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Welcome, Adam Smith

Posted on17 May 2012.

The Hokies have apparently picked up a transfer – Adam Smith from unc-hollywood (aka unc-wilmington — did you know Wilmington, NC has the 2nd largest film studio, behind only LA?).  Smith, a former 3-star recruit according to Rivals.com from Fayetteville, GA, averaged 13.7 ppg for the seahawks as a freshman this past season.  He’ll have to sit out the 2012-13 season, but will have 3 years of eligibility left after that.

Smith’s 13.7 ppg were good for 2nd on a unc-dub team that finished 10-21, including 5-13 in the soon to be depleted Colonial (vcu just announced they are going to the A-10 and george mason likely isn’t far behind).  Adam hit 58/175 3-pointers (33%) which is solid, but just 38% overall from the field (92/221 on 2-pointers — 42%).  He made 82% of his free throws.

Smith is just 5’11″, and isn’t a point guard (just 1.6 assists per game).  We shall see if he can be successful in the ACC.  He’ll likely need to be a perimeter player.

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- who has written 1106 posts on Tech Hoops.

Niemo is a member of the VT Class of '98. Attended every home basketball game during his 4 years at VT after missing the first home game. Has attended 122 straight VT football home games (every game since '94), eclipsing the 100 mark in September of '09. During the final home basketball game of his senior year, he was brought onto the court and was awarded 2 passes to the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament in Philly during a timeout. The Hokie Bird made the award on behalf of Athletic Director Jim Weaver. Niemo was known to be in the front row of every home game with his familiar red afro hairdo. Niemo currently lives in DC and speaks the Hokie gospel as often as possible. He watches over 50% of all ACC games, making him one of the most knowledgeable experts on ACC basketball.

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  • King

    Haven’t seen this kid play but his size & stats remind me of Brian Chase…a small 2 guard who can score. JJ & Byington were glue guys in college, according to their bios, so I am confident they will concentrate on making him a better defender, since that appears to be his biggest knock from the stuff I’ve read. I’m sure he is excited to make the jump to the ACC & he will have a great mentor in Green. I’m optimistic.

  • Ryan C
  • Ryan C

    The thing I am most excited about is his ability to catch and shoot off screens. Jarell Eddie is a great shooter but hasn’t been able to shoot off screens very well.

  • hokiegrad

    He’s supposed to be 6’1″… at least that’s what’s been reported in other places, so I assume (hope?!?) the 5’11″ is an older listing.

    Seems like a decent pickup, and even though he can’t play immediately he should be quite valuable as a practice player for the 2012-13 season.

    • http://www.heyhokie.com Goodraisin

      No, he’s a legit 5’11″. The 6’1″ is a media guide fantasy.

  • http://www.heyhokie.com Goodraisin

    I like the move… he’s a guy who could be a nice spark plug coming off the bench, and he will hopefully accept that role. With that said, he really needs to work on becoming a better defender and a more efficient shooter. 13 points per game means nothing when you take (by far) the most shots out of everyone on your team. The transfer year will be a blessing because he’s going to get to see first-hand what kind of work he needs to put in to get playing time. But his shot looks good, he’s quick and can get himself free for shots… plenty to like.

  • Les

    He’s the 4th guard. He would get most work during practice and scrimmage. In all likelihood, anyone they sign from the 2012-2013 class would not be an immediate impact player and Smith would be the 3rd guard for at least half the 2013-2014 season…

    • chuck

      He’s going to be the starting PG in 2013-2014….he’s miles ahead of Rankin….

      Our recruiting class was tremendously overrated last year or tremendously underutilized….take your pick.

      Smith and Brown….that’s your backcourt after Green leaves.

  • chuck

    I don’t believe you can decide somebody isn’t a PG based on assists per game in college…

    Typically, in years past, VT PGs are maxing out around 3 per game and that’s with guys who finish better than our post players did this year (i think Green only averaged 2.7 the past 2 years, and nobody is saying he isn’t a PG)….

    Also look at Smith’s usage rate….he handles the rock constantly….

    With his decent 3 stroke, the good news is that he could play off-guard (depending on the defensive matchup) while paired with a true point.

    We haven’t had a true PG here in years anyway until Green (and he still shoots first a bit much)….Troy Manns maybe? Everyone’s been a combo guard: Delaney, Dowdell, Gordon, Brian Chase, et al…

    Yep i’m gonna say Troy Manns, with a nod even back to Jay Purcell…even Shawn Good and Damon Watlington were undecided, as well as they played together….

    Oh yeah…don’t let me forget Myron Guillory…or maybe i should just leave him in the recesses….dribble, dribble, dribble, think, innocuous pass…

    • Les

      Johnson plans to play Smith at off-guard, the same position he played for UNCW this year.

      “I look at him as a scoring 2 (guard) right now, maybe a little bit how Maryland played Stoglin off the ball when they ahd Pe’Shon Howard at the point,” Johnson said. “A little bit how Louisville plays Russ Smith. I kind of see him in that mode.”

      http://blogs.roanoke.com/courtside/

  • chuck

    So, with UNCW on the first group of APR non-qualifiers, does this mean that Adam Smith is eligible immediately now? Like the kid from UConn who transferred to Mizzou (Oriakhi)….

    Did Smith know, JJ know that this APR thing would be a possibility and were sandbagging until the APR announcement was made? Was missing the tourney this year a factor in his decision?

    Forgive me for saying this, but most guys aren’t going to leave a starring role in a mid-major to come to VT (ACC or not) AND sit out a year…how can i say this? Because it’s never happened before….we have no track record of this.

    We did get Chaney to come…but he was probably going to be a glue guy, a productive guy, but he wasn’t a star.

    I hope Smith can team up with Green….that’d be cool to see, and it might add a few wins. We could use some good news.

    Here is what it says in the ESPN article on Oriakhi….verbatim:

    “He has one year of eligibility and can play immediately because UConn is banned from next season’s NCAA tournament.”

    They make it sound pretty cut and dried…what do you guys think?


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2012-13 Schedule

November
11/10 Hokies 80, etsu 62
11/12 Hokies 69, rhode island 50
11/15 Hokies 95, vmi 80
11/19 Hokies 96, unc-g 87
11/23 Hokies 87, appalachian state 76
**ACC/BIG Ten Challenge**
11/27 Hokies 95, iowa 79
December
12/1 Hokies 81, #15 oklahoma state 71
12/8 wvu 68, Hokies 67
**Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic**
12/10 Hokies 70, mvsu 49
12/15 Georgia Southern 78, Hokies 73
12/22 Hokies 66, bradley 65, OT
12/23 colorado state 88, Hokies 52
**Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic**
12/29 byu 97, Hokies 71
January
1/5 maryland 94, Hokies 71
1/9 boston college 86, Hokies 75
1/12 Hokies 70, georgia tech 65
1/19 Hokies 66, wake forest 65
1/24 virginia 74, Hokies 58
1/27 clemson 77, Hokies 70
1/30 miami 73, Hokies 64
February
2/2 unc 72, Hokies 60, OT
2/7 maryland 60, Hokies 55
2/9 Georgia Tech 64, hokies 54
2/12 virginia 73, Hokies 55
2/16 nc state 90, Hokies 86
2/21 duke 88, Hokies 56
2/24 Hokies 80, fsu 70
2/27 miami 76, Hokies 58
March
3/2 Hokies 69, clemson 61
3/5 duke 85, Hokies 57
3/10 wake 90, Hokies 79
**ACC Tournament in Greensboro**
3/14 vs. nc state, 2:30 p.m.
3/15 Quarterfinals
3/16 Semifinals
3/17 Finals

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