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

22 Inside Hokie Sports G&H Appliance, a winning team FOR 50 YEARS! Since 1969, Nobody Does it Better!!! 1290 Roanoke Street, Christiansburg, VA 24073 • 540-382-7500 • www.gandhappliance.com Find us at G&H Appliance season preview men’s basketball BRANDEN JOHNSON Gr., 6-8, Forward Garfield Heights, Ohio Graduate transfer, Alabama State • Played 17 minutes per game as a redshirt junior last season • Averaged 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game • Tore his ACL as a freshman and took a redshirt season • Played in 66 games in his career, with 46 starts KEVE ALUMA Jr., 6-9, Forward Berlin, Maryland Transfer, Wofford • Will sit out this season after transferring from Wofford • Started 34 games as a sophomore last season • Averaged 7 points and 7 rebounds per game • Scored 7 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Kentucky in Wofford’s second-round NCAA Tournament loss RYAN PAYNE Jr., 6-8, Forward Mechanicsville, Virginia • Joined the team as a walk-on in the offseason • Was a former student manager for the Hokies • A first-team all-state player at Hanover High School (Class 4) • Was a conference player of the year in high school GRANT YATES Jr., 6-8, Forward Gainesville, Virginia • Transferred to Tech from Christopher Newport, a Division III school • Played in 19 games in 2018-19 • Scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds last season • Played his prep basketball at Battlefield High NAHIEM ALLEYNE Fr., 6-3, Guard Buford, Georgia • Also considered Nebraska, South Florida, St. John’s and Hofstra • Averaged 17.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a senior at Mountain View High • Made 63 3-pointers as a senior • A four-star recruit by Rivals HUNTER CATTOOR Fr., 6-3, Guard Orlando, Florida • Originally committed to Wofford, but signed with Tech after Mike Young’s hiring • Averaged 18.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a senior at Bishop Moore High • Scored 1,420 points in his high school career • A first-team all-state player (Class 6A) JALEN CONE Fr., 5-10, Guard Walkertown, North Carolina • Chose Tech over Wake Forest, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Boston College • Averaged 25.7 points and 6.6 assists per game as a senior at Walkertown High • Averaged 35.5 points per game as a junior • A four-star prospect and the No. 8 point guard nationally by 247Sports JOHN OJIAKO Fr., 6-10, Forward Lagos, Nigeria • Picked Tech over LSU, Georgia, Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast • Played his high school basketball at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida • Rated the No. 25 center prospect in the nation by ESPN • Has only been playing basketball for two years M EET THE NEWCOMERS