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| Courtesy Dennis Grundman/NV Daily |
I've been around a while, and Erick Green is about as close as you can come to a modern-day gladiator, and you will not find one more honorable. His numbers for the current basketball season (which is not quite over for the Hokies) are as follows:
- He played an average of almost 36.5 minutes a (40-minute) game
- He had a 3-point shooting percentage of over 39%
- He made 81.5% of his free throws (and this percentage trended down over the course of the season as his battered body and stamina wore down)
- He shot over 48% for his average of 17 shots per game
- He scored a career-high game total of 35 points twice during this season
- He achieved a new VT single-season men's basketball scoring record of 786 points (and still counting)
- He had a season game average of 25.4 points per game, with an average of 4 assists per game
- He capped off the regular season by receiving the coveted ACC Player of the Year award.
Erick's receiving the ACC Player of the Year award was somewhat unexpected and special. It was unexpected because, rightly or wrongly, VT has been perennially disrespected in the NCAA and ACC. We can perhaps argue about why this has happened, and whether the reasons for this are valid (or not), but there is more than a little degree of truth to this (subjective) assertion.
It was special because when you view the shooting numbers above and when you observe Erick's unselfish play in all of the games, it becomes very clear that his scoring records are not the result of him simply being a "ball hog". Anyone who has watched the Hokies this (disappointing) season will recognize that Green was always trying to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. In fact, his assist numbers would have been vastly higher had his teammates been able to capitalize on these plays. It was only late in games, when hope was nearly lost, that Coach James Johnson told Erick to take over the offense and carry the rest of the team on his more-than-capable shoulders.
Erick became a strong leader under extremely adverse conditions this season. The Hokies' in-conference record speaks to this adversity. Never did I observe Erick complaining or disrespecting his teammates before, during, or after games; and I guarantee lesser men would have done so, especially when you consider that he was double- and even triple-teamed in many/most games, primarily because his teammates posed little threat to opposing defenses. His scoring numbers are all-the-more impressive because of this, and it was nice that the ACC Player of the Year voters recognized this.
Even though he was the most productive player on the team, he was typically the first guy in the practice facility every day, working on his shots. He focused on strength and conditioning with Coach David Jackson, and the hard work paid off. Actions speak louder than words, and Erick definitely "walked the walk". I expect the example that he set to pay off for the Hokies next season, even though he is graduating; this should especially be the case for younger players like Marshall Wood, C.J. Barksdale, and Joey Van Zegeren; who saw first-hand the kind of sacrifice required to achieve excellence.
Finally, it is quite rare that someone like Erick becomes such a honorable human being and a game-time warrior without strong, positive, parental influences. I had the opportunity to briefly meet his mother, Tami (a former basketball player at Howard University), after one of the Hokies' away games against UMD two years ago. One could tell from her self-assured demeanor and how proud she was of Erick that the acorn didn't fall very far from the tree. We, as Hokies and fans of Erick Green, owe at least some of our accolades to her and Erick's father (also named Erick, and a former running back at Howard University) as well.
Go Hokies!!
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