Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Hokies coach Seth Greenberg is looking for a player to step up in preseason practice to replace the scoring of A.D. Vassallo, who led Tech with 19.1 points per game as a senior last season.

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg drives home a point with his players at a workout in the Hokies' new practice facility.

BLACKSBURG -- The Virginia Tech men's basketball team boasts a new practice facility, one of the best guards in the ACC and a very good power forward.

A few more pluses will need to emerge, however, for the Hokies to have a shot at making the NCAA tournament next March.

"Facilities don't win championships, don't win games for you," coach Seth Greenberg said Thursday. "Players do -- and an attitude and a toughness and a competitive spirit."

Tech will begin preseason practice with a public session at 9 tonight at Cassell Coliseum.

Lindy's magazine has predicted that Tech will finish seventh in the ACC and make the NCAA tournament. Athlon has picked the Hokies to finish eighth in the league and wind up in the NIT. The Sporting News has picked Tech to finish ninth in the ACC.

Greenberg will be preaching defense to his charges this month. The Hokies led the ACC in scoring defense two seasons ago, allowing an average of 64.7 points. They ranked eighth last season (70.7 ppg).

"Our biggest thing is getting back to who we are, understanding that we've got to get stops and play with a chip and be committed on the defensive end," said Greenberg, whose team opens the season with a Nov. 15 home game against Brown. "We weren't as committed as we needed to be" last season.

Offense is also a question mark, even with point guard Malcolm Delaney and power forward Jeff Allen back.

The Hokies settled for their second straight NIT appearance last year -- and that was with A.D. Vassallo, the fifth-leading scorer in Tech history. Vassallo, a swingman who averaged a team-high 19.1 points as a senior, is now with a team in France.

Vassallo, Delaney and Allen accounted for 69 percent of the Hokies' points last season. Delaney is the top returning scorer in the ACC (18.1 ppg), while Allen is the eighth-leading returning scorer (13.7 ppg).

Who in the supporting cast will replace Vassallo's scoring punch? "That person will emerge during the course of the next four weeks," said Greenberg, whose team was 19-15 last season. "Working on the motion [offense], giving our guys some broader concepts to play out of, is going to help. Creating more offense out of our defense will help.

"We're going to need other people to step up."

The third returning starter is off-guard Dorenzo Hudson, but he averaged just 4.6 points last season. He started 24 of 34 games.

"He's more confident. He's more relaxed," Greenberg said.

J.T. Thompson (6.5 ppg), who has seen action on the wing and at power forward, could succeed Vassallo as the starting small forward.

Freshman point guard Erick Green of Winchester also will see action this season, enabling Delaney to spend some time at off-guard. Delaney made that shift last season when point guard Hank Thorns played, but Thorns has transferred to TCU.

"We could end up playing two point guards," Greenberg said. "We could end up playing a point guard and two [shooting] guards. We could end up playing small forwards. That'll all play out."

Greenberg said freshman off-guard Ben Boggs also will play this season. The Hidden Valley graduate broke his right leg last December.

"He's competing at a high level," Greenberg said. "We're going two hours a week in conditioning. How's he going to do when we're going 20 hours a week? How's his leg going to respond then? That's the concern."

Freshman swingman Manny Atkins of Stone Mountain, Ga., is still getting a feel for the pace of the game, said Greenberg. He needs to make better decisions with the ball and improve his passing, said Greenberg.

Vassallo is not the only starter Tech must replace. Post player Cheick Diakite, who averaged 3.8 points and started 22 games as a senior, is now playing in Europe.

Power forwards Victor Davila (3.1 ppg) and Lewis Witcher (2 ppg) are among the candidates to replace Diakite. Witcher is the lone senior on scholarship.

Greenberg said center Gene Swindle, who was redshirted last season, also will compete for playing time.

Freshman power forward Cadarian Raines would have been one of the contenders this month, but the Petersburg native suffered a fractured left foot in September. Greenberg hopes he will be back for the seventh game, Dec. 6 against Georgia.

Terrell Bell (2.3 ppg), who previously saw action on the wing, hit the weight room in the off-season and will be used at power forward.