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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PREVIEW
S
itting in one of the comfortable chairs within the Virginia Techwomen’s basketball conference room
on a September morning—shortly before heading out to go recruiting—Kenny Brooks took some
time to reflect on his first season as the Hokies’ head coach.
Rest assured, he wasn’t sleep deprived, and he didn’t need therapy, but what he surmised about
his inaugural season in Blacksburg certainly came across as a surprise.
“I felt we were an NCAA-caliber team,” he said succinctly. “If we had gotten a couple of more
breaks, and if we had had a little more depth, I thought we could have been an NCAA-
caliber team.”
Brooks certainly knows what an NCAA team looks
like, as he guided James Madison to six NCAA
appearances during his time as the head coach of
the Dukes. Yet his statement came as a surprise
since he inherited a Tech programwithout an
NCAA bid in 11 years.
Thanks to four seniors on the 2016-
17 team, the Hokies earned a WNIT
bid and advanced to the Elite Eight.
Despite a lack of depth and a couple
of injuries, the Hokies won 20 games
overall—the program’s first 20-win
season since 2005-06.
“I didn’t expect 20 wins,”
Brooks admitted. “What I couldn’t
determine was their heart.
“What I found out very quickly
was that, especially the starting five,
they had a high basketball IQ, and they
were experienced. They knew how to play
well together. They meshed extremely
well, and that allowed me to do more than
I thought I would be able to do as far as
offensive schemes.
18
Inside Hokie Sports
The Virginia Tech
women’s basketball
teammade postseason play
in Kenny Brooks’ first year as
the head coach, and a core of
returning players combined
with several newcomers have
him and his staff optimistic
about this season
by
Jimmy Robertson