Contract talks will be held in the next few weeks between Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg and athletic director Jim Weaver, with Weaver hoping to sweeten the pot enough to fend off any potential suitors.

"Seth has done an outstanding job for Virginia Tech, and we absolutely want him to stay," Weaver said Thursday. "We're going to do the best we can do to appropriately reward Coach Greenberg for the success that he's had, and to enable him to continue to be our coach."

The Hokies (24-8) will host Connecticut in the second round of the NIT at 7 p.m. Monday.

"I'm worried about coaching my team," Greenberg said of contract talks. "That's my main focus.

"My only concern right now is our basketball team."

This is the time of year when schools go shopping for new coaches. Last week, the New York Post reported that St. John's would not retain Norm Roberts and that, according to the Post's sources, Greenberg -- a Long Island, N.Y., native -- was the school's top target among "realistic candidates."

St. John's lost in the NIT on Wednesday; the school has not yet announced whether Roberts will be back next season.

"I'm sure he would be a very strong candidate" at St. John's, Weaver said.

Another Big East school, Seton Hall, fired coach Bobby Gonzalez on Wednesday.

Weaver and Greenberg were due to sit down for contract talks regardless of what happens with other jobs.

Greenberg, in his seventh season at Tech, is under contract through the 2013-14 season. But the last contract he signed, in 2008, stated that when the first two years of the pact conclude (on March 31 of this year), the parties would discuss the terms of another extension.

Tech has finished in fourth place or better in four of its six years in the ACC, including a tie for third place this season. Only Duke and North Carolina have more top-four finishes in this span.

But Greenberg is one of the two lowest-paid coaches in the ACC, according to Weaver.

Greenberg's total pay this school year is $950,000 -- excluding performance bonuses.

By comparison, Virginia first-year coach Tony Bennett will reap $1.7 million in total pay this school year.

Is Weaver willing to pay Greenberg that kind of money? What is the ceiling for a Tech men's basketball coach?

"I'm not going to talk about a ceiling because I don't know what that is at this juncture," Weaver said.

Tech is perceived to be more of a football school than a basketball school, although the men's and women's basketball teams gained a $21 million practice facility last summer. How much is a football school willing to pay to keep a basketball coach?

"You're inaccurate to say Tech's a football school and not a basketball school," Weaver said. "We want to be successful in all 21 of our sports, so we're going to do the very best we can [for Greenberg]. I can't tell you what that is today."

Weaver also wouldn't get into specifics on other contract matters.

n As to whether Tech hopes to make Greenberg one of the top four or six ACC coaches in pay:

"I don't know that we have an exact target," Weaver said. "We're going to try to do the very best we can."

n On the subject of whether, with the state of the economy, Tech can afford to greatly enhance Greenberg's deal:

"I can't say with certainty because I don't know until we get into the whole thing," Weaver said.

n On the topic of whether Weaver would give Greenberg a lucrative annuity, as he recently gave defensive coordinator Bud Foster:

"Lots of things can come up in discussion when you do these negotiations," Weaver said.

n Elsewhere on the basketball front:

Tech was hoping to make its second NCAA tournament appearance under Greenberg, but a weak nonleague schedule hurt the Hokies' shot at a bid.

Does Tech need to spend more on game guarantees so it can afford to bring in better foes for home games than the likes of Longwood?

"I don't think that's the case at all," Weaver said. "We might need to have less guarantees and play some [more] home-and-homes with some people like Richmond."