2010-11 Basketball Game Preview: #22 Virginia Tech at UNC Greensboro

Coming off the loss at Kansas State, the Hokies will cross the border into
North Carolina to take on UNC Greensboro in the Greensboro Coliseum. Tech is one
of four ACC teams to schedule UNC Greensboro. They all want their teams to get
floor time in the Greensboro Coliseum before the ACC Tournament in March.

UNC Greensboro is 0-2 on the season, with a 101-86 setback at VCU and a 97-73
loss at home to Florida State. They haven’t had much trouble scoring, but their
defense has been very porous.

Virginia Tech is 6-0 all-time against the Spartans, and none of the games
have been close. The Hokies win by an average score of 71-49. That includes
three wins during the Seth Greenberg era. One win came in Greensboro in January
2007 by a score of 74-51.

Here’s a look at the UNC Greensboro starting lineup.

Brandon Evans is the most experienced player on the team, and he scored a
career-high 26 points in the season opener against Virginia Commonwealth. Evans
is a transfer from East Carolina, where he was recruited by former Virginia Tech
head coach Ricky Stokes. He is a combo guard who can handle the ball and score.

UNC Greensboro has good interior size for a Southern Conference team. In fact, they are
bigger than the Hokies on the inside, with most of Tech’s post players out of
the game. Aloysius Henry is a long player who had 15 points against Florida
State, and he helped Three Rivers Community College to NJCAA National
Championship Game a year ago, where he had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Starting forward Aaron Brackett is a Virginia Beach native, where he attended
Kempsville High School. Brackett is also a JUCO transfer, averaging 12.2 points
and 10 rebounds per game at Allegany Community College in Maryland a year ago.
Brackett is a better rebounder than scorer at this point in his career.

Drew Parker is a true freshman point guard who finished his high school
career in Texas with a whopping 963 assists. Parker led the state of Texas in
assists as a senior. He’s not a scoring threat as a freshman. He combines with
Kyle Randall to form a solid Southern Conference point guard duo.

Kyle Randall (5-11, 165, So.) started last season and averaged 9.5 points per
game as a freshman. Randall had a good game in Cassell Coliseum last season,
scoring 10 points. He was a big-time scorer in high school, and though he lacks
ideal college size, he’s still a threat.

Kory Van Dussen is listed as the other starter at guard. He’s a capable
player, scoring in double figures against Maryland, Wake Forest and NC State a
year ago. He will be one of UNC Greensboro’s top players this year.

Freshman wing David Williams (6-6, 200, Fr.) had a breakout game against
Florida State. He had 16 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes against quality
ACC competition. Williams should see a lot of playing time against Virginia Tech
as well.

Freshman forward Cody Henegar (6-9, 200, Fr.) will provide post depth. He had
12 points and nine rebounds off the bench against Florida State.

From a personnel standpoint, UNC Greensboro looks like a good Southern Conference team.
However, two JUCOs and three freshmen are seeing major minutes. There are a lot
of new faces on this team from a year ago, and their defense has been poor early
in the season as a result.

Virginia Tech should be able to get a win in this game. The Hokies have
struggled offensively in their first two games. If they struggle again against
UNC Greensboro, a team who gives up nearly 100 points per game, then you’ll know
there are problems with this Tech team early in the season.

Sunday’s game with the Spartans tips off at 1pm. It will be televised by
Comcast Washington and NESN.