Catching up with PF DeShawn Painter May 5, 2008 6-9, 210-pound junior power forward DeShawn Painter plans to finish out this school year at Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, VA), but the talented low post prospect is taking his game elsewhere in 2008/2009. Painter plans to play next season for head coach Kevin Keatts at Hargrave Military Academy. more
Davila a Promising Prospect April 1, 2008 Freshman Jeff Allen certainly impressed this past season, providing the Virginia Tech Hokies with a valuable inside presence. Next year, he'll be joined by another promising inside prospect in Starmount High School's (Boonville, N.C.) Victor Davila, a 6-9, 245-pound power forward who was just named a Class 2-A all-state selection by the AP for the second consecutive season. more
Hokie Hoops: A Look Ahead March 31, 2008 The 2007-08 basketball season is over, and although it ended in a disappointing home loss to Ole Miss in the NIT, it was an overall success for Virginia Tech's basketball program. A team featuring six freshmen in the regular rotation won 21 games, finished fourth in the ACC, nearly made the NCAA tournament, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. more
Victor Davila Selected First Team All-State, Plus Highlight Videos March 28, 2008 If there's one thing Wednesday night's loss to Ole Miss showed, it's that you can never have enough post players. The Hokies could have used some more beef to combat the Rebels' big men, and 2008 signee Victor Davila will help in that area. Listed at 6-8, 230 when he committed to Tech last September, Davila has added an inch and ten pounds, and now goes 6-9, 240. more
NYC Sendoff Goes Awry March 27, 2008 As the winning point guard dribbled the last few seconds off the clock, a cheer arose in Cassell Coliseum. When the final horn sounded, chants of "LET'S GO HOKIES!" rang out to the rafters, and when Virginia Tech exited the floor, it was to thunderous applause and cheers. It was the end we envisioned to the game, with one major change to the script: The Hokies lost, and their season is over. more
Rebels End Tech's Run March 26, 2008 Virginia Tech's basketball season came to an end on Wednesday night with an 81-72 loss to #2 seed Ole Miss in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies finish the season 21-14, and the game marks the end of the career of senior wing Deron Washington, as well as reserve guard Marcus Travis. Ole Miss will move on to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden. more
NIT Basketball Game Preview: Virginia Tech vs Ole Miss March 26, 2008 Virginia Tech is one victory away from heading to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals of the NIT. To get there, they'll have to knock off their most formidable opponent thus far in the tournament: the Ole Miss Rebels. more
Hokies Steamroll UAB, Get Ole' Miss in Cassell on Wednesday March 25, 2008 The Hokies kept their streak of good play alive on Monday night by crushing visiting UAB 75-49 in Cassell Coliseum. Tech never trailed in the game, and they improved to 21-13 on the season. They'll face Ole' Miss on Wednesday night at 7pm in Blacksburg in the NIT quarterfinals. That game will be televised by ESPN2. more
Green Helps Millbrook to State Championship March 24, 2008 On Saturday, March 15th, the Millbrook Pioneers captured the Group AA boys basketball state championship with a 53-43 win over Brunswick. Following the victory, head coach Scott Mankins gave all credit to his players, who finished the year with a 29-1 record. more
NIT Basketball Game Preview: Virginia Tech vs UAB March 24, 2008 The Hokies will be looking to pick up their 21st win of the season and earn another home game when they take on the UAB Blazers tonight at 9pm in Cassell Coliseum. A win would send Tech to the quarterfinals of the NIT, and if they win that game, they'll be heading to Madison Square Garden. However, UAB is a very good team who will have something to say about that. more
Hokies Still on a Roll as NIT Opens March 20, 2008 I don't know about you, but I got the message pretty loud and clear Wednesday night: A lot of people make fun of the NIT, calling it cute names like "Not Invited Tournament," but the Virginia Tech Hokies and their fans are ready to rock it. Tech's 94-62 win over Morgan State was all kinds of fun, and the Hokies are more than ready to do it two more times in Cassell, then head to New York. more
Hokies Pound Bears in Fired Up Cassell Coliseum March 19, 2008 The Hokies recorded their 20th win of the season, and Seth Greenberg got his 300th career victory in a 94-62 pasting of Morgan State in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night. Virginia Tech is now 20-13 on the season, and they'll face UAB in the second round of the NIT in Cassell Coliseum on Monday night. more
Durant Impresses at New Hampton Prep March 19, 2008 After leading Fairmont Heights (Capital Heights, MD) to a Class 2A state championship appearance as a senior last season, 6-3, 185-pound guard Kendall Durant, a Virginia Tech recruit, took his game to New Hampton Prep (N.H.) and impressed head coach Peter Hutchins this season. more
NIT Basketball Game Preview: Virginia Tech vs Morgan State March 18, 2008 Virginia Tech will be looking to pick up win #20 in their first NIT game, Wednesday night against Morgan State in Cassell Coliseum. A win would set up another game in Blacksburg against either UAB or VCU, but first the Hokies must get by Morgan State, who was just a game away from going to the NCAA tournament. more
What I Learned from the NCAA Rejection March 17, 2008 We're new at this bubble thing, and new at learning how the NCAA Selection Committee deals with teams on the bubble. That being the case, here are some quick thoughts on what I learned from VT's rejection by the NCAA committee. This isn't a complete list, and certainly some of you understand this process better than I ... unless you don't. (Hint: that last comment is a common theme in this column.) more
Popping the Bubble: TSL's One-Man Selection Committee March 16, 2008 The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will be spending their day making up the field of 65. A great portion of their day will be deciding which of the bubble teams deserve to be in the Big Dance. That sounds like a fun afternoon, so I decided to do the same, though I doubt they'll be calling me for my advice. more
The Ones That Haunt You March 16, 2008 I've been writing about Virginia Tech sports for twelve years now, so I've encountered my fair share of games like this: close, painful, excruciating losses, the ones that stay with you. They are difficult to swallow, these losses. They haunt you for hours, days, weeks, months ... sometimes years. more
Hokies Go Toe to Toe With #1 UNC, but Fall Just Short March 15, 2008 Virginia Tech's young basketball team played their best game of the season on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough, as a jumper from Tyler Hansbrough with 0.8 seconds remaining gave the Tar Heels a hard fought 68-66 victory over the Hokies. UNC improved to 31-2 with the win, while Tech dropped to 19-13. The Hokies will have to wait until Sunday evening's NCAA Selection Show to find out their postseason fate. more
Hokies Pound Miami Down the Stretch March 14, 2008 Virginia Tech used a great defensive performance and a dominating rebounding effort to defeat the #5 seed Miami Hurricanes 63-49 in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament on Friday afternoon. The Hokies notched an all-important win over a Top 50 RPI team, improving their chances of making the NCAA tournament. They'll face the #1 team in the land, the North Carolina Tar Heels, Saturday afternoon in the semifinals. more
2008 ACC Basketball Tournament Preview March 12, 2008 The ACC tournament begins Thursday at noon. The 12 teams will play a total of 11 games over four days in Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The clear favorite in the tournament is UNC, who is playing better basketball than anyone in the conference right now. But as March Madness proves every year, being the clear favorite doesn't mean anything. more
Painter Finishes Season with a Flourish March 12, 2008 Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, VA) power forward DeShawn Painter entered the 2007/2008 season with high expectations as one of the most highly rated prospects in the 2009 class. The season did not go as planned for Painter, who admittedly struggled against top competition and defenses focused on taking him out of the game. However, by the end of the season, the 6-8, 215-pound prospect regained his swagger and is excited heading into the AAU season. more
Kelly Concludes Terrific Junior Season March 11, 2008 Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) forward Ryan Kelly turned in an outstanding junior season performance, averaging 23.7 points, 9 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. The 6-9, 202-pound prospect helped his team to a 24-6 record, a conference tournament championship and a number four seed in the state playoffs. more
The Battle for ACC Coach of the Year March 10, 2008 With the regular season over, it's time to decide who the ACC Coach of the Year (COY) is. Seth Greenberg is high on the list of candidates, but so are Miami's Frank Haith, UNC's Roy Williams, and the sentimental favorite, Wake's Dino Gaudio. more
Checking in on Tech Signee Gene Swindle March 10, 2008 Gene Swindle enjoyed a terrific offseason prior to his senior season, performing well on the AAU circuit last summer and dropping about 40 pounds from his junior season playing weight. Harry Gordon, who just completed his first season as Gulliver Prep's (Miami, FL) head coach, saw improvement in Swindle's game as the 2007/2008 season went on. more
Around the ACC: March 10th, 2008 March 10, 2008 Another great week of ACC basketball is over, and with it comes the end of the regular season. Things ended as they were expect on top, with UNC and Duke leading the standings. There were a number of surprises in the league however, and we're sure to get more surprises in this weekend's ACC tournament. more
6-9, 210-pound junior power forward DeShawn Painter plans to finish out this school year at Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, VA), but the talented low post prospect is taking his game elsewhere in 2008/2009. Painter plans to play next season for head coach Kevin Keatts at Hargrave Military Academy.
Freshman Jeff Allen certainly impressed this past season, providing the Virginia Tech Hokies with a valuable inside presence. Next year, he'll be joined by another promising inside prospect in Starmount High School's (Boonville, N.C.) Victor Davila, a 6-9, 245-pound power forward who was just named a Class 2-A all-state selection by the AP for the second consecutive season.
The 2007-08 basketball season is over, and although it ended in a disappointing home loss to Ole Miss in the NIT, it was an overall success for Virginia Tech's basketball program. A team featuring six freshmen in the regular rotation won 21 games, finished fourth in the ACC, nearly made the NCAA tournament, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.
As the winning point guard dribbled the last few seconds off the clock, a cheer arose in Cassell Coliseum. When the final horn sounded, chants of "LET'S GO HOKIES!" rang out to the rafters, and when Virginia Tech exited the floor, it was to thunderous applause and cheers. It was the end we envisioned to the game, with one major change to the script: The Hokies lost, and their season is over.
Virginia Tech's basketball season came to an end on Wednesday night with an 81-72 loss to #2 seed Ole Miss in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies finish the season 21-14, and the game marks the end of the career of senior wing Deron Washington, as well as reserve guard Marcus Travis. Ole Miss will move on to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden.
The Hokies kept their streak of good play alive on Monday night by crushing visiting UAB 75-49 in Cassell Coliseum. Tech never trailed in the game, and they improved to 21-13 on the season. They'll face Ole' Miss on Wednesday night at 7pm in Blacksburg in the NIT quarterfinals. That game will be televised by ESPN2.
I don't know about you, but I got the message pretty loud and clear Wednesday night: A lot of people make fun of the NIT, calling it cute names like "Not Invited Tournament," but the Virginia Tech Hokies and their fans are ready to rock it. Tech's 94-62 win over Morgan State was all kinds of fun, and the Hokies are more than ready to do it two more times in Cassell, then head to New York.
The Hokies recorded their 20th win of the season, and Seth Greenberg got his 300th career victory in a 94-62 pasting of Morgan State in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night. Virginia Tech is now 20-13 on the season, and they'll face UAB in the second round of the NIT in Cassell Coliseum on Monday night.
Virginia Tech will be looking to pick up win #20 in their first NIT game, Wednesday night against Morgan State in Cassell Coliseum. A win would set up another game in Blacksburg against either UAB or VCU, but first the Hokies must get by Morgan State, who was just a game away from going to the NCAA tournament.
We're new at this bubble thing, and new at learning how the NCAA Selection Committee deals with teams on the bubble. That being the case, here are some quick thoughts on what I learned from VT's rejection by the NCAA committee. This isn't a complete list, and certainly some of you understand this process better than I ... unless you don't. (Hint: that last comment is a common theme in this column.)
The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will be spending their day making up the field of 65. A great portion of their day will be deciding which of the bubble teams deserve to be in the Big Dance. That sounds like a fun afternoon, so I decided to do the same, though I doubt they'll be calling me for my advice.
I've been writing about Virginia Tech sports for twelve years now, so I've encountered my fair share of games like this: close, painful, excruciating losses, the ones that stay with you. They are difficult to swallow, these losses. They haunt you for hours, days, weeks, months ... sometimes years.
Virginia Tech's young basketball team played their best game of the season on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough, as a jumper from Tyler Hansbrough with 0.8 seconds remaining gave the Tar Heels a hard fought 68-66 victory over the Hokies. UNC improved to 31-2 with the win, while Tech dropped to 19-13. The Hokies will have to wait until Sunday evening's NCAA Selection Show to find out their postseason fate.
With the regular season over, it's time to decide who the ACC Coach of the Year (COY) is. Seth Greenberg is high on the list of candidates, but so are Miami's Frank Haith, UNC's Roy Williams, and the sentimental favorite, Wake's Dino Gaudio.
Another great week of ACC basketball is over, and with it comes the end of the regular season. Things ended as they were expect on top, with UNC and Duke leading the standings. There were a number of surprises in the league however, and we're sure to get more surprises in this weekend's ACC tournament.