As the sun sets on 2008, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights of the year:

THE GAMES

• Wins: 22, Losses: 13
• ACC Wins (including the ACC Tourney): 10, Losses: 7
• The year started… with a loss at richmond, 52-49 (ugh)
• The year ended… with a win at charleston southern, 75-66
• Greatest Win: VT lacked any monumental wins this year (the highest ranked team in the RPI the Hokies beat in 2008 was miami, who finished the season at #33).  With that, this was a fairly easy choice – the 70-69 overtime win at uva on Deron Washington’s buzzer-beating shot (yes, Virginia Tech actually got one of their own) on January 16th.  The win at maryland was also big on February 20th because it turned the season around, but this uva game really got things rolling.  Tech was 1-1 in conference at the time.  The win was the Hokies’ first win at uva since the President Lyndon Johnson era in 1968.  [Note: if my gf is reading this, no I was NOT alive back then!]  Here’s a link to our page that has the highlights, just the winning shot, and the recap: VT 70, uva 69 Highlights/Recap
• Toughest Loss: Had to be the 68-66 loss to unc in the ACC Semi-Finals which pretty much knocked VT out of the NCAA Tournament.  Tech led most of the game, after having lost by 39 at unc a month earlier.  This would have easily been the Hokies’ biggest win of the year if they had pulled it out.

THE PLAYERS

• Leading Scorer: A.D. Vassallo – 632 points or 18.1 ppg
• MVP (Or should I say Co-MVPs): Jeff Allen and Malcolm Delaney – This was tough and hence why I took the easy way out by picking two.  I eliminated Deron since he isn’t around this season.  I’ll get to A.D. in a minute… I see Jeff Allen as Virginia Tech’s best player.  He can do it all – score, rebound, block, steal.  But to me, Delaney is the key to the team.  He’s the one guy VT could not do without, especially as we’ve seen with Hank Thorns injured.  Malcolm is the unquestioned leader of the team.  He was the driving force behind Tech’s great play at the end of last season.  In VT’s 22 wins in 2008, he averaged 13.7 points, while dropping to 11.3 in Tech’s 13 losses.  You can credit that to the fact he’s VT’s best foul shooter and has the ball at the end in wins, but the fact he can hit clutch foul shots adds to his importance.  Delaney has been Tech’s most consistent player this season and is the only guy to score double-digits in every game.  Allen averaged 12.6 ppg in the 21 wins he was a part of while scoring 11.4 in the 12 losses.  Remember, he missed the loss to duke and the win at bc.  Now, why didn’t I pick A.D., Tech’s leading scorer for 2008?  His defense is well behind Allen and Delaney (Allen is the better defender of those two).  And some of A.D.’s biggest games have come in losses – like the 30 against wisconsin, 23 against uga, and 22 against seton hall.  So there you have it, I’m calling it a tie.
• Sad Goodbye: Deron Washington – the four year starter ran out of eligibility, but not before finishing his VT career 10th all time in steals, 6th in blocks, and #1 in flops and nasty, highlight dunks.  Deron was selected in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft by Detroit but is playing abroad.  Washington was the first Hokie picked since Eddie Lucas was drafted in the 2nd round in 1999.  Marcus Travis also graduated from VT.
• Highlight of the Year: It was Deron’s shot at uva (see above) but here’s a sweet dunk of his from the game at georgia tech just to give you something else to watch: Deron Being Deron
• Recruits: Virginia Tech was well represented in the Virginia AA State Playoffs in 2008.  2009 signees, Erick Green and Ben Boggs, each won regional titles.  Green’s Millbrook team won the state AA title.  He is now at a private school, Paul VI, while Boggs is out for the season with an injury.

THE COACH

• Seth Greenberg picked up his 300th win as a head coach in Virginia Tech’s 94-62 win over morgan state in the first round of the NIT in March.  He currently has 310.
• Seth finishes 2008 with 97 wins at Tech.

 

TECHHOOPS.COM

• Niemo’s Favorite Memory: Had to be my trip to maryland for our win against the terps in their arena, due in large part to my complete hatred of everything maryland.  Winning there, and getting to heckle gus gilchrist up close and personal, was a real treat.  Here’s the story: Niemo’s Trip to md with the Weekend Warrior
• Niemo’s Worst Memory: Trip to Tallahassee this past Fall, hands down – The Road to Tally
• The Weekend Warrior’s Dumbest Moment (in a long line of them): Arm Wrestling Paul Bunyan
• The Arm Curl Legacy Continues: J.T. Thompson

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