Moments before kicking off their first-ever ACC West Coast trip at Stanford last Wednesday night, it was announced that Virginia Tech men’s basketball point guard Ben Hammond was a late scratch against the Cardinal. Then three nights later at California, the freshman was again out of the lineup and was seen on TV with his foot in a walking boot. Talk about a tough sight.
Despite missing Hammond, the Hokies were able to split the trip by hanging on to beat Cal by three points, 71-68, after blowing a halftime lead at Stanford. After flying cross-country on Sunday, head coach Mike Young gave an update on Hammond’s injury and it was an encouraging one.
Mike Young gives promising Ben Hammond injury update
David Cunningham of Tech Sideline reported that Young said that he expects Hammond to return to the lineup on Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum against North Carolina State. Young also said that he’ll be a game-time decision, but the fact that he is even a possibility to play is a very good sign. Young compared Hammond’s injury to the one that former point guard Sean Pedulla suffered last season.
Hammond has been a nice addition to the Hokies lineup and in his last game, he registered eight assists in the Hokies, 86-85, victory over Miami on Jan. 4. He had a nice pass to Mylyjael Poteat with 1.2 seconds remaining where he made a layup and then the game-winning free throw.
In Hammond’s absence, Brandon Rechsteiner started against Stanford and Cal, while Rodney Brown, Jr. came off the bench to run the point, and in the overall performance of both players, they did very well in their teammate's place. Virginia Tech enters Wednesday night’s matchup with the Wolfpack at 2-3 in the ACC and they are playing good basketball since the holiday break, which is encouraging considering how they struggled in the non-conference.