Friday, May 28, 2010
Final piece of Tech puzzle to include former D-I head coach
Wolff was well-respected in Charlottesville
Doug Doughty
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Seth Greenberg is on the verge of a coup with the likely addition of former Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff to his Virginia Tech men’s basketball staff.
Wolff also was an assistant coach at Wake Forest and Virginia and, in this UVa beat reporter’s opinion, ranked with Dave Odom as the one of the two best assistants the Cavaliers have had.
(Wolff, by the way, says he can live with that).
Because Wolff is still being paid by Boston University, which gave him a 10-year extension in 2003, Greenberg was able to persuade him to take the position of director of basketball operations. That enabled Greenberg to land another assistant he had coveted, Old Dominion aide John Richardson.
Richardson, a former state coach of the year at Woodside High School in Newport News, has extensive ties in the 757 area code. Already, there has been talk of the impact his hiring will have with 6-7 Dorian Finney-Smith, a promising junior at Norcom High School in Norfolk.
Finney-Smith, also being pursued avidly by UVa, was this year’s Group AAA state player of the year.
To date, Tech hasn’t announced the Richardson hiring, which is likely to occur before the official naming of Wolff. They will fill openings creating when Ryan Odom resigned to join the staff at UNC Charlotte and Bill Courtney was named head coach at Cornell.
Previous director of basketball operations Adrian Autry was moved into Odom’s spot. When Courtney left, Greenberg quickly narrowed his choices to Wolff and Richardson, but Wolff’s willingness to take the “ops” job created a win-win situation.
Wolff, 55, was out of basketball this season but has never wavered in his desire to return to the head-coaching ranks. His former UVa boss, Jeff Jones, had a full-time position at American University that interested Wolff, but the Tech job offered more exposure.
The Hokies should be good next season, which should enhance Wolff’s profile, and they’ll be on television frequently. When Tech entertains likely top-five opponent Purdue in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, it’s going to be hard to miss Wolff next to Greenberg on the Hokies’ bench.
Wolff was a terrific recruiter for Virginia. He won’t be allowed on the road for the Hokies, but he will be able to help in on-campus recruiting. Plus, he can oversee the recruiting efforts of his younger colleagues.
Wolff and Greenberg share New York backgrounds and Wolff has been to Blacksburg over the years for summer brainstorming sessions at which Greenberg shares his expertise with some of the young up-and-comers in the business.
Wolff doesn’t necessarily belong to that demographic but he can serve as a mentor to his fellow Tech aides – Autry, Richardson and James Johnson. Wolff compiled a 216-167 record in 15 seasons at BU and is the winningest coach in the history of the program.
Five of Wolff’s teams won 20 games or more and the Terriers played in the NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure. Don’t think for a moment that Virginia insiders are happy to see him in Blacksburg.
(And, by the way, Richardson was a guy who was pitched to Tony Bennett when he was named Virginia head coach in the spring of 2009).
It’s interesting to note that Wolff, a Cavalier assistant from 1990-94, takes a spot on a staff that previously included Courtney, an assistant at Virginia from 2006-2009. And, they weren’t the first Tech men’s basketball coaches with UVa ties.
Ricky Stokes, the Hokies’ head coach from 1999-2003, didn’t just coach at Virginia. He was a beloved player for the Cavaliers from 1980-84, when he was a member of two Final Four teams. His 45-70 record in Blacksburg didn’t prevent the Hokies from replacing him with Greenberg, himself an assistant on Virginia’s 1984 Final Four team.
Wolff also was an assistant coach at Wake Forest and Virginia and, in this UVa beat reporter’s opinion, ranked with Dave Odom as the one of the two best assistants the Cavaliers have had.
(Wolff, by the way, says he can live with that).
Because Wolff is still being paid by Boston University, which gave him a 10-year extension in 2003, Greenberg was able to persuade him to take the position of director of basketball operations. That enabled Greenberg to land another assistant he had coveted, Old Dominion aide John Richardson.
Richardson, a former state coach of the year at Woodside High School in Newport News, has extensive ties in the 757 area code. Already, there has been talk of the impact his hiring will have with 6-7 Dorian Finney-Smith, a promising junior at Norcom High School in Norfolk.
Finney-Smith, also being pursued avidly by UVa, was this year’s Group AAA state player of the year.
To date, Tech hasn’t announced the Richardson hiring, which is likely to occur before the official naming of Wolff. They will fill openings creating when Ryan Odom resigned to join the staff at UNC Charlotte and Bill Courtney was named head coach at Cornell.
Previous director of basketball operations Adrian Autry was moved into Odom’s spot. When Courtney left, Greenberg quickly narrowed his choices to Wolff and Richardson, but Wolff’s willingness to take the “ops” job created a win-win situation.
Wolff, 55, was out of basketball this season but has never wavered in his desire to return to the head-coaching ranks. His former UVa boss, Jeff Jones, had a full-time position at American University that interested Wolff, but the Tech job offered more exposure.
The Hokies should be good next season, which should enhance Wolff’s profile, and they’ll be on television frequently. When Tech entertains likely top-five opponent Purdue in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, it’s going to be hard to miss Wolff next to Greenberg on the Hokies’ bench.
Wolff was a terrific recruiter for Virginia. He won’t be allowed on the road for the Hokies, but he will be able to help in on-campus recruiting. Plus, he can oversee the recruiting efforts of his younger colleagues.
Wolff and Greenberg share New York backgrounds and Wolff has been to Blacksburg over the years for summer brainstorming sessions at which Greenberg shares his expertise with some of the young up-and-comers in the business.
Wolff doesn’t necessarily belong to that demographic but he can serve as a mentor to his fellow Tech aides – Autry, Richardson and James Johnson. Wolff compiled a 216-167 record in 15 seasons at BU and is the winningest coach in the history of the program.
Five of Wolff’s teams won 20 games or more and the Terriers played in the NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure. Don’t think for a moment that Virginia insiders are happy to see him in Blacksburg.
(And, by the way, Richardson was a guy who was pitched to Tony Bennett when he was named Virginia head coach in the spring of 2009).
It’s interesting to note that Wolff, a Cavalier assistant from 1990-94, takes a spot on a staff that previously included Courtney, an assistant at Virginia from 2006-2009. And, they weren’t the first Tech men’s basketball coaches with UVa ties.
Ricky Stokes, the Hokies’ head coach from 1999-2003, didn’t just coach at Virginia. He was a beloved player for the Cavaliers from 1980-84, when he was a member of two Final Four teams. His 45-70 record in Blacksburg didn’t prevent the Hokies from replacing him with Greenberg, himself an assistant on Virginia’s 1984 Final Four team.
