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Despite inconsistent play, Hokies finish with winning season

March 15, 2000
By Jimmy Robertson

For the Hokies, March Madness came to an end all too soon.

Tech's season - and its tenure in the Atlantic 10 - ended with a 71-52 loss to Temple in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament in Philadelphia. Not surprisingly, the Hokies lost to the Owls, who stand as the only A-10 team Tech never beat in its five years in the league, and not surprisingly, Tech lost in Philadelphia. The Hokies went 4-14 in the city that serves as the home for the A-10's headquarters.

The Hokies' 1999-2000 season resembled the stock market - up one day and down the next. At times, the Hokies played up to their capabilities, like they did in late-season wins over Xavier and Dayton, and then at times, they played terribly, like they did in a demoralizing late-season loss to lowly Duquesne.

Or like they did in devastating early-season losses to Big South foes Radford and Liberty, which probably cost the Hokies an NIT bid. Neither of those two teams made it to the finals of the Big South tournament.

"All the time," said point guard Brendan Dunlop when asked if he looked back at those losses and thought about what could have been. "If we played them now, we'd probably blow them out. We probably took them too lightly and that's our mistake."

But in all fairness to Tech, the Hokies played those two games without Brian Chase, who qualified academically in the fall at Hargrave and enrolled at Tech for the spring semester. Chase, who missed the first seven games of the season, made all the difference in the world for Tech. The Hokies went 12-12 in the games he played and their scoring output increased by a modest two points per game and their 3-point shooting improved. But numbers aside, Chase provided some emotion and leadership to a team lacking in both.

And as a result, the Hokies finished with their first winning season in four years.

"We gave it our all," AndrÚ Ray said. "We fought all season long and we never quit. Our goal was to have a winning season and we did that.

"The past three years, I have had three coaches. It's been up and down for me. But I wish I had another year to play. I don't see anything but good things ahead for coach [Ricky] Stokes and his program."

The Hokies move into the high-rent district next season - the Big East. Instead of traveling to New York and playing Fordham, the Hokies instead get St. John's, winner of the Big East tournament. Instead of playing George Washington, the Hokies will play Georgetown. Instead of playing St. Bonaventure, the Hokies head east and play Syracuse. Tech has its work cut out for it playing against those teams. The Big East sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament and all of those teams are perennial powers.

For Tech to be successful against such powers, the Hokies need to improve in certain areas, mainly on the offensive end of the court and particularly on the perimeter. The Hokies shot a respectable 43.7 percent from the floor this season, but they shot below 50 percent in 25 games and struggled from the outside, shooting just 29.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

And that figure would have been worse without Chase. The 5-foot-10 wonder hit exactly half of Tech's 3-pointers this season and shot 38.4 percent from behind the 3-point line. The rest of Tech's returning players shot just 20.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

"With the recruiting class we have coming in, I don't think people are going to be able to concentrate solely on Brian Chase," Chase said. "We have players coming in who can knock down the open shot, so other teams are going to have to guard other people. That's going to make it easier."

On paper, it seems that the incoming recruiting class will be able to score from the outside. Tech's four recruits - smooth 6-6 forward Carlos Dixon, 6-2 point guard Chris Exilus, 6-7 forward Bryant Matthews and 6-3 guard Danny Gathings - put up impressive scoring numbers this past season. And they all bring athleticism to play an up-and-down style - something the Hokies did sporadically this season.

But in addition to improving their scoring, the Hokies also need to shore up the ball-handling. Tech turned the ball over 507 times this season. Most Big East teams press and play pressure defense, relying on opponents' mistakes to score easy hoops. If Tech fails to take care of the ball, it runs a risk of getting blown out in certain games.

The Hokies also need to rebound better. Yes, Tech outrebounded opponents 34.9-34.6 on average this season. But with 6-9 center Dennis Mims and 6-6 Rolan Roberts inside to go with the gravity-defying vertical of Ray - three terrific rebounders - that margin should have been more. Tech got outrebounded in 16 games this season and went 5-11 in those games.

"They need to get some big guys to hold down the middle," Ray admitted after Temple hammered Tech on the boards. "You need to get it done down low."

The Hokies, though, did play defense this season. Tech held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field and the Hokies blocked 155 shots (Mims and Roberts combined for 108). Nothing came easy for opponents inside against the Hokies. Tech led the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots and ranked second behind Temple in field-goal percentage defense (39.5) and scoring defense (63.9).

And Tech possesses a good nucleus for the next season. The Hokies return three starters in Chase, Roberts and Mims and all three have the talent to be quality players in the Big East.

But Tech desperately needs for Mims to grow up. In all seriousness, Mims - the Hokies' best player - has the talent to play in the NBA. But his on-court actions hurt himself and his teammates and his suspension for the Atlantic 10 tournament certainly hurt the Hokies. If he matures and puts his mind to becoming an even better player, watch out.

In addition to those three, the Hokies return Tony Dobbins, a 6-4 guard who struggled with his confidence in his first season at Tech, but he certainly should improve. And 6-8 Jon Smith played well nearly every time he touched the floor, including the A-10 tournament. His performance left many wondering why he played so little this season.

"I think coach Stokes wanted to go with more experience," said Smith, who scored three and six points, respectively, in Tech's two tournament games. "But I'm going to work hard in the offseason and build on this [the A-10 tournament]. I want to get stronger. I'll be back next season."

So with these guys returning and the influx of talent from the recruiting class, the Hokies figure to be competitive in the Big East next fall at the least. And Tech's staff isn't finished with recruiting. The Hokies remain in the running for several big post players to help out inside.

"If we keep the same attitude and work ethic that we had this season and carry it through the offseason - and I'm confident we will," Chase said. "then we'll do very well."

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Jimmy Robertson is the editor of the Hokie Huddler at Virginia Tech. The Hokie Huddler is the athletics department newspaper that is printed 33 times a year - weekly during football and basketball seasons and bi-monthly during the spring.

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