Gardner-Webb Men Open Season Friday Night At Virginia Tech
November 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Gardner-Webb will open the 2008-2009
basketball season in hostile territory Friday night at 8 pm ET,
battling with ACC member Virginia Tech.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (16-16 in 2007-08) return four starters from a
year ago – including star guards Grayson Flittner (15.3 ppg)
and Aaron Linn (12.5 ppg), but will be without standout sophomore
forward Nate Blank on Friday. Blank, the 2008 A-Sun Freshman of the
Year, will miss at least the first three games of the season with a
minor injury.
True freshman forward Joshua Henley (Madison, Tenn. / Hunters Lane
HS) will step into the lineup in Blank's absence, and was
ESPN.com's 70th-rated small forward in the Class of 2008. The
6-foot-4, 220-pound Henley averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds per
game as a prep senior, and finished Gardner-Webb's exhibition win
with six points and eight rebounds.
Junior center Auryn MacMillan (6-8, 235) will start again in the
paint for GWU after averaging 4.8 points per game last season.
Senior Takayo Siddle (5-11, 180), who has started 31 games at the
point during his career, will likely start in the backcourt
alongside Flittner and Linn Friday, giving the ‘Dogs
considerable experience in one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's
toughest venues.
Virginia Tech (21-14 in 2007-08) advanced to the NIT last season
and returns the bulk of its talent from a year ago. The Hokies are
picked to finish sixth in the ACC's preseason poll, but will be
without forward J.T. Thompson (injury) Friday against Gardner-Webb.
A.D. Vassallo is the team's top returning scorer at nearly 17
ppg.
Friday's game will tip at 8:00 pm, or 30 minutes following Virginia
Tech's women's game against UNC Greensboro (6 pm ET tip). The
GWU-Virginia Tech game will air live on WGWG-FM (88.3).
