Saluting ACC Player of the Year Erick Green

To say I'm bummed that the 2012-13 Hokie basketball season is over would be incorrect.

I'm very thankful that I won't have to watch this incompetent bunch bumble their way through the Atlantic Coast Conference any longer. Frankly, they should have been put out to pasture at the start of the new year.

The only thing I'll miss is watching Erick Green, the incomparable Hokie point guard who finished his senior season as the nation's leading scorer and as the ACC Player of the Year—both firsts for a Hokie.

In his final regular season game against Wake Forest, Erick broke the school record for points in a season with 786 surpassing the old mark of 785 set by Bimbo Coles in 1989-90.

Other teams put their best defenders on him and trapped and double-teamed him almost every game knowing he was the only real offensive threat, but still he piled up obscene numbers.

Those would be 25.4 PPG on 48% shooting from the floor including 39% from behind the arc.

That's right, he made half his shots and I can assure you having watched nearly every painful moment this season (Thanks ESPN3?) there weren't that many easy lay-ups.

He embodies everything you want in a team leader, heart, toughness, talent and work ethic. He gave his all every single game, often to the point of exhaustion.

Green was helped off the court suffering from dehydration against Georgia Tech Feb 9. 

If you haven't seen him play you might assume he's a selfish player who rarely involves his teammates, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Green averaged just under 4 assists per game (3.9) and should have had many more. The guys around him just didn't make any shots.

No one expected much from the Hokies this season with a first-year head coach and only eight scholarship players, and that's mainly what folks got.

There was plenty of frustration for the Hurryin' Hokies this season.

The lone bright spot was Green doing his best and desperately trying to get his teammates to follow his lead.

There were lots of voices in recent weeks arguing against Erick's case for player of the year based on Tech's abysmal record (13-19, 4-13 ACC), the thinking being you can't be the best player if your team doesn't win.

Indeed, there haven't been many instances of MVPs on losing teams and in ACC hoops the only other example is the late Len Bias of Maryland in 1986.

In professional sports, I had a hard time finding anyone beyond the great Andre Dawson in 1987 when he took home the award after hitting .287 with 49 home runs and 147 RBI for the last place Chicago Cubs.

No these types of honors aren't just about stats, but certain individual performances can overcome playing on a bad team.

Ultimately, it doesn't really matter if you thought Shane Larkin of Miami or maybe Seth Curry of Duke was more deserving. EG just finished a season so impressive that he convinced even the Carolina media mafia he was worthy of their highest honor.

I'm sad to see the best thing about Hokie hoops head on, but I look forward to following him as he attempts to play professionally.

He'll make it somewhere because of his skill and make-up. He had the drive to keep going even when it looked like many of his guys had given up.

Come to think of it, that sounds like the perfect point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Hokies Hire Former Assistant James Johnson as Head Basketball Coach

What a strange two weeks it's been.

James Johnson was just beginning his new job as an assistant coach at Clemson when Seth Greenberg was unceremoniously fired in a move that baffled the entire college basketball world.

Now, after being spurned by a number of potential suitors with "bigger" names, Tech athletic director Jim Weaver wiped the egg from his face just long enough to find Johnson's phone number and get him to come back to Blacksburg.

Let it be clear, I think Johnson will be a good choice. He was Tech's top recruiter during his five seasons under Greenberg. He was the lead recruiter on Robert Brown, C.J. Barksdale, Cadarian Raines and Erick Green. The team, not surprisingly is very excited with the choice.

 Erick Green tweeted, Yessss I’ll be back next year  and Cadarian Raines added via the often non-sensical social platform, I'm happy as hell right now!! #Hokies.

Much of the rest of the team expressed similar sentiments, so it would appear the bulk of the current players will remain at Tech which was becoming a serious question mark the longer the search for a head coach continued.

         

Johnson hopes to step out from the shadow of his deposed

 predecessor.

Johnson is a Virginia native and played his college ball about an hour away from Blacksburg at Ferrum College.

He knows the area well having been an assistant at Ferrum, Longwood, Hargrave Military Academy, Old Dominion and George Mason just in the Commonwealth alone. There were also stops at College of Charleston, Penn State and Elon.

He has loads of experience as an assistant at schools of various sizes and locations and his local knowledge and connections in the mid-atlantic should help Tech keep recruiting on roughly the same level as under Greenberg.

Speaking of Seth, he had this to say regarding Johnson in last year's basketball media guide:

“JJ is the elder statesman of our staff and is tremendously invested in Virginia Tech basketball. He is one of the elite recruiters in all of college basketball and a terrific on-floor coach. His genuine concern for our student athletes and their development both on and off the court is well documented. He is a head coach waiting to happen.” — Seth Greenberg

Time will tell how things work out for JJ, but given the horrible position the program was put in by the athletic department's timing, this is probably a best case scenario.

Tech simply wasn't going to attract a big name, certainly not the people rumored to be involved. The job is hard to begin with and Jim Weaver just proved what kind of support at a successful hoops coach can expect at Virginia Tech if things turn slightly sour.

To those concerned that Johnson wasn't Tech's top choice, fear not. Seth Greenberg was at least Weaver's fifth choice during the last coaching search (names like Lon Kruger and Jim Baron come to mind). He lucked into something with Seth, and may just do it again.

No thanks to timing.

Seth Greenberg Fired In Awkward Press Conference

Seth Greenberg was fired Monday during a bizarre press conference that was scheduled before the coach was even notified that his “contract had been terminated”.

The second-winningest men’s basketball coach in Virginia Tech history was let go after a nine-season run in Blacksburg and a 170-123 overall record.

Greenberg’s most impressive feats were his 61-67 mark in ACC play and three victories over the No. 1 ranked team in the country (Duke, UNC, Wake Forest).

He lifted Tech a notch or two as he stewarded Tech’s transition into the ACC, but things had stalled a bit and Greenberg was not without his faults as a coach.

That said, the callousness with which this firing materialized is surprising.

Greenberg deserved to know last week when athletic director Jim Weaver was suddenly overcome by an epiphany that Seth isn’t on the same page with him and the Tech athletic department family.

You can’t praise Tech’s family atmosphere in one breath and then cut ties with a coach who was doing his job, hosting a recruit the day you fired him.

If nothing else, it makes the athletic department look like a bunch of bumbling fools trying to jack up the website hits by teasing the presser for a fired coach.

Jim Weaver may not have thought this out

At best it’s inconsiderate and unfair, at worst it’s a calculated, cold-blooded move.

It’s hard to say any of this is calculated though. Many surmised that Weaver must have had someone ready to take the job already by making this move a month after most coaching moves occurred.

That doesn’t appear to be the case so far and that’s no surprise.

Some 40 schools have hired a new coach already this offseason. As Ken Pomeroy tweeted yesterday, “If you're firing your coach on April 23, that coach better have done some Brad Greenberg-type stuff. Otherwise, awful move.”

That is of course a reference to Seth’s brother Brad who got in some trouble during his brief stint as the head coach just down the road at Radford.

There’s never been anything to indicate Seth cut corners. He was aggressive in recruiting and had to work harder than a lot of coaches to overcome the various obstacles Tech faces in an area dominated by ACC flagship schools like Duke and North Carolina.

Seth Greenberg was exactly what Tech needed for a time, a firey, brash personality who wasn’t afraid to stick his nose in the face of Coach K and to challenge the ACC elite.

The players bought in and realized Virginia Tech wasn’t just a bottom of the league program as many had predicted, but a team capable of finishing in the top third.

It’s no surprise that over time Seth’s personality wore thin with people. Blacksburg isn’t used to big personalities. We’re used to ‘aw shucks’ Frank Beamer and the rock and stability of the football program.

Seth Greenberg is one of the most demonstrative and entertaining coaches to watch.

Still, I will remember Seth for the excitement and energy that he infused in a dormant program.

I loved his sometimes brutally honest media relations and can’t wait to see him on ESPN. He will instantly be their best analyst when they or some other network hires him.

He has two ACC Coach of the Year awards, one NCAA Tournament appearance and a plethora of NIT bids to show for his time storming up and down the sideline in Cassell Coliseum.

Many of the most exciting athletes in Hokie hoops history have come through during Seth’s time, and he leaves having helped build a beautiful multi-million dollar basketball practice facility that has helped make Tech’s facilities relevant.

Say what you will about Greenberg, love him or hate him, he gave Virginia Tech everything he could and did a great deal to advance the program.

If you can’t see that, you’re certifiably insane.

Hokies And Irish End Seasons

Basketball season has effectively come to an end here at Stars & Slights.

Sunday saw the Hokies give a valiant but ill-fated effort in an overtime home loss to Wichita State in the Second Round of the NIT. Tech fell 79-76 despite one final amazing performance from Malcolm Delaney.

The senior finished with 30 points on 8 of 14 shooting, including 3 of 6 from three-point range.

Delaney also had 4 steals and an impressive block that saw him sprint full court to snuff out a fast break by the Shockers.

The loss leaves Tech with a 22-12 overall record to end the season, and leaves a lot of people wondering what kind of season might have been with a full roster.

The No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame had a tough one against No. 10 Florida State. The Seminoles used their stifling defense and athleticism to knock off the Irish 71-57, reaching the team's first Sweet Sixteen since 1993.

Senior Tim Abromaitis had a typical 21 points and 6 rebounds, but fellow senior and Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough was kept to just 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

The loss brings Notre Dame's record to 27-7 overall with a 14-4 mark in Big East play.

The Irish, like the Hokies will wonder what might have been this offseason, but they were afforded a chance at the big prize.

Yes Brian, it's better to be one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament than make a run (or lose early) in the NIT.

Hokies Hosed...Again

Naturally, when my colleagues and I emerged from our battered sedan after a 350-mile journey Sunday evening, we didn’t expect to be greeted with bad news.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, but once again in it’s infinite wisdom, the NCAA Tournament selection committee decided Virginia Tech just wasn’t good enough to be invited to it’s “dance”.

“Keep in mind there’s 10 committee members, and we all have different criteria,” tournament selection committee chairman Gene Smith said recently.

At best, a curious statement from a man chairing a committee that claims to have 15 quantifiable criteria they look at each season.

If I can be so bold as to read into that statement, I think he meant to say that each member can approach and interpret the criteria in a different way. Still, that doesn’t sit well with me.

Why isn’t there a clearer set of criteria? Why can’t we have any consistency in what the committee values most? One season it’s how you finished the year, others it’s your team’s strength of schedule or their “body of work”.

There’s enough hyperbole floating around the selection process to burst a dozen bubbles, but not nearly enough concrete answers.

As is stands now, the NCAA Tournament selection committee is nothing more than a Politburo, secretly meeting behind closed doors deciding the fate of everyone in the land.

Much like the Soviet system where holding a government office wasn’t a requirement for leadership on that committee, supreme basketball knowledge isn’t a prerequisite for appointment by the NCAA.

The committee is made up of athletic directors and conference commissioners representative of the top programs as well as the “lower-tier” schools from smaller conferences, but at best, any given year only half the members have some kind of significant basketball experience.

It just doesn’t feel right to me. For many years, I’ve felt that the NCAA Tournament is one of the most democratic way to decide a champion in sports.

Every team, at least in theory, has a say in who’s crowned No. 1. If you win, you are allowed to continue regardless of what anyone says. That is of course if you’re in it to begin with.

And so, I won’t fill out a bracket for myself this season. I’ll make picks for our dog Remus based on which mascot he prefers and then I’ll never look at them again.
I’ll avoid the bars and quickly change the topic of conversation whenever it comes around to the “Big Dance” regardless of whom I’m talking to.

The television set will be disappointedly set to ESPNU where I’ll closely follow the Hokie Invitiational (NIT) with as much anticipation as I can muster, and then once our season is over, I’ll lock myself in my room until no one mentions basketball again.

Or perhaps, I’ll just move to Russia.

ESPN's College GameDay Comes to Blacksburg

The college hoops version of ESPN's College GameDay will be in Blacksburg this weekend as the Hokies host the No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils in a prime time match up.

The game is enormous for Tech (18-8, 8-5) as they once again reside squarely on the "bubble" for the NCAA Tournament.

Duke (26-2, 12-1) has only lost to St. Johns and Florida State this season and sits poised to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament come March.

Tech has played extremely well against the top-ranked team in the nation, compiling a 3-4 all-time record including wins over North Carolina in 2007 and Wake Forest in 2009.

In it's last five games against the No. 1 team The cumulative score reads Virginia Tech 389 No. 1 Team 383.

This is an enormous opportunity for the Hokies and you can expect a raucous crowd in Cassell Coliseum.

The only bad thing will be how many times they'll show former Tech great Dell Curry wearing Duke stuff behind their bench.

Malcolm Delaney Returns For Senior Season

Virginia Tech junior point guard Malcolm Delaney has decided to withdraw his name from the June NBA draft. Delaney averaged 20.2 PPG for the Hokies en route to first team All-ACC honors this season.

The Hokies look to have a very talented veteran team next season, returning every starter from a group that finished 25-9 (10-6 ACC).

Jarell Eddie: Future Hokie Star

Jarell Eddie is a 6'7", 210-pound small forward from Concord, NC. He's rated highly by all the recruiting services and is part of an excellent recruiting class coming in next season for Seth Greenberg.

All those player rankings and "star ratings" are nice, but I like to see a kid play before I dub him "the talisman".

For those unfamiliar with the word, talisman is used on occasion by soccer announcers to indicate a special player. It could be defined as, "Something that apparently has magic power" or as, "Anything whose presence exercises a remarkable or powerful influence on human feelings or actions."

After watching this video, Jarell's got the goods folks. Just take a look.

Les Henson and the Henson Heave

January 21st marks the 30th anniversary of what is known in Hokie lore as the "Henson Heave"

In a game at Florida State (playing in the old Metro conference) the Hokies led late, but the Seminoles rallied to take the late lead. It was then that Henson picked up the ball and tossed it the full length of the court to win.

There are two crazy things about it, the first being it only counted for two points as there was no three-point line yet.

Second, Henson threw the ball with his right hand and he normally shot left-handed. To be fair, I've heard Les was ambidextrous aside from his basketball shot.

Here's the actual video , and no, he wasn't out of bounds if you account for the fact the camera is shooting from mid-court. There are angles and math involved far too complicated for me to elaborate on, but there was also an official right there.