2011-2012 Season in Review: Virginia Tech

16-17 overall, 4-12 ACC

There is a benefit to waiting until a few weeks after the season to write up the reviews.  In Virginia Tech's case, a lot has happened over the past 10 days.  More on the coaching change later on.  First, a look back at last year.  Things were plugging on pretty nicely in the first half of the season.  At the start of the conference season, the Hokies were 11-3, with two wins over Oklahoma State and a strong performance in a loss against Syracuse.

Then the wheels fell off.  The Hokies looked like a completely different team in the conference season, losing 7 out of their next 8 games.  They spent many games playing very poorly in the first half, then coming back late to make it a game, only to lose in the last possession.  No ACC team had so many close games (most of them losses).  Virginia Tech lost by 3 at Wake, 2 at BC, 1 at Florida State, 5 at Duke (in overtime), and 2 at Clemson.  They went 1-7 on the road in conference, but you see that five of their seven losses could have easily gone the other way.

On the other side, look at their conference wins.  Road win at Virginia by 2, home wins over Clemson by 2, BC by 1 and Georgia Tech by 1.  So the record could also have been worse than 4-12.  The easiest thing to point to as a problem this past season was the lack of offense.  The Hokies were able to score 60 points in just seven of their 16 conference games.  Yes, there were injuries.  It especially hurt when Victor Davila missed time at the end of the season.  But the players they did have just couldn't produce offensively, and didn't have the confidence late in games to make big shots.

Biggest Win:

47-45 at Virginia (January 22)

Like I've said in previous recaps, the teams that finished in the bottom of the conference pretty much all beat up on each other.  This was the only game that Virginia Tech won against a team in the top half of the league, and the only conference road game they won.  Dorenzo Hudson came up with a big three pointer in the final minute that was the difference in an ugly game.

Worst Loss:

58-55 at Wake Forest (January 7)

The toughest loss as a fan was definitely the road loss at Florida State, where the Hokies blew a late lead.  But I think the most damaging loss to the team was this one.  This was the first conference game, and Virginia Tech was going in confident against a team that had only won one conference game the year before.  But they got off to a horrible start, down by double digits early, and that really set the tone for the rest of the season.  After a similarly uninspired performance at Boston College the next weekend, the rails were starting to come off.

Postseason Play:

Virginia Tech actually played some of its best basketball in the ACC Tournament.  They came in as an underdog against Clemson, but were able to knock them off in the first round, 68-63.  That five point win was their largest margin of victory since December 31.  They had to then go up against Duke in the quarterfinals.  It was a sloppily played game, but the Hokies hung in there, only to lose by four.

Next Year:

When Virginia Tech AD Jim Weaver decided to get rid of Coach Seth Greenberg, I said that I thought no matter who they hired the team would be terrible next year.  That was partly due to anticipated departures from the program.  Bringing in James Johnson does help plug that gap.  It looks like none of the current players will transfer out, and at this point one of the two commits has said he is still coming to Tech.

The Hokies lose Dorenzo Hudson and Victor Davila, who combined to score about 18 points per game.  They should have better talent next year, with big keys being Dorian Finney-Smith and Cadarian Raines.  Finney-Smith has a ton of potential, but never seemed to get into the groove offensively.  Raines only averaged 5.9 points per game, but that average jumped to 11 points per game in the last seven.  He could be an emerging force down low.

If they can convince Montrezl Harrell to keep his commitment to Tech, the team would have the talent to push for an NCAA bid.  However, none of us really knows what James Johnson will bring to the table as a coach, what his system will be, and how the players will respond.  The Hokies will be one of the biggest wild cards in the conference next year.