Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sports columnist Aaron McFarling: These kids played like grown-ups
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
BLACKSBURG -- The past threatened to haunt them. The kids did not allow it.
The pressure could have paralyzed them. The kids didn't let it.
A giant fish named Mackerel Jordan -- not to be confused with Shaquille O'Seal and Whale Gretzky, who were also on hand -- ate a human whole, then spit out the guy's clothes at midcourt of Cassell Coliseum.
The kids were again unfazed.
OK, so maybe that last one was just a bizarre halftime novelty act. I'm about 80 percent confident nobody perished in the incident, but even if somebody had, it wouldn't have rattled the kids. The kids did not blink.
Virginia Tech's freshmen class went barrelling into the most important stretch of the season with heads down, arms pumping and zero fear. The result was a sometimes sloppy, always competitive and ultimately pulsating 67-66 victory over Maryland -- the most significant win so far for the young Hokies.
Freshmen scored the final six points of the game, as the Hokies rallied from 66-61 down in the final 1:46. There was little Hank Thorns scoring on a baseline jumper off the dribble, followed by Malcolm Delaney firing up the open 3.
But the lasting image was of Jeff Allen standing on the free-throw line with 12.4 seconds left of a tie game. One of six freshman Hokies who saw action Saturday, Allen looked like he was simply playing a game of "21" at the local Y as he calmly dribbled the ball and chomped on a stick of Juicy Fruit.
Credit Thorns -- aka "That little sucker," as coach Seth Greenberg twice referred to him after the game -- for helping keep Allen loose. Before the shot, the 5-foot-9 guard reminded Allen of his missed free throw that might have cost Tech the game against Butler in the Great Alaska Shootout.
A little cruel? Perhaps. But Thorns knows Allen.
The comment prompted a smile -- and a made free throw that proved to be the difference.
"I didn't want him to go up there too serious," Thorns said. "Me and Jeff play around all day, every day. I wanted to put a smile on his face. I know if you put a smile on his face, he's going to go up there confident.
"He's up there chewing gum. If he's chewing, I know he's going to make the shot."
And there you have it: The key to the Tech season is chewing.
Have you got a better one? Let's face it: This is an unpredictable year in Blacksburg for a team that lost three 1,000-point scorers and made the second round of the NCAA tournament last season. Wins in the ACC will certainly not come easily, and they probably will not come often. The kids might as well have some fun along the way.
Along with the good stuff, we're going to see Allen lose the ball off his foot, like he did on one second-half possession. We're going to see Terrell Bell zip a pass directly to the opposing team, like he did on one first-half possession. This play prompted senior Deron Washington -- the intended target, presumably -- to shake his head and smack his hands together as he ran back to the defensive end.
"There's going to be tough moments like that, because everybody has their lapses," Washington said. "I might be doing something like that. It's just something we've got to play through. It seemed like everybody played through it, and we had a lot of intensity."
That's the real key here for the Hokies. As Greenberg noted, the most significant challenge for players coming out of high school comes on the defensive end. So far, they're responding. They entered Saturday's game with the best scoring defense in the ACC at 58.5 points a game, despite starting two freshmen every night.
And Saturday, the kids showed they're not shy offensively, either.
"They've got heart," junior A.D. Vassallo said.
"That's all I've got to say. I knew that since the beginning, but they just did an amazing job."
They'll try to do it again Wednesday when they face Virginia, which figures to be a healthy favorite at John Paul Jones Arena.
"I've never played in a big rivalry game like that," Thorns said. "I think it'll be fun."
Ah, kids. Always looking for the next cheap thrill.
