Seth Greenberg went from Conference USA to the Big East the day he took over as coach at Virginia Tech. He'll go from there to the Atlantic Coast Conference when the Hokies officially join that league on July 1, 2004.

It's quite an upgrade for Greenberg, who needed a change of scenery after seven years in Tampa, Fla., as the head coach at South Florida.

His new program is in need of the same kind of upgrade. Tech made minimal, if any, progress in four years under Ricky Stokes, who was fired shortly after the 2002-03 season ended. The last three years of Stokes' tenure were spent in the Big East, and the Hokies didn't qualify for the league tournament once. All you have to do to qualify is not finish last in your division.

This year, Greenberg has scheduled a non-league game in Madison Square Garden to give his team a taste of what playing in that arena is like. It may be the only time the Hokies see it, as qualifying for the Big East tournament in their final year in the league figures to be difficult again.

"It's a process," Greenberg said of his rebuilding job.

A long process.

FRONTCOURT

Greenberg would have loved to coach rugged post player Terry Taylor. Alas, he's gone, and he leaves a very big hole.

The most experienced frontcourt player is 6-foot-9 junior Dimari Thompkins, who had his moments but was mostly inconsistent. Quite often, he was content to stand outside, clap his hands and shout for the ball so he could try a 3-pointer rather than get his big self inside and mix it up for a rebound.

Shooters, the Hokies have. Rebounders they don't, so look for Greenberg to clap his hands and tell Thompkins to hit the boards.

The Stick Twins -- sophomores Allen Calloway and Philip McCandies -- showed some promise. Calloway is 6-8, 205 pounds. McCandies is 6-9, 205. Both need to bulk up, but neither is afraid to mix it up in the paint. McCandies averaged 3.0 rebounds in limited minutes.

Coleman Collins, a 6-9 freshman from Stone Mountain, Ga., has a window of opportunity a mile wide.

BACKCOURT

For a while, Greenberg can be expected to go with a point guard/two swingmen alignment. The point guard likely will be freshman Zabian Dowdell of Pahokee, Fla. -- yes, he will be a Hokie from Pahokee. Greenberg became acquainted with Dowdell while at South Florida and moved in on him quickly once he took over at Tech.

Sophomore Markus Sailes saw some time at the point last season but may be in just a bit over his head.

The swingmen are Tech's best players: seniors Bryant Matthews and Carlos Dixon. Dixon is a wing guard and Matthews a small forward, but both can go up one position to give Greenberg more flexibility.

Matthews blossomed last season after two years of inconsistency. He led the Hokies in scoring (17.3) and blocks (1.2), was second in rebounding (7.1) and third in assists (2.2). He and Dixon tied for the team lead in steals (1.7). With improvement at the foul line (58.8 percent), Matthews can average 20 points.

Dixon is a standout defender who is also a pretty fair scorer (13.8) and rebounder (3.3). He's prone to injuries to his feet and sometimes loses concentration, but when he's on he can carry a team.

FINAL ANALYSIS

The Hokies looked at Jeff Lebo and Jim Baron hard before settling on Greenberg. It was an interesting hire. Before going to South Florida, he did an excellent job at Long Beach State. Things never quite got going at USF for him, but if the Greenberg who was at Long Beach is now in Blacksburg -- and his energy level appears to be quite high -- the Hokies will be glad they ended up with the guy.

Tech was a huge enigma under Stokes. The Hokies whipped ranked Connecticut and arch-rival Virginia at home. They also lost at home to Wofford and on the road at William & Mary, which was winless at the time. They showed some signs of life in early February only to lose seven of their final eight.

They will be better prepared and organized under Greenberg. The bad losses should disappear. Whether he's capable of adding more quality victories remains to be seen, but once he gets a few more players in, Greenberg will prove to be a sideline upgrade.

Enough of an upgrade? Who knows? The Hokies don't play in the little leagues.

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