By Andrew Jones
FOXSportsSouth.com
February 22, 2011
To say this is a big week for Virginia Tech basketball would be a gross understatement. It's a huge week for the Hokies and their coach, Seth Greenberg.
Not that Greenberg's on a super hot seat or anything, he'll likely get a reprieve given the team's play in conjuncture with the rash of injuries suffered this season, and rightfully so. But the Hokies, who have been standing right at the door of the NCAA Tournament for the last four seasons, have to finally knock it down and bust through.
No more "certifiably insane" comments will do. And the thing is, Tech has a golden opportunity before it. Before hosting top-ranked Duke on Saturday, that process begins Tuesday at Wake Forest, a team whose only ACC victory was over Virginia, which has beaten the Hokies twice, including last Saturday in Charlottesville.
A lesson learned from the loss at UVa must be at the forefront of Tech's thinking from this point on.
"We just have to make sure that we guard the basketball and finish possessions and play with a lot of confidence," Greenberg said. "Like I told our kids after the (Virginia) game, we're a good basketball team with a small margin for error. And we have to continue to be confident, play hard, play together, and trust each other and finish the season as best we can."
Tech became the first ACC team to win 10 or more conference games and not receive an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament last season since the field expanded in the late 1970s. Overall, the Hokies were 23-8 on selection Sunday, but were passed over.
The two seasons prior, Tech was 18-14 and coming off a buzzer-beater loss to top-ranked North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals, and 19-13 (9-7 in the ACC) in 2008, which prompted Greenberg's well known "certifiably insane" remark.
But that's all in the past, or at least it should be. And that the Hokies (17-8, 7-5 ACC) have faced more than their share of adversity this season should help keep things in perspective.
They lost physical forward J.T. Thompson for the season before the season, as well as Florida transfer Allan Chaney. And in December, the school announced Cadarian Raines and Dorenzo Hudson, the second leading scorer a year ago, would miss the rest of the season with injuries.
Then over the weekend, freshman wing Jarell Eddie was arrested for possession of marijuana. The Virginian Pilot reported that Eddie will play at Wake Forest. Perhaps Greenberg simply can't afford to not suit him up, given that Tech is down to just eight scholarship players.
That is why Greenberg's job is safe, at least this time around. But if the Hokies don't get into the NCAAs, they will be a bit more depleted next season taking on what should be a vastly improved ACC schedule, so the challenge might be greater to avoid a fifth straight NIT, which could mean trouble for the coach's job security. An NCAA invitation next month would buy just about any coach some time.
More important to Greenberg is the immediate future, the now.
"I'm not really thinking about it," Greenberg said. "I'm thinking how we're going to guard flat ball screens against Wake Forest, and how we're going to share the basketball and make better decisions than we did on Saturday. I'm not concerning myself with it. It's going to happen over the next three weeks. For 50 schools, it's going to be torture for their fans and anyone associated with college basketball, listening to the changing landscape from game to game and week to week.
"So if you use too much energy on that, you're probably using your enemies in the wrong direction."
He's right, but the length of his answer and his use of the word "torture' clearly indicates the coach is feeling some level of pressure. Alleviating it begins Tuesday.
Andrew Jones is in his 15th season covering the ACC.
