The Hokies used nine points from mighty-mite guard Hank Thorns in overtime to win at boston college for the first time ever. Here’s more on the game from Wick…

One thing I’ve learned over the last few years about Coach Greenberg’s teams is to expect the unexpected. Today I expected an ugly outcome for the Hokies — real ugly. As Niemo pointed out in his preview, we got the shaft by the ACC when they scheduled a trip to Beantown less than 48 hours after our home tilt against duke. [Niemo's Note: VT is 2-0 the last 2 years when having to play on the road less than 48 hours after a previous ACC game, having beaten miami last year... maybe we should ask for more screw jobs like this?] In addition, the Hokies were 0-6 at bc coming into this game.

But to my surprise, the Hokies came out with fresh legs and out hustled the eagles on many occasions during the first half. This led to 14 second-chance points compared to 2 for bc. Another key stat from the first half: turnovers — the Hokies only committed 3. The interior defense was solid, led by Chieck Diakite and J.T. Thompson. Richmond native Tyrese Rice did burn it up from the outside on 6-of-7 shooting, but the rest of the team shot 29% from the floor in the first half.

It was almost the third straight road game that the Hokies allowed an opposing player to score over 30 points. That is an unbelievable stat, almost inconceivable. Chalk it up to our inexperience on the defensive end at the guard position, but that’s just pathetic. Richmond native Tyrese Rice single handedly kept the eagles within striking distance throughout the first half and the beginning of the second half as the Hokies could never extend their lead beyond 8. Then at the 9:24 mark, Rice nailed a dagger of a 3 over Hank Thorns to cut the Hokie lead to 1. It was Rice’s 27th point at the 9:24 mark. One possession later, bc took the lead and it was a see-saw affair for the last 8 minutes.

However, that three pointer was Rice’s last points of the game. Unfortunately, bc’s other starting guard, Rakim Sanders, picked up the slack by scoring the last 7 points for the eagles including a 3 pointer with 4 seconds left to tie the game at 66.

At this point, I expected a loss in OT. The Hokies absolutely blew it at the end of regulation from the line. Both Delaney and Vassallo (the Hokies’ best free throw shooters) had chances to ice the game, but each trip to the charity stripe resulted in only 1 of 2. The Hokies were 10 of 23 from the line during regulation. That is totally inexcusable.

Of course, the Hokies did exactly what I did not expect in overtime. They hit all six of their shots from the line, and didn’t let bc carry any momentum into the extra period. Hank Thorns scored the first five points of OT including a well defended three ball to start the scoring. Not what I expected. Unbelievable.

One positive to come out of Jeff Allen’s suspension is the opportunity presented to J.T. Thompson. He followed up a nice performance against duke with player of the game honors today. Thompson’s performance today was reminiscent of A.D. Vassallo’s breakout game in the 2005-06 season at wake forest: Almost two years ago to this date, the Hokies were without starters Coleman Collins and Deron Washington, and A.D. broke through with a 29-point performance to lead the Hokies to a 76-70 win. Without Jeff Allen, Thompson was 7-of-11 from the field with 12 boards. I can write with confidence that if Allen had played today, the outcome would not have been any better. Thompson was that good. J.T. contributed to a very balanced offensive attack, with four other Hokies in double figures (Washington, Vassallo, Delaney, and Thorns).

It’s hard to believe that this team, which could not win on the road against penn state, odu, and richmond, has now won 2 ACC road games in 4 tries — winning for the first time in 40 years in Charlottesville, and the first time ever in Chestnut Hill. Just another reminder to expect the unexpected.

Niemo’s Notes:

* What an impressive two games for J.T. Thompson filling in for Jeff Allen. The freshman had only played 16 minutes total in the three games leading up to duke, but played 60 minutes in the duke and bc games combined. In those games, J.T. combined for 27 points and 20 rebounds, including career highs of 14 points and 12 boards on Saturday.
* Vassallo also had a double-double in this game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. More importantly, he had just 1 turnover.
* The Hokies only had 8 turnovers for the whole game! This tied their season low (elon) and is only the third time they’ve been in single digits in turnovers. They did an amazing job of protecting the ball. Delaney and Thorns both handled the rock well.
* Dorenzo Hudson’s minutes keep shrinking as Thorns’ minutes go back up. Hudson just looks tentative on the court now, something he wasn’t showing in previous games.
* VT had a halftime lead, 41-33, for the first time all season in ACC play. However Tech only managed 25 second half points, mainly due to a lack of transition game, missed threes, and a horrible job from the free throw line. VT answered with 15 points in OT.
* The Hokies have two wins on the road in ACC play in four games. Three years ago (the team I like to compare this team to), VT only had two road wins all season.
* Stat of the game: The Hokies had 20 offensive rebounds! This bettered the Hokies previous high by 5. They outrebounded bc by 9 overall and 6 on the offensive glass. VT, believe this or not, has won the rebounding margin in all 6 ACC games.

Coming up Next: Two home games this week — fsu on Tuesday at 9 PM, and uva next Saturday at 1 PM. Both games are on Raycom. In other words, VT has a realistic shot at getting to 5-3, although, with their youth, the Baby Hokies could be 3-5 by this time next week. I’d consider a split a good week.

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According to today’s edition of the Winchester Star, Millbrook standout junior Erick Green (player profile) announced his verbal commitment to Virginia Tech last night before the Pioneers’ 64-46 win over Handley.

Green is a 6-2 guard averaging 19.5 points per game. The Pioneers are 16-1 overall this season and undefeated (9-0) in the Northwestern District. The talented guard picked the Hokies over jmu, gmu, and st. joseph’s and is likely to enroll at Tech for the 2009-2010 season.

Read the Winchester Star article.

2009 Recruiting Class

Game Notes from Erick’s Recent Games:

• 1/25/08 – Had a team-high 21 points and hit 3 threes in a 64-46 win over Handley.  The win put Millbrook at 16-1 on the season.
• 1/22/08 – Shot just 4/14 from the floor in a 65-55 win against Skyline.
• 1/19/08 – Scored 12 points in an 89-49 blowout over Brentsville.
• 1/15/08 – Had 30 points and 7 threes as Millbrook beat Warren County 84-45.
• 1/12/08 – Chipped in 22 points in a 74-51 win over Sherando.  Added a two-handed dunk.
• 1/08/08 – Led all scorers with 23 points as the Pioneers cruised past James Wood (no relation to James Woods High on Family Guy).
• 1/05/08 – Game high 17 points for Millbrook as the Pioneers won 70-59 over Handley.

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Despite some nasty opinions about Deron, this blogger predicts Washington to go in the late first round of this year’s NBA draft.

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Box Score

Virginia Tech lost tonight, 64-81, to the duke blue devils. The Hokies gave it their best shot, but without Jeff Allen, who was serving the first of a two-game suspension, they just couldn’t hang with the devils and their eight McDonald’s All-Americans (Virginia Tech has had exactly one McDonald’s All American in school history – Dell Curry).

A.D. Vassallo somehow managed 16 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Hokies in both categories. How did he ever manage 16 points? It’s a miracle. It’s a miracle. Deron Washington scored 12 and pulled down 7 rebounds.

While the blue devils may have won as expected, they left battered and bruised because the Hokies came out and absolutely punched duke in the face and forced coach k to play the physical style of ball that generally suits Tech. In fact, the only team to beat duke this season was pittsburgh, which plays that typical Big East physical style.

No doubt Seth Greenberg looked at that pittsburgh game and realized that without Allen, playing physical was the only chance the Hokies had at an upset tonight. And it worked for the first 30 minutes of the game. The Hokies trailed by only four at the half and got to within three at about the halfway mark of the second half.

Tech pounded and hounded duke and made them earn every dribble, shot and rebound. Tech made no apologies for the physical play. In fact, it was quite obvious they wanted the devils to know they were in for one hell of a fight.

Even as time wound down (3:47) with duke well in control (55-77), demarcus nelson got fouled by Deron Washington and took exception even though it was a clean foul. nelson mouthed something that got him T’d up and he fouled out of the game. It was a small consolation, but it was great watching a duke player lose his cool and foul out.

Now we get to the point in the recap where I tell you that Tech is a young team and games like these are learning experiences, blah blah blah. Enough. This team may be young but this is the ACC and they need to grow up — now. The lazy turnovers have to stop — that’s not a “youth” issue, that’s a lazy issue. That’s a they-need-to-run-stairs-until-it-sinks-in issue.

Other Observations and Comments:

• Near the end of the ESPN broadcast, the announcers said, “give duke credit” because the Hokies came out and punched them in the face, but the dookies persevered. Huh? They have 40 All-Americans — they’re supposed to win. How about giving Virginia Tech credit? The Hokies have seven freshmen, and their second leading scorer and the ACC’s 4th leading rebounder was suspended.
• The Hokies continue to turn the ball over in the open court with lazy passes. I have written my congressman and asked him to propose stiffer penalties for Hokies who turn the ball over.
• Tech shot 59.3 percent from the FT line (16 of 27) – 10 percentage points below their season average — pathetic.
• The Hokies pestered and agitated duke, keeping them in foul trouble most of the game — but with 60 All-Americans, the devils can get away with it.
• duke continues to get questionable calls because they’re duke and their coach complains enough.
• Considering Tech was without their 2nd leading scorer Jeff Allen, the Hokies did about as well as could be expected.
• I hate moral victories, but with a team this young, you have to take any victories you can get your hands on.
• It was obvious that duke really wanted to get the game over with because with about 10 minutes left, they started burning the shot clock.
• J.T. Thomspon scored 13 points in his first start of the season; his average was 3.1 ppg.

daveywoods’ randoms:

• The Hokies continue to perform well on the boards at least, winning the rebound battle 37 to 34.
• J.T. Thompson has been my favorite new high-energy guy this season. He got big minutes tonight (actually starting) and delivered well.
• duke is relentless — waves of talent off the bench are tough to handle. King’s monster three’s were a punch in the neck.
• duke shot 47.5% tonight (vs the Hokies’ 41.1%) — with the defense duke brings, shooting 47.5% is just about unbeatable.
• Bill Roth had a great post-game observation, if perhaps an obvious one — the Hokies have a lot more trouble on the perimeter when Jeff Allen isn’t drawing double-teams inside.

Around the World (wide web):
Behind the ESPN camera | The Collegiate Times

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THE SETUP

The Opposing View #1: Q&A ESPN’s Jay Bilas (duke grad)

The Opposing View #2: Q&A with the duke Basketball Report

Virginia Tech gets the royal screw job from the ACC, and themselves, this week.  First, the ACC schedules Tech to have to play at boston college (12-5, 3-1) just 41 hours after the Hokies finish up their game with #4 duke (15-1, 3-0) at home on Thursday night (ESPN, 7 PM).  Boston just happens to be the second furthest destination in the ACC for the Hokies, a solid 700 miles away.  To make matters worse, bc doesn’t have a game mid-week, so they will be well rested.  However, Tech did win at miami last year (and played great) after a short turnaround.  VT beat maryland at home on a Sunday night, then had to turn around and play at miami less than 48 hours later a mere 900 miles away.

Adding to the fun is the fact that Tech’s leading rebounder, leader in steals, second leading scorer, and second in blocks is suspended for both games this week after bumping an official upon fouling out against georgia tech on Saturday.  ACC Commissioner John Swofford suspended Jeff Allen on Sunday.  Never mind the fact duke’s gerald henderson only got a one game suspension for breaking the nose of unc’s tyler hansbrough last year on a flagrant foul.  I guess (tap on official) > (broken unc player’s nose).  But I digress.

THE NUMBERS

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This letter from Coach Greenberg was published in the CT this morning:

On Thursday night, Virginia Tech will welcome a national, high-definition, ESPN television audience to Cassell Coliseum. In a schedule full of events, this is a truly big game.

When the red light goes on, we need the nation to see just how special Cassell Coliseum and Virginia Tech basketball truly are. We need for our student body to fill their seats and provide the type of support that they have become famous for over the last few seasons. Show the nation that loud can be classy and supportive.

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Since Tech only plays duke once this season, we better milk it by having two opposing views. First up was the “Tech Hoops” of duke basketball – the duke Basketball Report. Next up is former duke player and ESPN Gameday Analyst, Jay Bilas. Jay also did a Q&A about Hokie Hoops during the off-season. Thanks to Jay Bilas for participating in our friendly Q&A.

Interviewee

Jay Bilas is one of ESPN and ABC’s top basketball analysts and is widely recognized for his thorough knowledge of the game and his professional, clever style. Bilas provides expert color commentary form courtside on college basketball games, and serves as a studio analyst and as the co-host of ESPN’s popular studio show College Gamenight.

Basketball Questions

Q1: Educate us on this year’s version of the duke juggernaut. What are this team’s strengths and weaknesses?

Jay: duke is really good this season. It is a team with great perimeter strength, and outstanding team defense. duke really spaces the floor, and uses the three point line as a weapon. Coach K has this team really guarding the ball well, and forcing turnovers. The relative weaknesses are interior scoring and rebounding, but bigger teams have to match-up with duke as well. duke has really good depth, an outstanding senior in DeMarcus Nelson, and one of the nation’s best sixth men in Jon Scheyer.

Q2: What past duke team would you compare this year’s squad to?

Jay: I cannot recall a duke team quite like this one. It is really young, and lacks a consistent post scorer. This team is unique.

Q3: Is there anyone from Virginia Tech that you think could give duke fits?

Jay: I would have said Jeff Allen, but he is unfortunately suspended for the game. That is too bad, because I don’t think what he did was malicious. I understand why the league suspended him, because you cannot have the officials subject to physical contact of any kind. But, I was sorry to see it happen to Allen. He is really a good young player. I really respect his game. Deron Washington is such a good and underrated player. With his athleticism and will, he could really cause duke some problems.

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I blew it, but I just realized VT had three significant basketball anniversaries lately:

• The 28th Anniversary (1/21/80) of the Les Henson Heave!  His record setting shot went 88’3″, just 9″ inside the opposing baseline, to win the game at the buzzer over fsu, 79-77. 
• The 25th (Silver) Anniversary (1/10/83) of VT beating #1 memphis state 69-56 in the Cassell
• The 1st (Paper?) Anniversary (1/13/07) of VT defeating #1 unc 94-88 in the Cassell

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Last week I put the hoos in their place in a Q&A with Chris Graham of thesportsdominion.com. This week we turn our attention to those brainiacs from Durham, North Carolina. Thanks to dukebasketballreport.com for participating in a friendly Q&A.

Interviewee

The duke Basketball Report (dBR) is the authority for duke basketball news. In other words, they are the “TechHoops.com” of duke basketball

General Questions

Q1: Why do you think everyone else in the ACC hates duke so much?

dBR: That’s a better question for you. I guess success breeds contempt. No one seems to really hate Duke football.

Q2: I work in maryland and they REALLY hate duke. Almost to an unhealthy level. Where did this come from?

dBR: Not really sure. It only gradually dawned on me. I guess for Duke, Maryland was just a team to beat on the way to the NCAAs for a long time, and Maryland fans got sick of it. The team has gotten a lot more competitive lately too and it’s hardly a gimme game anymore. (Note: uva and unc also see duke as their rivals in basketball.)

Q3: Who would make a better villain on 24: christian laettner or j.j. redick?

dBR: Well, Laettner doesn’t care if you love him or not, so Laettner.

Q4: Walk me through what krzyzewski-ville is like. What goes on in those tents – shooting dice or doing schoolwork? What are the rules?

dBR: A lot of it’s pretty boring, schoolwork and what not. But there are parties, and a certain amount of abandon, and I’ve heard a few good stories…

Q5: Any chance we could see a “krzyzewski-ville Gone Wild” video soon?

dBR: Ha. Give them another idea

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Official release from Hokiesports.com: Greenberg Extension

Seth is now under contract for an additional five seasons after this one.

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Did you happen to hear the audio from Monday’s weekly ACC coaches conference call? If not, click here to listen to the TheSportsDominion.com’s podcast with the audio. Hold up – first, let’s backtrack. By now, if you follow Virginia Tech mens basketball you know that super freshman power forward Jeff Allen (12.8 ppg / 8.1 rpg) was suspended for two games by ACC commissioner John Swofford. I won’t rehash the detail here, but if you want more info, read my blog post recapping the incident.

Following the ACC’s suspension, Virginia Tech’s athletic department issued a press release containing statements from both Allen and head coach Seth Greenberg addressing the incident. It was the standard apology followed by the whole “he’s really a good kid, so don’t judge him on this once isolated incident” language you would expect. Only in this case, it is absolutely true.

Allen is a good kid who has shown amazing maturity both in terms of his skills and his emotions during his first 18 games as a college basketball player. He let his emotions override his judgment one time and it cost him two games. Lesson learned. End of story. Time to move on … or, so you would think.

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The Sports Dominion Special Feature
Column by Chris Graham

Click here to listen to today’s “SportsDominion Show” featuring an interview with Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg.

Don’t try to ask Seth Greenberg about the two-game suspension of freshman power forward Jeff Allen. Because he will get upset – and let you know it.

Greenberg and Mark Berman of The Roanoke Times had a minor tete-a-tete over the Allen suspension on the coach’s weekly teleconference earlier today.

Read more of this column at The Sports Dominion.

The Sports Dominion is a collaborative partner with TechHoops.com.

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what IS myScoper.com? well…have you ever wanted to be like Superman? you know…x-ray vision, faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than Zeus…lead a double life, and save the world every day! myScoper is just like that…except a lil’ different. just type myScoper.com in your browser, hit return or enter (whatever your pleasure) and BLAMMO! find out for yourself what all of the hullabaloo is about! sign up today to get complimentary X-RAY VISION!

myScoper.com provides cultural stimuli through an interactive calendar of events built for the hoi polloi (c’mon everybody)! our mission, should we take it, and we have…is towards the maintenance of vitality and the abolishment of mediocrity. how is this possible you ask? we’re not sure, but… we are fairly convinced that a comprehensive calendar of events, within the SCOPE of our general geographic coordinates, is vital to the aforementioned manifesto. nothing like a good, hearty, idealistic manifesto to get you going. yes?

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BY HALF 

Let’s break down the Hokies’ points in their 4 ACC games in several ways, first by half:

This clearly shows what a better team VT is offensively in the 2nd half.  And this number is not skewed by late free throws, which can boost your points, since Tech has been playing from behind in the 2nd half of three of the four games. 

Now let’s look at this same table for the opponents instead:

As you can see, Tech’s opponents’ points go well down in the second half, while VT’s go way up.  Not surprisingly, VT has been playing from behind in the second half of all four of their games.

Why the raise in VT points?  I broke down points in the maryland game, and VT had 19 fast break/transition points in the 2nd half, compared to just 2 in the first half.  As a result, they scored 40 second half points compared to just 27 in the first half.  I’m confident you would see similar numbers in the wake and ga tech games.  VT needs to run more, and they seem to do this better in the 2nd half when they are forced to push the tempo more due to their deficits.

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Update: Allen and Greenberg Respond to the Suspension 

Well, we won’t be seeing a match-up between two of the top candidates for ACC Rookie of the Year when duke’s kyle singler travels to Blacksburg on Thursday. That’s because Jeff Allen has been suspended for that game and the game at bc on Saturday for bumping an official after he fouled out in the georgia tech game. He was T’d up and ejected at that point.

The ruling came from ACC Commissioner John Swofford today – Article

Personally, I think one game would have been appropriate but two is excessive.

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One more point I’d like to make since writing this article… Has Tech ever run an alley-oop for Deron?  Here you have maybe the best jumper in all of college basketball, who also happens to be 6’7″, and you don’t run lobs for him.  I realize that isn’t a high percentage play, but with the lack of movement on offense, wouldn’t it be a nice change of pace to have a back screen lob to Deron?  Chances are he’d either get it and dunk it, or get fouled and get free throws.  Sure, it might be a turnover, too, but worth the risk.

There definitely is no “O” in Virginia Tech. Between Stinespring and the Tech basketball team, you would think an explosive offense was against the law in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech is second-to-last in the ACC in points per game, ahead of just nc state. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons the Hokie basketball team struggles on offense…

Greenberg or the Baby Hokies?

It is easy to attribute VT’s lack of flow on offense on their young team. They are playing six freshman in significant minutes, and both point guards are freshmen. But a poorly flowing offense has been a problem for years with the Hokies, including last season with two veteran guards. So, to me, it goes beyond just this year’s team.

Tech has averaged over 70 points per game just once under Greenberg, and that was last year with 71.5 ppg. Even with that, they were just 10th in the ACC. VT has been 10th or worse every season in the ACC. I realize that has a lot to do with Greenberg’s style of play (patient half court D and O), but I still see issues that have been on-going.

Here are some of the problems I see…

Moving Without the Ball

One of the keys to offense is constant motion to get open looks at the basket. Moving without the ball is vital to a well flowing offense. Stagnant players equals a stagnant offense.

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