Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 5 | May 2020

8 Inside Hokie Sports by Jimmy Robertson In an end-of-the-season Zoom interview with roughly 20 members of the media held in late April, Mike Young was his usual self—outgoing, personable, and positive in spite of the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach joked with the media, making fun of select members’ grooming habits (unkempt, disheveled looks are the norm these days), and he once paused mid-stream during an answer to get in a wisecrack about a reporter’s cat, who had walked in front of the reporter’s camera. While not necessarily reflective of the times, Young’s mood was reflective of his views of the Tech men’s basketball program following his debut season. A young squad that featured six freshman who played extended minutes survived the season, going 16-16 overall. The season as a whole wasn’t always pretty. Young admitted the style of play wasn’t always either. But Young and his staff established a foundation and coached in a way that gave the Hokies the best chance to win—and he exited the season feeling optimistic, both about what took place and the future. “To grow up as an athlete in January and February and still hold the line and have some really good moments, that impressed me,” Young said of his team. “I hope like heck that I don’t have to go through another one with that many young people. That was challenging, but man, were they fun to coach and work with, and that experience will serve them well.” Looking ahead, Tech’s future success hinges on size and depth—two areas that Young and his staff have addressed over the past year. The process started with last summer’s addition of Wofford transfer Keve Aluma (6-9, 240), who becomes eligible this fall. More recently, Iowa graduate transfer Cordell Pemsl (6-9, 250) and incoming recruit David N’Guessan (6-8, 195) joined the mix. Tech also got bigger on the perimeter with incoming recruits Joe Bamisile (6-5, 175) and Darius Maddox (6-4, 180), both of whom signed in November, and recent Kansas State graduate transfer Cartier Diarra (6-4, 185) “I knew going in, going back a year ago, that it was going to take us a bit to get the roster balanced and where we want it,” Young said. “We’re not there completely, but I do feel a lot better. In a number of areas, we’ll be deeper a year from now. We’ll be bigger and stronger … I like our skill level. I think we’ve made our team better, as we look ahead to 2020-21.” Interestingly, Tech’s roster almost features too much depth. Six of the top seven scorers return, and Aluma, Pemsl and Diarra will play next season. Throw in three freshmen, and the roster consists of 12 players who expect to be on the court. Of course, this is May, and rosters constantly change. Yet given the roster size, Young hinted at a possible redshirting of one or multiple players. “I’ve never redshirted a kid in my 18 years as a head coach and regretted it,” Young said. “I think that is such an incredible opportunity to grow physically and get a better understanding of the game. I think it’s too early to start making those determinations. John Ojiako would have been an ideal candidate to sit a year ago—but we just couldn’t do it. But those things will work themselves out … we’ll have to get further down the road, in September or October, before we get a better handle on that sort of thing.” Young expects the Hokies to be good offensively next fall, but he has some concerns looking ahead. He knows they need to get better defensively, and they need to rebound better—which may happen with added size and depth. He also wants to get to the free-throw line more. Tech ranked 14th in the ACC in free-throw attempts in 2019-20. Tech also lacks a true small forward. Landers Nolley II and Isaiah Wilkins both transferred following the season. Not to mention, Tech will face a more difficult schedule. Young scheduled a home- and-home series with Oklahoma State, which starts next season in Oklahoma City. The Hokies also will take on Marshall, Davidson and George Washington—a step up from some of the MEAC foes on past schedules. The Hokies still may be a year or two away from being in the upper third of the ACC. But overall, their trajectory looks great, and that comes as no surprise. Young and his staff know how to coach and recruit, and staff members like Ace Custis and David Jackson know how to speak to the history of the program—and sell it. All that is to say this—Mike Young is in a good mood these days. He may be in a much better one 10 months from now. Returning talent and new additions have future of Tech men’s basketball looking bright