One of our favorite publications is the ACC Area Sports Journal, and one of the things they do best is cover ACC basketball recruiting, with noted basketball recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger. The latest issue of the ACC Area Sports Journal, and the information it contains on hoops recruiting, should give Hokie fans pause and illustrate what a mountain Seth Greenberg's team has to climb in their new league.

As of right now, the Hokies have begun to fill in the voids currently found in the four (power forward) and five (center) spots. Coach Greenberg has made it apparent that his No. 1 priority with respect to recruiting is finding depth for the post positions.

The Hokies enter the 2004-05 season with a solid 2004 recruiting class in the likes of Marquie Cooke, Wynton Witherspoon, Deron Washington and Robert Krabbendam. These four players are guys who can come in and play vital roles for Tech from day one.

Greenberg is in the midst of rebuilding the Virginia Tech basketball program that is now part of the most elite collegiate conference in the country—this is no easy task. One of the most important aspects of elevating the status of any basketball program is the ability to bring in talent that can help build and maintain a winning mentality on the basketball court.

The Hokies' 2004 recruiting class was ranked anywhere from 5th to 7th in the 12-team ACC (the league including Boston College), though it should be noted that the ranking included JUCO hotshot Justin Holt, who has since been dismissed from the team. At this point, though, the 2005 recruiting class isn't shaping up as strong. Brick Oettinger’s analysis of the ACC’s recruiting for the class of 2005 breaks down like this:

Both of Tech’s commitments fall somewhere between 250 and 300 in the rankings for the class of 2005. The other seniors Greenberg and his staff are after do not rank much higher than that, with the exception of Uche Echefu and Quinton Thorton.

Considering selling points such as a team on the rise, a recent move into the ACC and television exposure, it is troublesome that only one elite player is considering the Hokies as a college destination.

A look at the majority of Tech’s opponents in the ACC shows what kind of talent these schools can pull in on an annual basis. It should not be overlooked that Duke and North Carolina will pull in the country’s best athletes without having to hunt them down—the best of the best want to play at these schools.

However, when it is obvious that schools like Clemson and Miami (both far from heavy-hitters in Division-I basketball) are pulling in top talent, better than VT per the recruiting rankings, it should cause concern.

It is vital that Greenberg and his staff can recruit players that will allow Tech to exceed the successes of schools such as Clemson, Miami, Virginia and Boston College. If the Hokies can find their way to the middle of the ACC standings at the end of a basketball season (and not get robbed of a spot in a post season tournament), there is the possibility of the sky being the limit for Virginia Tech basketball.

What also should not be overlooked is the ability of Seth Greenberg to coach the talent he has corralled to Blacksburg. If last season was any indication that the coach can make the best of what he has to work with, Tech has the possibility of a very bright future in years to come—but the road to success would be traversed much easier with the guidance of top high school talent like Marquie Cooke.

It is interesting to guess how the future of Tech basketball will play out. In every conference, there are powerhouses and the teams those powerhouses feed on. While it seems apparent Tech will be the latter for the most part in the beginning, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

What most Hokie basketball supporters are hoping for is that Coach Greenberg can continue to put together seasons like he did in his first year at Tech to arouse interest in future talent that is currently rising up in high schools coast to coast, instead of putting together recruiting classes that rank near the bottom of the league.

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