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)

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)

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

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

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.

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!

TYRONE GARLAND:

Tyrone Garland and the John Bartram High School Braves will play Imhotep for the Philly Public League title on Tuesday night at temple’s arena.  Bartram has already captured the Public League Class AAAA title and will continue on in the state tournament regardless of the outcome on Tuesday.

For the season, Garland is averaging 25.0 ppg and has surpassed the 30 point mark four times this year.  His season high is 43.

Tyrone, a 2010 signee of VT, has also moved up to third on the all time Philly Public League scoring list with over 2,100 career points.  He surpassed Gerald Henderson of duke and now the NBA.  Garland is also quickly gaining on Wilt Chamberlain.  He won’t have a shot at #1 though, with Maureece Rice sitting at over 2,600 points.

JARELL EDDIE:

Jarell Eddie saw his career at Cannon School near Charlotte end in the second round of the NCISAA State Tournament.  Eddie finished the season averaging 22.5 ppg.  At one point in the season, he had a streak of nine straight games of 20 or more points.  By my calculations, Jarell came close to 3,000 career points (he passed 2,000 last year), but I believe he came up short.

Jarell will join the Hokies next season.

C.J. BARKSDALE:

The GW Eagles season ended well short of expectations.  The Danville school was #1 in the Virginia State AAA (top level) rankings earlier in the year, but lost in their first Northwest Region Playoff game to Stafford.  GW also lost in the district finals.

C.J. Barksdale averaged 15.0 ppg on the season and had at least 12 double-doubles from the boxscores I could find in 21 games.

C.J. is a verbal commit for the 2011 class.  You have to be excited about the inside presence he will bring to VT in two years.

MaxPreps.com is reporting that Tyrone Garland, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound point guard from Bartram High in Philadelphia, will announce his decision to attend Virginia Tech at a press conference later today at 5pm. Read more about Garland at maxpreps.com. (Thanks for the tip, @hokieguru)

The Hokies prized recruit for the 2009 class officially announced that he has withdrawn his verbal commitment to Virginia Tech and will reopen his recruiting. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Jones is taking a visit to southern california in April. If he does indeed leave, that gives the Hokies four players in the ’09 class: Ben Boggs, Erick Green, Manny Atkins and Cadarian Raines. But Jones was the marquee point guard Seth Greenberg was counting on.

Read more in today’s Richmond Times Dispatch.