LegalHokie
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Member since:
December 13, 1999
Last post:
05/02/2022 05:21 AM ET
Posting History (92)
Men's Basketball Board
3 mo ago
Is Hansberry staying a signal that Chester Frazier also is staying?
Players aside, losing him would be a big blow to the program.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
You know exactly who is responsible for that. We all do, and the pitchforks
are assembling. We need BOV action now. This situation has become so bad that any considerations about stepping on the toes of the outgoing president should be moot. Enough is enough. It couldn't be more clear what the problem is. We need to fix it yesterday.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
You are 1000% correct, though. Too many still believe the propaganda...
being peddled by those who have a vested interest in the status quo so that they don't look like the walking definition of incompetence that they are. The players deserve better. The fans deserve better. VT deserves better.
It's past time for the BOV to step in and clean house. Enough is enough.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
From what I hear, you are correct. Leadership in the VTAD is the issue...
They don't want to be shown up by "outsiders". People keep blaming the fan base, but the more that comes out, the more that just isn't true. Fans are hardly asked to contribute. Additionally, when those outside of the VTAD look to fill the void in terms of leadership, planning, communication, and action, they are rebuffed.
Change is very possible, but not under the current state of things.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
I agree with your statements, Saret. I take GCHokie34's comments as a shot
at football, though. You are spot on that Franklin is holding VT to its promises. That should not come at the expense of basketball, but apparently it is to some measure. That is a Whit Babcock problem more than a decade in the making, however. It is not a football problem.
If people want to be upset, which is entirely justified, direct it where it properly lies - Whit for being completely incompetent; Sands for not overseeing athletics with any degree of accountability; and the prior BOV for not keeping tabs on anyone.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
Read my post again. This isn’t a problem caused by football or Franklin…
It’s a problem caused by horrible leadership more than a decade in the making that the AD is trying to address now while not actually fixing the situation. Both football and basketball have been significantly underfunded. That didn’t happen because of James Franklin. He simply has demanded that football be funded appropriately to achieve the results that he was hired to produce. That Whit apparently has decided to take money from basketball to address that issue is a Whit problem, both in the making and in the resolving.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
Blaming football for this is really misplaced...
Adequately funding the two most important revenue-generating sports should not be a zero-sum exercise. If it is right now at VT, that falls squarely on the botched leadership at VT, primarily the Athletic Director, who has let both of VT's main sports fall significantly behind in terms of funding, facilities, and fan engagement.
This problem is a decade or more in the making. It didn't sudden arise because football needed more funding.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
I think that ship has sailed with the new BOV. Whit isn't calling the shots
anymore. Everyone is watching, so he can't rob Peter to pay Paul anymore. No more higher ups asleep at the wheel.
Men's Basketball Board
4 mo ago
I agree. I can see his potential. You get glimpses of what he can be...
I think with better conditioning (and the added agility and stamina that accompanies that) combined with more experience in terms of where to be when, he could be a tremendous player.
The Lounge
5 mo ago
I was there in the summer of 1997...
It was pretty eerie to walk around where Hitler once did. Seeing the massive fireplace that Mussolini gifted him was pretty surreal.
My advice is to take a day in not-too-distant Salzburg. Stroll through the old town, which is straight out of the 1600's. Tour the Stiegl Brewery on the other side of the river. Have dinner at Mozart's Geburtshaus (birthplace), which is now a phenomenal restaurant and winery.
Women's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
I think it's a bit more than that, but VT just announced they are expanding
the med school to eventually have 400 a year. My son is actually working on his med school applications and studying for the MCAT's right now.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
It's also 2+ hours away from State College. Roanoke is 45 minutes from VT.
If you are extending out that far, VT also has Charlotte and the NC Research Triangle, plus east to Lynchburg, etc.
The difference is there really are very few venues in and around VT other than Roanoke. Same with State College. If you bring in quality performers, you can make money from a new venue.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
It doesn't quite work that way. A law degree (JD) is a law degree...
You can specialize once you are practicing. I clerked in law school for a prominent personal injury firm. Then I realized that was not for me. I know do construction, real estate, and handle general business-to-business matters.
For certain areas, like patent law, you also need to have a technical undergraduate degree in order to practice in that area. But to your point, VT could run dual BS/JD programs that would tie in well with our engineering and science programs.
There would be plenty of demand for a VT law school. The closest one to Blacksburg is actually in Grundy of all places!
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
I think there several common misconceptions in your post...
VT and Penn State are both about 4 hours from DC. Pittsburgh is 3 hours away from State College. Philadelphia is 4 hours away.
You actually have it backwards in that Roanoke is about twice as big as Harrisburg. Harrisburg is not some sprawling metropolis.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
I went to The Penn State Dickinson School of Law. The merger was announced
during my first year there. The law school and Dickinson College, while adjacent, were actually separate schools. Carlisle was a good place to study law. My son was recruited by Dickinson for soccer but he ended up choosing Sacred Heart.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
Well, having gone to both VT and PSU, and living in and around these areas,
the comparison is pretty accurate. Pittsburgh is about 3 hours away from State College, and Philadelphia is about 4 hours away - with no traffic. Harrisburg is smaller than Roanoke and is much further away (nearly 2 hours). State College is more rural.
Bryce-Jordan gets a lot of use. VT wouldn't need to build an event center as big as Bryce-Jordan, but it could be constructed to accommodate temporary seating to expand capacity for concerts and events.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
A Cassell replacement can be profitable for VT. Look at Penn State...
and the Bryce-Jordan Center. Penn State is further than VT is from any decent-sized town. It's in the middle of nowhere. However, they attract all kinds of concerts and events at Bryce-Jordan year round that keep the restaurants and hotels filled on non-sporting event days. There's no reason why VT couldn't do the same thing.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
It's kind of amazing that a school of VT's size doesn't have a law school.
They are cash cows. At one time, Penn State had not one, but two law schools.
I thought that VT had two medical schools - one with Carilion (MD) in Roanoke, and VCOM (DO) in Blacksburg?
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
Funny story along these lines...
I went to law school with the son of a former head football coach of a B10 school situated smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania, which also was a Nike school (until next season when it switches to Adidas). One evening after a few beers it came up that his father didn't like the Nike coaching pants and refused to wear them. What they did was take his favorite khaki pants from Brooks Brothers, remove all of the tags and logos, and sew in Nike tags and logos.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
The biggest problem with this is our Nike contract. Nike only makes so much
authentic VT gear for each sport. Anything additional has to be ordered from Nike and VT must pay for it. As it is, most sports barely have enough gear for the student-athletes themselves, let alone a surplus to sell en masse to the public.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
This is partially (perhaps mostly) the fault of VT, however...
When was the last time you received anything from VT soliciting money for basketball? I get things from football, wrestling, soccer, but rarely basketball.
The current powers that be on the BOV along with the hiring of Franklin upset the apple cart (in a good way) as to VT Football. However, we need the same effort and attention as to basketball if it is going to advance. The question is whether MY is the right one to lead the program if VT is going to go that route. I've not criticized MY, nor have I ever called for a change at head coach during his tenure. I think he's a good coach who has done more with less - sometimes far less (see last season). That said, the firing of Pry and hiring of Franklin served as a hard program reset and has jumpstarted everything related to football - including giving. VT may need a similar change on the basketball front in order to achieve the same type of program reset and momentum.
Men's Basketball Board
5 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
6 mo ago
You're not wrong, unfortunately. This goes on a lot in other sports, too...
especially college sports that have a heavy dose of foreign players, such as soccer and track & field. Foreign players almost all have agents now. Promises are made in order to land the player. Player arrives and doesn't perform as expected. Player still plays because if the coach goes back on his promises, he won't land the next recruit(s) in the next cycle from that agent - and perhaps from other agents because they saw that the coach went back on his word.
It's not right or fair, but it is how things work.
Men's Basketball Board
6 mo ago
He lead in turnovers and lack of defense. Had nearly as many TOs as assists
1-8 shooting. 0-4 from 3-point range. Zero offensive rebounds.
Sorry, I just don't see him helping more than he's hurting right now.
Football Board
7 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
8 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
8 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
8 mo ago
We can defend, though. We just don’t do it enough or consistently…
Defense is a mentality more than anything.
Men's Basketball Board
8 mo ago
Men's Basketball Board
8 mo ago
Football Board
8 mo ago
Football Board
8 mo ago
You essentially are asking if eunuchs can get someone pregnant…
They can’t. Franklin runs the show. Get in line or find the door.
Football Board
8 mo ago
I have my undergrad from VT, my JD from PSU…
I have had season tickets to both programs. My first date with my now wife was a OSU/PSU game. We saw Vick win at Mountaineer Field together. I was at the SMU CFB playoff at Beaver Stadium last year. I just closed on a $50mm deal in State College today.
Franklin did not maximize what he had at PSU. Likewise, PSU did not appreciate what they had in Franklin. Best recruiter in CFB. Needs help on the offensive side of the ball in terms of talent ID and development.
Most of his losses were to OSU and Michigan. He just needed a bit more to get him over the proverbial hump.
I think he may have that at VT.
The Lounge
9 mo ago
Football Board
10 mo ago
Football Board
10 mo ago
There were many factors that sunk the Fu era to be sure...
Let's hope we learn from past missteps and make better choices moving forward.
Football Board
10 mo ago
Fu also was too loyal to assistant coaches…
who weren’t working out for too long. Now, part of that was Whit not giving enough money to get who we needed, but part of it wasn’t.
I also don’t know that Fu had the right personality to be a college head coach, at least not at VT.