Over the last three years, the Blue Devils have added another team to their list of ACC rivals-not because Duke and Virginia Tech are separated by eight miles, but because their games have been so competitive.
In December 2005, Sean Dockery made a half-court heave at the buzzer to lift Duke to a 77-75 win. In January 2006, Deron Washington jumped over Greg Paulus and the Hokies beat the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Last year, Duke avenged the loss with an 81-64 beatdown in Blacksburg, Va.
And this year, for the first time since 2004-2005, the teams will have two shots at one another.
The Hokies, who visit Durham Jan. 4 and host Duke Feb. 28, start this season rated sixth in the ACC under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Seth Greenberg, the 2008 ACC coach of the year.
If the Hokies hope to continue their newfound rivalry with Duke, they will have to do so with a young lineup. A.D. Vassallo, who averaged around 17 points per game last season, is one of only two seniors on the team. The four other projected starters are sophomores Malcolm Delaney, J.T. Thompson, Jeff Allen and Hank Thorns.
What the team lacks in seniority, however, it makes up for in size. Thompson measures in at 6-foot-6, Allen is 6-foot-7 and freshman Victor Davila, a member of the Puerto Rican national team, is 6-foot-9. In addition, Allen and Davila both weigh in at over 240 pounds.
The squad's sophomores played a monumental role in securing Virginia Tech's 21-14 record last season. Allen, one of the strongest players in the conference as a freshman-he averaged 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game-is reported to have lost 28 pounds over the summer in an effort to become even more of a threat on the court. Delaney is more of a perimeter player, and showed consistency behind the three-point line by making more than 40 percent of his shots.
Over the past few years, as Duke can affirm, the Hokies have continued to improve. In the ACC tournament last year, Virginia Tech lost to No. 1 North Carolina by just two points.
And if Vassallo, Allen and the rest of the youthful Hokies can handle the pressure of ACC play, their games with the Blue Devils could be as competitive as ever.
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