Collegiate Times

Wednesday could possibly be the last time A.D. Vassallo steps onto the court at Cassell Coliseum wearing a Hokie uniform.

As Tech hosts North Carolina in its final home contest of the regular season, senior forwards Vassallo and Cheick Diakite will be honored for their Tech hoops tenures.

They each near the end of their respective fourth full season of college basketball play and, subsequently, near the end of their eligibility as collegiate players.

Vassallo, in particular, will be highly celebrated. The Puerto Rican native currently ranks ninth on the Hokies all-time scoring list with 1,698 points and needs only nine more this season to pass Ace Custis for eighth place.

While he leads the team with 18.7 points per game this season, Vassallo has had somewhat of a roller coaster senior year, getting into on- and off-court altercations, which have prevented him from starting in two games for the Hokies.

Despite these periodic disturbances, there is no doubt in the small forward's mind that he has grown since first arriving on campus in 2005.

"I'm more mature now," Vassallo said.

Vassallo has also been inconsistent at times on the court, notching only four points in the Hokies' early season last-second overtime loss against Xavier and seven points in the team's 25-point loss at Duke.

"I just learn from those games and put them behind me and keep on playing and improving," he said. "As long as I don't [perform that way now], I feel a lot better."

His unpredictability has not diminished his importance to this team as he has also become a more versatile player. He is now able to make the adjustments needed to get a shooting rhythm going. He does not have to rely heavily on his three-point shot, which was known to be the star's main source of points throughout the former part of his collegiate career.

"It shows difference," Vassallo said. "Years before, if I didn't really hit shots from the three point line, I didn't have a great game. But I guess I did little different things with driving the ball and offensive rebounds a little bit and try to get the game going."

Vassallo has proven that he can single-handedly keep his team in the game. Case in point -- his latest effort in the Hokies' seven-point loss at the hands of Duke this past Saturday.

"At halftime, I asked him how many points he had and he told me five," said guard Terrell Bell. "Then I asked him, 'Is this your half?' and all he said was, 'We'll see.'"

Vassallo then went out and posted 21 points in the second half, accounting for over 50 percent of his team's scoring effort.

Off the court, Vassallo has proven to be just as valuable to his team as experience has turned the senior into somewhat of a guiding light on a young team.

"He taught me to work hard all the time," said Bell, one of the team's seven sophomores.

Although his time mentoring and the high scoring for the maroon and orange is nearing an end, Vassallo still knows he has work to do and remains focused on one goal: the NCAA Tournament.

He also firmly believes that Wednesday's game against North Carolina is the only thing standing in the team's way of an automatic bid -- a goal that the small forward will not stop pursuing until he helps his team achieve it.

"I just want to win (this game)," Vassallo said. "If we win that game, we're in the tournament, so I can feel better."