BLACKSBURG - A lady finished her lunch yesterday at a restaurant just up Main Street from Virginia Tech's campus, and before she walked out into the misty, gray afternoon, she turned to the bald guy sitting a table over.
"We're happy you're staying," she said.
Seth Greenberg looked up and smiled. Three days earlier, Greenberg and Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver agreed to a contract that runs through the 2015-16 season and means Greenberg will return for his eighth season as the Hokies' basketball coach. Now, nobody at Tech needs to worry about St. John's possibly being interested in hiring Greenberg this spring.
And Greenberg can begin worrying about what the Hokies must do next season to make the NCAA tournament, after missing it for three consecutive seasons. This will be Greenberg's deepest Tech team, he said. All five starters and the top 10 scorers will return, provided point guard Malcolm Delaney doesn't bolt a year early for the NBA.
But several factors, in addition to Delaney's presence, will determine if the Hokies can get into the tournament in 2011: their defense of opposing ball-handlers, their nonconference schedule and how they handle loftier expectations coming off a season in which they went 10-6 in the ACC and tied a school record for wins by finishing 25-9 overall.
"The biggest thing is just because we were good this year doesn't mean we're guaranteed to be good next year," he said. "Our players have got to get past that."
Last fall, Greenberg emphasized defense as he molded the Hokies' identity. And he was pleased overall with their progress. ACC teams shot 41.1 percent against them, fourth in the conference and an improvement from last season's 43.5 percent, which ranked sixth. But Greenberg too often winced at his team's on-ball defense, especially in late-season losses.
"Too many blow-bys," Greenberg said. "We've got to be able to guard the basketball better."
No one factor - on-ball defense or otherwise - kept the Hokies out of the NCAA tournament. But their nonconference schedule played a large role. It ranked 339th of 347 teams.
Greenberg is trying to improve it by scheduling two home-and-home series with well-regarded opponents. One would begin in Blacksburg, the other on the road. Greenberg expects to announce the games in the next month.
Tech's ability to contend in those games will depend largely on Delaney, who led the ACC in scoring this season with 20.2 points per game. Delaney declaring for the NBA draft would mean teams could bring him for workouts and assess his skills. But even if Delaney tests the NBA waters, Greenberg expects him to preserve the possibility of returning to school by not hiring an agent.
Delaney, who will meet with Greenberg tomorrow, has time to make his decision. NBA workouts don't start until a week after the NCAA tournament ends.
He is, of course, the core of Tech's junior class, along with fellow starters Jeff Allen, Terrell Bell and Dorenzo Hudson, and sixth man J.T. Thompson. After three years of letdowns in March, next season is this group's last, and perhaps best, chance to finally reach the NCAA tournament.
Note: Greenberg said center Gene Swindle's basketball career is likely over because of a nagging knee problem. Swindle redshirted as a freshman last season. He played 21 seconds in this season's second game before undergoing knee surgery and missing the rest of the season.
Contact Darryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or dslater@timesdispatch.com.
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