With the last two seasons coming to the same disappointing end—NCAA bubble team to NIT participant—Virginia Tech is hoping to leave no doubt in the selection committee’s mind as to its Big Dance readiness this year.
In order to get to the NCAA Tournament this March, the first order of business is finding a way to replace the scoring of graduated swingman A.D. Vassallo. The forward averaged 19.1 points per game as a senior last year and was always the player that the Hokies turned to when they needed a big basket down the stretch.
The team does return several proven scorers, however, namely junior guard Malcolm Delaney and junior forward Jeff Allen.
Delaney was named to the preseason All-ACC first team after pouring in 18.1 points a night last season. Delaney, who has played point guard the last two years, will likely start there again in 2009-2010, although head coach Seth Greenberg would also like to get him some time at shooting guard.
To free Delaney up to use his playmaking ability at the two-guard spot, incoming freshman Erick Green will have to step up and prove he can handle the duties of primary ball handler for 15 to 20 minutes a night.
“He’s tough,” Greenberg said of Green. “He’s just got to be more aggressive and understand that you can’t let down.”
Another player expected to increase his production is sophomore Victor Davila, who has shown flashes of potential to this point in his Virginia Tech career. Davila, a bruising 6-foot-8 forward, contributed primarily as a rebounder and defender as a freshman, but his ability to complement Allen as an interior scorer will be crucial to the Hokies’ success this year.
Allen provided Virginia Tech with a strong post presence in 2008-2009, but often lacked the help to push the Hokies over the top against the conference’s best teams.
In addition to creating more balance on offense, Greenberg is stressing the importance of improving upon his team’s middle-of-the-road defensive statistics this year.
“We’re not playing with McDonald’s All-Americans yet,” Greenberg said. “We’re not a team that should rely on outscoring people. We’re a team that needs to rely on getting stops.”
If the Hokies are able to pick it up on the defensive end, they return enough pieces to surpass their projected finish in the ACC and possibly secure a Tournament berth. If not, they could be looking at the NIT—again.
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