Sorry about being AWOL, folks, but I've been getting killed at work this week, and my mouse died.  Plus, with the new membership stuff being posted, things have been hopping.  Let's get busy.

First of all, the St. Joe's home game on Saturday the 10th is at 2:00 PM, not that other time that has been bandied about lately.  There has been some confusion, but I called the Tech ticket office and emailed Bill Roth, and they both said it was at 2:00.

Also, the game with UVa on Monday the 12th (in Roanoke) will be on TV - Home Team Sports, to be precise.  Game time is at 7:00, and since it's in Roanoke, you Roanoke Hokies can't use the travel excuse for not going!!!  Just kidding - catch the game in person if you can.  Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from the Tech ticket office (1-800-VATECH4), the UVa ticket office (gag), or the Roanoke Coliseum ticket office.   If you can't catch it in person, catch it on TV.

The only consistent thing about this basketball team has been their inconsistency, not just on a team level, but a player level.  Russ Wheeler was "up" early in the year, "down" against South Carolina (0 points), up against UNC, Radford, and ETSU (19, 20, and 12 points), and has been down again against WVU, VMI, and Duquesne (9, 4, and 2 points).

One thing I heard about Russ earlier this year is that he gets frustrated and starts to press and try too hard, and it takes him out of his game.  Essentially, he gets "down" on himself, which I think is silly, because Russ has all the tools it takes to be successful.  He's big, smooth, and has a nice jumper.  I've been a big Russ Wheeler fan since early last year, when I first saw him play.  He's not going to set the world on fire like Rolan Roberts, but that's not Russ's game.

Russ is one of those guys who can very quietly post 20 points and 10 rebounds.  If Rolan Roberts does the same thing, then that's what everyone will remember and talk about, but his 20 and 10 won't be worth anymore on the stat sheet than Russ's 20 and 10.  So my advice to Russ is: relax, don't press, and do what you do well.  Let Grindstaff, Roberts, and Lucas make the crowd ooh and aah with what they do well, and you just fill in the gaps.  That's what Bobby Beecher did, and although we mid-80's Hokies all talk about Dell Curry and Al Young and Perry Young, Bobby Beecher was just as important to that team as the more heralded guys were.  So was Keith Colbert.

Another guy who hasn't performed as expected is Brendan Dunlop.  Brendan was playing great at the end of last year, but he has struggled this year, and no one seems to know why.  The only way in which he has struggled, though, is in scoring.  He actually leads the Hokies in assists (30) and steals (15).  He is virtually tied in both categories with heralded freshman Jenis Grindstaff (29 assists and 15 steals), even though Jenis gets more minutes per game (28) than Brendan (22).

So before Brendan or anyone else gets too down on him, he needs to understand that he's not a bust just because he's not scoring.  I'm not sure why he's not in the flow this year.  My guess is that he may be caught in between the point guard and shooting guard spots, and Brendan's no shooting guard - he's a take-it-to-the-hole point guard.   When he was playing well at the end of last year, it was because he was slashing inside against the big guys.  This year, I think he's being asked to do more shooting, and it's not his bag.

Another guy who has been the very hallmark of inconsistency is Eddie Lucas.  He scored well against William and Mary (15 points), Liberty (16 points), South Carolina (16 points), and in the first half against North Carolina (12 points) .... and then he disappeared for four and a half games, not to return again until the Duquesne game (17 points).

Eddie has shown himself to be a streaky 3-point shooter.  When he's on, he can light it up from deeeeep.  When he's not on, he has trouble contributing.  Eddie needs to shoot with more confidence, because during the four-game stretch where he was ineffective, he seemed very tentative to take the ball up.  I watched him pass up several semi-open shots in several games in that stretch, and he just didn't seem to be "looking for his shot," as they say.

For the most part, the other guys haven't been too inconsistent.  Rolan Roberts has been the definition of consistency, except for one or two games.  Jenis Grindstaff has been consistent as far as points and assists totals, but what has been running hot and cold is his three-point shooting.

Jenis was a 40% three-point shooter in high school, and in his ten games at Tech, according to my calculations, he is dead on that mark:  18-45, for 40%.  Those totals include the bad (1-6 against WVU) and the good (4-5 against Liberty), which are indicative of the kind of up-and-down year he's having from three-point range.

To see the guy in person is to see the two extremes.  I've seen him net 2 or 3 in a row, with supreme confidence, but I've also seen him throw up an uncomfortable-looking air ball.

While on the subject of consistency, I've got to mention Andre Ray, who turns in 6 or 8 rebounds and excellent defense every time he plays.

So are you getting the point?  These Hokies are indeed playing like the young team that they are.  A couple of them are contributing solidly night in and night out, but the other guys are bouncing up and down like they're on pogo sticks.  Smoothing out the ride is the job of the coaching staff and Father Time, and when these guys start to click on all cylinders, we're in for a treat.

To those of you who have already sent in your 1998 memberships, I extend my thanks.   Right now, I'm working on setting up the Members Only area, and when that is accomplished, I'll process a whole bunch of memberships at once and will send everyone the information they need to access the area.  I apologize if things seem like they're moving a little slowly, but hang in there - I'm a one man operation, and I'm doing the best I can.  You can imagine that I'm getting crushed by memberships right now (this is a good problem to have), so please be patient until the ride smooths out.

I have had several inquiries about advertising on HokieCentral, and to be honest, I've always wanted to do it, I've just never had the time.  The two-week break I had over Christmas finally gave me the time I needed, though, and I'm pleased to announce that I have come up with a sponsorship and advertising concept.  Anything else I could say would be redundant to the information that is now posted on my new Sponsorship Page, so if you're interested, click on over and check it out.

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