Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver announced Thursday that South Florida head coach Seth Greenberg will be Virginia Tech's men's basketball coach (see the related News and Notes article), and among the Hokie faithful, the news was met with something less than unanimous enthusiasm.

It's not as if the VT coaching search was peppered with the same names being thrown around in connection with the now-vacant North Carolina job. No, the list of coaches being bandied about for VT wasn't a who's-who like the list of Tubby Smith, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, Rick Majerus, George Karl, and the other high-profile names being thrown around as possible replacements for Matt Doherty at UNC.

Instead, Hokie fans were treated to a search that first centered on Chattanooga's Jeff Lebo and then on Rhode Island's Jim Baron. Lebo and Weaver didn't get very far before things broke down -- it was one of those "the offer wasn't made, and it wasn't turned down, wink-wink," deals -- and proud Virginia Tech fans had to sit and watch as Baron used the VT job as leverage to get what he needed out of Rhode Island: more money (a raise from $300k to $430k) and better facilities and program support. Good for Baron, and good for Rhode Island, but not good for VT.

Neither Lebo nor Baron was as sexy a name as Pitino or Williams, but the Tech fan base seemed supportive of hiring either one of them. Lebo has a UNC pedigree and experience turning around programs at Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga, and Baron's past was full of coaching success at difficult schools: St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, and Rhode Island. Either coach looked like a good, if not perfect, fit for the VT job, where a coach who can build up struggling programs is needed.

But to say that the Hokie fans as a whole are not enthused about the hiring of Seth Greenberg is understating it. Some are cheerfully supportive, but many are turning up their noses at the news.

Why? Because at South Florida, a school very similar to Virginia Tech in many ways when it comes to men's basketball, Greenberg has posted a mediocre 108-100 overall record and a record of just 47-63 (.427) in Conference USA.

Greenberg's USF teams never won 20 games in a season, and more importantly, they whiffed for seven straight years on making the NCAA Tournament. They were 0-20 against ranked teams, 17-33 in games played after Valentine's Day, and 4-15 in the month of March.

The parallels between USF's performance under Greenberg and VT's performance under former coach Ricky Stokes are eerie, disconcerting, and not heartening to many VT basketball fans. Stokes was 1-25 against ranked teams, 7-15 after Valentine's Day, and 4-5 in March. In three years in the Big East, Stokes' teams were 3-12 after Valentine's Day and 1-4 in March.

Lebo and Baron have both proven they can win in difficult situations; Greenberg has not. South Florida is much like VT, an underfunded program in a league led by powerful, rich teams. The Bulls spent a paltry $1.2 million on men's basketball in 2000-01, according to the most recent set of figures available at the web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education. USF's Conference USA running mates Cincinnati, Louisville, and Memphis spent an average of $3.3 million on their programs.

That same year, the Hokies spent $1.98 million on their program -- an unusually high figure for a program that has averaged spending about $1.65 million over the last five years -- while Syracuse, UConn, and Georgetown, for example, spent $6.6 million, $2.2 million, and $2.4 million, respectively.

According to the Chronicle, in 2000-01, South Florida was outspent by 10 of the other 13 members in Conference USA on men's basketball expenses, and that same year, VT was outspent by 11 of the other 13 members in the Big East.

So in a situation similar to what Virginia Tech faces in the Big East -- a lack of funding, fan apathy, and tough top-level competition in a strong conference -- Greenberg didn't show any ability to get his South Florida teams to excel. The best USF was able to do were NIT appearances in 1999-2000 and 2001-02. One of his more highly-regarded teams, a 2000-01 unit that was hyped in the preseason by some as a possible Sweet-16 caliber team, won 18 games but missed out on both the NCAA and NIT.

On the positive side of the ledger, Greenberg is intense. He works the refs, he sometimes trades barbs with opposing coaches in the media, and he is known as a hard worker on the recruiting trail. He is, by all accounts, a charismatic and humorous individual who comes across well in the glare of media lights.

Before taking the job at USF in 1996-97, Greenberg also had some good success in six seasons at Long Beach State, taking them to two NCAA appearances and one NIT bid. His 1992-93 Long Beach team whipped #1 Kansas at Allen Field House, 64-49. He is one of only two coaches -- Jerry Tarkanian is the other -- to post five straight winning seasons and two seasons of 20 wins at Long Beach State.

One member of the West Virginia media who has worked a few USF games for ESPN Regional TV told me in an email, "Seth is a very good recruiter and this is a very interesting hire for VT. Seth is a pit bull. Don't sell him short."

To be blunt, it will be hard not to, given Greenberg's less-than-sterling achievements at South Florida. At the risk of repeating myself, he faced as tough a job there as he will at Virginia Tech, and he was barely over .500. Meanwhile, attendance at South Florida sagged this year to a 17-year low of 4,045 fans per game.

Hokie fans are embarrassed at being spurned by a Southern Conference coach (Lebo) and used as leverage by an A-10 coach (Baron). They're wondering why Hokie alum Ron Everhart, who built up the McNeese State program and turned around Northeastern, didn't get much of a sniff, despite being extremely interested in the job and receiving endorsements from Mike Brey, Morgan Wooten, and Perry Clark, who are all rumored to have called Jim Weaver to recommend Everhart.

Weaver called Northeastern AD Dave O'Brien and requested to interview Everhart, but in an unusual move, was told no, under the pretense that O'Brien and Everhart were working on an extension to Everhart's contract. That extension got negotiated but never got signed by Everhart, who went on vacation with his family and thus missed his chance to sign the deal or talk to VT.

Also alarming is the speed with which Weaver hired Greenberg. Although Weaver took the time to meet with both Lebo and Baron face-to-face and interview them, he didn't call USF and ask for permission to speak to Greenberg until yesterday morning -- and about 30 hours later, he was announcing Greenberg as the new head coach.

One wonders if Weaver and Greenberg had some discussions off the record before beginning the official process, though Greenberg attributed the speed of the hire to the fact that he knew Jim Weaver from Weaver's days at UNLV, when Greenberg was at Long Beach State.

Seth Greenberg may turn out to be a great hire for Virginia Tech. We won't know until four or five years from now. One thing that will help him is for VT to spend more money on their basketball program. The $1.6 million figure needs to be at least $2 million or $2.5 million for Greenberg to be competitive in the Big East. VT's paltry $30,000 recruiting budget, which essentially prohibits recruiting players outside of driving range and is a drain on the coaches, must be increased, and the travel budget, which to this point has included no money for charter flights, must be increased.

One thing that is not in doubt is the perception among many Hokie faithful that Jim Weaver botched the hiring process, and Greenberg is not the up-and-comer that so many wanted. Candidates like Lebo and Baron, with proven track records for building winners in tough situations, would have been openly welcomed. A candidate like Everhart, a Hokie alum, would have also been welcomed back to VT with open arms.

Seth Greenberg, unfortunately, is already behind the eight ball, facing an uphill climb with a large contingent of Hokie fans who are not pleased with his hiring. He will be looked at with a skeptical eye, and he must prove himself before the majority of the Hokie fan base will rally behind him.

In addition to having a reputation among some as a good recruiter, and in addition to being fiery and intense, Greenberg also has a reputation as being a good salesman for his basketball program.

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