Season Preview

Erick Green

7. Virginia Tech


2010-2011 record: 22-12 (9-7 ACC)


Games against NCAA Tournament teams: 9
Best non-conference game: 12/4 vs. Kansas State






Projected Starting Five:


F - Cadarian Raines (Sophomore)
F - Victor Davila (Senior)
F - Dorian Finney-Smith (Freshman)
G - Dorenzo Hudson (Senior)
G - Erick Green (Junior)




You can divide the Seth Greenberg regime at Virginia Tech into two different eras.  The first is the Dowdell/Gordon/Collins era.  The second is the Delaney/Allen era.  Take a look at how each four-year class has done:


Dowdell/Gordon/Collins:       67-56 (29-35 in the ACC)
                                        1 NCAA berth, 1 NIT berth


Delaney/Allen:                    87-50 (35-29 in the ACC)
                                        4 NIT berths


This is the start of era #3, with the current freshman class.  The Hokies have the chance to get off to a fresh start, putting behind them the disappointment of not making the NCAA Tournament the last couple years.  Unfortunately, the year is already getting off to a bad start.  J.T. Thompson suffered a season-ending injury in practice this week, the second straight year he will be out.  And Erick Green has an Achilles injury that may sideline him for a couple weeks.


Green is the key player for Virginia Tech this year.  He really stepped up his game in the second half of last year, and will be the emotional leader.  He will be paired in the backcourt with Dorenzo Hudson.  Hudson had a breakout year two seasons ago, but had a lingering injury that made him ineffective when he played last year.  For the Hokies to be successful, Hudson has to recapture his offense from two seasons ago.


The other big key is Cadarian Raines.  Raines has had injury problems since he got to Blacksburg, and really needs to stay healthy.  He has to provide good minutes with Thompson out.  I do expect the freshmen to provide an impact - they might not be great right away, but by the end of the year they will be counted on for a lot.


So what can we expect from this team?  Expect some growing pains at first, especially with a difficult early season schedule.  The likely home game against George Mason will be huge - if the Hokies can win that one, they will have a couple great tests at Madison Square Garden.  I do expect the freshmen to gain confidence as the year goes on and the Hokies could roll to a high finish in the conference.  But if any more injuries strike (I had them at 6 before the Thompson injury) and their depth goes away again, it could be a long year.