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This year’s class has garnered a 12th place ranking by leading recruiting resource, Scout.com. Four out of the five recruits are currently ranked in the Rivals.com top 150 players in the country. The class ranks as one of Tech’s highest with talent similar to that of the Mid 1980s, in which eventual NBA player Dell Curry helped lead the Hokies to four post-season tournaments.
Jeff Allen leads the incoming class with a Rivals.com ranking of 72nd in the nation. Allen, a 6-8, 250 pound power forward out of Hargrave Military Academy will provide excellent rebounding abilities and superb strength on the low block. Experience against a high level of competition will help the Hokies a great deal in Allen’s freshman campaign. Allen’s high school and prep career took him to three perennial basketball powerhouses in Hargrave Military Academy, Oak Hill Academy, and alongside current Hokie Nigel Munson at Dematha High School. Playing against the nation’s best high school talent will undoubtedly bode well for Allen’s transition to the college level. Look for Allen to be a significant role player in the upcoming Hokie campaign.
Dorenzo Hudson, Jeff Allen’s teammate at Hargrave Military Academy, will also join the Hokies this fall. The 6-4, 210 pound Hudson will add some depth at the shooting guard position. Hudson played originally at Forest Hills High School in Marshville, NC where he was named County Player of the year as a junior. He decided to finish out his high school career at Hargrave and improve at the shooting guard position. As reported by Scout.com, Hudson’s versatility, strength, and confident shooting skills should make him a real asset to the Hokies.
Point Guard Malcolm Delaney out of Towson Catholic High School in Maryland, will provide much needed depth behind Nigel Munson. The 6-3, 170 pound Delaney will contribute strong ball-handling abilities and smooth perimeter shooting. Delaney provides an adept back-up at the guard position with a national ranking of 82 by Rivals.com.
Rounding out the 2007 class, Forwards Terrell Bell of Stone Mountain, GA and Darrion Pellum of Woodstock, VA give the Hokies two players that can flash out to the wing position, while also contributing on the lower blocks. Both players fit well into Coach Seth Greenburg’s style of play with similarities in players such as Carlos Dixon and Deron Washington. Defenders will have difficulty guarding against the solid perimeter shooting and sound driving abilities that Bell and Pellum offer.
The biggest disappointment in the 2007 recruiting class comes from the rescinding of a letter of intent by Gus Gilchrist of Temple Hills, MD. As reported in the Washington Post, Gilchrist decided against coming to Virginia Tech after the tragedy of April 16, 2007. He gave this quote to the Washington Post, “I want to send my condolences to the families and the victims. It’s a terrible situation that happened. I’m not mentally prepared to go there for this (coming) year. I think the campus needs time to heal. The campus needs time to mourn the first year. I don’t know if I’m prepared to do that next year.” Losing Gilchrist is an obvious blow to this year’s class, but the remaining players still leave the Hokies with one of the best recruiting classes to date.
The Virginia Tech basketball team looks to fill the gaps of a great team with a very talented young core of athletes. The next generation of Hokie hoops will undoubtedly continue to excite in the ACC and on the national
level.
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