The basketball season is nearly upon us and the Virginia Tech Hokies may have the most question marks of any team in the ACC. The offseason was filled with turmoil and questions. Many former Hokies entered the portal, and when Sean Pedulla left Blacksburg for Ole Miss, fans started to get nervous. The Hokies return zero starters on a club that finished a respectable 19-15 and ended the season with a second-round NIT loss at Ohio State after beating Richmond in the first round.
I think if you asked Mike Young if that fell short of expectation, he would agree. In other bad news, the Hokies lost their best off-season acquisition in Hysier Miller. Miller was the projected starting point guard, and that will be painful as Young will try and find the next man up to replace him. When Young began his tenure at Virginia Tech he had the Hokies in form. Two NCAA Tournament appearances gave the Hokies fans some hope for a brighter future post-Buzz-Ball (former coach Buzz Williams). Having come squarely down to earth this season is a must-have.
My biggest question is why have so many Hokies hit the portal? Is it not a good fit? It is a lack of NIL? Is it the culture of the program? These things need to be examined. Ask 100 coaches if they want to start an ACC campaign with ZERO returning starters. We'll find out just how good this transfer portal-built unit is beginning Monday night at home against Delaware State.
We have to examine the root cause. I’m sure Mike Young’s lost sleep over it. If it’s a NIL deal, then the Hokies need to decide what they want. Everybody wants football to be competitive, but if you value basketball are you ready to pony up?