Virginia Tech Hokies
2021-2022 Overall Rank: #21
Conference Rank: #4 ACC
Virginia Tech had a very good 2020-2021 campaign. Despite losing a key player in Carter Diarra early in the season, the Hokies managed to finish 15-7 overall and 9-4 in ACC play. Cancelled games derailed the later part of the season and that made things difficult for the team in losses to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament and Florida in the NCAA Tournament. A few key departures leave some questions, but Coach Mike Young has brought in some transfers to help keep the Hokies competitive in the ACC.
2020-21 Record: 15-7, 9-4
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike Young
Coach Record: 31-23 at Virginia Tech, 330-267 overall
Key Departed Players:
Tyrece Radford. Guard, 12.2 ppg
Jalen Cone, Guard, 9.2 ppg
Wabissa Bede, Guard, 3.9 ppg
Joe Bamisile, Guard, 3.5 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Keve Aluma, Senior, Forward, 15.2 ppg
Nahiem Alleyne, Junior, Guard, 11.1 ppg
Justyn Mutts, Senior, Forward, 9.5 ppg
Hunter Cattoor, Junior, Guard, 8.5 ppg
David N’Guessan, Sophomore, Forward, 2.6 ppg
Darius Maddox, Sophomore, Guard, 0.8 ppg
Key New Players:
Jalen Haynes, Freshman, Forward
Camden Johnson, Freshman, Guard
Lynn Kidd, Sophomore, Center, Transfer from Clemson
Storm Murphy, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Wofford
Sean Pedulla, Freshman, Guard
Ben Varga, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Keve Aluma transferred in from Wofford and had a great debut campaign with the Hokies, averaging 15.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocks on his way to Second-Team All-ACC accolades. The offense can again work through the 6-9 senior. Justyn Mutts had a fine debut season as well, averaging 9.5 points and 6.4 rebounds. Much of the hope for improvement in the frontcourt comes from the development of David N’Guessan. The sophomore did not see much playing time as a freshman, but he is a talented player who can get up and down the floor. Center Lynn Kidd was a top 100 recruit last season and played sparingly at Clemson before heading to Blacksburg. The backcourt returns a couple key players in Nahiem Alleyne and Hunter Cattoor. Alleyne proved to be a very good outside shooter and hit 40.8 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc and averaged 11.1 points per game. Cattoor will likely be the team’s sixth man again this year after tallying 9.2 points per game off the bench last season. The hole at point guard will be filled by Wofford transfer Storm Murphy. The senior averaged 17.8 points and 4.3 assists and will join former teammate Aluma to form what should be a great inside-outside combination that leads the Hokies back to the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.0 (149th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.0 (56, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.0 (110, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.4 (129, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.2 (84, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.4 (95, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.8 (209, 12)
Rebound Margin: 2.4 (106, 5)
Assists Per Game: 14.2 (94, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.6 (63, 6)
Madness 2021 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#141 Sean Pedulla
