Don’t forget to check out our 2011 Recruit News and Game Stats Page (Link) that has the score and stats for the four VT signees for 2011 for almost every Norcom and Hargrave game to date.  Both teams are really kicking butt…

The Norcom Greyhounds are 21-1 and #1 in the state of Virginia (AAA).  The defending state champs got as high as #4 in the nation in the ESPN Rise poll.  They currently sit at #7 in the land thanks to wins over #5 Findlay Prep and other powers like Word of God (Raleigh – John Wall’s school) and Dematha.  Dorian Finney-Smith, now a 5-star recruit in the ESPN rankings, is averaging 19 points per game [I have stats from 17 of his 21 games].  His high game for the year is 32 points.

The Hargrave Post-Grad team is 21-0 and just bombard their overwhelmed opponents.  C.J. Barksdale scores between 16 and 20 most nights, but had 42 points and 13 rebounds against roanoke earlier in the year.  Robert Brown is stroking it from the perimeter, but can also attack the rim.  He is scoring around 15 points per game.  And Marquis Rankin is showing he’s a real field general.  Dude can rack up the assists.

So Tech’s 2011 signees are a combined 42-1 on the year!  I’d say they are winners and hopefully will continue that way next year.

2011 Recruiting Class Page

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The Norcom Greyhounds, led by 5-star VT signee Dorian Finney-Smith, saw their 24 game winning streak end Friday night in a 59-54 loss at Booker T. Washington. But the Greyhounds, ranked #4 in the latest ESPN Rise Poll, rebounded on Saturday to defeat the national power Dematha Stags 71-57. Norcom seems at their best in big games, having beaten Dematha, Findlay Prep, and Word of God among others. Pretty good for a public school.

Dorian had two monster games. Against BTW he had 21 points and 16 rebounds. Then he put 18 points, including a rare 3-pointer, on the Stags in their dominating win.

The Greyhounds are now 18-1. As of last week, Tech’s four signees had not lost a single game this year (the other three are at Hargrave).

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The Virginia Tech basketball Class of 2011 remains undefeated.  With Norcom’s two district wins this week, the Greyhounds are now 17-0.  Dorian Finney-Smith streaked to 32 points against the Granby Comets on Friday.  Norcom is now ranked #5 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 Poll.  They are #13 in the USA Today Super 25 Rankings.  For some reason, they are ranked behind Findlay Prep, whom they beat a few weeks ago.  The Greyhounds are #7 in the Rivals rankings.

Hargrave’s post-grad team, featuring the three amigos — Robert Brown, Marquis Rankin, and C.J. Barksdale — recently won a game at the Basketball Hall of Fame and have since improved to 15-0.  Barksdale tends to put up the biggest scoring numbers (he had 42 earlier this season) and lead the team in rebounding, while Brown shows what a sharp-shooter he can be.  Rankin is looking like an assist machine and should battle Garland for the back-up point guard spot next year.

For more info, check out our other pages:

• 2011 Recruit News and Game Stats
• 2011 Recruiting Class Page

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Dorian Finney-Smith looked poised to be Virginia Tech’s biggest recruit since Dell Curry when he committed to VT several months ago.  Well, the buzz has done nothing but increase since then.  DFS’s Norcom Greyhounds moved to 13-0 with a stunning (well, stunning to everyone but the Greyhounds) win over Findlay Prep of Nevada by a 68-66 score on Saturday.  Findlay Prep is a national powerhouse that came into this game ranked #4 in the ESPN Rise rankings and #5 in USA Today.  Norcom sat at #23 in the ESPN Rise rankings but wasn’t ranked in the USA Today top 25 or the south region top 10.  That will change in the next rankings.  Expect the defending Virginia AAA State Champs led by the reigning Player of the Year (DFS) to skyrocket up the charts.

Dorian scored just 8 points in this game (he battled foul trouble), but calmly knocked down two free throws to break a 66-66 tie with less than 10 seconds left and give the Greyhounds their 23rd straight victory.  While he didn’t have a huge game and had bad luck finishing inside, he has been dominant most of the season and has seen his stock rise.  Dave Telep of ESPN Recruiting even talked about DFS as a possible McDonald’s All-American earlier last week.

Norcom led big early, took a 12-point lead to the half, and increased it to 17 in the third quarter.  But Findlay Prep battled back and took leads of as much as 5 with 4 minutes left, before Norcom rallied and pulled out the win.

Findlay Prep features Myck Kabongo — a 5-star texas signee (#24 overall in Rivals), Nick Johnson — an arizona signee and #40 in the Rivals’ rankings, and Amir Garrett — who is going to st. john’s and is #51 on the Rivals’ list.  That’s three top 50-ish players on a private school power that can recruit players, but they were no match for the Commonwealth’s best team, a public school team no less.

For more news on the 2011 VT signees, check out our 2011 Recruiting Stats and News Page (LINK) or check out the Player Profiles (LINK)

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Hokie Class of 2011 signee Dorian Finney-Smith and the undefeated Norcom Greyhounds stayed undefeated last night with a 69-67 win over Norfolk Christian, which features unc signee James McAdoo (son of the former LA Laker).  This was a mega-match-up on many fronts.  Norcom, the defending Virginia AAA State Champs, are ranked 13th in the nation by Rivals.com and 23rd in the country by ESPN Rise (rise.espn.com).  Norfolk Christian was ranked 65th in the land by Rivals.com. 

Then you have the two stars.  Dorian, last year’s Virginia AAA Player of the Year, is ranked 37th in the Class of 2011 by Rivals, #27 on ESPN, and 26th on Scout.com.  McAdoo, also a forward, is a 5-star and 8th ranked recruit by Rivals, #5 on ESPN.com, and 7th on Scout.com.

McAdoo led all scorers with 24 while Finney-Smith got a double-double with 16 points (6/13 from the field) and 10 rebounds.  Norcom is now 11-0 and have won 21 straight games.  The Greyhounds play Norview tonight, then face #3 ranked (according to ESPN Rise) Findley Prep from Nevada on Saturday at Wilson High School.

Finney-Smith Getting Major Pub: Dorian is on the ESPN college basketball recruiting front page right now after his performance at the GSK Invitational in Raleigh.  Says ESPN Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep, “At this point, given how his senior season has gone, he’s vaulted himself into serious contention for the McDonald’s All-American Game. His candidacy supports the notion that every game matters. In the title game at GSK, D.F.S dominated all facets including intensity and purpose. He didn’t take a perimeter jumper in the championship but was a beast inside and a tremendous decision maker. The best player at the event.” 

High praise.  And it would be sweet to have a McDonald’s All-American if it pans out.  McRibs for everybody!  (oh, wait, they are gone… tear)

Norcom won the GSK behind that “beast” named Dorian Finney-Smith.  He had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the opening round win over Word of God (pretty sure that’s where John Wall went), a 64-62 OT win.  Norcom had to overcome a 20 point halftime deficit in the game.

The Greyhounds then beat Westchester in the semi-finals and Charlotte United Faith in the Championship Game.

For more news on the 2011 VT signees, check out our 2011 Recruiting Stats and News Page (LINK) or check out the Player Profiles (LINK)

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LINK TO 2011 RECRUIT STAT AND NEWS

The page linked above will keep you up to date on all published stats related to Virginia Tech’s four signees for 2011 – C.J. Barksdale, Robert Brown, Marquis Rankin, and Dorian Finney-Smith.  The first three all play for Hargrave’s undefeated post-grad team, so their games include stats for all three players.  Finney-Smith plays for the defending VA AAA champion Norcom Greyhounds.  They are off to a 2-0 start and play in the National HS Hoops Festival on Saturday night in Hyattsville, MD (Dematha HS).

The best game so far goes to Barksdale – he had 42 points and 13 rebounds against roanoke college on November 16th.

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Various sites are reporting that all four Virginia Tech verbal commits have put pen to paper and signed their Letter of Intent with the Hokies!  This could go down as Virginia Tech’s greatest class ever, but at the very least helps build a bright future for the following years after Delaney, Hudson, Allen, and Bell depart this year.

ESPNU (LINK) ranks VT’s class as the #12 class in the nation.

Let’s give a big Hokie hi to DORIAN FINNEY-SMITH, C. J. BARKSDALE, ROBERT BROWN, and MARQUIS RANKIN.

LINK TO THE CLASS OF 2011 PAGE

RECENT RECRUITING NEWS

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All four of Virginia Tech’s verbal commits in the Class of 2011 are now in ESPNU’s updated list of the top 100 recruits. Recent commit Dorian Finney-Smith headlines the list at #26, just six spots from 5-star status. This is actually a sizable drop for Dorian. He had been a 5-star before, sitting at #15, but dropped 11 spots. ESPNU had been the only service that had him as a 5-star, but this is on-par with where other services seem to have Dorian.  Finney-Smith sits as the #6 rated small forward.

Robert Brown is really moving on up.  Reports are he was very impressive this summer and has looked great at Hargrave to date.  Robert went from a 3-star recruit to a 4-star, ranked #83 overall on the ESPNU list.  Brown is ranked as the #25 shooting guard.

C.J. Barksdale also moved into the top 100.  He is at #88 and maintains his 4-star status, and sits at #18 among power forwards.

Point guard Marquis Rankin, who dropped a ton in his ratings over the last year, seems to have had his stock reevaluated.  He also jumped into the top 100, sitting at #95.  Rankin is the #18 ranked point guard in the class.

The Hokies are clearly getting big time respect and Brown’s, Barkdale’s, and Rankin’s decision to all go to Hargrave seems to have been a positive one so far.

HERE IS THE ESPNU 100 LIST

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2011 recruit Dorian Finney-Smith has verbally committed to the Hokies!  Dorian may end up being the highest rated recruit to select Virginia Tech since Dell Curry back in 1982.  Finney-Smith, a 6’7″ small forward, is rated as a 5-star and the #15 overall recruit in the ESPNU Top 100 for 2011.  He would be Tech’s first 5-star recruit since… well, to be honest, I don’t know.  There hasn’t been one under Greenberg, and there certainly wasn’t one under Stokes.  Dorian is rated a 4-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.  He is #28 on the Scout Top 100, just missing 5-star status, and #37 on the Rivals 2011 Top 150.

Finney-Smith was the Associated Press’s AAA Player of the Year last year, averaging just under 20 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.  Dorian chose the Hokies over the university of florida and old dominion (where his brother, Ben, plays).  Assistant Coach John Richardson who recently left odu for VT has to be given a lot of credit for this decision, along with our beloved Coach Greenberg, of course.

Finney-Smith joins an already talented recruiting class for the Hokies.  C.J. Barksdale, Robert Brown, and Marquis Rankin are all highly rated recruits.  Check out where some of these recruits are rated (for each of the three recruiting services I reference I give their stars / their overall ranking in the class / their position ranking):

You can see by that table that all of the recruits are rated a 4-star or higher by at least one of the three services I looked at, three of them are ranked in the Top 100 by at least one service (all but Brown), three of them had at least two 4-star ratings (all but Brown), and Barksdale and Finney-Smith were concensus 4-star or better recruits.  Rankin actually was on the cusp of being a 5-star last year but has seen his stock drop worse than Blockbuster’s.  Theories on that are lack of challenging competition, but he should be able to make up for that at Hargrave this year with Barksdale and Brown.

Tech continues to build a pattern of reloading every four years (makes sense since you lose the guys you signed four years ago).  The 2007 Class produced concensus 4-stars Jeff Allen and Malcolm Delaney plus 3/4-stars Hudson, Thompson, and Gilchrist (reneged), and 3-stars Pellum (never played at VT) and Thorns.  2003 produced Dowdell, Collins, and Gordon but none of those guys were “national” recruits.  This class, on paper, would certainly top 2003 and could potentially top 2007 *if* VT could actually sign all these guys and get them to campus next year.  VT may not be done, either.  They are at their limit of available scholarships with JT Thompson now redshirting this year, but attrition of at least one has been the norm under Seth and could free up another spot.

2011 Recruiting Class Page

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A huge recruit on the Virginia Tech landscape will make his decision on Tuesday afternoon.  Dorian Finney-Smith from Norcom High School (defending state champs) in Portsmouth, VA will choose between VT, florida, and odu.  Dorian is a top 50 recruit in both Scout.com’s and Rivals.com’s rankings for the Class of 2011.  Dorian is listed around 6’7″ and approximately 190 lbs.  He projects as a small forward.

Dorian’s brother Ben plays for odu, but Tech now has John Richardson as an assistant coach after being hired away from odu.  Richardson is very influential from all accounts. 

If I had to guess, I’d give the Hokies the edge here but florida seems to have made up ground.  odu I believe was just a courtesy visit.  In the end, I’m predicting orange and maroon.

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Dorian Finney-Smith, a Class of ’11 forward from Norcom High School in Portsmouth, VA, visited the Hokies this past weekend on his official visit.  Dorian is considered a Top 40  and 4-star recruit in this year’s class by both Scout.com and Rivals.com. 

The Hokies are considered the team to beat for Finney-Smith.  Dorian apparently has a great relationship with the Hokies’ newest assistant coach, John Richardson.  Richardson had been at old dominion university the last five years and had coached in the 757 on the high school level before that.   florida and old dominion are the other two schools in the running for Dorian’s services.  His official visit to florida is this weekend with odu the week after.  He should decide shortly after that. 

My guess is he ends up a Hokie unless the gators really wow him this weekend, which is certainly possible.  They do have a couple of recent national titles to boast in basketball, but are still a football school much like VT.  I think his comfort with the VT staff will win out in the end.  And I’ll bet you (though I have no info to back this up) the Hokies had Allan Chaney talk to Dorian this weekend about the differences of VT and uf.  Chaney played at florida for a year before transferring to Tech.

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In the Doug Doughty Notebook Plus article (Roanoke Times) this week, he states that Virginia Tech is an early leader for 6’9″ Adjehi Baru, a post player from the Ivory Coast that is at the Steward School in Richmond.  The hated terps are also mentioned as a leader.  Baru is ranked #26 overall and the #3 center in the Class of 2011 on Rivals.com.  Scout.com has him at #44 overall and the #5 center.  Both rate him as a 4-star recruit, although he is the first 4-star recruit in the Rivals’ rankings.

For more on Baru, click on the article above and here is his Rivals.com free page: Baru Bio

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Earlier today, Virginia Tech head basketball coach Seth Greenberg posted on his Twitter account that recruit Tyrone Garland qualified academically and can play in the upcoming 2010-2011 season. Specifically, Seth wrote, “Excited to have Ty Garland join the Hokie family!”

Incoming freshmen Garland and Jarrell Eddie will likely see playing time this season. Eddie is rehabbing his knee, but according to Greenberg, should be 100 percent by July 5, as will big man Cadarian Raines, who is coming off a second foot surgery in less than a year.

Garland is only the fifth player in Philadelphia public school history to eclipse the 2,000 point mark, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Gerald Henderson in the top five.

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The Hokies picked up a huge, and I mean a gigantic size commitment this week.  Marquis Rankin, a 5’11″, 165 lb. point guard in the Class of 2011 from Charlotte, NC, committed to the Hokies over offers from two other ACC schools and two SEC schools among others. 

Rankin is ranking very highly in most recruiting services.  Scout.com rates him as the #23 overall player in the Class of 2011 and #4 PG (4-stars).  He is the 2nd highest rated 4-star recruit in Scout (the top 21 are 5-stars).  Rivals.com has him as the #26 player overall in the Class of 2011 and the #9 PG.  He is the top rated 4-star player in that Rivals class (the top 25 guys are all 5-stars). 

Rankin fills a huge need for the Hokies.  Tech had not yet signed a true point guard (in my opinion) in the next two classes.  Tyrone Garland (’10) is more of a shooting guard that can run the point (similar to how Delaney was when he came to VT) and Robert Brown (’11) is a shooting guard.  With Delaney leaving after next season at the latest, that means Erick Green will be the only true point guard in the program, and he will be a junior by the time Rankin arrives.

Rankin joins PF C.J. Barksdale (#28 overall by Scout and #78 by Rivals) and SG Robert Brown (#104 in Rivals) as part of the 2011 Class.  This class is already shaping up to be the greatest in Virginia Tech history if the Hokies can keep these three on-board and they can still add two more players in this class.  Seth plans to add a full lineup in this class, so expect VT to target at least one more big man, if not two (perhaps a PF/C and a wing player).

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TYRONE GARLAND, a Class of 2010 Virginia Tech signee, had carried his team all season, averaging 25 ppg and becoming the third leading scorer in Philadelphia Public League scoring history.  But on Tuesday night his amazing effort was not enough to bring home the championship to John Bartram High School.  Bartram lost by a 58-46 score in the Public League Championship to Imhotep.

Garland had a huge game, though.  Tyrone scored 32 of his teams 46 points!  He hit 6 of 12 from behind the arc, but his teammates were just 5 for 37 from the field.

Bartram will continue on in the Pennsylvania State Tournament this weekend.  Garland is closing in on Wilt Chamberlain, who currently sits in 2nd place on the Philly scoring list.  Tyrone doesn’t have a realistic shot at #1 though, which is over 2,600.  Garland is around 2,200 for his high school career right now.

For more on Garland’s game stats, check out his bio page linked at the top of this article.

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The Hokies will need to haul in some huge recruiting classes the next two years to keep the program’s momentum going.  Tech has signed two recruits, Jarell Eddie and Tyrone Garland, for next year.  But the 2011 Class will be even more important as the Hokies’ top five scorers this year are all juniors.

Tech has already picked up verbal commitments from two 2011 prospects, C.J. Barksdale of Danville, VA and Robert Brown of Clermont, FL.  Robert’s Head Coach, Mike Clutter, was kind enough to give us the skinny on Tech’s future shooting guard.  I was surprised to learn that Coach Clutter coached in Virginia for 20 years in Louisa County, Albemarle County, and Osbourn HS in Manassas.  He also has a very good relationship with the VT coaching staff.

QUESTIONS:

Q: What were Robert’s stats this season?

Coach Clutter: He finished the year averaging 21.0 ppg, 4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, shot 46% from the field, and 70% from the foul line.  He recently scored his 1000th point at East Ridge and now ranks 4^th on the schools career list with 1159 points.

Q: What honors has he picked up?

Coach Clutter: Robert is our team’s MVP for the 3^rd straight  year and was for the second time  selected 6 A Coaches District Player of the Year. He has been All-County for 3 years and will most likely be Player of the Year this year.

Q: How did East Ridge do this season?

Coach Clutter: We finished 16-7 and tied for 4^th in our district which is called the District of Dome.  We had 5 out of our 9 teams ranked in the top 10 in the state for most of the season. We finished ranked 12^th in the state in the top division in Florida, 6 A

Q: On offense, is Robert more of a slasher or a three-point shooter?

Coach Clutter: Robert is very quick with a great move to the basket. He can slash to the basket and dunk it in your face. He had a great 3-point shooting effort last year but got a lot more pressure this year and his 3-point shooting percentage fell down some.

Q: How is Robert’s mid-range game/runners?

Coach Clutter: He has developed a great runner this year and it continues to get better.

Q: How are Robert’s ballhandling skills?  Can he run the point or is he strickly a 2-guard?

Coach Clutter: Good ball handler and does run the point and even plays the 3 sometimes.

Q: How is Robert’s defense on the ball (as I’m sure you know Coach Greenberg really preaches defense)?

Coach Clutter: He is a good defender on the ball, when he wants to and runs the floor filling the lanes very well.

Q: How are his intangibles (leadership, work ethic, etc)?

Coach Clutter: He is a leader by example and loves to have the ball in his hands.

Q: What area(s) does Robert need to improve on the most to be ready to play in the ACC in 2 years?

Coach Clutter: He will need to get stronger and become a better rebounder.

Q: Any other information you’d like to add?

Coach Clutter: He is running track right now and has won 3 straight high jumps with his best being 6’4’’, not too bad for someone who never did it before. He will be a great player when he gets to Tech.

Thanks again to Coach Clutter for giving us some great insight on one of the keystones of the future of Hokie basketball!

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