Are you the Ultimate Red Sox Fan? Enter your photo in our contest and you could win fan-tastic prizes.
In case you missed it in the paper or on the website today, here is the link to my story about Luke Hancock and his family — how despite his father’s battle with cancer, the family is in good spirits these days thanks to Luke’s play.
Hokies coach James Johnson told me this morning (Wednesday) that Virginia Tech will play in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in November. The New York foursome will also include Michigan State, Seton Hall and Oklahoma.
Tech will play two games in Blacskburg against yet-to-be-named foes as part of the event, but Tech is assured of going to Brooklyn and facing the big-league opposition no matter how it does in the Cassell Coliseum part.
The Brooklyn part will be Nov. 22-23 and air on truTV.
VMI’s Stan Okoye and William Fleming graduate Jamelle Hagins of Delaware will be among the 64 pro prospects showing their wares at the 61st annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Churchland High School in Portsmouth.
The PIT is for players who are not considered locks for the NBA draft. It gives them the chance to play games in front of NBA scouts and executives. The players will be divided among eight teams.
Other players of note invited to this year’s tournament include Clemson’s Devin Booker, Wichita State’s Carl Hall, Miami’s Durand Scott, Temple’s Khalif Wyatt and North Carolina State’s Richard Howell and Scott Wood.
Congrats to Hidden Valley graduate Luke Hancock, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four as he helped Louisville beat Michigan for the NCAA championship. Hancock had 22 points Monday to go with his 20 points Saturday.
Looking forward to my fourth Hancock interview of the season, but for now here is a link to the story I did on him last week and the one I did on him last month.
Last month: http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/1772608-12/luke-hancock-finds-his-niche-at-louisville.html
I have two things in the paper and on the website today I’d like to share with you if you have not seen them already. First is a revised link to my feature on Cave Spring grad Gregg Marshall of Wichita State, focusing on his Roanoke years. And then is a link to scouting reports on the Final Four teams, provided by players and coaches of opponents
http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/1833602-12/final-four-inside-information.html
I interviewed Hidden Valley High School graduate Luke Hancock of Louisville on Wednesday — here is the link to the story.
I interviewed Salem grad and Mark Byington about leaving his job as a VT assistant for the Georgia Southern head coaching job. Here is the link to the story in today’s paper and elsewhere online:
Erick Green was named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press. Here is a link to my interview with him on the honor. This link should work, I was told the previous link no longer does:
Erick Green has been named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press. This is only the second time a Hokie has earned anything better than All-America honorable mention — Dell Curry made the first team in 1986.
Here are the teams:
Statistics through March 17
First Team
Trey Burke, Michigan, 6-0, 190, sophomore, Columbus, Ohio, 19.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 6.7 apg, 40.1 3-pt fg pct, 1.6 steals, 35.2 minutes (62 first-team votes, 319 total points)
Otto Porter Jr., Georgetown, 6-8, 205, sophomore, Morley, Mo., 16.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 42.7 3 pt-fg pct, 1.9 steals, 35.3 minutes (62, 319)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana, 6-5, 214, junior, Upper Marlboro, Md., 13.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 59.9 fg pct, 44.3 3-pt fg pct, 2.2 steals (58, 306)
Doug McDermott, Creighton, 6-8, 225, junior, Ames, Iowa, 23.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 56.1 fg pct, 49.7 3-pt fg pct, 86.0 ft pct (44, 279)
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga, 7-0, 238, junior, Kamloops, British Columbia, 17.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 65.2 fg pct (47, 278)
Second Team
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State, 6-4, 225, freshman, Flower Mound, Texas, 15.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.9 steals (11, 190)
Cody Zeller, Indiana, 7-0, 240, sophomore, Washington, Ind., 16.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 57.3 fg pct, 1.3 blocks (7, 178)
Mason Plumlee, Duke, 6-10, 235, senior, Warsaw, Ind., 17.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 59.2 fg pct, 1.5 blocks (9, 164)
Shane Larkin, Miami, 5-11, 176, sophomore, Orlando, Fla., 14.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.3 apg, 40.1 3-pt fg pct, 2.0 steals, 36.3 minutes (5, 152)
Ben McLemore, Kansas, 6-5, 195, freshman, St. Louis, 16.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 50.7 fg pct, 43.7 3-pt fg pct, 86.7 ft pct (5, 146)
Third Team
DeShaun Thomas, Ohio State, 6-7, 215, junior, Fort Wayne, Ind., 19.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 83.6 ft pct, 35.3 minutes (3, 122)
Jeff Withey, Kansas, 7-0, 235, senior, San Diego, 13.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 57.8 fg pct, 3.8 blocks (5, 114)
Russ Smith, Louisville, 6-0, 165, junior, Brooklyn, N.Y., 18.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 steals (2, 80)
Erick Green, Virginia Tech, 6-3, 185, senior, Winchester, Va., 25.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 36.4 minutes (1, 46)
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State, 6-4, 190, senior, St. Cloud, Minn., 22.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.8 apg, 1.7 steals, 37.9 minutes (0, 36)
The Georgia Southern athletic director has confirmed to the Savannah newspaper the hiring of Va. Tech assistant Mark Byington, a Salem High School graduate, as Georgia Southern’s new coach.
