. Greenberg might make Tuesday’s practice completely non-contact, and he’s never done that before.
• A.D. Vassallo scored 15 straight points during the big second half run. He was in the zone in the second half.
• UNC has made 100 more free throws than their opponents have attempted. They get the ball inside to Tyler Hansbrough very efficiently.
• It’s very simple. Tech can’t outscore Carolina. They have to keep the game in the 70s. They need to be committed to getting some more movement when they run their offense.
• For next year’s schedule, Tech is in discussions with the people from the Wooden Classic about playing LSU in a made-for-TV game. They are also playing in a four-game tournament that will involve two games in Blacksburg and two games in Philadelphia. Georgia will be coming to Blacksburg, and obviously the Hokies will play in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge again.
• Tech will have at least 16 home games next season.
• Erick Green struggled a bit at first with his move to the DC Catholic league, but he is playing at a very high level right now. He is a setup point guard who can distribute the ball. He can shoot it adequately, and he’ll be an outstanding defender after some time in the weight room. Greenberg described him as a “pure point guard”.
• The Hokies were called for seven charges against Duke. That’s tough. The NBA has the circle under the basket, and charges aren’t called when a player is inside the circle. That’s a good rule.
• Cheick Diakite would have had to guard Kyle Singler, and that’s not a good matchup for him. That’s why he didn’t play against Duke.
• Cadarian Raines is having a great year at Petersburg. He rebounds the ball well and he’s a very good passer. Greenberg is very excited about him.
• Tech did a great job defending Tyler Hansbrough early last year. Jeff Allen did a good job guarding him, and J.T. Thompson had a good game. The Hokies know what they have to do to win, they just have to do it.
• This will only be the second time in the history of Virginia Tech basketball that the Hokies have gone to postseason play, either the NCAA or the NIT, for three straight years. To put that in perspective, Tech has been playing basketball for 100 years.
• Tech will have to play at Florida State on Senior Day. Toney Douglas is a senior, and it will be a big game for him. He’s a great scorer, and he’s an excellent on-ball defender.

Monday was Day 1,556 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.