Okay, I need to get straight to the heart of this column right away: Sorry, Hokies. Sorry for doubting you. I quit on you long before you quit on
yourselves, or to be more accurate, long before Deron Washington quit. Long before you scored the last 12 points of the game to win 54-52, I wrote you
off and was just waiting for the season to end.
Honestly, I didn't see the comeback coming. If there's one thing the Hokies can't do, playing a half court game is it. As the season has worn on
and the stakes have gotten bigger, the Hokies' ability to perform in the kind of half court, slug-it-out games that dominate late-season basketball
has waned. And with 7:39 left in this game, VT was on their last legs, falling listlessly to an Illinois team that played the part of NC State,
without all the dead-on shooting.