Satchel Pierce’s Big Upside

Nov 14, 2014; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies forward Satchel Pierce (21) handles the ball while being defended by Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks forward Mike Myers (24) in the second half at Cassell Coliseum. Virginia Tech defeated Maryland Eastern Shore 71-46. Mandatory Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports

Entering this season, it was pretty obvious that the Virginia Tech Hokies were going to go with a smaller lineup for much of the season due to the lack of depth in the frontcourt. Virginia Tech also knew that they had one player who could get the job done in Joey Van Zegeren.

However, the Hokies need some depth behind Van Zegeren and Shane Henry isn’t exactly ideal in this type of lineup due to how he is only 6-8. The Hokies only have one player above 6-8 other than Van Zegeren and that is freshman center Satchel Pierce.

Pierce is 7 feet tall and has the size of a prototypical center. However, Pierce has proven to be a player that has a lot of developing to do.

Pierce has not been that bad in some of the Hokies’ early-season games but he has had his fair share of struggles when he has been on the floor for Virginia Tech. Pierce has proven to be someone that shouldn’t be used more than 10 or 12 minutes per game ideally with Van Zegeren ideally going 30+ minutes.

However, Pierce showed that his future is fairly bright especially with solid amount of playing time he received in the second half of the blowout victory against Miami-Ohio. In that game, the freshman big man had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

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Pierce showed some progress in this game and is proving that he has the talent to be a solid backup center this season for the Hokies. Overall, Pierce is averaging 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 13 minutes per game which are solid but not great numbers.

However, there is no denying the fact that Satchel Pierce has a lot of potential but his development is going to take some time. Pierce is going to be a really good basketball player but it is going to take some time.