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#33 Virginia Tech
Hokies
Atlantic Coast
Conference
2004-05: 16-14, 8-8, 5th
2004-05 postseason:
NIT
By
Joel Welser
After a surprising
debut in the ACC, Virginia Tech is ready to take the next step
and earn a trip to the NCAAs. Coach Seth Greenberg has a deep
and experienced backcourt and a frontcourt with plenty of
potential. After football season is over, Hokie fans will still
have something to cheer about.
Who’s Out:
Wing Carlos Dixon was second on the team with 13.8 points per
game. Marquie Cooke averaged 16.7 minutes per contest as a
freshman before opting to transfer. The guard showed some
promise and would have made a bigger impact in the near future
had he stayed in Blacksburg. Forward Jeff King averaged 1.1
points and 1.4 boards in 16 games and the tight end is expected
to concentrate solely on football this year.
Who’s In:
The big guys could use some depth
behind returnees Coleman Collins and Robert Krabbendam and a
trio of players over 6-8 will look to fill some minutes off the
bench. Hyman Taylor has tons of potential. He’s an excellent
shot blocker but lacks many other skills due to the fact that he
only started playing basketball after he grew one foot in a 16
month span. In time, Taylor could be a quality player for VT.
Cheick Diakite is a great athlete who can run the floor, rebound
and block shots. The Mali native will need time to develop some
offense, but he’ll still see minutes. Terrance Vinson will get
an opportunity for minutes this season, but he won’t put up big
numbers. Vinson has a nice shot under the basket, but will need
to improve on his range. At the guard spots, the Hokies return
Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon. Add Markus Sailes and A.D.
Vassallo to that list and there will immediately be great,
quality players coming off the bench. Sailes started every game
for Virginia Tech two years ago before missing all but three
games last year. In that year off, Sailes probably lost his
starting job, but having an experienced player like Sailes
coming off the bench is a huge piece of the puzzle that the
Hokies were lacking last year. Virginia Tech can thank Dave
Leitao for shooting guard A.D. Vassallo ending up in Blacksburg.
Vassallo was originally signed at Richmond but was granted a
release after the coaching carousel saw Jerry Wainwright leave
the Spiders for the DePaul job. Vassallo is an excellent outside
shooter, has great size at 6-6 and will get a chance to see
quality minutes from day one.
Who to Watch:
Whoever Coleman Collins ends up
playing next to, the 6-9 junior will have to do the load of the
work under the basket. Collins averaged 11.4 points and a team
high 7.0 rebounds last year and he isn’t done getting better.
Collins has surprisingly good speed and even ran track back in
his high school days. The Stone Mountain, Georgia native is a
smart player and provides consistency and stability in the
paint.
Projected
Conference Rank:
The Hokies missed out on the NCAAs
last year and ended up losing to Memphis in the NIT. This VT
squad is deeper and more experienced. Placing 5th in
the ACC again will be enough for Virginia Tech to head to the
NCAAs.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
NCAA
Projected Starting
Five:
Jamon Gordon, Senior,
Guard, 10.9 points per game
Zabian Dowdell,
Junior, Guard, 14.4 points per game
Wynton Witherspoon,
Sophomore, Forward, 2.4 points per game
Deron Washington,
Sophomore, Forward, 7.9 points per game
Coleman Collins,
Junior, Forward, 11.4 points per game
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