Virginia Tech Hokies Basketball Season Preview
The college hoops season is right around the corner, and Busting Brackets is here to whet your basketball-starved appetite. Over the next five weeks, we are publishing season previews team by team, conference by conference, to offer a glimpse into the upcoming season. Busting Brackets is giving you the lowdown on the biggest storylines, offseason changes and x-factors for each team and each league as we roll into the 2012-13 season. Our complete season preview archive can be accessed here. Buckle up, peeps.
Virginia Tech Hokies
| Last Season | 16-17 (4-12 ACC) Lost to Duke in quarterfinals of ACC tournament |
| Key Returning Players: | Erick Green, G Jarell Eddie, F Robert Brown, G Cadarian Raines, F C.J. Barksdale, F Marquis Rankin, G |
| Key Additions: | James Johnson, Head Coach (former assistant) Marshall Wood, F (Rustburg HS) |
| Key Losses: | Seth Greenberg, Head Coach Dorenzo Hudson, G Victor Davila, F J.T. Thompson, F (Transferred to Charlotte) Dorian Finney-Smith, F (Transferred to Florida) Tyrone Garland, G (Transferred to La Salle) *Montrezl Harrell, F (Committed to Louisville) *Harrell, initially a VT pledge, de-committed from the school |
| Top Non-Conference Games: | Nov. 27 vs. Iowa Dec. 1 vs. Oklahoma State Dec. 8 @ West Virginia Dec. 22 vs. Bradley (Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic) Dec. 23 vs. TBD (Championship Game, Las Vegas Classic) Dec. 29 @ BYU (Salt Lake City, Utah) |
| Top Conference Games: | Jan. 24 vs. Virginia Jan. 30 vs. Miami (FL) Feb. 2 @ North Carolina Feb. 12 @ Virginia Feb. 16 @ NC State Feb. 21 vs. Duke Feb. 24 vs. Florida State Feb. 27 @ Miami (FL) Mar. 5 @ Duke |
| Breakout Player: | Jarell Eddie. Erick Greene should [again] be Virginia Tech’s best player, but Jarell Eddie is poised to make the biggest jump of anyone on the roster. Eddie had a strong sophomore showing, more than tripling his point production as a freshman (from 2.9 to 9.1 ppg) and nearly tripling his minutes as well (from 10.9 to 27.3 mpg). The Charlotte native may well be the top pure shooter in the ACC this year, and his shooting prowess would be welcomed on all 11 other rosters in the league. Eddie shot better than 44-percent from 3-point range last season and 87-percent from the free throw line. Had he qualified, his 3-point shooting and free throw shooting percentage would’ve ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference, respectively. Eddie is solid rebounder for his position, an above average athlete and an active cog on defense. Understanding that Virginia Tech is essentially starting from scratch in 2012-13—coaching change and all—the opportunity is ripe for the junior forward to burst out and assume a bigger role this season. |
| X-Factor: | Transitioning to new era, coaching regime quickly. It’s safe to say there’s no one x-factor that will make or break Virginia Tech’s 2012-13 season. Barring the injury bug befalling Wake Forest or Boston College, the Hokies will own the worst team in the ACC and one of the worst of any high-major school. Green and Eddie make for a solid one-two punch, but the rest of the VT roster falls off precipitously after that. Postseason prospects for this bunch are dead before the season even starts, which makes James Johnson’s first year in Blacksburg a transitional year in the truest sense of the phrase. Va Tech had a devastating offseason, losing sixth-year senior J.T. Thompson to Charlotte, tantalizing freshman (now sophomore) Dorian Finney-Smith to Florida and blue-chip prospect Montrezl Harrell, Virginia Tech’s highest touted commit since Dell Curry to Louisville. On top of all that, the Hokies lost Seth Greenberg, the maligned caretaker of the program for the last nine years. How quickly Johnson can reestablish some semblance of stability in Blacksburg will hinge heavily on what he can do in year one. If the VT is going to be a relevant presence in the ACC any time within the next decade, Johnson will have to get the ball rolling ASAP. Recruiting is down, the recent on-court performance has been subpar and the program’s reputation is as low as it ever was under Greenberg. Johnson doesn’t have to win 18 games this season to get the program back on track. But he does need to excel in doing damage control and rebuilding the culture of Virginia Tech basketball from the ground up. If Johnson ever does clean up the debris at Tech and reconstruct a formidable program for the future, his immediate efforts during his first year as head coach at the school will be a big reason why. |
| Best Case: | Forget the on-court product. Virginia Tech’s ceiling this season is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 or 13 wins overall and no more than five in conference. Best case scenario, the rebuilding project in Virginia Tech gets off to an auspicious start. Johnson lands one or two 2014 recruits (he’s already landed four class of 2013 players within the last two months). The Hokies finish with a positive transfer margin, as the school lands an in-bound transfer at season’s end without losing a transfer of its own. Virginia Tech chooses to honor the five-year, $680,000 contract Johnson received in hopes of fostering program stability. Despite a strong junior season that impresses scouts, Eddie returns for his senior season in hopes of pursuing all-conference accolades as a senior. A marquee home win over Florida State gives fans something to celebrate in the short-term, while recruiting wins and pledges from current players to play out the string under Johnson offer a glimpse of optimism for the future of the program. |
| Worst Case: | Virginia Tech has a dismal season, winning fewer than ten games while losing 16 in conference. But the bleak direction of the program adds a chilling realization that the worst is yet to come. Several more outbound transfers depart at season’s end, and Virginia Tech strikes out on any commits mid-season. The athletic department backs off its initial vote of confidence in James Johnson, and the head coach’s future in Blacksburg becomes dubious. Attendance dips and support of the program from the student body falters. With Boston College on the rise, only Wake Forest presents a potential conference cellar mate for Virginia Tech over the coming years. Once a proud program that lived [and usually died] on the bubble, Virginia Tech finds a new home in the basement of the ACC. |
| Projected Finish: | Regular Season: 11-20 (3-15 ACC), Last place ACC Lose in first round of ACC tournament |