Raines – to shirt or not to shirt? That is the question.

Tech needs to make a decision soon whether or not to shut down big man Cadarian Raines for the season. The decision must be made before January 15th, but it sounds like Raines and Tech will make a decision soon according to Head Coach Seth Greenberg and the article linked above.

The reason why I say January 15th is because of the NCAA’s Hardship Waiver rules (Note: if you play in even one second of a game, you cannot ‘redshirt’, you can only apply for a Hardship Waiver per Rule #14.2.4). The Hardship Waiver rules state:

1. You cannot play after the halfway point of the season — Tech plays 29 regular season games, plus at least one ACC Tournament game. So game #15 is the cutoff point. That’s the unc game on January 15th (a player could play in this game, just not after that point).
2. You cannot play in more than 30% of VT’s games — Raines has played in just four games to date. Since VT will play at least 30 games, Cadarian could play in 9 and still qualify (thanks for the math catch, Rick). So Raines technically could play in the next five games through the unc game and still qualify.
3. You must show medical documentation. Probably not an issue with all the issues Cadarian has had.

The flip side though and the pro to not giving up on this year is Tech’s lack of depth inside. As it is, VT only has two true low post players other than Raines. If Raines gets shut down, that means whenever Davila or Allen need a rest, or get in foul trouble (and we all know how much that happens, especially with Allen), Tech would have to go small – moving Bell down low and/or bringing in Eddie or Atkins. That’s going to put Tech in a big hole in ACC play, especially against teams that have quality bigs. We saw what Mike Scott of uva did to VT down low. Luckily, not many teams have players like him.