V I R G I N I A T E C H B A S K E T B A L L 2009-2010
don Devoe
tech all-time coaching great
TECH GREAT ALLAN BRISTOW
To many Hokie fans, it will remain the most important event in Virginia Tech basketball history. In 1973, the Hokies shocked the basketball world by defeating New Mexico, Fairfield, Alabama and Notre Dame to win the NIT. The win over the Irish in the finals was capped by a buzzer-beating jumper by Bobby Stevens to win the game in overtime, 92-91. The coach of the Hokies was Don DeVoe, in just his second season in Blacksburg. DeVoe took a group of experienced players in his first season, built upon that foundation by teaching strong fundamentals and put the Hokies on the basketball map. “I was fortunate at the age of 29 to be named the head coach at Virginia Tech,” DeVoe said. “I was lucky to inherit five outstanding seniors. I give credit to those five seniors in being able to grasp what we were teaching and believing in what we were teaching. That first team laid the foundation for what we were to accomplish in the future.” DeVoe was fortunate to work with an outstanding staff, including future head coaches Sonny Smith (VCU, Auburn) and Jim Hallihan (East Tennessee State). A graduate assistant on those teams was Kevin O’Connor, currently the senior vice president of basketball operations of the NBA’s Utah Jazz and father of former Tech women’s assistant basketball coach and player, Katie O’Connor. That group was able to recruit an outstanding group of players that brought a lot of excitement to Blacksburg. “My first staff, Sonny Smith and Jim Hallihan, were great at finding the type of kids we wanted in our program. They helped us establish the success that we had and we were fortunate to have them here,” DeVoe said. DeVoe coached the Hokies for five seasons, compiling an 88-45 overall record. He is the fifth-winningest coach in Tech history and is remembered for being the coach that got the Hokies started on the most prolonged and successful streak in the school’s basketball history. “When we left, we were able to leave behind an outstanding group of players and I know that Charlie Moir took those outstanding players and was able to continue the success at Virginia Tech.” DeVoe retired following the 2003-04 season as the head coach at Navy.
The Hokies were 52-6 under Don DeVoe in Cassell Coliseum. Don DeVoe coached Hokie great Allan Bristow at Virginia Tech.
Don DeVoe and the Hokies celebrate the 1973 NIT Championship in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
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“It was really exciting to see what was happening at Virginia Tech. It was exciting to see the people in the state get excited about Virginia Tech basketball and football. We enjoyed tremendous support from the students and the community. The NIT season, just about every game was a full house. It was an exciting time in Virginia Tech athletics.” — Don DeVoe