Virginia Tech men’s basketball is aggressively pursuing transfer portal priority

For the second straight season, it’s going to be a busy transfer portal for Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Mike Young and his staff. Last season saw a mass exodus out of the portal to other schools, and this weekend, two former Hokies will be playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with Rodney Rice and Maryland playing Florida and Sean Pedulla and Ole Miss playing Michigan State.

Already, five Virginia Tech players from this year’s team have entered the portal, with wings Rodney Brown, Jr., and Jaydon Young entering and centers Patrick Wessler and Ryan Jones joining point guard Brandon Rechsteiner. That leaves several open roster spots that need to be filled, and with incoming freshman Christian Gurdak and Sin’Cere Jones entering, there are still portal needs. Right now, Young and his staff are acting quickly with the portal.

Virginia Tech reportedly to host Jacari White

There are several needs on the roster of the Hokies, and one area is shooters and North Dakota State transfer Jacari White is someone who Virginia Tech needs to make a priority. This past season for the Bison, White averaged 17 points a game, 4.3 rebounds and shot 39% from beyond the arc.

White is reportedly looking to set up a visit to Blacksburg, and it’ll be interesting to see where things go if he does visit. Young is expected to have a bigger NIL package this off-season, and it would be easy to see him recruit White hard, as he would fill a huge hole.

Right now, assuming nobody else enters the portal, the Hokies have Jaden Schutt as someone who can shoot the ball, but after that, the options are few and far between. Ben Hammond shot the ball better as the season went along, but the Hokies need someone who can come in and stretch the defense, and White can do that.