MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Seth Greenberg is one of three active college basketball coaches who have won 100 games or more with three D-I programs.

Last season, Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg became a member of a club so exclusive that he didn't know it existed.

Greenberg is one of three active coaches who have won 100 games or more with three different Division I programs.

"Fooled em, huh?" said Greenberg, who has won more than 100 games at Long Beach State, South Florida and Tech.

The other two active coaches who have accomplished the feat are Cliff Ellis (South Alabama, Clemson and Auburn) and Tom Penders (Rhode Island, Texas and Houston).

Only 10 coaches in NCAA history have accomplished the feat and Greenberg said he feels honored to be in a company that includes Bobby Knight, Jerry Tarkanian, Billy Tubbs, Tom Davis, Hugh Durham, Frank McGuire and Butch van Breda Kolff.

Penders, 64, has a contract through 2012 but there was speculation about his future after the Cougars finished the regular season at 15-15. Ellis, also 64, is still going strong at Coastal Carolina.

The Chanticleers will carry a 28-6 record into the NIT after winning the Big South Conference regular-season championship, giving Ellis 52 wins in three years at Coastal.

Depending on how long he stays at it, Ellis could win 100 or more games at four Division I schools, and that's with a three-year break from 2004-2007 when he did television commentary.

"I don't think you have to worry about me winning 100 games at four schools," said Greenberg, who turns 54 in April.

n Botetourt County resident Duke Edsall, a college basketball official for 28 years, took a look at the list of three-time, 100-game winners and said he has officiated games for nine of the 10, with Frank McGuire (St. John's, North Carolina and South Carolina) the only exception.

Representing Fleming

One of Greenberg's mentors, ex-Indiana State coach Bill Hodges, has been invited to coach the East team in the college all-star game held each year in conjunction with the Final Four.

Hodges, who lives in Roanoke and teaches world history at William Fleming High School, also is a central figure in a recently published book, "When March Went Mad," written by Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis to commemorate the 1979 NCAA championship game between Indiana and Michigan State.

A trip to the Final Four, which will be held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, would enable Hodges to return to his Hoosier roots. A Zionsville, Ind., native, Hodges graduated from Marian College in Indianapolis and may be most famous as Larry Bird's college coach.

Decision time

Virginia's spring break came at a good time for Sylven Landesberg, suspended by UVa men's basketball coach Tony Bennett last weekend for missing class. Classes don't resume until next Monday.

Coach Tony Bennett said the door is "absolutely" open for Landesberg's return. Bennett said he has spoken to Landesberg "to check in with him" but they have not discussed Landesberg's future.

Bennett acknowledged that Landesberg could make himself available for the NBA Draft and turn professional, but he also could buy some time by returning for the end of the semester. "That would be my hope," Bennett said. "Obviously, if he's planning to come back, he has to be [in class]."

Recruiting

Miami, which lost 11 of its last 14 games after taking a 15-1 record into Blacksburg on Jan. 9, has received an official visit from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Pine Crest Academy point guard Brandon Knight, arguably the top unsigned player in the country.

There were 29 ACC signees on a list of the nation's top 200 prospects compiled by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons after the fall signing period. Wake Forest had the most, five, followed by Maryland and Virginia with four.

Odds 'n' ends

Miami senior forward Dwayne Collins missed the Hurricanes regular-season finale against Florida State with a stress fracture and is not expected to play against Wake Forest in a first-round game today that will determine Virginia Tech's Friday opponent.

n Jim Thacker, who gave many fans their introduction to ACC basketball as the television play-by-play partner of Billy Packer, has been posthumously honored with the "Skeeter" Francis Award for his contributions to coverage of ACC athletics. Thacker, a native West Virginian, called games from 1965-81.

Thacker died in 1994, his wife died in 2003 and they had no children, which may have accounted for his overdue recognition.