Courtesy of NELL REDMOND The Charlotte Observer

Four scholarship North Carolinians, including Jarell Eddie (above) from Charlotte, N.C., are on the projected Tech roster in 2010-11.

On the surface, the logic seems flawed.

What could Virginia Tech stand to gain by directing its recruiting attention at North Carolina, a state that serves as home to the last two NCAA men's basketball champions?

To Hokies coach Seth Greenberg, there's no better reason to recruit North Carolina than the iconic programs at Duke and North Carolina.

"When we first came in, we thought North Carolina would be pivotal because, one, Duke and North Carolina recruit nationally," said Greenberg, who is preparing for his eighth season at Tech.

"We felt we could compete with anyone else in the region because of being in [the ACC]. You're not recruiting against five schools. You're basically recruiting against Wake [Forest] and [N.C.] State. And, there's enough players for all of us."

Tech's projected 2010-11 roster will include four scholarship North Carolinians, including November signee Jarell Eddie, a 6-foot-6 wing player from Concord, N.C.

"We've done well in North Carolina," said Greenberg from a Florida vacation locale. "I wouldn't say we dominate. We get our due. We get some guys."

Of the six Tech players who played 20 or more minutes per game last season, three were North Carolinians -- Dorenzo Hudson, J.T. Thompson and Victor Davila.

Hudson and Thompson will complete their eligibility with the 2010-11 season, but the Hokies already have another North Carolinian in the wings. Point guard Marquis Rankin, a junior this past season at Vance High in Charlotte, committed to the Hokies in April.

"I've been knowing the Eddies for about 10 years," said Lamar Rankin, Marquis' father and an AAU coach in Charlotte. "Once Jarell committed, he figured he needed a good point guard to play with and helped out in the recruiting of [Marquis]."

Most of Tech's recruiting success in North Carolina has come in the Charlotte area and along the Interstate 77 corridor north toward the Virginia line.

Hudson, Thompson, Eddie and Rankin are all from the Charlotte area, while Davila, originally from Puerto Rico, was an exchange student in Boonville, N.C., west of Winston-Salem.

"We really didn't have a connection," Greenberg said. "Our connection with Dorenzo and J.T. was that Coach [Stacey] Palmore went to school with their uncle."

Palmore, now at Georgia, was a member of Greenberg's staff from 2004-09.

"Our connection with Jarell Eddie was his high school coach used to bring his teams to our team camp when he was coaching a I-A team in Florida," said Greenberg, previously the head coach at South Florida. "Now that we've won [at Virginia Tech], we've become a viable option.

"We've got good facilities, kids like the way we play. The Hokie Nation stretches well into North Carolina."

Greenberg said he thinks that new assistant John Richardson, a graduate of Elizabeth City State, should be able to increase Tech's influence.

But, no discussion of Virginia Tech and its recruiting successes in North Carolina can omit the two most notable Charlotte-based players not to play for the Hokies.

"Yeah, the Currys," said Greenberg, referring to Stephen and Seth Curry, sons of Tech Hall of Famer Dell Curry.

Stephen is now with the Golden State Warriors after a celebrated career at Davidson, and Seth is at Duke after transferring from Liberty. The perception is that Greenberg didn't devote enough attention to them.

"We did recruit them!" Greenberg said. "That's the greatest misnomer. No one saw those kids more than we did."

But, would he have changed anything about the Currys' recruiting if he had it to do over?

"No question," he said.

Greenberg has a reputation as being one of the hardest-working recruiters, and that does not go unnoticed.

Lamar Rankin said North Carolina showed interest in his son, but the Tar Heels said they were low on scholarships. Jesse Eddie said his impression was his son wasn't a high priority for UNC or Duke.

"Especially Duke," he said. "It looks to me sometimes that they'd rather go to Virginia for a kid than come to some place just down the road. There's a lot of talent in the Charlotte area, but I'm not sure the big schools want to tap into it.

"To me, Seth Greenberg is the man. Of all the coaches I've dealt with, I believe he's the one who will make my child a better basketball player."

The nature of recruiting is that an assistant will be sent to an area where he has a connection, but Tech has had several lead recruiters for the players signed out of North Carolina.

It's the people, but it's also the product.

"The kids are raised on the ACC; their parents grew up watching the ACC game of the week, their grandparents grew up watching the ACC game of the week," Greenberg said. "It's part of their culture. [Tech's] location is ideal. It's away from home, but it's close to home. It just makes sense."