MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech's Jeff Allen dunks in front of teammates Dorenzo Hudson (left) and Malcolm Delaney during a workout Wednesday.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech forward Jeff Allen attended two select basketball camps over the summer and also dropped 18 pounds.

BLACKSBURG -- Fans who show up to watch the Virginia Tech men's basketball team Friday night will see plenty of familiar faces.

But one of them won't have a familiar body.

A leaner, more well-chiseled Jeff Allen will be on display during the Hokies' practice session.

"He looks great," coach Seth Greenberg said. "He's running, he's jumping. He's quicker.

"He's cut."

The 6-foot-7 Allen weighed 258 pounds as a freshman last year. After spending the offseason lifting, improving his conditioning and cutting down on fast food and snacks, he is down to 240 pounds.

"It's not really that I lost weight -- it turned into muscle," said Allen, one of four returning starters from a 21-14 team that lost in the NIT quarterfinals.

"I'm just trying to get better so the team can have a better season -- play better, play more and be in more shape, instead of always being fat."

Allen made the ACC all-freshman team last season, but Greenberg wasn't always thrilled with his commitment.

He is now.

"Different kids' light bulbs go on at different times," Greenberg said. "He was always a guy that could rely on his talent. I think he realized [in the off-season] at this level he could be successful, but ... why be good when you could be great? I think he decided to try to be great."

Allen said he now has a more serious approach in the weight room, and has more desire when it comes to running drills.

"That's what I needed to get to where I want to go -- the next level," said Allen, referring to the NBA.

Tech is billing Friday night's practice as "Late Night with the Hokies," but it really won't be.

The event will begin at 9 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum, following a 7 p.m. women's volleyball match between Wake Forest and a Tech team that is in first place in the ACC.

Thanks to an NCAA rule change, basketball teams don't have to wait until 12:01 a.m. Saturday to hold their first practice. "Midnight Madness" sessions are no longer needed.

The Hokies will have a regular practice Friday afternoon -- the NCAA's new start time -- and then put on a show before the public Friday night.

"To me, the first practice sets the tone in a lot of ways," said Greenberg, whose team has been picked No. 23 in Lindy's preseason Top 25. "So I'll be able to set the tone" in the afternoon.

The men's and women's basketball teams will hold a 3-point shooting contest Friday night, and there will also be a dunk contest. A men's scrimmage will conclude the night.

Greenberg never held a "Midnight Madness" during his first five years at the school because he wasn't sure there would be much of a turnout. He decided the program finally had enough fan support to make the start of practice an event.

"We hadn't created a culture [before]," Greenberg said. "I thought that now that we had the ownership of the student body and the community, we could generate excitement."

Several Hokies had exciting offseasons.

Thanks to the team's success last season, some of the players were invited to work at NBA stars' camps, which are run by shoe companies.

Greenberg successfully lobbied Nike to get A.D. Vassallo into Vince Carter's camp. Allen, Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson worked at Chris Paul's camp. Allen also went to Amare Stoudemire's camp, where he picked up some post moves.

Delaney, the returning starter at point guard, said attending Paul's camp was useful. The college players on hand included Davidson's Stephen Curry, Boston College's Tyrese Rice and Miami's Jack McClinton. When not tutoring standout prep point guards, the college players scrimmaged with each other and with Paul and a few other pros.

Paul "taught me a lot," Delaney said. "I learned a lot from him just [by] playing on his team -- where to find the open spot, where to get my shots from, how to create for other people."

Tech will be looking in preseason practice for a successor to Deron Washington at small forward and needs to determine who will start alongside Allen in the paint.

The only freshmen are Victor Davila and Gene Swindle. Signee Kendall Durant did not meet NCAA eligibility standards -- the fourth Greenberg recruit in recent years who wasn't up to NCAA academic standards.