Back on the Air With The New ACC

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By Justin Cates

There's been a significant blackout here on the blog for the month of June. I apologize and will explain in due course. For now though, I'd like to extend a fairly warm welcome to the three new members of the Atlantic Coast Conference: Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

Their membership formally kicks into effect today and brings the number of conference members to 14.5 as Notre Dame is only partially in for football because, well, they can I guess.

Despite being driven by the ever-changing landscape of college football, the move really serves to solidify the ACC as the best basketball conference in the nation.

As such, given the current toxic nature of the Virginia Tech basketball program, I don't expect to see the Hokies compete any time soon even though the conference may well be an eight bid league come the big tournament in March.

It will be interesting to see how these programs evolve in the two biggest sports, football and basketball. I'm particularly curious to see how these hoops squads evolve from the physical post play of the Big East to the fast-pace style employed by the bulk of the ACC.

These schools have three of the finest coaches in college hoops so they shouldn't have a problem, still it's a vastly different style. Also, we call fouls.

I'm particularly excited for Syracuse to make only their second ever trip to Cassell Coliseum. It marks the only time since 1978 when the Hokies upset the No. 10 Orange by 17-points likely inducing a number of facial cringes in Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse was the only one of these new schools not to come to Blacksburg during Tech's brief stay in the Big East, likely because they are special.

They will fit in well with the Carolina schools who as all new members will quickly find feel entitled to things which they are not.  

But enough negativity, welcome friends! Try the barbecue and don't get too comfortable.


Erick Green Drafted in NBA's Second Round 

ACC Player of the Year Erick Green was selected by the Utah Jazz last week with the 16th pick of the second round (46th overall). He was promptly traded to the Denver Nuggets for their first round selection Rudy Gobert (27th pick) and cash.

Denver thinks very highly of Green who led the nation in scoring this past season. If he makes the squad, he figures to help a lack of depth in Denver's backcourt. They are led by former North Carolina star Ty Lawson at point guard with veterans Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala the other major guards.

Iguodala has already met with the Detroit Pistons so he may be on his way out. That would leave Denver perilously thin at the guard spots. If Green has a good summer league, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him suit up in the NBA next season.


Hokie Baseball Coach Pete Hughes Heads to Oklahoma

Virginia Tech is fresh off hosting their first NCAA baseball regional and posting 40-22 record, but they'll have to follow it up with a different head coach.

Pete Hughes decided to take the top job at Oklahoma last week after Sooners' coach Sunny Golloway left for Auburn.

Hughes spent 7 seasons in Blacksburg, rejuvenating a program that had languished at the end of legendary head coach Chuck Hartman's tenure. 

As has become his custom, Tech athletic director Jim Weaver quickly hired Hughes' top assistant, pitching coach Patrick Mason.

Mason has himself led a turnaround during his three seasons in Blacksburg vastly improving Tech's pitching staff. He announced at his introductory press conference that assistant Mike Kunagonis would also be staying with the program as associate head coach.   


     

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.