To say the veteran Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Mike Young is feeling a little frustrated at the holiday break would be a major understatement. Sitting at 5-7 after a disappointing showing in the non-conference, the Hokies have a break before turning their attention to ACC play which begins in full on New Year's Eve at Duke.
It feels like anything that could go wrong has gone wrong for Virginia Tech through the first two months of the season. That is going to happen when you have a mass exodus as Young did last season in the transfer portal and you're left building a roster through the portal yourself and with younger players. That is showing so far this season. With the Hokies enjoying the holiday break, what would be on Young's wish list this season?
Mike Young's 2024-25 holiday wish list
There are two things that should be on Young's list, which like football coach Brent Pry, should be a lengthy one. The first thing would be consistent shooting from his entire roster. Last season he had Hunter Cattoor who was able to shoot the ball along with Sean Pedulla and Tyler Nickel. This season has been a struggle, even for Duke transfer Jaden Schutt who was recruited by the Blue Devils out of college as a knockdown shooter.
Despite all the turnovers and other issues, the Hokies have had this season, any kind of shooting and knocking down shots at key moments in games, we could be looking at a 7-5 or 8-4 record. That might be generous, but not that far off. Of course, getting stops defensively would also help, but the shooting has been a frustrating part of the season through 12 games.
Another thing that would be on Young's wish list is the development of his young players. Ben Hammond has been impressive in his first college games and Tyler Johnson continues to play well around the basket at both ends of the floor. You can add Schutt into that mix as well and there are some young pieces to be excited about for the future with Christian Gurdak next season. As we learned last season, retaining those players is going to be easier said than done beyond 2024-25.