Hokies eye return to Big Dance

BLACKSBURG Virginia Tech's basketball team last made the NCAA tournament in 2007, when just one of the Hokies' current players was on the roster. They settled for National Invitation Tournament appearances the past two seasons, leaving this season's team longing to play in the NCAAs.

How they answer several questions will determine if they get there. There are broad issues, like replacing last season's leading scorer and eliminating defensive lapses that frustrated coach Seth Greenberg. And there are narrower storylines, like the development of a young point guard and the search for another scoring option in the post.

The Hokies just finished their first full week of practice. Three weeks from today, they begin their march to March by hosting Brown. In the meantime, here are four of their most pressing questions: 1. How will they replace A.D. Vassallo's scoring?

Vassallo averaged 19.1 points as a senior last season and also was Tech's top scorer as a junior. The Hokies return their secondand third-leading scorers, junior guard Malcolm Delaney (18.1 points) and junior forward Jeff Allen (13.7). A third scoring option likely will come from several players.

Among the candidates: junior forward J.T. Thompson, junior guard Dorenzo Hudson and sophomore forward Victor Davila. Thompson was fourth on the team in scoring last season (6.5 points) and Davila, at 6-8 and 245 pounds, has the body for easy baskets down low.

Hudson, though, is perhaps the most interesting of the three, because of how well he finished last season. In his final four games, he shot 53.8 percent and averaged 9.5 points, compared to 32.5 percent and four points in his first 30 games. 2. Can Tech's defense improve?

Greenberg hopes so. The Hokies' field goal percentage defense last season was 42.1 (sixth in the ACC), compared to 40.7 the previous year, when they ranked second in the conference.

"That's unacceptable," Greenberg said. "Virginia Tech can't afford that to happen if they think they're going to be successful. Because we're not a team that outscores people. Right now, today, we can't match up body-for-body with the rest of the teams in our league. We're not playing with McDonald's All-Americans yet. We're playing with very good players. We're playing with guys that can play against anyone. But we're not a team that should rely on outscoring people. We're a team that needs to rely on getting stops." 3. What is the situation at point guard?

Delaney will start for the third consecutive season, but Greenberg wants to play him some at shooting guard because he is such a skilled scorer.

The Hokies did this last season by using sophomore Hank Thorns as the backup point guard. But Thorns transferred to Texas Christian in the offseason, seeking more playing time. Delaney's new understudy: freshman Erick Green.

Greenberg hopes Green can progress enough that Delaney can play shooting guard for 15 or 20 minutes a game. "He's got to understand that you can't let down," Greenberg said of Green. "He's tough. He's just got to be more aggressive." 4. Who will complement Allen in the post?

Early on, either Davila or senior Lewis Witcher, the lone holdover for the 2007 NCAA tournament team. Freshman Cadarian Raines, of Petersburg High, would have contended for playing time, but he broke his left foot a month ago and probably won't be back until the first week of December.

Greenberg believes Davila, who averaged 3.1 points in 11.9 minutes last season, can transform himself into a legit low-post scorer. "He can't settle," Greenberg said. "He's got to get engaged every play."

Witcher's scoring average and playing time have dipped since his freshman year. He averaged 2 points and 8.8 minutes last season after getting 2.9 in 13.1 minutes his first season. Greenberg has talked often about "empowering" Witcher. "We're trying," Greenberg said. "But we can empower all we want. He's got to embrace it."