Hokies' Redick follows in her brother's ACC footsteps

BLACKSBURG, VA. -- When Abby Redick was younger, she often lost games of H-O-R-S-E while playing on the basketball hoop fastened to her family's garage. Her eldest brother, J.J., never let her win.

"He would shoot it from behind our cars in our big gravel driveway and swish it," Redick said of J.J., a former all-American guard at Duke. "I didn't even have the strength to get it up to the rim at that point."

Redick grew up in the shadow of an older brother who held the ACC career scoring record upon completing his career with the Blue Devils. But now she is creating her own path as a freshman forward at Virginia Tech.

A native of Roanoke, Abby Redick was a standout recruited by a handful of major programs. She came to Virginia Tech, in part, for the opportunity to play in the ACC.

Seven games into her Hokies career, Redick is off to a promising start. She is not a perimeter sniper like her brother, who holds the Division I record for most career three-pointers. But Redick is a heady and strong player off the bench for Virginia Tech.

"I think she's very complete," Hokies Coach Beth Dunkenberger said. "J.J. was more of a shooting guard, and his role was to put the ball in the basket. Abby is a very versatile player. It's her heart and her mind and her competitive spirit -- she's got all the intangibles that make a good player great."

As the youngest of five athletic children, Redick grew up in the gym. She practiced at local high schools and joined an AAU team at age 7. She also traveled around with her brothers' teams, shooting the basketball during halftime of their games.

But before Redick even reached high school, she was often asked about J.J. Her friends and family would ask about his commitment to the Blue Devils before his junior year of high school. Others would simply say "that's cool" to have an older brother like that.

"All five of our siblings are very competitive; it was a competitive household," J.J., who now plays for the Orlando Magic, said in a telephone interview. "I do think it was important for her to carve her own niche."

Abby Redick led Hidden Valley High School to two Virginia AA titles and scored 1,038 career points. Before her junior season, Redick attended a camp at Virginia Tech and left the Hokies' coaches so impressed they offered her a scholarship shortly afterward.

Duke made a late push in her recruitment, although she was never offered a scholarship. She wanted to stick with Virginia Tech, which does not have an illustrious women's basketball history. The Hokies have only once made it to the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament and have a 22-48 record in conference games since joining the ACC in 2004.

"I kind of had to do my own thing," Redick said of coming to Virginia Tech, adding that her goals were to help the Hokies to the NCAA tournament in each of her four years and to win the ACC championship. "I'm happy being at Tech. It's an awesome place."