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For the past few years, most of us have looked at the Virginia Tech Men's Basketball team as the ugly step-child of our illustrious football program. Even after hiring Buzz Williams, there were many who thought that the Hokies could have a basketball program that the Tech fans could be really proud of. I'm here to say that I have seen the light, I have seen them play, and we couldn't have been more wrong.
That isn't to say that VT plays with a beautiful style or that there aren't some serious growing pains still going on. On the contrary, the Hokies play with a wreck less abandon that often times is more circus than basketball. Throw in the fact that they play much better at home against quality opponents than away, and you see the overall youth that this team has. But what makes them so special and what makes them THE team to watch in college basketball over the next few years is their heart.
No team in all of college basketball plays with the desire and grit of Virginia Tech. They play with a passion and heart that you fall in love with and quickly. It is love at first sight. No doubt about it. Coach Williams (or Buzz if you will because it fits his personality so well,) has put his stamp on this program and it is infectious.
None of this is to say that this team will always play close games, just look at the game at Duke, but one of the things that you might have missed if you weren't paying close attention is that the Hokie out scored the Blue Devils in the second half. I know it is a small victory, but as Coach Williams keeps Buzzing about (see what I did there) it really is about those small victories because that is what makes a team and eventually and entire program turn into something special.
That's what this team is, special. A collection of young men who are working hard, doing it together, and most of all, giving everything they have in every practice and every game. Sounds like what you are supposed to do doesn't it? But in this day and age, it is a rare thing and something that Hokie fans in particular can be and should be very exited by.
So it's time to start filling Cassell on a nightly basis, reading articles on our boys, and show our love for Buzz and his staff because they are doing something we haven't seen in a long time. They are making a program, a way of playing and acting on and off of the court, that reminds me of what a certain Frank Beamer did 30 years ago. We all know how that story goes...