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Posted: Tuesday October 22, 2002 11:16 PM Updated: Tuesday October 29, 2002 10:38 PM Virginia Tech Hokies
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis TEAM PREVIEW
Two years ago, the Big East Conference gave newcomer Virginia Tech a rather rude introduction to the league. Graduation and a few transfers produced a roster with just two returning players who accounted for a grand total of 12 points and three rebounds per game. The Hokies promptly went 8-19 overall, 2-14 in the Big East. So much for a welcome mat. Tech was instead a last-place doormat for teams to step on. That changed a bit for the Hokies last year, and coach Ricky Stokes thinks his club can take another step forward this season. Tech finally has some returnees with bonafide Big East experience. Four starters -- guard Brian Chase, swingmen Carlos Dixon and Bryant Matthews and center Terry Taylor -- are back from a team that went 10-18 overall and 4-12. Another key returnee is point guard Eric Branham, who battled a hand injury most of last year, but averaged nearly 20 minutes a game. Six of Tech’s top eight players are returning. Last season produced another last-place finish in the division, but the Hokies ended it by gaining some confidence and going 4-4 in their last eight league games. That included wins over Boston College (76-73), West Virginia (78-63), Providence (69-64) and Rutgers (63-49). OK, so they weren’t victories over traditional powers Connecticut, Syracuse and Georgetown. But Boston College was an NCAA tournament team and Rutgers reached the NIT. And the Hokies lost a tight one, 83-77, in their season finale against another NCAA team, Miami. Bottom line: Tech might no longer be a "gimme" for anyone.
"From our first year to our second year, I thought we had to do a better job rebounding and we did," said Stokes, whose club ranked eighth in total rebounds and third in rebounding margin. "I really thought we made significant strides. "In the past we’ve kind of had to do it with kids and I don’t think you can come into a league like this and try that. We think we’re more experienced now and we’ll be better." The Hokies will need to replace their top rebounder, 6-foot-11 center Carlton Carter (10.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg), but should have a strong backcourt and developing frontcourt. The other losses were guard Joe Hamilton (6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg in 18.5 minutes), forward Mibindo Dongo (2.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg in 9.1 minutes) and forward Jon Smith (1.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg in 9.4 minutes). "Losing three guys that played a considerable amount of minutes is something we have to work through," Stokes said. "We made great strides in rebounding last year and losing Carlton, ‘Do’ and Joe and the number of rebounds they contributed will take a team effort to overcome. We will have to do it collectively to continue the good job we did on the boards last year." Let’s start in the backcourt, which should receive immediate help from freshmen Markus Sailes, a 6-5 point man, and Shawn Harris, a 6-4, 230-pound shooting guard. That’s the backcourt of Tech’s future and those two should provide help off the bench when the Hokies run into bigger opposing guards. "We definitely needed to add size at that position," said the diminutive Stokes, not exactly an expert in that department when he played at Virginia. For the present, though, it’s in the hands of the 6-0 Branham and 5-10 Chase, the league’s smallest backcourt duo. Tech needs Branham to be healthy because it will allow Stokes to keep Chase, one of the league’s top shooters, and 6-7 swingman Dixon in their best positions. Chase had to play the point a lot last year because Branham (3.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.1 tpg) was bothered by his left (shooting) hand. A junior-college transfer last year, Branham first broke his hand on Nov. 6. He returned Nov. 20 but re-fractured the hand in a loss to Murray State on Dec. 7. Branham missed only the next game but the hand was a hindrance, Stokes said. Chase, a quick-footed, two-year senior captain, is already Tech’s career leader in 3-point field goals. A product of Washington’s Dunbar High, he averaged 11.3 points and 2.1 rebounds while making 71-of-168 shots from beyond the arc (.423). He was the top marksman in league play, making 16-for-38 (.404). He drained seven threes in a 66-63 December loss to Murray State. Sailes is the first freshman point guard Stokes has brought in. He averaged 13 points his senior season in Richmond, Va. The bulkier Harris averaged 17 points and seven rebounds at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy last year and was the Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year as a senior in high school. "He’s a little older and more seasoned and should be able to help us," Stokes said of Harris. "We’ve had great success with kids from Fork Union." One of them is Dixon, who has started since his freshman year. He led the Hokies in scoring last year at 12.2 points per game and steals at 1.6 per. A good ball handler, slasher and shooter, Dixon (3.1 apg, 3.5 tpg, 2.8 rpg, .833 FT, .355 3PT) has needed to get stronger -- he’s 189 pounds -- and Stokes said the Salisbury, N.C., native has added a little strength. Matthews (9.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .705 FT, .287 3PT) is cut from the same mold but attacks the rim better and is an explosive player in the open floor. "I think now that we’re able to have more depth it will enable us to play more players and be more aggressive defensively," Stokes said. "It also helps us use a lot of different combinations and put the best players on the court at the most suitable times." Taylor made a big splash last year after transferring from Allegany College in Maryland. The beefy 6-8, 292-pound senior isn’t afraid to battle bigger players and he was one of the reasons for Tech’s rebounding turnaround. He averaged 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting .534 from the field and .689 from the free-throw line. The other frontcourt returnees who must help offset the loss of Carlton are 6-8 sophomore Dimari Thompkins and 6-8, 219-pound freshman Harding Nana. Thompkins joined the team last January and averaged 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game. Stokes is excited because Thompkins dropped about 40 pounds and is down to 254. He has shown flashes of his offensive ability in the post. "He’ll be a lot more active, he’s just quicker and will be able to jump a little higher," Stokes said. Nana, a native of Cameroon, missed all but three games of last year after surgery on both knees. He was granted a medical red-shirt. A very aggressive player, he is still developing because he has played basketball for only a few years. He averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds as a senior at Newport School in Kensington, Md. His team went 30-8 and won the state private school championship. Nana spent 2000-01 at Notre Dame Prep in Middleburg, Mass. Stokes is excited about his potential. "He can score points for us," he said. Along with Sailes and Harris, two other newcomers who should contribute are 6-6 freshman forward Fabian Davis and 7-3, 296-pound junior center Luke Minor out of Hagerstown (Md.) Junior College, which is where Branham played. Davis played at Bonner Academy in Raleigh, N.C. and scored 36 points in a game against nationally ranked Mt. Zion Academy. Minor spent one season at Hagerstown after transferring from USC. He is the tallest player in Tech history. "He’s had a lot of individual instruction and been in good programs, now he just needs to play," Stokes said. The two other freshmen are 6-8, 198-pound forward Allen Calloway from Coastal Christian (Va.) Academy and 6-9, 195-pound forward Philip McCandies out of Winston-Salem, N.C. He averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks and four assists at Parkland High. "This [recruiting class] has the body to match their size, which is a little different than we’ve had," said Stokes, who considers this his best crop. "Having the Big East as a calling card has helped." Coaches are always saying it’s a "process" to rebuild a program or to construct a winner. Stokes is on the right track. The Hokies are subscribing to the same theory Bill Murray’s psychotic character did in a greatly underrated movie, What About Bob? Tech is taking "baby steps." Stokes has brought in some good young players who fit the needs of his team. There should be more improvement again, but it won’t be a huge leap. In Branham and Chase, the backcourt is in decent, albeit small, hands. But the influx of two bigger freshmen guards should help. Chase is a deadly shooter and Branham will need to set him and Dixon up. More development from swingmen Dixon and Matthews -- they’re still just juniors -- should also give the Hokies more scoring and Taylor has to continue to be a force on the boards. But Tech has to play better defense and that’s something Stokes will demand. The Hokies ranked next to last in the Big East in field goal percentage defense last year (.449) and without being as strong in the rebounding department this season, the defense has to pick up the slack. They catch a break because there aren’t a ton of dominant big men in the Big East right now. With a few bounces the right way, Tech could make a run at a .500 record again and the NIT.
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