"Don't Be A Jerk," and other expectations for Hokie Hoops

If you've already read eleventy billion articles about Seth Greenberg getting whacked, skip the next 3 paragraphs. If not, here's a quick recap of the undebatable facts:

Classy.

Seth Greenberg is Mark Mangino (pictured above, eating his starting tailback).  He took a lousy no-account program at a school devoted to the other "big-money" sport, and made that lousy no-account program relevant.  He's also a dick who pissed off his boss, and that's never a great career strategy.

Classy.

Having said that, the way Jim Weaver handled this situation was JV at best, bush league at worst.  So Weaver wants to fire Greenberg because assistants were leaving, there was no family atmosphere, and (insert cliche here).  Fine.  Great.  Wonderful.  He should have done it in March, then gone to the Final Four and waved a checkbook at Shaka Smart.  Now it's late April, the coaching carousel has stopped, and we're halfway through recruiting season.  By waiting 5 weeks to come to that conclusion, Hokie hoops has been set back 5 years.

Oh, and one more thing:  It's cool by me if Weaver wants to be icy and make Greenberg the last to know about his own firing (after informing the president, the program admin, the media, his kids, and his dog).  But to do that, then say the words "family atmosphere" 12 times during the press conference?  That shit cray.

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Recently, I had a classy discussion of Greenberggate with fellow H'nHer Trav Q. Travicopter.  Before it devolved into a row over penis size, I was asked (from an outsider's perspective) what VT basketball's "ceiling" is.

It's a question that I've pondered for a while now.  It's an important question, and one that Weaver and the entire Hokie fanbase should think about very carefully when considering a new coach:

What are the expectations for Hokie Hoops?

Cheater.

I admit that until I moved to Blacksburg, I knew zilch about VT basketball.  Looking at the history of the program, it appears that the late 70s and early 80s were the high-water mark.  Charlie Moir (above) guided the Hokies to 4 tourney appearances in his 11 years, making the 2nd round twice.  He also left the hoops program on probation, after a scandal involving faked credit hours and a car loan.  So hey, maybe Beamer is right after all!  Maybe Virginia Tech really IS like U$C!  (I keed, I keed.)

With 1 tourney appearance in 9 years (plus at least 3 near-misses), Greenberg was not in Moir's category yet.  However, Moir did not have to coach or recruit against the ACC.  And Greenberg held his own against extremely tough ACC competition.  Greenberg also oversaw the construction of a top-notch practice facility.  At a school where football comes 1st through 5th, this accomplishment should not be overlooked.

Highlight of the Greenberg era?

So where does this leave the VT basketball program in 2012?  What are reasonable expectations?

The "BEST YEARS EVAR OMG" saw the Hokies go dancing once every 2-3 years, and never getting past the 2nd round.  They also had to cheat a bit to get there, which might offend some with delicate sensibilities about D-1 athletics.  (e.g. Trav)

After 15 mostly dark years, Greenberg was hired.  While he didn't consistently match Moir's success, he certainly raised expectations.  He recruited extremely well, and won a lot of games.  He was a good (not great) coach, and he proved that good coaches can win in Blacksburg, even against the ACC.

Oh no!  We suck again!

From this "outsider's" perspective, I thought Greenberg did remarkably well with the hand he was dealt.  Many fans didn't like Greenberg’s dickish manner on and off-court, but he didn't cheat and won a lot of games.  Many fans were disappointed with the Hokies' repeated trips to the NIT, but that's actually a direct example of Greenberg raising the bar at VT.  While he only hit the ceiling once (2nd round of NCAAs), his tenure as a whole should be considered an over-achievement.

Hokie fans shouldn't expect ACC titles, and probably never will.  But thanks to Greenberg, they now expect the following:

• Winning records
• Competitive teams
• Being in the discussion on Selection Sunday

That's it!  Pretty reasonable, right?

"...and then I'll slit your throat like this!  Don't EVER bring me decaf again!!!"

Unfortunately, every job also has one universal expectation:  Don't be a jerk.  A basketball coach, like any other employee, needs to get along with their boss and co-workers.  And after taking one month to realize that Greenberg is a total jerk, VT now has to find someone willing to take on a program with an empty staff, a brainless AD, and recruiting halfway over.

If I'm an up-and-coming coach considering VT as a next step, this is what I see:

PROS:

• The ACC. A chance to prove myself in the best basketball conference in the country.
• Totally pimp practice facility. A brand new world-class building dedicated solely for my basketball program.
• The fans. While they might not be rabid basketball fans, and the arena might be 2/3 empty for several games, they do get raucous for big matchups.

CONS:

• Football school. Constantly in a very large shadow, fighting for funds and attention.
• The arena kinda sucks. 50 years old, no major remodels.  Sits on that line between "quaint" and "shithole."
• High degree-of-difficulty for recruiting. A good recruiter can succeed here (see: Greenberg), but it ain't easy.  Would need to recruit against lots of hoops-centric schools in the region, and convince recruits to come to a small, remote, football-centric town.
• Bad boss.  Athletic director is a douche.

With all the tools present, VT only needs a good coach in order to meet its relatively reasonable expectations.  The problem is, with the way the firing went down (late and messy), Weaver is going to find it very difficult to hire a decent coach. Let alone a good one.

Godspeed, Hokie hoops.  See y'all in 2017.