Replacing Delaney, Hudson has huge night

The news spread quickly that guard Malcolm Delaney sprained his ankle in Virginia Tech's win over Longwood on Dec. 30. From Internet message boards to a hotel lobby in Atlanta, where fans mingled before watching the football team beat Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, Delaney's injury was soon the hot topic.

While Delaney's health will linger as a source of intrigue until he returns, guard Dorenzo Hudson did a remarkable job filling in for him in the Hokies' 103-94 overtime win against Seton Hall on Saturday in Cancun, Mexico. Hudson scored a career-high 41 points in leading Virginia Tech to an important non-conference win before playing at North Carolina on Sunday.

Hudson's points were the most by a Hokies player since Bimbo Coles scored 42 against Rutgers in 1990. Hudson hit 20 of 21 free throws and also dished five assists and made 3 of 7 three-point attempts.

It was a resounding statement for Hudson and a promising sign for the Hokies (12-1), who have won nine straight and are off to their best start since it opened 14-1 in the 1982-83 season.

In recent weeks, Hudson had been an emerging figure for Virginia Tech. A 6-foot-5 junior, Hudson has started to make tangible strides. He scored 24 points, previously a career high, in Virginia Tech's win over Virginia Military Institute on Dec. 9. And in the Hokies' wins over Charleston Southern on Dec. 19 and Maryland Baltimore County on Dec. 22, Hudson started to show a real aggressiveness shooting the ball and attacking the basket.

While the Hokies will miss Delaney, their best player, if he is out for an extended period of the ACC schedule, Hudson did more than his part in filling in for him and lifting Virginia Tech to a gutty win on Saturday.