By Matt Jones, sports editor
During a season of mostly low moments, Dorenzo Hudson’s clutch three-pointer late in Sunday’s win over Virginia is a reason to smile.
Game story: Hudson’s three propels Hokies to first ACC win
The redshirt-senior with 84 career starts under his belt has come off the bench for Seth Greenberg the last two games. While many would sulk and complain, Hudson has stepped up and given the Hokies exactly what they need — energy.
“I told him ‘Your minutes are not going to change, the way we use you is going to change,’” Greenberg said. “We thought J.T. (Thompson) was going to be our Energizer Bunny. When we lost J.T., maybe this is something that has been missing. It was time to give it a shot.”
Over the last two games — a loss to North Carolina and Sunday’s win over UVa — Hudson has transformed himself into a valuable sixth man for the Hokies. He had 16 points against UNC and 12 against UVa.
“Coach knows what he’s doing, and he wanted me to come in and give a spark off the bench,” Hudson said. “I’m just playing my role, and I feel like coach is doing a really good job trying to get me going.”
Late in Sunday’s game, Hudson did what most senior leaders do, and that’s take the big shot. With 17 seconds left, his three-pointer crushed the hopes of the No. 15 Cavaliers.
“We all had tremendous confidence in Zo,” said Jarell Eddie. “He just hit the shot. I swung it to Zo, and he took it and he made it.”
Hudson is taking his new role in stride.
“When I’m on the bench I feel like I study the game a little bit more than when I start the game,” Hudson said. “When I’m on the bench, I’m trying to take advantage of it, seeing where my shots are going to come from. I’m just trying to embrace my role.”
First ACC win
The Hokies, now 12-7 and 1-4 in the ACC, entered hostile territory and came away with a much-needed win.
“We know we can get the win in whatever game we play,” Eddie said. “We lost those tough games, but we got one today.”
Greenberg is happy with the way his team responded following Thursday’s loss, and saw some positives that he can carry forward.
“We took a step forward today,” Greenberg said. “We took a step forward in terms of playing through adversity. When they took the lead, it would’ve been very easy for us to melt. I thought our guys did a terrific job executing down the stretch. It was basically two teams drawing a line in the sand and not giving an inch.”
UVa, who surged early in the second half to take the lead, was denied a win thanks to the tough defense by the Hokies.
“Today, we were able to respond once they made their run in the second half,” Eddie said. “We were able to get stops and score the basketball.”
Photo by Daniel Lin, SPPS
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