Staff Writer
With the end of the Virginia Tech men?s basketball season rapidly approaching, comes the closing of senior guard Brian Chase?s college career.
Since joining the Hokies after the first semester of the 1999-2000 season, Chase has proven to be an exceptional shooter, especially from three-point range. The point/shooting guard is the career leader in three-point field goal percentage at Tech and has led the Big East in three-point field goal percentage the last two seasons.
Even with his small size, Brian Chase is a versatile player with an explosive shooting ability that can take over a game.
?I?ve played point guard all my life,? Chase said. ?But that is overlooked because of my scoring ability.?
Because of his natural scoring ability, coaches sometimes play him at shooting guard, creating plays to get him open looks at the basket.
In 2000, Chase played in 24 games and started the last 18. Averaging 12.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, Chase was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team. Chase also led the team in minutes played per game and became the first Tech freshman in 20 years to record five 20-point games in a season.
To follow an incredible freshman year, Chase led the Big East in three-point field goal percentage while leading the team in scoring (12.9 points per game) and three pointers (60).
A foot injury and broken right hand kept Chase out of the lineup for a few games his sophomore season, but he still made progress ? including scoring a career high in points (28) against Villanova.
Last season, Chase again led the Big East in three-point field goal percentage.
Through his sophomore and junior years, Chase?s 42.1 percent three-point shooting was the best in the conference, making him one of the best perimeter shooters in the Big East.
This year, the numbers have dropped off slightly.
Chase has started 15 out 17 games this season, averaging 7.8 points per game, fourth on the team behind Bryant Matthews, Carlos Dixon and Terry Taylor.
While the team is able to
provide a balanced scoring attack now, there is still plenty of time left this season for Chase to catch fire and help lead the Hokies to some more wins.
The Hokies have dropped a few close games this season to Big East teams such as Villanova and St John?s.
With the remainder of Tech?s games coming against in-conference rivals, the Hokies have a tough schedule ahead of them.
?Teams in the Big East take turns beating on each other,? Chase said. ?Now it?s our turn to beat up on other teams.?