Virginia Tech looks to end NCAA drought

For the past three years, the Virginia Tech Hokies have come close to appearing in the NCAA Tournament, yet were instead sent to the NIT.

This year could be different.

“You play in this league, your goal is to go to the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Seth Greenberg said. “That’s our goal, plain and simple.”

If expectations hold, the Hokies will be invited to the dance for the first time since 2007. The Hokies are No. 21 in the AP preseason poll and a school-record second in the ACC preseason media poll.

Greenberg enters his eighth season as coach. All five starters from the previous season that yielded a trip to the NIT quarterfinals also returned this season.

Senior shooting guard Malcolm Delaney led the ACC in scoring last season and was selected for the preseason All-Conference Team.

Delaney is not the only standout player on the team, as fellow senior Jeff Allen ranked fifth in steals and eighth in rebounding in the ACC. He also led the team in blocks last season, rejecting the ball on average 1.24 times per game.

The Hokies also welcome freshman Jarell Eddie from Charlotte. Ranked as the No. 18 small forward in his class by Scout.com, Eddie shows all the signs of being a solid addition to the team.

“Jarell Eddie is going to be one of the best players on the team soon,” Delaney said. “He knows how to play the game and he’s coming around very fast.”

The Hokies looked forward to additional depth this season with transfer redshirt sophomore Allan Chaney, who would have become eligible this season. But the team will have to make do without the 6-foot-9 forward as he was diagnosed with a viral inflammation of the heart in August after fainting at a preseason workout in April.

The team’s depth was further depleted as senior sixth-man JT Thompson suffered a torn ACL in a September pick-up game, sidelining him for the season.

Virginia Tech’s remaining depth rests on the shoulders of sophomore forward Cadarian Raines, who spent the first ten days of practice with his left foot in a protective boot after a second surgery in April.

“A key for our team is going to be Cadarian Raines’ health,” Greenberg said. “If Cadarian Raines can get healthy, then we’ve got legitimate depth.”

Despite these setbacks, the Hokies still expect to improve on last season’s 25-9 effort.

“I like our team,” Greenberg said. “We’ve got good guards, we’ve got depth in the perimeter. It’s whether we’ll be able to post defend and rebound with our numbers.”