MBB HOKIES 17-18 | MEDIA GUIDE

Steve Roccaforte begins his first season as associate head coach and is in his fourth year at Virginia Tech. Roccaforte, known nationally as a tireless recruiter and enthusiastic floor coach, spent his first three seasons in Blacksburg as an assistant coach. Roccaforte came to Tech following three years as an assistant coach at South Florida. He played a large role in USF bringing in a top- 15 nationally ranked recruiting class for both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, and he helped the Bulls advance to the third round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Consistently at the top of the list, Roccaforte was ranked as the 23rd-best assistant coach in the NCAA in 2012. Prior to USF, Roccaforte served as the head coach at Lamar University for five seasons. With more than 30 years of experience at the NCAA Division I level, Roccaforte has worked with some of the top coaches in the business and recruited some of the top talent in the country. His coaching history includes stints under national coaches of the year in John Calipari, Perry Clark and Billy Tubbs and receiving notoriety for helping develop multiple nationally ranked recruiting classes. Roccaforte is also no stranger to postseason play, having served on the staffs of eight teams that qualified for postseason action. He has been to a four NCAA Tournaments – one each with USF, Tulane, Memphis and Virginia Tech – and six NITs while at Tulane, Wyoming, Memphis and Virginia Tech. Tulane advanced to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in 1996, and Memphis made a pair of trips to Madison Square Garden, including a championship run in 2002. In all, Roccaforte’s teams have made 10 postseason appearances, including the Hokies’ 2017 NCAA Tournament appearance. Known as a relentless recruiter, Roccaforte has helped put together top-25 recruiting classes at USF (No. 12 being the highest), Tulane (No. 8), Memphis (No. 1), Lamar (No. 6) and now Virginia Tech. Memphis had the nation’s top- rated recruiting class in 2001. HoopScoop. com rated Lamar’s class in 2004, the first full recruiting class with Roccaforte on staff, among the top 10 in the country. This year’s Virginia Tech recruiting class was a consensus top- 25 class. According to recruiting analyst Dave Telep, Roccaforte is one of the 25 hardest- working coaches in the nation, as well as one of the top 15 recruiters in the country. Roccaforte’s penchant for recruiting was as evident as ever in 2009-10, as HoopScoopOnline.com ranked Lamar’s eight- player class ninth nationally and Basketball Times tabbed it as the 15th-best in the nation. The class featured three of the top 15 scorers in Junior College Division I. During his career, Roccaforte has coached or recruited such future NBA players as Larry Robinson (Centenary), Jerald Honeycutt (Tulane), Chris Owens (Tulane), Linton Johnson (Tulane), Josh Davis (Wyoming), Dejuan Wagner (Memphis), Antonio Burks (Memphis), Earl Barron (Memphis), Sean Banks (Memphis), Qyntel Woods (Memphis), Amare Stoudemire (Memphis), Kendrick Perkins (Memphis), Rodney Carney (Memphis) and Adrian Caldwell (Lamar). Dan Wetzel of CBS Sportsline.com listed Roccaforte as one of the top four assistant coaches ready to take over their own program and Basketball Times voted him as the seventh-best assistant coach in the country for the 2002-03 season. Recruiting analyst Dave Telep listed Roccaforte as one of the 25 hardest-working coaches in the nation, as well as one of the top 15 recruiters in the country. Clark Francis of HoopScoop.com called Roccaforte the top mid-major assistant coach in the country in 2005. @VT_MBBall @vthokiembb VTMBBALL 112 ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH S T E V E ROCCA F OR T E