Hokies Sign Highly-Ranked Men’s Basketball Class

Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg signed his most highly-touted
recruiting class ever at Virginia Tech on Wednesday, inking four prospects to
National Letters of Intent. The class is headlined by small forward Dorian
Finney-Smith from Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. Finney-Smith is
rated as a four-star prospect and lands in the top 30 nationally in the rankings
of ESPNU and Scout.com.

Finney-Smith is joined by power forward C.J. Barksdale from George Washington
High School in Danville, Virginia, shooting guard Robert Brown from East Ridge
High School in Clermont, Florida, and point guard Marquis Rankin from Vance High
School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Barksdale, Brown, and Rankin are all spending their senior year at Hargrave
Military Academy in Chatham, VA.

Together, the four players form a class ranked in the Top 20 by all the
recruiting services listed above.

The 2011 class is Greenberg’s highest-ranked class at Virginia Tech. The
2007 class of Jeff Allen, Malcolm Delaney, Dorenzo Hudson, Terrell Bell, Darrion
Pellum, and Hank Thorns was ranked #28 by Rivals and #19 by Scout. Scout’s
ranking was also based on Gus Gilchrist and J.T. Thompson being part of the
class.

A sampling of quotes from ESPNU and Rivals:

Dorrian Finney-Smith:

• ESPNU: Finney-Smith is a versatile combo forward who is a matchup
  nightmare. He can play three positions, has a smooth handle, attacks the
  rim, rebounds and knocks down 3s.
• Rivals: Finney-Smith should make an instant impact with his versatile and
  athletic game.

C.J. Barksdale:

• ESPNU: A versatile forward who plays intelligently. He is a matchup
  nightmare for opponents as he is an active inside scorer that can also play
  facing up from the 3-point line.
• Rivals: Barksdale is a hard-working, if slightly undersized, big who
  cleans the glass.

Robert Brown:

• ESPNU: A long bouncy shooting guard who could be the surprise of this
  class. He brings a high energy level every time he takes the floor.
• Rivals: Brown is a perimeter scorer with size and bounce.

Marquis Rankin:

• ESPNU: A proven winner who gives the Hokies an athletic point guard who
  can push tempo and create off the dribble.
• Rivals: Rankin is a speedy lead guard who showed much promise in the past.

Chris Horne will have more on this recruiting class. For now, here’s a
picture of the three Hargrave players during their letter of intent ceremony
today.