As Tony Bennett approaches Terry Holland’s record for coaching victories at
#UVa
, a tribute to the Big Whistle, a humble, erudite, Southern gentleman who has summoned grace and humor in his final chapter.
Kihei Clark made a mistake he'll always lament and then showed remarkable grace in answering every last question in the locker room. Moreover, he watched the sequence multiple times on his phone to see what he could have done differently.
#UVa
#Respect
Tony Bennett is a sterling 16-10 in NCAA tournament. He coached
#UVa
to a natty and Washington State to its first tournament wins in a generation. So spare me the fiction that he's not built for March.
With today’s victory,
#UVa
(19-7, 11-5) has clinched a 9th consecutive winning
#ACC
season. Coaches who have led programs to at least 9 straight winning
@accmbb
records:
Duke’s Vic Bubas & Mike Krzyzewski.
UNC’s Dean Smith & Roy Williams.
Virginia’s Tony Bennett.
With 347 yards tonight, Bryce Perkins broke Shawn Moore's
#UVa
career record for total offense.
Moore had 7,897 yards in four years.
Perkins 7,910 in two.
#ACC
commissioner John Swofford has said that if league adopts an all-conference football schedule for 2020, Notre Dame likely will be in mix. Irish already have six ACC opponents on docket.
Honored and grateful to be joining
@RTDSports
crew full-time as columnist. Thanks to
@Szvetitz
and
@michaelpRTD
for making it happen. Here's today's intro:
In the last eight days,
#Hokies
have defeated No. 2 N.C. State in women's basketball, No. 8 Virginia in men's basketball and No. 3 N.C. State in wrestling, all at Cassell.
My annual tweet of gratitude for the 25 consecutive
#ArmyNavy
games Dad and I attended. A treasured journey that took us to JFK Stadium, the Vet, Rose Bowl and Meadowlands. Miss him daily, never more than second Saturday of December. 🏈❤️
Long-form narrative on how a fifth-round draft choice by his beloved Green Bay Packers in 1992 started Tony Bennett's providential path to
@UVAMensHoops
#UVa
To complement recent facility upgrades, expect
#Hokies
to markedly increase assistant coaches’ salaries and recruiting infrastructure. Brent Pry among two coordinators who emerged in search. Sources expect him to retain J.C. Price, who served so admirably as interim.
Florida State tonight joined Duke, UNC and Maryland as the only programs, while members of the ACC, to advance multiple rounds in three consecutive NCAA tournaments.
Overwhelmed by the kind words, today. Will respond to y’all ASAP.
Beyond blessed to have called
@DP_Sports
home for 36 years and to exit on my terms.
And please know this isn’t retirement. I’ve got a third-grader!
#TinyTeel
❤️
The
@ArmyNavyGame
was our annual father-son outing for 25 consecutive years, and when Dad’s declining health ended our run in 1991, he called to thank me. Little did he know I was about to knock on his door so we could watch our final game together. Miss you, my friend.
Last season,
#Hokies
,
#UVa
and Miami trounced Duke by a combined 143-27.
All four programs then changed head coaches.
This season, Blue Devils defeated that trio by a combined 107-45. Remarkable job by Mike Elko, his staff and players.
In Frank Beamer’s 29 seasons as coach,
#Hokies
had two home losing streaks of at least three games (1988 & ‘92). This is their third such skid at Lane Stadium in last four years.
Virginia's attorney general, a JMU graduate, has written NCAA President Charlie Baker and the Division I Board of Directors urging the association to make the Dukes bowl-eligible this season.
Appreciate recency bias. But it shouldn’t have been all about yesterday. Just a week ago, FSU with QB2 beat Florida more convincingly than Alabama beat Auburn or Washington beat Wazzu.
#Hokies
coach Mike Young after his team's W over Minnesota tonight: "I told ’em during a timeout: 'This looks like a damn pickup game in July, and I can’t stand watching it in July, and I sure as hell don’t want to watch it here in November.'"
Miami AD Dan Radakovich says ACC moving closer to scrapping football divisions and adopting 3-5-5 schedule model for 2023 season. Next step is consulting with ESPN on the details.
Nine current
#UVA
head coaches have now won a national championship as a big whistle. Andres Pedroso, Brian O’Connor, Kevin Sauer, Tony Bennett, Lars Tiffany, Vin Lananna, George Gelnovatch, Julie Myers and Todd DeSorbo. Remarkable collection of talent.
Jazzed to join the
@RTDSports
team for the remainder of this college basketball season. Here's the first column, an inside look at last night's five
@accmbb
games from the league's command center.
Stunning stats from tonight:
Points off TOs:
#UVA
20, Duke 2.
Paint points: Virginia 52, Duke 28.
And craziest of all:
Fast-break points: Virginia 10, Duke 1.
Clemson was an underdog to New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona. In those three wins, Tigers trailed for a grand total of 50 seconds.
Second Elite 8 in program history, first since 1980. North Carolina or Alabama next for Brad Brownell’s crew.
#Hokies
' most likely bowl destination is Pinstripe at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 29. Yankees and VT have special bond after the team played a 2008 exhibition on campus to honor victims of 2007 shooting. Possible Big Ten opponents: Purdue and ... Penn State.
#Hokies
junior Kerry Blackshear: "Just proud of this group. I’m proud of where we are, proud of where we’re going, and I think we’re going to do more."
More J.C. Price: “Those kids have the biggest heart, and after we win this bowl game, they’re going to be known as the most resilient, mentally tough team in Virginia Tech history. And I dare somebody to tell me different.”
#Hokies
Lost in last night's frantic end-game:
#UVa
blocked nine Auburn shots, most in a
#FinalFour
since Kentucky's record 11 in 2012 title game vs. Kansas. Mamadi Diakite had career-high five blocks.
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes on ACC Zoom today about
#Hokies
: "Getting guys on the team that care about winning, not themselves: I think that’s something that’s really important, and I believe they’ve got that in spades at Virginia Tech.”
The ACC has released its 2021-22 tax return, which shows league-records for revenue ($617M), average distribution ($39.4M) and TV money ($443.7M). Pitt, the 2021 ACC football champion, received the most ($41.3M).
#Hokies
$40.4M,
#UVa
$39M. Story to folo.
Wake Forest just won its fifth bowl in last seven seasons. Among ACC programs, only Clemson (seven) has more during that span. No one else remotely close. Darn fine run for Deacons under Dave Clawson.
One month to the day after his dear friend and former Davidson and
#UVa
boss, Terry Holland, passed away, Jim Larranaga coaches Miami to the Final Four.
This marks the sixth time in the last nine NCAA tournaments that at least four ACC teams have reached the Sweet 16, unrivaled success that again calls into question the NET and selection committee’s evaluation of the conference. ⬇️
Talk about petty and malicious. Dukes are charter CAA members and the league's flagship football program. So let's punish their athletes for the school's decision to elevate to FBS.
JMU informed its athletes tonight that the CAA will not allow its teams to compete for league championships this year if it announces its move to the Sun Belt.
JMU's appeal to league presidents was denied.
How vital is the portal? MaCio Teague and Adam Flagler, who began their respective college careers in the Big South at UNC Asheville and Presbyterian, have combined for 27 points and made 5 of 6 threes in the national championship game.
Mike Krzyzewski to the crowd after his final game at Cameron: “I’m sorry. ... This afternoon was unacceptable, but the season has been acceptable. And I’ll tell you, the season isn’t over.”
Former BC QB Tim Hasselbeck will be calling
#NCState
at
#Hokies
remotely for
@accnetwork
: "Virginia Tech’s the loudest place I ever played, college, pros, everything. That was the Michael Vick era, [and] they were very good."
2021-22 athletics operating expenses for six schools ranked this week in 🏈 and men’s 🏀 …
Texas: $227.2M
Alabama: $195.9M
Tennessee: $157.1M
Arizona: $124.9M
North Carolina: $120.3M
JMU: $57.8M
Dukes’ hoops ranked for first time in program history.
Last Sept. 5,
@ODUMensHoops
coach Jeff Jones announced that his prostate cancer had returned. Tonight he guided the Monarchs to their first
@ConferenceUSA
title and first NCAA bid since 2011.
#salute
A three-year starter for
#Hokies
, Nahiem Alleyne embraced a reserve role for UConn this season, and the dividend was a national championship. "We're UConn legends forever," he said.
Last season,
#Hokies
had two rushes of 30 or more yards, which tied for 122nd nationally. This year, they have 16, including three today, which shares the FBS lead with Liberty and Northern Illinois. Remarkable transformation of Tech's running game.
#UVa
G Ty Jerome after W at Maryland: "There’s nothing more fun in basketball than quieting a hostile environment on the road. It’s one of the most exhilarating feelings in sports."
This was Roy Williams last night looking ahead to tonight's final against
#UVa
: "There’s nobody that has more respect and admiration for the way another coach coaches than what I feel for Tony Bennett.”
Drake Maye is first ACC football Player of the Year from
#UNC
since Lawrence Taylor in 1980. That's also the last time the Tar Heels won the league title.
BTW, this 29-21 lead for
#Hokies
is exactly the reason you DON'T chase points late in third quarter going for 2. Had Tech simply kicked PAT, the margin would be two scores.
Merry New Year, Twitter fam! Alas, no revelry for the Teels. Turns out Pinstripe Bowl trip as suboptimal for me as for
#Hokies
. Grateful for vaccination/booster, manageable symptoms and TLC from
@jteel14
, her mom and
#TinyTeel
!
#Hokies
' victory today eliminates Miami from ACC Coastal contention. VT,
#UVa
or
#Pitt
will represent the division against Clemson in league title game.