THE SPORTS DESK
ACC Men’s Basketball: Virginia Tech’s Johnson shrugs off first win
NEW HOKIES COACH
ACCEPTS ACCOLADES,
BUT IS MORE FOCUSED ON
HOW TEAM PROGRESSES
BY NATHAN WARTERS
THE FREE LANCE–STAR
BLACKSBURG—Virginia Tech’s players presented head coach James Johnson with a game ball after the Hokies’ 80–62 win over East Tennessee State at Cassell Coliseum on Saturday.
It might have been the only time the team’s attention was on Johnson and his début as Tech’s coach.
Johnson tried to keep all the focus on his team and not his first game. He was successful for the most part, as the Hokies shot 46.6 percent and had three players score in double figures to win their season opener for the 10th straight year.
“It means a lot to me to get the win, but it means more to me for the team to come out and execute and do the things we’ve been working on since July 6,” said Johnson, who was hired to replace Seth Greenberg on May 1. “I like what I saw from the team.”
Tech senior guard Erick Green had a game-high 21 points, six assists and only one turnover. Forward Jarell Eddie had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double–double, and sophomore guard Robert Brown added 16 points and five assists.
Playing in Johnson’s new up-tempo style, the Hokies stormed out to a 43–28 lead and were never threatened. ETSU shot 38.7 percent for the game and made only three of its 16 attempts from 3-point range.
The Hokies would have preferred to play at an even faster pace, but they were limited by the Bucs’ zone defense.
“We still put up 80 points,” Green said. “We’re going to play fast no matter what.”
Johnson, a Hokies assistant from 2007–11, became the fourth straight Virginia Tech head coach to win in his début, joining Greenberg, Ricky Stokes and Bobby Hussey.
Even though Johnson downplayed his début, the players were excited to give him a win in his first game.
“I love playing for coach J.J.,” Green said. “Everything he’s done for us so far, it’s never about him and always about us. To get him his first win, he’s going to go out and celebrate with his family tonight. I’m really happy for him and we’re going to keep it going for him.”
Johnson, 41, had a large group of family and friends on hand for his début, including his mom and dad. He said he approached the game just like he did when he was an assistant.
“As far as a little nervousness, for me it was the usual. Nothing different really,” Johnson said.
Johnson accepted the game ball from his players, but he pointed to the dry erase board in the meeting room that had the word “team” scribbled on it.
“We just told him congratulations, Coach, and he said it’s not about him and he pointed to the board,” Eddie said. “It was a team win. He said, ‘This is about y’all. It’s not about me.’”
Eight different players saw at least 13 minutes of action, including sophomore walk-on Will Johnston, who got a big hug around the neck from Johnson during a timeout after making a key offensive rebound that led to an Eddie 3-pointer with five minutes left in the first half.
“There are things we need to work on to get better but it means a lot to me that those guys came out and played hard,” Johnson said. “For the things they’ve been through and how hard they worked to prepare themselves for this day, it’s good that they were able to get the win.”
Nathan Warters: 540/374-5442
nwarters@freelancestar.com
