Friday, March 28, 2008
Greenberg reconsidering non-conference scheduling
Losses at ODU and Richmond were a killer
Doug Doughty
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While watching Virginia struggle to win post-season home games with Richmond and Old Dominion, this thought occurred to me more than once:
How could Virginia Tech have agreed to play at Richmond and ODU in the same season?
“Never again,” Hokies’ coach, Seth Greenberg, said Friday.
Greenberg is in his fifth season as Tech coach? Didn’t he have sufficient time to restructure the schedule?
“I inherited that, coach,” said Greenberg, using that last title somewhat loosely in our conversation.
So, somebody else scheduled Richmond and ODU on the road in the same year? Who would have done that?
“I inherited ODU,” Greenberg said. “We went two-for-one with Richmond.”
(In other words, the Spiders came to Cassell Coliseum twice in exchange for one Tech visit to Richmond).
By how much did Tech miss an NCAA Tournament bid? By one game? That could have been a 72-69 Tech loss Dec. 16 at Old Dominion. Certainly, Tech would have gotten a bid if it had won at Old Dominion and Richmond, where the Spiders defeated the Hokies 52-49 on Jan. 3.
Of course, that’s a lot of what ifs. If the Hokies hadn’t won two overtime games with Virginia or beaten Maryland by one point, they wouldn’t have been in the conversation at all.
“We played those [ODU and Richmond] games when we were young, when we were a young freshman team,” Greenberg said.
Perhaps, Tech would have won those games at the end of the season. But we’ll never know.
“Let me tell you something, the way I look at it right now, I’m either going to play someone really good that I’m going to get credit for playing or someone we’re going to beat,” Greenberg said. “That’s the way it is.”
Virginia’s back-to-back games with Richmond and Old Dominion in the College Basketball Invitational was a reminder of just how few games the Cavaliers play against in-state, non-conference opposition.
It surprised me to learn that Virginia has played James Madison, located 50 miles from Charlottesville, once in the past 24 years.
“We played [the Dukes] eight zillion times,” Greenberg said.
You’ve got to cut through some hyberbole with Greenberg, who informed me at one point that he’s “too controversial for this league.” If the NCAA Basketball Committee was “certifiably insane” for keeping the Hokies out of the tournament, what about the man who agreed to visit ODU and Richmond?
“I agree,” Greenberg said. “It was a nightmare. It was when we played ‘em, too. Like ODU? They created a blue-out for that. The whole place was blue.
“Our guys didn’t understand why it was such a big game for them. That’s going to end now because it doesn’t help. I can’t get our kids to understand that game.
“I was re-thinking [Tech’s scheduling] anyway. Then after the committee didn’t pick us, it just confirmed what I was going to do.”
There’s another thing. ACC expansion did away with annual home-and-home scheduling, so some league teams can play easier ACC schedules than others. And, vice versa.
“No question,” Greeenberg said. “We play Duke twice and [North] Carolina once next year. We never play them twice in the same year. But, who knows? Everybody thought N.C. State was going to be great this year.”
State tied for last in the ACC with Boston College this year and almost certainly will lose its top player, freshman J.J. Hickson, to the NBA. If the Wolfpack aren’t picked for last in the preseason, Virginia might be, based on the loss of three-time, first-team All-ACC selection Sean Singletary from a 10th-place team.
Greenberg said he would expect the Hokies, who finished fourth in the ACC this past season, to be picked sixth or seventh in the preseason.
“I don’t know how good we’ll be,” Greenberg said. “I think we have a chance to be good. We still have a small margin of error. We’ll miss Deron’s big-play ability. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do with J.T. Jeff’s got to be more consistent. If Davila’s really good, we have a chance to be better."
That’s frontcourt signee Victor Davila, departing senior Deron Washington and returnees J.T. Thompson and Jeff Allen.
“I might have to look at playing a little bit bigger,” said Greenberg, whose Hokies were overwhelmed on the backboards in an 81-72 NIT loss to visiting Mississippi. “If we’re going to make another step, I think we’re going to have to play two big guys.”
Greenberg would not agree categorically with a statement that postseason results suggest that ACC men’s basketball was not as strong this year as its power ratings would suggest.
“I’m not sure that the postseason is a good indicator because that’s [the postseason] all matchups,” Greenberg said.
But he knows that there’s the thinking that the ACC is overrated.
“There is that perception,” he said. “No doubt about it.”
Greenberg on some of the other ACC programs in 2008-2009:
Georgia Tech (15-17 overall, 7-9 ACC) – “I think Georgia Tech is going to be very good next year.”
Florida State (19-15, 7-9) – “I think Florida State’s the sleeper team.”
Clemson (2-10, 10-6) – “Will take a little bit of a dip.”
N.C. State (15-16, 4-12) – “Who knows?”
Wake Forest (17-13, 7-9) – “Has the talent to be in the top four. Wake has a chance to be really, really good.”
Miami (23-11, 8-8) – “Should be terrific.”
Maryland (19-15, 8-8) – “Should be decent.”
Virginia (17-16, 5-11) – “How good is [recruit] Sylven Landesberg? I know he’s a cerebral player.”
While Greenberg painted a little brighter picture of Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami than I would have, he did point out that all three teams will be regaining the services of players who were not a factor this year.
For Georgia Tech, that’s Ra’Sean Dickey, who was academically ineligiible. Florida State lost 7-foot freshman Solomon Alabi to a stress fracture and Miami has 6-9 Cyrus McGowan, who transferred to Coral Gables after two uneventful seasons at Arkansas.
