18 / 48
MEN’S BASKETBALL
2016
The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team
won 20 games and made it to the postseason
for the first time in five years, and for Ty
Outlaw, sitting and watching was enough to
break his heart, figuratively speaking.
Yet doctors shelved him for the entire
year, and that decision came about because
they thought he actually had a broken heart,
literally speaking.
Outlaw’s nine-month ordeal ended in
mid-June when doctors cleared him to
resume workouts with the Tech basketball
team. They feared that he had hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, a disease in which the heart
muscle thickens, making it harder for the
heart to pump blood. The disease often goes
undiagnosed because people with it exhibit
few symptoms and often live normal lives. Yet
it can be fatal.
A year’s worth of tests, monitoring, healthy
eating, and medication resulted in Outlaw
being cleared. In early October, he participated
in Buzz Williams’ infamous boot camp, one
designed to help with conditioning, improve
mental toughness and build chemistry. He
also participated in his first team practice, as
the Hokies began preparations in earnest for
the 2016-17 season.
As arguably the most important newcomer
on this season’s roster, he is ready to add
scoring punch and defense to the Hokies’
squad.
“It all worked out for the best,” Outlaw
said. “There was a small light at the end of the
tunnel, and I eventually got to it after a long
nine months.
“No one sawme getting cleared. I had to see
two or three different doctors, but I’m glad I
stuck it out. It makes me that much grateful
to be here and have this opportunity. It shows
me how fragile it is and to take advantage of
it.”
Now he gets to be part of the excitement,
as Williams enters his third season as the
coach and appears to have the Hokies’ train
steaming forward in a positive direction.
Tech surprised everyone outside of the
program by going 20-15 last season, one that
ended with a painful 80-77 loss to Brigham
Young in the second round of the NIT. The
20 wins marked a whopping nine-game
improvement from the previous season.
Those numbers create excitement in and
of themselves, but what really generates the
enthusiasm among Hokie Nation is that all
the key components return for this campaign.
Tech only lost workmanlike big man Shane
Henry, who graduated, and Jalen Hudson and
Satchel Pierce, both of whom transferred.
Williams and his players focus on simply
getting better each day—a savvy strategy
that served them well a year ago. But fans
hope to see this group advance to the NCAA
Tournament, which would be the program’s
first appearance since 2007 and second in two
decades.
MEET
THE
NEWCOMERS
TYRIE JACKSON
6-1, G, Fr.
Tift County High
Tifton, Georgia
•
Averaged 18 points, seven
rebounds, five assists and five
steals as a senior
•
Named second-team All-Class
6A by the Atlanta Journal
Constitution
•
MVP of the South team in the
Georgia Athletic Coaches
Association All-Star Game after
scoring 26 points
•
Chose the Hokies over Georgia
Tech, Wichita State and
Jacksonville
KHADIM SY
6-10, C, Fr.
Oak Hill Academy
Dakar, Senegal
•
Averaged more than 10 points
per game his final year
at Oak Hill
•
Chose Tech over Kansas State,
Georgia Tech, Purdue and
Wake Forest
•
Was the first Oak Hill prospect
to sign with Virginia Tech
in more than 30 years
•
Was one of six Oak Hill players
to sign with a Division I program
16
Inside Hokie Sports
KEEP
FOCUS
ON THE DAY,
As They Begin
Preparations For
Upcoming Season
Last season, the Tech men’s
basketball team went to the
NIT in Buzz Williams’ second
year as the head coach, and
while many on the outside
have NCAA Tournament
aspirations, he and his
players are simply trying to
get better each day
by
Jimmy Robertson