r-Senior (Transfer) | Guard | 6′4″ | 205 lbs. | Blacksburg, VA

Today we take a brief look at the career of Marcus Travis, a redshirt-senior who transferred to Virginia Tech from Oxnard Junior College in California. On Monday, we will turn our focus to the only other senior and the 2007-08 face of the VT program: Deron Washington.

Stats: Marcus Travis

He’s a local boy! Three time letter winner at Blacksburg High School. How can you not root for him? I’d love to say more about Marcus than what is mentioned below, but honestly, how much can you say about a guy that’s played 53 total minutes with 7 career points?

Mr. Travis did let me arm-curl him though at the 23rd Annual Hokie Celebration on February 23rd, 2008! Top Row, 2nd Pic from the Left

2007-08:
- Was awarded a scholarship for his senior season.
- Gave up #23 for Malcolm Delaney
- Hit a three against gwu. His second career three-pointer. Marcus’s first and only points of the season (so far, but look out!).
- Had a career high 2 rebounds against unc-g.

2006-07:
- Marcus hit a three against coppin state for his only three points of the season.
- Greenberg did a great thing by letting Marcus play at the end of the wake forest game in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament and in the so-ill game in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. Now Marcus can tell his grandkids he played in both some day.

2005-06: Scored a bucket against radford (gotta be a big rival to a Blacksburg native… throw out the records… lots of bad blood) for his only points of the year.

He missed all but one game in 2004-05 with tendonitis in his left knee and got a medical redshirt.

Marcus attended Oxnard Junior College and averaged 13 points and six boards before transferring to VT as a walk-on.

Let’s show him our support on Tuesday and pack the Cassell!

PLEASE EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!  Voting will run through Monday until 11:59 PM.  The winning highlight will be announced on Tuesday.

We know that Deron Washington still has at least three more games left in a Virginia Tech jersey and that means plenty of opportunities to add to his lengthy list of highlight-reel plays, but we wanted to see which of his more popular plays is most memorable to the Hokie fans.

We set up a special post for each of the following six highlights. To vote for your favorite highlight, just click on the link below and then give it a five-star rating at the bottom of the post. This is an honor system poll, so please only rate one video. If you rate more than two, Niemo will be reprogrammed to hunt you down and arm-curl you. Of course we’re kidding … but not really. Remember, do not rate each highlight, only the one you are voting for. Ratings don’t matter, it is the number of people that rated a highlight that will decide the winner.

In the spirit of the Oscars, the nominees for “Best Deron Washington Highlight in a Virginia Tech Uniform” are…

Choice A: Deron’s Dunk Over bc’s Tyrelle Blair (2/3/07)

Choice B: Deron’s Dunk at the Cassell vs. bc (2/21/07)

Choice C: Deron’s Dunk at georgia tech (1/19/08)

Choice D: Deron’s Game-Winner at uva (1/16/08)

Choice E: Deron’s Windmill Jam Against gwu (12/9/07)

Choice F: Deron Jumps Over duke’s Greg Paulus … Twice (1/6/07)

Honorable Mention to Deron’s put-back dunk at the end of regulation against uva in the Cassell this year and his accidental bank shot in the NCAA Tournament last year against illinois to put VT ahead in the final minute.

Thanks to ThillyGooth for the idea!

With 10 days left in the ACC regular season, let’s take a look at where the Hokies could be seeded for the ACC Tourney.  Tech could finish anywhere from 3rd to 8th.  And yes, Virginia Tech still has a great shot at a bye.  Yes, I’m talking about byes!  It’s as simple as this: if the Hokies win their final two games, they have a bye.  Now let’s look at the other scenarios.

First off, let’s eliminate unc and duke.  They will be the top two seeds in the tournament and no one has a shot at catching them.

Next, let’s send fsu, nc state, bc, and uva packing.  They cannot possibly finish ahead of VT in the final standings. 

That leaves us with five teams Tech is jockeying with for position.  To steal a baseball term, I’ll give you the “magic number”, along with who will own the tiebreaker.  Magic number equals the combination of Hokie wins and opponent’s losses it would take for VT to clinch finishing higher than them:

 

Let’s look at the games remaining and what the teams must do to beat out VT: 

• georgia tech has four games remaining, must win out, have VT lose both, and have clemson finish ahead of maryland in the standings to finish ahead of the Hokies.  So let’s go ahead and eliminate them.
• wake owns the tiebreaker over VT, thanks to their earlier win over the Hokies and their win over duke (beating a higher seed is a secondary tiebreaker).  The deacs are @ georgia tech, @ VT, and have nc state at home.  That’s a pretty easy schedule outside of VT, so the Hokies really need to win next Tuesday to finish ahead of wake.  If the Hokies TCB against wake, Tech clinches finishing ahead of them.
• miami has the easiest schedule of any of these teams with uva and bc at home, and finishing at fsu.  They could easily go 3-0.  But if the Hokies can beat wake, I think that will be enough assuming miami loses one of those three games.
• maryland has clemson at home this Sunday, then travels to uva next Sunday.  The winner of the md/clemson game will be sitting pretty in terms of earning one of the final two byes.  If VT and the terps finish tied, Tech has the tiebreaker thanks to the sweep.
• clemson has the big game at maryland, a trip to ga tech, and VT at home to finish.  The winner of the VT @ clemson game will obviously have the tiebreaker, so no matter what happens in the next nine days, the Hokies must beat the tigers to finish ahead of them.  And if the Hokies lose to wake and clemson beats maryland and the jackets, Tech will not be able to catch the tigers even with a win.  But Tech could still finish 4th even in that scenario and get a bye.

In summary, no matter what happens in the wake game, the Hokies will still have a chance at a bye.  And depending on what happens this weekend, VT may be able to clinch a bye with a win against wake.  If uva beats miami and clemson beats maryland, the Hokies will earn their third First Round bye in four years with a win against the deacons.  Or win both remaining games and everything else is moot, the Hokies have their bye.

When I sat down to write this column, I was going to lead (or “lede” for my fellow press box jockeys) with: “Go ahead and give Seth Greenberg the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year Award. There isn’t another coach in the ACC that deserves it more.”

But, as I started doing my research, I discovered that there are really three very worthy candidates for the award … if the season were to end today.

The three coaches are Virginia Tech’s Greenberg, miami’s Frank Haith, and wake forest’s Dino Gaudio. Each of these men has taken his team to heights not thought possible before the 2007-08 season tipped off.

The Hokies, hurricanes, and demon deacons were picked to finish 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively, in the ACC prior to the season. As of today, Virginia Tech (8-6, 17-11) is alone in 4th place, while the deacs (6-6, 16-9) are in sixth, and the canes (6-7, 19-6) are in seventh. Tech and wake have a chance to finish 10-6 if they win out, but it will be a more difficult road for the deacons, who finish the season with maryland at home (2/28), then georgia tech (3/1) and Virginia Tech (3/4) on the road, before returning home to close out the season against in-state rival nc state (3/8). miami has three games left: the next two at home against virginia (3/1) and boston college (3/5), and then on the road against florida state (3/8).

I think Haith is on the outside looking in, right now. Unless his team can win out and finish 9-7 in the conference, I’m not sure he has a shot — an honorable effort worthy of mention, but not ACC COY material this season. Especially if Greenberg can win at least one of his final two games and finish 9-7. However, if wake forest can split their final four games and finish 8-8, I think Gaudio will get COY and I can’t argue with that decision.

We’re talking about a team that tragically lost their head coach Skip Prosser to a heart attack before the season started. Gaudio had so many unknowns to overcome … and he overcame them. Gaudio inherited a team picked to finish dead last in the ACC — he has them in sixth place, with a shot at finishing 10-6, which would probably put them in third place. Even 8-8 would be a major accomplishment, especially with a big win over duke on the resume. Gaudio is the sentimental favorite and I doubt anyone would argue against it.

Meanwhile, a compelling argument can also be made for Greenberg. The Hokies are the youngest team in the ACC with seven freshman, three sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. The guys who actually play quality minutes includes six freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one senior. Those six freshman represent 55 percent of the minutes for the team.

With two games left in the regular season, the Hokies are in fourth place in the ACC at 8-6 and 17-11 overall. Tech has two games left on the schedule: at home next Tuesday vs. wake forest, before closing out the season on the road against clemson on March 9.

Regardless of what the Hokies do in the final two contests, Seth Greenberg would be a solid choice for the ACC Coach of the Year, an honor he first earned during Tech’s inaugural season in college basketball’s best conference (2004-2005) when the Hokies went 8-8. To play .500 ball with six freshman playing more than half of your minutes is truly amazing for any team in any conference, but to do it in the ACC is truly impressive and the mark of an outstanding coaching staff.

Of course, the Hokies lack a marquee win this season unless they can steal a road victory against clemson. The canes and deacs both have wins over duke, which could be the deciding factor if all three teams finish above .500. However, if the Hokies finish 10-6 in the ACC and end up third in the final regular season standings behind unc and duke, lock up ACC COY for Greenberg. Otherwise, I think Gaudio gets it as long as he finishes 8-8.

The Virginia Tech athletics department announced today that all students, faculty and staff members are invited to attend the Hokies’ men’s basketball game against wake forest on Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. They will not need tickets, but they will need a valid Virginia Tech ID card to get into the game. Each student, faculty and staff member will be allowed to bring one guest (who will not need a Tech ID).

Don’t worry if you have tickets to the game - you will have priority seating. If someone is occupying your seats when you arrive, they must move. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and fans are encouraged to get there early for the Hokies’ final home game of the season.

The athletics department changed the normal ticket policy in the hopes that fans will pack the Cassell for the senior night and give Deron Washington and Marcus Travis a proper send-off. This game is being played during Tech’s spring break, so the majority of students will not be in Blacksburg.

Read the official release for more details.

TechHoops.com Recap | Box Score

The Hokies locked up at least a .500 season in ACC play with a win over the iggles Tuesday night. My game ball goes to Lewis Witcher who played like a man possessed tonight. His play has really improved during the last three games and it appears that not only is his confidence growing, but he also seems to be having fun out there.

Box Score

The Hokies used a 19-3 run in the opening 5+ minutes of the second half to blow out the boston college eagles by a final score of 67-48. It marks the first time that the Hokies have swept bc EVER. bc couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn tonight, and had very little second chance opportunities as Tech out-rebounded bc 46-31.

It took the Hokies 20 minutes to break out of the same offensive funk that bc found itself in for the whole game. The first field goal did not occur until 15:52 left in the half. A.D. Vassallo did not score his first points until the second half. In fact, A.D. only took three shots in the first half. Vassallo ended up with 12 points, 2 of 4 from behind the arc.

The highlights tonight were from the post players. Jeff Allen recorded his second double-double in ACC play in his first opportunity to play against bc with 13 points and 10 boards. J.T. Thompson who had a break out game the last time the Hokies beat the eagles, also came up big tonight with 13 points and 5 boards in only 18 minutes. Thompson appears to be taking the torch from Deron when it comes to monster dunks. He had a couple nice ones in the second half tonight, including one that resulted in a warning from the refs after Thompson hung on the rim slightly longer than necessary. It was sweet though. Lewis Witcher, who got the start tonight, was active on both ends of the court. Witcher had 6 points, 5 boards, and 4 blocks.

Niemo’s Notes (Presented by Niemo):
- The second half of this game was déjà vu of the second half in last year’s bc @ VT game where VT just blew the doors off the eagles to start the half.
- The Hokies are 11-0 when leading at the half, including 4-0 in ACC play (yes, that’s right, they’ve only led at the half in 4 of the 14 ACC games and 2 were against bc).
- Other victory formula? Win/tie the rebounding margin, turnover margin, and free throw attempt battle. VT won/tied all three categories tonight: +17 on rebounds, tied on turnovers, and +4 on free throw attempts. VT is 6-0 when winning/tying all three in ACC play.
- Hank Thorns had a career high 7 assists. That is just 1 behind Malcolm Delaney’s team season high 8 assists against charleston southern.
- Jeff Allen had his eighth double-double and second in ACC play. He has two in his last three games. With his 2 steals tonight, he is 2 steals away from setting the VT freshman record for steals.
- Deron Washington’s 10 points moved him into the #20 spot on the VT career scoring list. He will move into the #19 spot with his next 2 points. His shot selection has been much better the last several games.
- VT continues to push the tempo. They outscored bc 19-6 on fastbreak points. In the first half, the results weren’t positive, but in the second half, VT destroyed a tired, thin bc team on the break and got several easy dunks.
- The Hokies only had 8 turnovers in 45 minutes at bc. Tech had 6 turnovers in the first 7 minutes tonight, but settled down and only had 14 turnovers for the game.
- I’m going out on a limb and guessing Lewis Witcher’s 4 blocks were a season high. He also had 6 points and 5 rebounds and played a solid game.
- VT is now 8-15 in ACC games all time decided by 10+ points.
- Tech had 50+ rebounds in both games against bc, the only times all season they’ve passed that mark.
- Downside: VT was only 2/13 on threes. Guys not named Vassallo were 0/9.
- Good: bc shot just 31%. This looked like the Hokie D from earlier in the season.
- Down: Jeff Allen, despite still being over 50% on FGs for the season, is just 15/46 in his last four games.
- Good: VT was -50 in rebounding margin in their recent 3 game losing streak, but are +36 in their 3 game winning streak.
- REALLY Good: VT is 8-6 in ACC play. Amazing. Seriously, amazing. If they can win at home against wake on Senior Night next Tuesday (they have this weekend off), this team picked to finish 10th will lock up a winning record in ACC play. If VT does that, just go ahead and give Seth the ACC COY trophy then.

Around The World (Wide Web)
Hokies continue their renaissance | The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
Hokies ruffle Eagles’ feathers | Collegiate Times
Virginia Tech drubs Boston College, 67-48 | AP

THE SETUP

Printable Roster Card: bc at VT Roster Card

First Meeting: VT 81, bc 73 (OT)

The Hokies scored a stunning win in Boston, their first ever win there, without the services of Jeff Allen, who was suspended.  The Hokies had less than 48 hours to get ready for this game having gotten waxed by duke two days earlier.  Tech played one of their best first halves of the season, jumping out to a 41-33 halftime lead.  The eagles quickly got back in the game and sent things to overtime with a late three from freshman Rakim Sanders.  But the resilient Hokies dominated overtime, outscoring the eagles 15-7.  The key was rebounding - VT had 20 offensive rebounds in the game and outrebounded the eagles 51-42.  Tech also took care of the ball, committing just 8 turnovers. 

Hank Thorns had 9 of his 11 points in OT.  A.D. Vassallo and J.T. Thompson each had double-doubles and Deron Washington played his best game of the season offensively with 19 points.  Tyrese Rice led the eagles with 27, but was shutdown by Thorns in the final 15 minutes.

THE NUMBERS

Read more »

Photo Gallery: 23rd Hokie Celebration 

There are some great annual traditions in sports: The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, WrestleMania, notre dame losing its bowl game (if they even make one).  And now, a new tradition is born: Niemo arm-curling the departing seniors at the Hokie Celebration.  Or at least it will continue until he gets banned from the event Luther Campbell/miami style.
 
Let Niemo be your escort on a tour of the 23rd Annual Hokie Celebration, sponsored by the Hokie Club.  The event took place on Saturday, February 23rd as part of the georgia tech game.

Photos include: Niemo arm-curling the 2 seniors, former Tech Baseball Head Coach Chuck Hartman, Mike Burnop, a ton of player shots, Head Coach Seth Greenberg, Deron’s Mom (even the players’ parents love TechHoops.com!), former player Allen Calloway, BMOC Tyrod Taylor, and more!

And for those of you that can’t get enough, here’s last year’s gallery: 22nd Hokie Celebration - 2007

As expected, Hidden Valley (Ben Boggs) and Millbrook (Erick Green) won the River Ridge and Northwestern District Tournaments respectively.  Each school was the top seed in their tournament and won the regular season title.  But both teams needed overtime to take care of business in the championship game.   Hidden Valley defeated Blacksburg 57-51 behind 16 points and 10 rebounds from Boggs.  Millbrook won 78-75 over Handley.

Both teams are now 24-1 on the season as they enter the regional tournament.  Both schools are Virginia AA schools, so they are on a colision course to meet in the state tournament, with Millbrook ranked #1 in AA.

2009 Recruiting Class