The point guard from Winchester, Va., was expected to improve enough in the early season to allow Malcolm Delaney to not have to bring the ball up the floor as often. If Delaney were able to play more shooting guard rather than point guard, his production level could skyrocket.
After a slow start, Green’s minutes dramatically increased in December, and he is now beginning to live up to those expectations a little more.
He has played 12 minutes or more in 12 of the team’s 20 games.
Even as this group gains new experiences almost daily, there is still one part of the college basketball lifestyle it has not been introduced to: losing at home.
Entering Thursday, the Hokies were 10-0 in Cassell Coliseum this season.
“Playing at home is great, we definitely have a home-court advantage,” Boggs said.
As coach Greenberg is not afraid to say, the most difficult thing to do in the ACC is win games on the road. The environment at other programs’ home arenas can be very intimidating, especially for a freshman.
The Hokies’ first ACC road game this season was against defending national champion and perennial elite program North Carolina.
“(Playing at UNC) was definitely something I have never experienced before,” Boggs said.
Boggs’ playing style has quickly endeared him to Hokie fans. His poise and effort on the defensive end has earned him most of his playing time.
“(The coaches) just want me to work hard, play my hardest, try to be a good defender, and bring energy,” Boggs said.
Similar to Boggs, Atkins has made a name for himself as the traditional “scrappy” player.
Convincing incoming freshmen to become hard-working role players can be difficult, but persuading Atkins to take such a role was easy.
“I didn’t really look at being a star player (in high school) as someone who slacks off,” Atkins said. “I feel like if I don’t go hard, I won’t play the way I do. That’s just me … that’s my game.”
A player’s impact cannot always be measured by a box score. There are tipped passes, jump balls, charges taken, and many more parts of the game that do not show up on the stat sheet.
Those are just a few of the many things that make this young group an important and promising bunch.
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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 5 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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