Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 2 | October 2018

24 Inside Hokie Sports A L L I S O N C L A I R E OFFICIALLY LICENSED VIRGINIA TECH FINE JEWELRY ALLISONCLAIRE.COM “What she had to do in the beginning was win her teammates over to the point that they started looking for her naturally instead of me having to call plays. That’s the way we wanted it to happen. Doing it that way, I really felt like it was going to take longer for her to establish herself, but she established herself quickly, and they understood that when we needed a basket, then, ‘Hey, let’s go to Taylor.’” Magarity— the only player to start all of the Hokies’ school-record 37 games last season—nearly averaged a double-double, scoring 13.2 points and grabbing 9.6 rebounds per game. She shot 44 percent from the floor and 69.1 percent from the free-throw line, and she led Tech in games, minutes (34.4 mpg), rebounding and blocked shots (52). The redshirt senior from Sweden scored her 1,000th point last season and finished with 16 double-doubles. She broke her own school record for rebounds with 357 and became Tech’s all-time leading rebounder. Brooks plans on using the versatile Magarity in a variety of ways this season, as he did last season when he played her some at point guard. “Her skill set is very unique to where we can move her all around,” Brooks said. “She’s kind of like a slot receiver. We don’t want to put her as just a tight end or a receiver. We want to move her all around because she’s our best post player, and she’s also one of our better ball handlers. She’s so smart. She gets it.” Tech also returns productive seniors Alexis Jean and Rachel Camp, both of whom started 27 games last season. Jean averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and she possesses the ability to play both in the post and outside. Camp—an unsung hero last season because of her ability to play all three perimeter positions—averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Kendyl Brooks and Aisha Sheppard also started games a year ago, with Sheppard starting late in the year because of an injury to Brooks. The two sharpshooters know how to stretch a defense, as they combined for 132 3-pointers last season. Sheppard led Tech with 76 3’s as a freshman, setting a freshman record at Tech and coming just one 3-pointer shy of the single-season mark. Therein lies arguably the strength of this season’s Tech squad—its ability to shoot the ball. Emery, Magarity, Brooks, Sheppard, Jean and freshman Dara Mabrey all can drain the 3-pointer. “It’s actually the best shooting team that I’ve ever had,” Brooks said. “Kendyl broke the freshman record for most 3-pointers two years ago, and then Aisha Sheppard broke it last year. I told Aisha to hang on to it and enjoy it for a year because Dara is probably going to break it this year. “When you continue to recruit kids of that nature and that fit your system, you’re going to be a good basketball team. It gives us the ability to spread it out. We’ll put five people on the floor that are 3-point capable. That’s really going to be hard to guard.” For sure, the Hokies know how to score. A year ago, they set program records for points (2,673), field goals (946), and 3-pointers (295). But can they defend? That question remains to be answered. In ACC play last season—when Tech went 6-10—the Hokies’ opponents shot nearly 44 percent and averaged five more points per game than Tech. “I think we have more of an offensive-minded team,” Brooks said. “We’ll have to scheme defensively to throw people off and do some things. I think our typical win will be in the high 70s, maybe creep into the 80s. But if we have to play a game that’s going to be in the 50s or low 60s, that’s where we’re really going to have to improve.” The other question with the Hokies centers on the point guard spot. Brooks played Magarity and Camp a lot at the point guard position when Chanette Hicks took a leave of absence—she subsequently left the program—but neither is a true point guard. This season, Brooks hopes one of his freshmen, Mabrey or Shaniya Jones, emerges. TO TAKE READYING THE Continued from page 23