When Virginia Tech men's basketball forward Tobi Lawal announced he was entering the NBA Draft, he did so while maintaining his college eligibility. He said that if he did not go pro, he would return to the Hokies for his senior year.
The date for him to make his decision was Wednesday, and on Tuesday, Lawal announced that he's returning to Virginia Tech for the 2025-26 season. Considering the roster turnover head coach Mike Young has had, getting Lawal back to a rotation that has picked up some very good pieces is promising for Tech.
Lawal averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds this past season after transferring from VCU. His athletic ability causes matchup problems for teams, and his ability to run a pick and roll and finish with alley oop dunk diving to the basket, is a nice little set play for Young and his guards to have.
After Virginia Tech was eliminated in the first round of the ACC Tournament, Lawal provided the best quote of the season, and that's tough to do with his head coach, who has been known to drop some good ones himself.
"My team, I'm proud of how far we came,'' Lawal said. "What did they have us in the preseason? Maybe 14th or 15th? They thought we were going to be ass. I mean, we were still ass but, you know, we weren't that bad. You know what I'm saying? We beat expectations.''
He wasn't wrong, but they did somewhat exceed expectations. Now, he returns along with some other key players and portal additions for next season, and without a doubt, the Hokies should be much better than their 13-19 2024-25 season.