Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Tech coach Seth Greenberg talks with (left to right) Jeff Allen, Malcolm Delaney and J.T. Thompson. The three players will be the nucleus of next season's team.

Virginia Tech combo guard Malcolm Delaney (23) will be the Hokies' leading returning scorer next season as a junior.

The Virginia Tech men's basketball team searched all season for a fourth scorer.

The Hokies will begin next season seeking a third scorer.

The standouts on this year's team were branded by Tech as "The Big Three." A.D. Vassallo, Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen accounted for 69 percent of the Hokies' points.

But Tech will have to replace Vassallo, the fifth-leading scorer in the program's history. Vassallo, a swingman whose 267 career 3-pointers are a Tech record, averaged a team-high 19.1 points as a senior this year.

Who will succeed Vassallo as part of The Big Three?

"Hopefully it won't be something called The Big Three," forward J.T. Thompson said. "Hopefully it'll be everybody out there just giving a little.

"When one of them wasn't doing too good, the team didn't do too good. So hopefully everybody will be able to give something instead of just The Big Three."

The Hokies need to improve offensively next season, although that could be difficult without Vassallo.

Tech shot just 43.7 percent from the field this season, when they settled for the NIT for a second straight year. The Hokies (19-15) shot better than 43 percent in only four of their final 12 games.

"We expect the guys in our program to contribute at a higher level," coach Seth Greenberg said. "All those guys that are about to become juniors, I expect them all to continue to develop and improve and assist in making up for the loss of A.D.

"We'll have to be a better interior scoring team. ... Up front, Victor [Davila], Lewis [Witcher], J.T. need to step up."

The Hokies also hope to get a boost from their newcomers.

Hidden Valley off-guard Ben Boggs is one of four recruits who signed with Tech last fall.

The others are small forward Manny Atkins of Tucker (Ga.) High School; point guard Erick Green of Paul VI High School in Fairfax; and power forward Cadarian Raines of Petersburg High School.

"They'll all contribute in some manner," Greenberg said.

Greenberg said all four have qualified academically and will be at Tech in the fall.

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Raines averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and four blocks this year.

"Out of our 31 games, maybe in 15 of those games he didn't play the fourth quarter because of the score," Petersburg coach Bill Lawson said. "He could've had bigger stats. ... He probably averaged three or four dunks."

The 6-3, 185-pound Green, who averaged 17 points and six assists this year, will play in the Capital Classic all-star game in Washington, D.C., next month.

"He takes care of the basketball, and he's a facilitator," Paul VI coach Glenn Farello said. "Erick has one of the best mid-range games I've ever coached."

The 6-7, 195-pound Atkins averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds this year. He had 22 points in Georgia's North-South All-Star Game last weekend, earning most valuable player honors for the North team.

"Manny's like a Larry Bird type of guy," Tucker coach James Hartry said. "He's always moving on the floor. You'll never catch him standing still."

Tech will be signing a fifth player next month. Oak Hill Academy point guard Lamont "Mo Mo" Jones orally committed in November.

But Tech currently has only four grants to give to recruits.

Tech had 12 scholarship players this year, one below the NCAA maximum. Vassallo and center Cheick Diakite were seniors this year. Greenberg said fourth-year junior Terrance Vinson will graduate in May and head off to graduate school.

When Jones signs, Tech will have 14 players for 13 scholarships.

Does Greenberg expect all of the non-seniors other than Vinson to return?

"I'm in the midst of meeting with our team and that's all I can say," Greenberg said Monday.

The Hokies hope they have fewer disciplinary issues next season.

Allen was suspended for last month's loss at Virginia because of his obscene gesture to fans at Maryland. Vassallo didn't start against Columbia because of an arrest and didn't start in a defeat at Boston College because of a tiff with Greenberg.

"We need to ... eliminate all the crazy stuff that takes people out of the games," Delaney said. "Hopefully next year we can stay together as a team throughout the whole season."

The Hokies must improve defensively. They led the ACC in scoring defense in 2007-08, allowing an average of 64.7 points. They surrendered an average of 70.7 points this season.

"We need for sure to get back to our culture of defending," Greenberg said.

Allen, who slimmed down after last season, vowed to spend this off-season getting stronger.

Greenberg is under contract through the 2013-14 season. He received a one-year extension last spring as part of a new contract that Tech never announced.

His total pay will increase to $939,908 next season. The contract calls for Tech and Greenberg to discuss another extension after next season.