Hokie Hotline Notes for 3/16/09

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.

• The Hokies moved their practice time up this past week so they could be
  prepared to play noon games. That was very beneficial. Tech was as good
  defensively against Miami as they’ve been all season, and they were very
  efficient offensively against the zone.
• Tech’s post players did a good job of defending Dwayne Collins early. They
  didn’t let him get established. He’s a very good player.
• Tech got off to a great start against UNC. They didn’t trail until the
  last play of the first half. The Hokies came out a bit lethargic in the
  second half, and that’s why Greenberg called a timeout very early.
• J.T. Thompson gave Tech great minutes against UNC. As a team, they played
  terrific defense again. They contest shots. However, they let the game get
  away from them in the final minutes. Hansbrough sort of took over the game
  in stretches at the end.
• The Hokies still had a chance to win the game at the end, but
  unfortunately they weren’t able to finish.
• Regarding the officiating, it is what it is. You just have to deal with it
  and find a way to be ahead by more than a couple of points. It’s tough to
  create separation when you are playing UNC, but you’ve got to find a way to
  do it.
• The Georgia Dome did a great job with the ACC Tournament, but Greenberg is
  not a big fan of playing basketball in domes. The intimacy of the tournament
  was lost. The town was also a little big for the ACC Tournament. There
  didn’t seem to be much of a buzz.
• Tech had opportunities to make the NCAA Tournament, but they didn’t get it
  done. However, Greenberg looks at it like the difference between a BCS Bowl
  and a Gator Bowl. There are some great programs in the NIT this year,
  including Georgetown, Kentucky and Florida.
• Tech’s practice on Sunday was great. They didn’t know who they were going
  to play, they just practiced with a very high intensity level. Monday’s
  practice wasn’t as good, because the Hokies were missing four guys who have
  class.
• Duquesne plays four guards and a power forward. They are athletic and they
  can shoot the ball well. They beat Xavier and Dayton, both of whom are in
  the NCAA tournament.
• Greenberg expects Tech to play at a high level on Wednesday. They have to
  focus in on guarding Duquesne’s ball screens.
• Greenberg is disappointed for Dave Leitao. He was ACC Coach of the Year
  two years ago. He hopes talk radio and “internet buffoons” didn’t
  get to Craig Littlepage. Whoever inherits the team has a good foundation of
  young players. (Editor’s Note from Will Stewart: We’re betting it’s
  Virginia’s worst record in four decades, declining attendance, and big money
  donors that “got to Littlepage” … not “talk radio and
  Internet buffoons.”)
• It’s really tough to win in this league, and if you win one year, it
  doesn’t mean you will win the next. You can cheat in recruiting if you want
  to win quicker, but that’s a choice.
• The NCAA Selection Committee has an impossible task. They can never make
  everybody happy.
• The loss at Boston College bugs Greenberg more than any other. Tech could
  have won that game by boxing out, but they didn’t get it done. It bugs him
  because they controlled their destiny that game, unlike the Xavier game.
• Malcolm Delaney was banged up down the stretch of the season. The UNC game
  was his best floor game of his Tech career. He had 10 assists, a career
  high. He saw things before they happened. He was also very good defensively.
  He’s a fierce competitor.
• Postseason play isn’t guaranteed in the ACC, even with a winning record.
  NC State went 16-14 and they aren’t in the NIT.
• In 31 ACC Tournament games since 1999, Duke is 28-3. That’s an amazing
  mark. You don’t want to play Duke in their first game.
• Ron Everhart has done a great job at Duquesne. He’s won games in a very
  tough league. They play very hard every night. They have four perimeter guys
  who can drive. They create matchup problems. If you go with a big lineup,
  then it makes it tough to defend outside shots, and they shoot
  three-pointers very well. They attempt 24 three-pointers per game.
• Duquesne is kind of a poor man’s Villanova. For an NBA comparison, they
  are like the Golden State Warriors.
• Basketball coaches can send things in to the league regarding officiating,
  but that doesn’t help anything. It doesn’t get you a win, and it doesn’t
  make you feel any better.
• If Seth could give Brad Greenberg advice on how to play UNC in the NCAA
  tournament, he would tell him to get back on defense, defend the post early,
  and expect the Tar Heels to go to the free throw line.
• Moving the three-point line back hasn’t affected the Tech team. A.D.
  Vassallo and Malcolm Delaney have a very deep range.
• After the basketball practice facility, there are things Tech could do to
  Cassell Coliseum that could help the program. Greenberg would like to see a
  scoreboard that hangs from the ceiling at center court. He would like to see
  shutters on the lights to add to Tech’s pregame introductions. Hopefully the
  budget will be increased so they can buy more guaranteed home games.

Monday was Day 1,570 of Virginia Tech’s continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup.