Men’s basketball is front and center today at the ACC Tipoff, and while the Virginia Tech women’s program went through the ringer in March and seems to have recovered nicely, it’s not like Hokie Coach Mike Young and the men’s program were having a day at the beach back then either.
Young had to contend with most of his roster either graduating or leaving to chase NIL dollars elsewhere. It was like a card game where you discard your hand and draw all new cards.
Three players – Hunter Cattoor, Robbie Beran and Mehki Long – had exhausted their eligibility so everyone knew they would be gone (although it seemed like Cattoor played at Virginia Tech for 27 years). But Sean Pedulla, Lynn Kidd, Tyler Nickel, MJ Collins and John Camden – who played a significant number of minutes and included just about all the starters returning – chose to transfer and explore opportunities elsewhere.
If you looked on social media – that bastion of calm, rational conversation – you may have seen people wondering if Virginia Tech even had a men’s program. The pantry was so empty, it seemed like there were echos, not players, in the locker room.
Some were even wondering if Young was the guy to lead the program. In an NIL era of new rules and younger coaches, I won’t say Mike is older than dirt. But he’s almost as old as I am. And I’m older than dirt.
I found it to be some of the most foolish talk among Hokies I’ve encountered. Mike had done this before, as Buzz Williams left and took recruits and players with him much like Kenny Brooks had done six months ago with the women’s program. Young found enough talent to patch things where he could, and the Hokies that year finished with a .500 record, an amazing bit of coaching under such stark conditions.
Times like these, I firmly thought, play to his strength. He reminds me a lot of a codgy old NASCAR crew chief, who doesn’t have everything he needs, but years of experience have taught him how to get the most out of what you’ve got, and find what you don’t in places not everyone looks. Slowly but surely he has worked his magic, and this week the team picture wasn’t a small group akin to the team from the movie Hoosiers. It was a full roster of 15 players.
I don’t think we’ll know just how good these newcomers will be until play starts, but one thing seems obvious. Every player was brought in for what it seems like is a specific need, and while some are high school recruits, most are transfers already having game experience and impressive statistics from the previous school. There is no “big prize” stolen from a name school who is going to be the next coming of Mr. Basketball.
Instead they are transfers from smaller schools who have come to Blacksburg with a chip on their shoulder, eager to show they can play at a higher level in the Atlantic Coast Conference. “Quick learners and intelligent people,” is how Young described them at the ACC Tipoff.
It would appear not only was Young targeting talent, but he was also looking for chemistry, saying the new players were a hardworking group who enjoyed playing together.
These are Mike Young’s kind of players. Not to mention that I can’t really say last year the group – while talented – seemed to enjoy playing together at times. Sometimes they stood around and watched one player dominate handling the ball.
On paper, they have people who can handle the ball, people who can shoot, and people quick enough to drive the lane. They’re not a huge team, but they have a number of players at 6-8 with quickness who can rebound. Freshman Ryan Jones at 6-8, 240, is one I’m looking forward to watching.
In a way, these are kind of the perfect conditions for a Hokie team. Nobody expects them to do much with all new players, and the NBA isn’t coming to Blacksburg to scout first-round draft choices.
But they seem to have bought into Young’s system. As Young himself said, they play together, they’re quick learners, and they’re intelligent people who seem to like each other. And the team will be flying under the radar in terms of expectations.
Just the way Mike Young likes it.