USF assistant Steve Roccaforte switches from the AAC to the ACC and joins Buzz Williams staff at Virginia Tech— Russ Wood (@RussHoops) April 16, 2014
Here is his USF bio.
Also Ahmed Hill has been released from his LOI and said the reason he committed to Marquette was because of his relationship with Chew and Buzz.
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Jerry Meyer of 247 sports has already switched Hill's crystal ball to VT. this guy looks like a stud. 60th player in country. 6-5 shooting guard
Absolutely. I would be pumped if we could land him.
Looks like he would be every bit as good as the guards we've been used to at Tech. Excellent shooter and scorer and can dish it if need be. If we can build up size under the basket, players like Hill will thrive on the outside.
Roccaforte's bio indicates he's a strong recruiter, helping to bring in back to back top-15 classes in to USF. Add him to Isaac Chew and Buzz is building quite the recruiting team. I'm stoked to see what kind of recruits this staff is gonna bring in over the next few years
This guy must be a magician to get that kind of talent to go to USF.
tampa's not a terribly hard sell to a young man, but it is impressive none the less.
The more I see the more I like. I've got a feeling HOKIE hoops is gonna be back and more sooner rather than later
I think he'll be able to instill the chip on the shoulder hard working attitude that brought beamerball to the forefront to our hoops team
Not possible, Doug Gottlieb thinks Buzz "will get his teeth kicking in at VT."
wut?
Doug Gottlieb isn't alone, but I have no idea how any expert can believe this notion. With the 1-and-done nature of college basketball these days, it only takes 1 recruiting class and good coaching to be a Final Four team. Why would he be less successful at VT than WF or Tenn? Makes no sense (as your sarcastic response implies).
The masses are convinced nobody can ever break the mold and be an upstart team anymore. Never mind the fact that there is one almost every year and all it takes to be a great team is one good recruiting class. They just refuse to believe a great coach would ever want to come here. Never mind the fact we already showed in football we're a great spot for the right guy.
Don't mind the talking heads. They are stuck in a world long since past. In a couple years they are all going to be eating their words.
Yep don't tell SDSU, Wichita State, VCU or SMU that they shouldn't be successful
Or Florida, or Miami, or St. Louis, or...
smu is the best example. they have zero basketball history (that i know of at least.) they decide to invest in a quality coach and their program in general and boom, they're successful.
But SMU didn't even get to the NCAA tournament...they must not have been that good. *sarcastica*
Based on this news, I gave everybody an up-vote!
Is Hill a recruit for next year or the year after?
2014 recruit. will be a freshman in the fall
Don't look now, but we're building a bit of a recruiting powerhouse in Blacksburg. All 3 guys on staff have been major parts of back to back top 15 classes at 2 different schools. Its not inconceivable that within the next couple years we have more talent here than at any given time in our past.
The sleeping giant is waking up.
Here to hoping that that sleeping giant can recruit a big mean giant to replace Trevor "softie" Thompson.
I like how everybody Buzz hires is termed 'a relentless recruiter'. Sounds like Buzz's kind of guys. Also sounds like Whit's kind of guys - 'blue collar, roll up the sleeves guy'. When folks take the time to digest all these factors, they should be extremely enthused about the future of Hokie basketball. It's also telling how desperately some resisted the thought of change in the basketball program as recently as February. We're on the right road. You can never travel down the right path if you don't take a step.
I just hope they can coach as well as recruit.
I noticed he has "ML" on his headset. Do coaches normally have their initials on their headset, or is this just his thing?
Its probably to make it easy for the coaches to know which is theirs. Head coach is able to listen in on both the offensive and defensive playcalling, which takes place on their own channels.
It doesn't stand for Mike London. It stands for My Left so he knows which ear to put it on.
I see what you! did there.
Roccaforte, Chew, and __________ ?
Anybody but Nate James from Duke, please.
There are still two members of his old staff at Marquette that are unaccounted for so they may be the last two spots. Those would be Brad Autry and Jeff Reynolds. Reynolds brings the local connections having coached at several spots in VA and NC. Autry has his roots more in the Midwest, so I am not sure how well he fits. Neither of these have been announced though as coming here but both have left Marquette.
Autry is not coming to Tech. Roc is a replacement for him I believe.
That's actually good news if I had my druthers. He was the one member of the old staff at Marquette that I didn't really see fitting in here with his background.
Any news on Reynolds?
Not yet but I hope he is the third assistant if Wainwright is staying at Marquette.
Guess that only would leave the Director of Basketball Operations gig open if Reynolds moves and Wainwright doesn't. Maybe Ace Custis? I still would have liked to see Buzz go after Rod Strickland, but apparently he is now headed to USF as part of the change in staff there that led Roccaforte here. I think Strickland would have been a great get, especially with how many of these rangy 2/3 player types that we appear to have coming to the roster.
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2014/04/10/...
Wasn't Rod Strickland a PG? what does he have to do with wing players... or is this a different Rod Strickland than the guy who played in the NBA?
His ability to coach ball handling, driving the lane, shot selection and creating space for a shot are considered his biggest attributes in coaching. He was a PG, that also scored 13 points a game over a seventeen year career in the NBA. One of our biggest complaints last year was our wing players inability to create an open look or take the right shot. Strickland would be a great addition to coach up guys like Wilson, Emelogu and Smith, along with Bibbs, Hudson and any other wing types that come in with the open scholarships.
Rod Strickland was a poor man's Adam Smith. Wait....maybe that's backwards.
I would really like to see a former great player who has some ability/desire to coach come back and "earn their chops" in that operations gig. Bimbo Coles/Ace Custis would both be great additions if they could coach up some of our guards.
Based on Buzz's history, it will go to someone who hasn't received accolades in the past, but is earning their chops already. The problem with hiring somebody because of their name arises when the time comes to replace that person, or that person decides to leave, or worst of all, decides to coast along on their name. In other words, it will inevitably become an issue. If we're going to be insular and hire a former Hokie player only because they're a former Hokie player, then hire Micky Hardy. At least he's shown he wants to be a lifer in basketball and he has worked at it for a while.
Interesting the components you see with Buzz's hires. He's got the Texas connection with Roccaforte, Chew with the community college tie-in & AAU network. Both guys will rack up lots of miles & both guys have networks outside of the old ACC footprint - Md/DC/Va/NC/SC. While they don't have immediate ties within that region, Buzz evidently does, and their success elsewhere gives them credibility when entered this area. In a way, it is better than having someone who is a veteran, because we've got to remember the whole them of - 'This is NOT the VT basketball that you knew before'. Whoever Buzz gets, whether already an insider or not, it seems obvious his guys know how to adapt.
Its funny going to TSL right now. They're losing their minds that we don't have a guy who is an established recruiter in the 757 and DC area.
I mean, you know, just ignore the fact that in different schools, both these guys we just hired were the primary reason that their schools had Top 15 classes the last 2 seasons. Ignore the fact these guys are national recruiters, who were working for Marquette and USF. Ignore the fact that the talent in the 757 is annually grabbed by the elites in this country, which would make it difficult for anyone we hire to come in and recruit that area well right away. This coaching staff is already off on the wrong foot because we just don't have enough local ties (the reliance on these local ties being the primary reason we were in the mess we were already in... but I digress...).
Buzz Williams has strong ties to Boo Williams and being at a school this much closer to Boo Williams stomping ground will likely mean that Buzz gets to know a lot more of Boo's network pretty quickly. I don't think there is a total lack of connection there.
That said, this was one reason I was hoping that Buzz would bring Jerry Wainwright along from Marquette because he does have those exact ties with his background.
Jeff Reynolds, the former Director of Basketball Operations at Marquette also has quite a few ties to both VA and NC so if Buzz brings him on, then that is lessened as well.
I did see mentioned that Ace Custis was interested in being involved in the program in some capacity of coaching, etc so that would also be a big positive for the 757 specifically.
I hope Ace gets a chance to be involved. I really loved watching him play as a student and was in a class with him as well. Really nice guy.
Now, I'm not the most knowledgeable on basketball, the 757, or even Ace Custis himself; but I question how much current influence he would have there. My wife is from the same area as him, and it's about an hour drive from that part of the Eastern Shore and $12 in tolls (one way). And I'm pretty sure as recently as last year he was residing in the Eastern Shore area and not in the 757 as most people think of it, since he was running a local business there. I could be mistaken, but I was led to believe that he was actually there and not just involved as an owner. Those things together lead me to question how active his relationships are with 757 HS or AAU coaches.
Now, I'm not knocking him as a potential hire. He's one of our all-time greats and I'm sure would do a fantastic job. I've loved seeing how well Kevin Ollie has worked out at UConn and how all of the post-championship press has emphasized how Calhoun personally selected him to ensure they kept doing things the UConn way. Even though we may not have the same basketball pedigree, I think we can appreciate that VT has a certain culture and set of principles that Ace could help reinforce.
Ace actually spent the last year as an assistant coach on the Virginia State basketball staff. Ace is also an alumnus of the Boo Williams AAU squad out of Norfolk and has ties recruiting wise to the 757 through both of these channels as well as being remembered by many of the high school coaches in that area as a great opponent, since many of them were playing back when Ace was in high school on the Eastern Shore.
I stand corrected.
Corrected such a strong word, more informed and updated. Just wanted to give you the background on why he all of sudden seems a more logical candidate.
I'll stick with corrected. ;) It'll help me remind me to do my due diligence next time. A quick google search would have (and since has) shown me he started with VSU a few months after starting his business.
Edit: I was also unaware of his ties to Boo Williams and Norfolk area basketball. Given your comments about Buzz's relationship with Boo Williams, this would seem to be another step in ensuring we have appropriate visibility to those recruits.
Fair enough. Yes, having Ace as a positive force really helps with the Boo Williams program.
I also had classes with Ace when he was at Tech while they did the Sports Illustrated cover story on him. One big thing they talked about with that was how Ace worked odd jobs and stuff to make enough money for his mom to pay the tolls to take him over the bridges to AAU ball which is the only reason he is where he is today is how they spun that into the story.
Yeah, I can't believe they did that. It's over 60 miles of four lane highway, with lights, from his HS just to get across the Bay Bridge. And back then the gas to get there and back would be much less than the toll to cross the bridge. I get a little bitter every time we visit my in-laws, although EZ-Pass makes it easier to swallow since I'm not physically handing over $12.
In hind sight though it was the best investment Ace probably ever made in himself
I'll say this about that - consider the source. A message board where the sentiment was very strong to keep Johnson even after Whit was hired, even in the throes of loss after loss piling up, etc. Sometimes folks get WAY too caught up in clinging onto the same and demanding Hokie connections and never acknowledging that a lot of programs across the country are succeeding by trying something different. I am quite confident that Buzz's staff will succeed whether they hire someone with local connections or not(gasp!). Buzz had no previous ties to Marquette when he went as an assistant, other than coaching one summer camp. Seems like he did pretty darn well. He'll do pretty darn well here, too. His guys can adapt.
TSL is still a thing?
You make some great points with this write-up swvadon. The hiring of Buzz brought an entirely new dynamic to VT and ACC basketball. VT basketball in the near term will make inroads quickly into the ACC power ranks. Time will tell if this prediction is correct.
Buzz' hiring is a manifestation of Whit's out of the box thinking (and his ties to the mid-west via Cincy) which improves VT visibility to other regions outside the ACC footprint, while at the same time improving our syanding in the existing ACC footprint. That is another beautiful part of Whit's thinking placed bear in front of us to see.
Super genius!!
Over the next few months the first few steps of this process will start to become more apparent. I can feel it in the ether... VT basketball success is coming...
Somehow this seems appropriate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JJip8Wk0Ag
Roccaforte also gives you better in roads to the Florida market after spending the last three years in that area. Chew brings you the Mid West area with strong ties in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana along with having the ability to go nationally while at Marquette. Ideally the last coach/Director of Basketball Operations would have a more local base or if not, I would love to have someone with strong ties to the NYC market for recruiting.
Here is the background on Jeff Reynolds:
Jeff Reynolds, former Marquette Director of Basketball Operations also has significant ties to Virginia and North Carolina as well, being an alma mater of UNC-G, and having coached at UNC-G, UNC-W, JMU, Randolph-Macon, NC Wesleyan, Winthrop, and Wingate.
Connections to eight colleges in the area, recruited this area predominantly for the second level talent but still makes the same kind of connections at the same schools where the top level talent came from. At least can provide an intro to the recruiting prowess of Chew and possibly RoccaForte
Can you imagine the drinking games available now with this assistant coach?
Every time coach does ....
you ROCCAFORTE
or
Any word on if Dave Jackson will stay on as part of the strength and conditioning program? He and his brother Jim were always my favorite players, I loved their hustle.
Weren't they the ones that went on to play in that crazy league with the trampolines?
Indeed. Among the pioneers of "Slamball"
Which was co-founded by one Pat Croce, formerly of Philly 76ers fame. Now he's getting his pirate on...