Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

#113 Virginia Tech Hokies

ACC

 2003-04: 15-14, 7-9, 9^th (Big East)

2003-04 postseason: none

By Joel Welser

Early on Virginia Tech should have an easier time then Miami adjusting to life in the ACC.  The Hokies went 7-9 in the Big East last year, which isn’t too bad.  Seth Greenberg is trying to turn things around and at least be able to compete in a tough conference.  The recruiting is already beginning to look like ACC recruiting with some decent newcomers on their way to Blacksburg.

Who’s Out: Bryant Matthews didn’t just lead the squad in points and rebounds, he completely dominated.  Nobody even had half of his 22.1 points or 8.9 rebounds per game.  It will be tough to replace him, but having nearly everybody else returning does help.  Philip McCandies who averaged around 16 minutes per game in 28 appearances is transferring to the College of Charleston.  The drama that is Justin Holt took another turn in June when he was dismissed from Virginia Tech for violation of team rules.  He has signed with Oregon State and Iowa State in the past but ended up playing at Tacoma Community College.  His academic issues seemed to be in order before his latest setback.  Holt never played a game for the Hokies and would have been eligible after the first semester of the 2004-2005 year.

Who’s In: It didn’t take the basketball program very long to reap the benefits of being in the ACC.  Despite losing out on Holt, the class is looking pretty good.  Marquie Cooke is one of the best incoming point guards in the nation.  He’ll add to a backcourt threat that already possesses great passing skill, although Cooke is more known as a scoring point guard.  Deron Washington and Wynton Witherspoon are a couple of long and lean small forwards who could see some minutes in their freshmen seasons.  Robert Krabbendam, a Netherlands native, was a late pick up for Virginia Tech.  He is a solid 6-11 post player who could make an immediate impact.

Who to Watch: Coleman Collins only played 23.7 minutes per game in 22 appearances during his freshman season.  As a sophomore he will feel the absence of Bryant Matthews and be looked upon to replace the team leader.  He averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 boards per game last year and those numbers should increase with more playing time.  The lack of minutes last year can be attributed to foul trouble.  He’ll have to avoid the whistle and do a better job crashing the boards in order to for the Hokies to even come close to having the same inside threat they had last year. 

Projected Conference Rank: VT lost to Miami in their only meeting last year.  It may come down to that same match-up again to see who will be at the bottom of the ACC.  The Hokies do have the talent to steal a few conference wins and end up one step above the cellar in 10^th place.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

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Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

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