For the second time in a row, the Tech men's basketball has team dropped a close, winnable game, for lack of a free-throw shooting touch.

Listening to the end of the Tech-WVU basketball game was a surreal experience for me.   I heard most of the second half, and the Hokies were burning the nets up and putting WVU away.  I was so confident Tech was going to win that I fired up my web page software and started typing up a home page and a Men's Hoops page recording the victory.  After all, Tech had a six-point lead with under half a minute to play.   What could happen?

But as I like to say, "a funny thing happened on the way to the win."

Last year, in a hard-fought 55-52 loss to WVU, the Hokies were doomed late by an inbounds pass that senior Shawn Browne threw away under the WVU basket.  The 'Eers scored to go ahead, and then won the game.

Saturday night, Andre Ray repeated history in eerie fashion, throwing away an inbounds pass under the WVU bucket that led to West Virginia's winning basket with six seconds to go.

But the fact that Ray's pass even mattered was due only to Tech's poor free-throw shooting.  One game after going 3-11 from the line in a close loss to Wake Forest, the Hokies barely topped 50%, going 11-20 against WVU, including an unsatisfactory - and inadequate - 7 of 12 in the last two minutes, including three straight misses when WVU started to make a run with under a minute to go.

I'm never one to push the panic button, but my own personal opinion is that the wheels are about to completely fly off of this basketball team, and that when they do, a loud crash is going to follow.  They are 3-4 with ugly losses to ETSU at home and to UNC-C on the road, and they have dropped consecutive games to Wake Forest and WVU because they can't execute fundamental skills such as free-throw shooting and inbounding the ball.

Jenis Grindstaff's transfer is still an open wound for this Hokie fan, who thought the young guard's playmaking ability was second to none.  The loss of a star player for reasons that are still a mystery to all but Jenis Grindstaff means that the microscope is now out, and Hokies are examining whether or not coach Bobby Hussey is promoting team unity and keeping players happy.  As the losses mount and fan apathy grows, the answer appears to be no.

This year's star recruit, Dennis Mims, was benched for the WVU game and didn't play a single minute, for a reported "violation of team rules."  A quote I have not been able to confirm yet is that Hussey said it was "for bad conduct in practice."  To an outsider like me, a pattern appears to be developing, and it's not a pattern I like.

I respect the work that the players and coaches put in, and I like our players and coaches, and I know that everyone wants to win, but my own fuse, which is usually a long one, is growing incredibly short, incredibly fast.  Perhaps it's because I actually sat through the ETSU game in person, and I consider it to be perhaps the lowest point I've ever seen Tech men's basketball reach on the court.  Getting hammered at home by a mediocre Southern Conference team?  Give me a break.

But regardless of how I feel, it's an undeniable fact that the team is losing, the players aren't happy, and the fans aren't happy.  Last year, despite the losing, we were all looking forward to the future, but that seems like a long time ago.  If things don't turn around soon, and some quality wins don't start happening soon, we could be staring an eight-win season in the face, or worse, and then it's anybody's guess as to what's going to happen.

For you Northern Virginia Hokies, a rare opportunity for you to see the Tech women's team in action is going to happen Monday night.  The Hokies play at George Mason at 8:00 p.m. Monday night, which should give you plenty of time to get home from work, grab a bite to eat, and catch Bonnie Henrickson's Hokies on the hardwood.

I mentioned this the other day, but let me just come right out and say it:  my goal this year for the women's team is not just for them to make the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament (which is their publicly stated goal), but for them to be a top-16 seed and to host a sub-regional.

Now that Tech has made it through the early, tough part of their schedule, winning road games over Liberty and Duke, and a home game against UVa, the Hokies can set their sites on lofty goals.  I think that being a top-16 seed is a good target to shoot for.

The problem is, the "establishment" in women's college basketball is one tough nut to crack.  The poll voters and tournament seeders love the SEC and the ACC, and a few wins here and there is not going to convince the powers that be that you're a good team, good enough to be a top-16 seed.

Take Liberty.  Last year, the Flames went 29-0 in the regular season.  They were perfect. Flawless.  Were they a top-16 seed in the tourney?

Uh, no.  They were a number 16 seed.  That's right.  Liberty's reward for an unblemished season was a bottom-four seeding and a date with #1 seed Tennessee, which destroyed them in the first round.

Granted, Tech has something this year that Liberty didn't have last year, namely, membership in a halfway decent conference and wins over quality teams, ranked teams.  But my point is clear:  even if the Hokies have a breakout season, even if they post a one-loss or two-loss season and end up in the top 10 in the polls, it's still very much a touch-and-go proposition as to whether they will be seeded top-16 and get to host some NCAA games.

But there's a ton of games to play between now and then, and going a full season with only one or two losses is a tall order.  Tech has some tough games on the schedule, most notably against GW.  To reach top-16 status, the Hokies will probably have to win the A-10 West regular season championship and the tournament.

That's a daunting task, but as my boss says, "There's only one way to eat an elephant - one bite at a time."

So pull up a chair, grab a knife and fork, and take your first bite at George Mason Monday night, ladies.  And Hokie fans, be there to see it.   I think you'll be impressed with Bonnie and her team, and hopefully, they'll bring home the W.

And that's George Mason, fans, not George Washington.  If you go to GW, you're going to feel mighty silly, so make sure it's GM.

• The Tech women are scraping the ceiling in The Collegiate Basketball News's College Basketball RPI Ratings.   The last time I looked at the women's ratings, at 11:00 Sunday night, Tech was third in the country.

• There is good news for the men's team:  Hoop Scoop's recruiting rankings from the fall signing season rates the Hokies' four-man class #45 in the country.

• I have added some new links to my Links page.   See the information at the top of the page for the new stuff.

• I have also updated my VIP Emails page with a new email address for Coach Beamer and a new link to the VT People Finder.  The old link had quit working, but the new link takes you to the right place.

• The Virginia Tech Women's Basketball Diamond Club is sponsoring a bus trip from Blacksburg to the George Washington game on January 10th. Email Vicky Lynn Moore at [email protected] for more information.  And for you NOVA Hokies, the game is 11:00 am Sunday, so there won't be the usual weekday parking problems. Go see the Hokies play!

• I have a been a little sluggish lately with processing memberships, and for that, I apologize.  Last week got wild and woolly with the T-shirt sale, and it impacted my membership processing.  I will place another merchandise order very soon, but please be patient, because my supplier, like many places, is going to shut down for a week between Christmas and New Year's.  So those of you who didn't order items that are already in stock (I only keep magnets and T-shirts in stock) will have an extended wait, for which I apologize.  As always, you can email me and ask about the status of your membership.

• Along those same lines, I also owe the members a Beerman's Picks update.   Beerman has submitted his bowl picks to me, but I just haven't gotten around to posting them yet.  I will soon, and provided new, proud papa Go VT remembers to send in the second part of his bowl history article, I'll get that soon, too.

TSL News and Notes Archives