Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 2 | October 2019

20 Inside Hokie Sports season preview men’s basketball “He’ll fit,” Young said. “Some way, somehow. He wasn’t around all summer. He graduated from high school for crying out loud … There’s certainly a pretty steep learning curve, but [he has a] great attitude. He wants to be a great player. He’s in the gym all the time. He’s a dynamic scorer. Glad to have him.” The small forward position probably features the most talented two players on the squad. Isaiah Wilkins played in all 34 games as a freshman in 2018-19 and averaged 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He shot nearly 50 percent from the floor (48.7). Landers Nolley II took a redshirt season last year after arriving as a highly touted recruit from suburban Atlanta. As a senior at Langston Hughes High School, he averaged 31 points and eight rebounds per game. Nolley scored 26 points in the state title game to lead his high school to the Class 6A state title for the second consecutive season, and he led the state of Georgia in scoring on his way to becoming the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Player of the Year. “He’s a really good player,” Young said. “He’s big. He’s a true small forward, 6-foot-7, big, 215. We can play small with him at the four [power forward]. He’s a traditional 3 man [small forward]. We can post him a little bit. He’s got a very high basketball IQ. I’ve been impressed with that. He’s as good as advertised. He’s a good basketball player.” Nolley is a specimen at 6-7, 215, and while he fits as a traditional small forward, he may also find himself being used as a power forward. The Hokies lack proven commodities in the frontcourt. P.J. Horne, a 6-5, 220-pounder, averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds during an injury-plagued 2018-19. Horne brings the most experience in the post, having played 57 games in his career, but the Hokies need for someone else to emerge. The remainder of the contingent includes freshman John Ojiako, who, at 6-10 and 240 pounds, stands as the biggest player on the roster; walk-ons Grant Yates and Ryan Payne, and Branden Johnson, who transferred to Tech from Alabama State. The 6-8 Johnson played in 66 games, starting 46 of them, and averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game this past season. Another transfer, 6-9 Keve Aluma, played for Young at Wofford over the past two seasons and averaged 7 points and 7 rebounds per game in 2018-19, but he must sit out this season tomeet the NCAA residency requirements. Young did not hide his concerns about the Hokies’ inside attack at ACC Operation Basketball. “Incredibly,” he said when asked how concerned he was. “I’m a traditional guy. Bigger front line. I’ve been different at the four spot [power forward]. I’ve played a guard there. But if I had my preference, I would play 6-9, 6-10, 6-11 at the four-five spot. If you guys know anything about recruiting, post players are hard to come by, and in April [when Young was hired], they’re really hard to come by. We did the best we could, and that’s been a point of emphasis through the summer and fall. We’ll get that corrected. It’s just going to take a little time.” Young preached that particular message at all of his speaking engagements and in preseason interviews, and that certainly is understandable. When he arrived on April 9, his roster featured just four scholarship players—Wilkins, Nolley, Kabongo and Horne. At the time, Bede and Kerry Blackshear Jr., who ultimately transferred to Florida, were in the NCAA transfer portal, and everyone else either graduated, or in Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s case, went to the NBA. For sure, this is a rebuilding situation, and Young understands that. Yet he readily admits that he struggles to practice what he preaches. “I’m trying my darnedest,” he said of his patience level. Complicating matters is that Young and the Hokies jump right into conference play. For the first time, the ACC scheduled conference games Continued from page 19 ATTACKING THE C HALLENGE