August 21, 2002

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Ricky Stokes has announced the hiring of Michael Hopkins as assistant coach for the Hokies. Stokes also announced that former Tech playter Andre Ray has joined the program as administrative assistant.

"I'm very pleased with being able to add such outstanding individuals to the staff," Stokes said. "Michael Hopkins brings a wealth of experience in coaching. And Andre Ray is a terrific young man with great organizational and educational skills that will really help our players."

Hopkins' primary duties will be recruiting and working with the perimeter players in practice.

Hopkins, the head coach at Coastal Carolina from 1994-98, comes to Virginia Tech from The Citadel, where he served as an assistant since 1999. Prior to The Citadel, Hopkins served as the head coach at Carolina Forest High School in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He was named Coastal Carolina's third head basketball coach prior to the 1994-95 season.

Hopkins began his coaching career as an assistant at Coastal Carolina during the 1984-85 season. He also worked at USC Aiken and at Aiken (S.C.) High School before returning to Coastal Carolina for the 1988-89 season.

Hopkins was an assistant for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons at Western Carolina before serving three seasons at East Carolina, helping the Pirates to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1994. Hopkins is a 1983 graduate of Coastal Carolina where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. A native of Columbia, S.C., Hopkins, is married to the former Janice Dewitt of Conway, S.C. and the couple has two children, Mychal and Megan.

Andre Ray is a 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in housing, interior design and resource management and earned his master's degree in urban affairs and planning in 2002. He interned in the Virginia Tech Athletics Department during the 2000-01 academic year and has worked for the JBG Companies in Washington, D.C. for the past year. He will oversee the academic progress of the student athletes and handle day-to-day administrative duties in the program, including team travel.

Ray was a four-year letterwinner for the Hokies from 1995-2000. He appeared in 112 games and was on Ricky Stokes' first team, which was 16-15 in the 1999-2000 season. A native of Lillington, N.C., Ray is single and resides in Blacksburg.