Sounds like Deron might want to hit up the Rosetta Stone kiosk at the mall…

Deron Headed Overseas?

Manny Atkins Notes:

Doug Doughty of the Roanoke Times wrote about new VT 2009 verbal Manny Atkins in his weekly recruiting article: Notebook Plus: Manny Atkins a Book Worm?

Congrats to Deron Washington, who was picked in the second round of tonight’s NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Deron was the first Hokie picked in the NBA Draft since Eddie Lucas was drafted 58th overall by the Utah Jazz in 1999.

I have to admit that I was surprised by the pick, only because the so-called experts were not calling for it. ESPN.com writes, “Washington is one of the most athletic guards in the draft — an explosive leaper, but just a so-so player. I doubt he’ll stick, but he does have physical tools.” We’ll see about that.

Here is a list of all the Hokies ever drafted:

1. Chris Smith, 14th overall, 1961, Syracuse (2nd round)
2. Dell Curry, 15th overall, 1986, Utah (1st round)
3. Allan Bristow, 21st overall, 1973, Philadelphia (2nd round)
4. Wayne Robinson, 31st overall, 1980, LA Lakers (2nd round)
5. Bimbo Coles, 40th overall, 1990, Sacramento (2nd round)
6. Larry Cooke, 46th overall, 1976, Atlanta (3rd round)
7. Keith Colbert, 56th overall, 1986, Philadelphia (3rd round)
8. Eddie Lucas, 58th overall, 1999, Utah (2nd round)
9. Deron Washington, 59th overall, 2008, Detroit (2nd round)

Niemo’s Notes:

• Hey!  Now I’ve arm-curled a NBA Draftee!  So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
• Based on trends, does this mean another Hokie won’t get drafted until 2017?  (1990 - Coles, ‘99 - Lucas, and ‘08 - Washington)
• With the way Detroit plays (suffocating defense), Deron has the right system for him.  He has a chance to make the squad, but it is an up-hill battle.  He needs to be a lockdown defender in the NBA Summer Leagues and into camp.
• It is interesting to look at that list above and realize VT has only had one 1st Round selection ever.  Even Bimbo Coles, who was VT’s first ever Olympian while at Tech and went on to have a long NBA career, was a 2nd-Rounder.
• # of duke and unc players drafted combined: 0; VT: 1.  File that under “may never see that again.”  And yes, I realize hansbrough, Lawson, and Ellington all would have been drafted had they stayed in it, but they didn’t.
• The ACC only had 4 players drafted total and only J.J. Hickson of nc state (#19 overall) went in the first round.  uva’s sean singletary and md’s james gist went in the 2nd Round with Deron.  By comparison, the ACC had 6 First-Rounders last year alone and 9 players drafted overall.  In 2006, it was 3 First-Rounders and 6 overall for the ACC.

Nice article about Deron Washington’s preparation for the 2008 NBA Draft (Thursday, June 26th) and his prospects of getting taken in the 2nd (and final) Round.

Roanoke Times

As I mentioned a few days ago, no Hokie has been drafted since 1999 (Eddie Lucas - Utah Jazz - 2nd Round) and before that it was Bimbo Coles in 1990.

Update: Here’s an article I found on Manny from December 2007…

Manny in the Orlando Sentinel

Original Story:

It didn’t take the Hokies long to fill Kendall Durant’s scholarship.  With the news Durant would not be attending VT next year, a scholarship opened up.  That scholarship was quickly snatched up by Class of 2009 recruit Manny Atkins.  Manny is a 6′6″ small forward from Stone Mountain, Georgia. 

Manny is a 3-star recruit according to Rivals.com and Scout.com.  Scout.com has him as the #20 small forward in the 2009 Class.  He averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds per game last season as a junior.

Atkins (Tucker HS) becomes the fourth VT recruit from the Stone Mountain/Eastern Atlanta area in the last seven recruiting classes, joining Class of 2003 signee Coleman Collins (Chamblee HS - signed by ricky stokes), 2005 signee/ gwu transfer Wynton Witherspoon (Lilburn, GA/Berkmar HS), and 2007 signee Terrell Bell (Stone Mountain HS).  Based on that, expect another greater Atlanta prospect to join the Hokies in 2011!

Seth Greenberg will be part of the Fox Sports Radio NBA Draft coverage this Thursday night.  Will he get the chance to talk about Deron Washington being drafted?  Probably not (he isn’t mentioned in any mock draft I’ve seen), but there’s always hope.  The coverage will go from 7-10 PM EDT.

Hokiesports.com Article

NBA DRAFT NOTES

No Hokie has been taken in the NBA Draft since 1999, when Eddie Lucas went to the Utah Jazz in the 2nd Round.  Before that, Bimbo Coles was the last Hokie drafted back in 1990 to the Sacramento Kings (so it took 9 years and it has been another 9 years since Lucas was selected… fate?).

CollegeHoopsNet.com has Deron ranked #76 of eligible prospects in this draft (there are only 2 rounds and 60 picks).

 

The Roanoke Times thinks so. While that might be a crazy comparison, the article gets you excited to see Davilia’s actions both on and off the court.

[Niemo’s Note: I’d rather NOT see, or hear, about his actions off the court, Wick.  No news is good news in my book with any athlete these days since the media rarely talks about good kids doing good things.]

Check out our new photo gallery page with all of our photos since the site launched in January 2007. You can view each photo individually within the site or in a slide show format. We’ve also tagged each photo so you can view a set of photos by season, player, game, or event. You can even check out all of Niemo’s arm curls.

With the news that 2008 signee Kendall Durant, a guard from the DC area via New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire, will not enroll at Virginia Tech, the cupboard remains bare in the backcourt for VT for at least another year. 

This will leave just two from the 2008 Class - Victor Davila and Gene Swindle, both of which are big men and will leave a hole at the guard position until the two 2009 signees (Ben Boggs and Erick Green) arrive.

Personally, I think the Hokies desperately needed another guard for next season.  Hank Thorns has not shown he is an ACC caliber guard, but he is VT’s best ball-handler.  Malcolm Delaney is better at shooting guard, but will have to continue to eat up minutes at the point next year.

A scholarship is now available for either immediate help, or could be used to sign someone for the 2009 Class.  While it is unlikely Tech will sign someone this late for next season, they do have some recent history with this.  Hank Thorns did not commit or sign with VT until May 30th last year. 

For next season, expect Thorns and Delaney to split time at the point while Delaney and Hudson play the 2.  Terrell Bell and possibly even A.D. Vassallo might also get time at the shooting guard spot, though they are a better fit as a 3.

Looking ahead, Erick Green is more of a point guard than Ben Boggs.  Expect him to challenge Thorns for the starting point guard spot for the 2009-10 season, with Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson at shooting guard.

The Roanoke Times is reporting that 2008 signee Kendall Durant will not be enrolling at Virginia Tech this year. According to the article, Durant will enroll in junior college next year. Read more of the Roanoke Times article.

With the exception of gus “whichever way the wind blows” gilchrist changing schools … again … it’s been a pretty slow and uneventful news cycle this off-season related to the Hokies. Of course, in this day and age, that is a great thing! Look at Indiana’s program - all the news out of Bloomington this off-season has been catastrophic.

Top Virginia Tech recruit and big man Victor Davila (Starmount High School, North Carolina) won the Winston-Salem Journal’s Frank Spencer Award for a second straight season. The Award is given to the top boys basketball player in Northwest N.C. He averaged 20 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6 blocked shots a game during the 2007 season, his senior year of high school. Davila will lead the West All Stars next month in the state’s annual high school all star East vs. West game. More…

In other news…
Former Virginia Tech head basketball coach Bobby Hussey, who passed away last year from a massive stroke, is being remembered by Nike. The company’s annual Memorial Day Classic featuring a 64-team field of elite 15- to 17-year-old basketball players has been re-named the “Bobby Hussey Memorial Day Classic.” The tournament was conducted May 24-26 at two Nashville, TN venues; Vanderbilt University and Ensworth High School. More…