Christian Beyer’s Big Chance

Jan 11, 2014; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Boston College Eagles guard Lonnie Jackson (20) drives to the basket against Virginia Tech Hokies forward Christian Beyer (22) during the first half at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The Virginia Tech Hokies have seen a couple of new faces in the frontcourt with center Satchel Pierce committing to the Hokies JUCO forward Shane Henry choosing to come to Blacksburg and power forward Zach LeDay transferring to Virginia Tech though LeDay won’t be elligible till the 2015-2016 season. However, the Hokies have had a lot of major frontcourt departures and while Joey Van Zegeren is the well-known Hokie that will get a lot of playing time, he will not be the only one most likely.

Christian Beyer has proven to be one of those hard working players that always want to improve and get the job done when he has the chance. Beyer will be a senior this fall after walking on to the Hokies’ basketball team as a sophomore so this will be his last season but Beyer will finally get the chance to improve his playing time after averaging just under 10 minutes per game in his first two seasons on the Hokies’ roster.

Beyer averaged 1.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season in 9.6 minutes per game which was slightly down from his 1.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game during the 2012-2013 season. However, Beyer has never gotten significant playing time but these numbers do prove that he has the promise to be a solid player who could primarily play power forward or play some small forward in some cases due to how he is 6-7 and 200 pounds.

With Trevor Thompson, Marshall Wood, C.J. Barksdale, and Maurice Kirby all leaving Virginia Tech this offseason and only two new frontcourt players coming in who can play this fall in Satchel Pierce and Shane Henry, Christian Beyer has a big opportunity.

Beyer seems likely to be consistently in the Virginia Tech frontcourt rotation and with Pierce and Henry both being new to the program, Beyer could even get the chance to start early on in the season. Beyer will definitely have the chance to be an impact player for the Hokies in their frontcourt this season while also contending for a starting job and that is an opportunity that Beyer will want to take advantage of.