Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 2 | October 2017

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16 Inside Hokie Sports
Williams
figures to use a
committee to replace
LeDay, starting with the return
of Blackshear. The 6-10 Florida native,
who shot 55 percent from the floor as a
freshman in 2015-16, returns after missing last
season with an injury.
Nick Fullard, a 6-10 transfer from Belmont
Abbey, becomes eligible, and Williams and his
staff added freshman P.J. Horne, a 6-5 forward
from Tifton, Georgia. Those two enter into the
equation as well.
But Williams would feel much better about
the situation with the return of a healthy
Clarke. The 6-6 forward averaged 11.4 points
and 7.3 rebounds per game before tearing
an ACL in the Hokies’ double overtime win
over Virginia on Feb. 12. He missed the rest
of the season, and his status for this season
remains somewhat cloudy.
“I don’t know when or if Chris will play,”
Williams said. “I think when you’re talking
about an ACL injury that late in the season …
Ernest [Eugene, Tech’s team trainer] and our
doctors are phenomenal, and Chris is gifted
from a body standpoint.
“But as we have done with Ahmed [Hill,
who missed the 2015-16 season because of an
injury] and Kerry, I just value who these guys
are and their futures, and I’m overly protective.
It’s not when the doctor releases you. It’s when
I can go to sleep at night, and go, ‘I’m doing
right by your future.’”
Complicating matters is the injury to Ty
Outlaw, who burst onto the scene late last year
after Clarke’s injury. Outlaw averaged nearly
14 points per game in the Hokies’ final eight
games. He shot 62 percent from the floor in
that span, including 64 percent from beyond
the 3-point arc.
But Outlaw tore his ACL in a pickup game in
July. He will miss the 2017-18 season.
“It [Outlaw’s injury] changes the complexion
of our team,” Williams said. “You like how the
year ended, and you liked how he was trending
going into his fifth year. To tear your ACL in an
open gym in July, and you don’t even know you
tore it … I just hate it for the kid.”
The Hokies, for sure, are in much better
shape on the perimeter, especially with the
return of Justin Robinson, Justin Bibbs,
Devin Wilson and Hill. Robinson started all
33 games last season and averaged 10.4 points
and 4.8 assists per game, while Bibbs likewise
started all 33 games and averaged 9.2 points,
2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. In
addition, Bibbs morphed into the Hokies’ best
perimeter defender.
“I think Bibbs has had his best summer,”
Williams said. “Guys going into their senior
year, they start working at amore anxious level.”
In his first year back from the injury, Hill
started 28 games and averaged 11.4 points
per game. He shot 45 percent from the floor,
including 37.3 percent from beyond the 3-point
arc. As those familiar with the men’s basketball
program know, Hill sets the standard when it
comes to work ethic.
Wilson took a redshirt year last season while
playing on the football team, but he returns and
adds both experience and talent. He has played
in nearly 100 games at Tech, and like Bibbs, he,
too, plays hard and tough on defense.
Three others are in the mix—6-1 guard Tyrie
Jackson, who took a redshirt year last season
and freshmen Wabissa Bede and Nickeil
Alexander-Walker. The latter two, along with
Horne, comprise a recruiting class that many
services rated among the top 20 nationally, and
Williams expects all three to contribute this
season pending how they progress on defense.
Therein lies Williams’ second major
challenge for the 2017-18 Hokies. In addition
Continued
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