Finney-Smith, Hokies hope to have turned corner in ACC

In the moments following his career-high 17-point performance in Virginia Tech’s dramatic 66-65 home win over Boston College on Sunday night, Hokies freshman Dorian Finney-Smith was asked if he felt he turned a corner and put his recent struggles behind him.

He sheepishly smiled, looked down at his shoes and then answered simply, "I hope I turned a corner."

The entire Tech basketball team is hoping that’s true, because the players and coaches know how important the shy 6-foot-8, 192-pound forward from Portsmouth is to their success.

The Hokies (14-11, 3-7), who visit ACC co-leader Florida State tonight at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, have won two of their last three games after dropping six of their first seven in ACC play.

The difference for Tech recently has been the resurgence of Finney-Smith, who tantalized Hokies fans with three double-doubles in his first six games before encountering a shooting slump that corresponded with his team’s losing spell.

Over the last three games, Finney-Smith, who was given the nickname Doe-Doe by his grandmother, has averaged 11 points and eight rebounds. In the previous nine games, he averaged only 1.6 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Tech is 9-0 when Dorian Finney-Smith scores in double figures. There isn’t a better indicator of success than that.

"He’s a great player. Everybody was questioning him when he was going through his little slump, but you know, it was that freshman thing. He was playing hard. He practices hard. He’s a great player," Tech junior point guard Erick Green said.

"It’s finally coming. All the hard work he’s putting in and after practice is finally paying off. I’m glad he’s keeping his head straight, because a lot of freshmen get down and might give up, and he didn’t do that."

Finney-Smith broke his slump with a 12-point, eight-rebound performance in a 67-65 home win over Clemson last Saturday, and then he had the best game of his career eight days later against Boston College, capping it off with the game-winning tip-in with 2.4 seconds remaining.

"I’m just playing with confidence," Finney-Smith said. "It’s confidence on the court. When you feel like it’s going to go in, it goes in."

Tech coach Seth Greenberg said while Finney-Smith had his confidence shaken a bit during his scoring drought – he was held scoreless in five of the first eight ACC games – he stayed positive and worked with the coaches to improve.

Greenberg has worked one-on-one with Finney-Smith to improve his shooting mechanics, and the player has put in extra work during practice and before games to get better.

"I understand he’s got a gift. He’s just not physically capable of using that gift all the time really. We’re asking him to bang with [much bigger players]," Greenberg said.

"Like the other night, he’s got to guard [Miami 6-foot-11, 251-pound forward] Kenny Kadji. He’s giving 50-something pounds to Kenny Kadji. It’s probably unrealistic, and he doesn’t say boo. He just does what you ask him to do."

Finney-Smith lacks the size and experience of many of the players he’s guarding in ACC play. Greenberg said it hasn’t been difficult for him to remain patient with the callow Finney-Smith. But he understands that may not be the case with outsiders.

"He’s going to be a really special player. It just takes time," Greenberg said. "His nickname is Doe-Doe, and I think his nickname should be Bambi. He’s just getting his legs."

Green can certainly relate to Finney-Smith’s freshman struggles. Green averaged only 2.6 points per game and was held scoreless in 16 of the 34 games he played as a freshman.

Now as a junior, Green ranks seventh in the ACC in both scoring average (15.5) and field goal percentage (45.7 percent).

"By the end of [my first] year, I didn’t get out of it," Green said of his freshman shooting woes. "But I got back for my sophomore year and just kept playing. Just as long as he keeps working, getting in the gym like he’s doing, there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s a great player. He works hard. He’s going to get through it."

Because of that long scoring drought, Finney-Smith ranks only 13^th among ACC freshmen in scoring average (6.0), but he leads all ACC freshmen in rebounding average (7.1) and is second with three double-doubles.

Greenberg says that’s a pretty good year for a freshman playing in the ACC. But anybody who’s seen Finney-Smith play knows he could be much better in the future.

"If you look at all the really good players, you can go back to their freshman year and you say, ‘Man, I can’t believe that guy only averaged four points a game and he’s averaging 17 as a junior," BC coach Steve Donahue said. "I think he’s one of those players that you know he can do that as a junior."