Hokies Hoops have a come a long way
Posted at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 by Vince[The following post was originally published at HokieHaven.com on March 12, 2007.]
Ten years ago I graduated from a small private high school that didn’t even have a football team. Basketball was the sport at my high school, and homecoming was always in January because of it. I went to nearly every home basketball game when I was in high school, and I considered myself to be primarily a basketball fan. Three months after graduation, I started my first semester at Virginia Tech as a freshman in the College of Engineering, and I quickly became a college football fan. During my years as a student, I saw the rise of Virginia Tech football, and, quite frankly, I did not see Virginia Tech basketball at all. Those years had something special at Lane with Hokie football, but mediocre (at best) basketball teams in Cassell. I, like virtually every Hokie, was a die-hard football fan who barely recognized that Tech had a basketball squad. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed watching basketball.
That changed for me in 2003. It was Seth Greenberg’s first year as head coach, and it was our final season in the Big East. Because of the buzz created about the move to the ACC, I became interested in our basketball program. I started going to games, and I saw a few decent wins, as well as some tough losses. It was an up and down season, and the Hokies finished at 15-14. Unsurprisingly, there was no postseason bid. However, after winning 6 of their last 9 regular season games, qualifying for the Big East tournament for the first time, and winning their 1st round Big East tournament game against Rutgers, I had some hope for Virginia Tech basketball.
Fast forward to 2007, and I am amazed at what the basketball program has accomplished in just 3 years as a member of the ACC: 2 first round byes in the ACC Tournament (2005, 2007), a NIT berth (2005), and a NCAA berth (2007). Not to mention that this year featured some of the best regular season wins in Virginia Tech basketball history.
I know many fans are disappointed in how the regular season and ACC tournament ended. The loss to Clemson hurt prevented us from grabbing a share of the regular season title and the number 1 seed in the ACC tournament, and we all wanted revenge against N.C. State in the ACC semis. Yet we should not lose sight that Virginia Tech men’s basketball has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. I remember the 96-60 shellacking #6 Uconn gave us on January 28, 2004. Cassell was maybe 35% full, and the folks that were there were barely interested in the game. Contrast that to January 13, 2007 – the day the Hokies beat #1 North Carolina.
The achievements of this team – particularly the seniors – should not be lost in March Madness. From the final year in the Big East to a surprising 8-8 conference record in their first year in the ACC, and from the year of heartbreaks and heartache to this year’s 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, those seniors have helped Seth Greenberg elevate the basketball program from the basement to top third of the premiere conference of Division 1 basketball.
Regardless of what this weekend brings, this is the best season of basketball I have witnessed since I’ve been Hokie.
Random Thoughts
- You know when Seth Greenberg does his I-can’t-bare-to-watch head-in-face thing? I found myself doing that exact same thing a few times during Saturday’s game. The first half looked like tape from N.C. State’s first win over the Hokies on January 31, and I was happy we were down by only 6 at the half.
- Give N.C. State credit. They nearly pulled off the most amazing 4-day run of any conference tournament. I couldn’t help but pull for them on Thursday. They didn’t quit after North Carolina took a double-digit lead in the second half, and they clawed their way back to make it a game.
- The Wolfpack will play their 5th game in 6 days on Tuesday in the first round of the NIT. They play Drexel, a team who is probably angry they did not receive a NCAA Tournament invite.
- I’ve seen lots of Hokie fans compare Illinois to N.C. State. While I agree that Illinois runs a slower paced offense that relies heavily on their big men, I don’t necessarily means they are just as bad a match-up as State was. N.C. State is a great passing team who make their shots and their free throws. Illinois is averaging only 65 points a game, and they make only 63% of their free throws.
- Much has been made of the proverbial 12-seed-over-5-seed upset. Personally, I think Old Dominion and Arkansas both have better shots of upsetting Butler and USC, respectively, than does Illinois have a shot of upsetting us. That said, Friday’s game in Columbus will be tough.
- In my bracket, I have the Hokies sweeping the teams from Illinois on their way to the Sweet 16. Maybe that’s my orange and maroon glasses blurring my vision.