Quizzes complete, Hokies take a test

As Virginia Tech has navigated its nonconference schedule in the past month and a half, often in unimpressive fashion, Hokies coach Seth Greenberg frequently faced the question of whether his team was ready for its ACC opener at Duke.

The Hokies (9-4) missed the chance for important nonleague wins against Xavier and Wisconsin. They failed to dominate against lesser opponents, beating Gardner-Webb by three points, Mount St. Mary's by five and Elon, Navy and Charleston Southern by nine. Tech's best nonleague win is against 9-4 St. John's, which has lost its past two games by 14 and 21 to Miami and Providence, respectively.

So are the Hokies ready to stick with No.5 Duke today? The Blue Devils (11-1) boast a 16-point win over No.9 Purdue and an 18-point victory over No.7 Xavier.

"I think we're making progress," Greenberg said. "I think league play raises everyone's attention to detail."

He wants to see better defense from sophomore wing Dorenzo Hudson, who has started at Deron Washington's old spot. He wants more consistent play from forward Jeff Allen, whose needless fouls have frustrated Greenberg. Still, Allen is averaging 13.9 points and 9.2 rebounds.

Greenberg also wants to see two of his sophomore bench players, wing J.T. Thompson and point guard Hank Thorns, continue to recover from injuries and shake rust. Thompson missed the first 10 games after undergoing hernia surgery and spraining his foot. Greenberg said he is fine now. Thorns has missed the past three games with a sprained right knee. Greenberg said his status for tonight will be a game-time decision.

One thing Greenberg isn't concerned about is Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Hokies last visited Cameron two seasons ago, so their seven scholarship freshmen and sophomores who have played this season never have experienced its raucous atmosphere.

(In last season's only meeting between the teams, Duke won 81-64 in Blacksburg, though Allen was suspended that day for bumping an official in Tech's previous game.)

"I look at the Cameron Crazies, and that group doesn't look very athletic," Greenberg said in reference to Duke's fans. "I think we can check those guys. It's the guys in uniform I'm worried about."

Sophomore point guard Malcolm Delaney said: "Playing back home in Baltimore is a lot worse than playing in Cameron. It's a pretty historic place, but it's not what we're worried about."

Delaney's challenge is his matchup with Nolan Smith, a 6-2 sophomore who this season replaced 6-1 senior Greg Paulus as Duke's starting point guard. Paulus is coming off the bench and averaging 19.8 minutes. Smith, who scores 10.9 points per game, is one of five Blue Devils who averages double figures.

"He's not a great shooter like Paulus is," Delaney said. "It's just playing against a bigger, more athletic guard. It's probably going to be tougher playing against Nolan."