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

inside.hokiesports.com 27 Proud Supporter of Virginia Tech Athletics 99 Bradley Drive Christiansburg NRV Mall 540-381-8100 www.holidayinn.com/cburgnorth Full Service Restaurant Bar & Grill Game Day Catering, Dine in or Room Service Looking for a “HOKIE HOME” away from HOME? season preview WOmen’s basketball “I thought she had a tremendous three games in Europe, and I like that. I think she’s adjusting to it, and she’s doing what is best for the team. If we can get her off the ball and have Taj [Cole] penetrate and kick, if you’ve got a 46 percent 3-point shooter out there, that’s a pretty good option to have.” Cole came to Tech after spending the past two seasons at the University of Georgia—she began her career at Louisville. As a junior, she averaged 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds and led the SEC at 7.0 assists per game. She finished eighth in the nation with 202 assists. Cole entered the NCAA’s transfer portal after the season, and Brooks quickly went after her. The Richmond native had attended Brooks’ camps when he coached at James Madison, so he knew her and her mom well. “She’s experienced, and she’s quick,” Brooks said. “The analogy you can use is she’s like a fifth-year quarterback going to a new coach. The things she was required to do elsewhere, they’re different than what I want her to do. It’s just a matter of her trying to get adjusted to the style and the way that I want to play compared to the style that she’s used to playing.” Like Mabrey, Baptiste may find herself playing multiple positions. She started 19 games as a sophomore last season and averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. She worked mostly in the post, but Brooks may play her some at the small forward position after she shot a team-best 55.3 percent from beyond the arc in 2018-19 (38 attempts). In fact, so, too, could Sheppard, who made 59 3-pointers as a sophomore, and Kendyl Brooks—provided she returns healthy after recent hip surgery. Freshmen Taylor Geiman and Makayla Ennis also figure in the mix at small forward. “It could be an unorthodox lineup in a lot of different ways,” Brooks admitted. “We could play smaller. It could be Aisha, it could be Kendyl, or it could be one of the freshmen. Or we could go unorthodox in another way and put Trinity there. “We played Trinity on the perimeter a lot in Europe in the summer. If you look back on our statistics [last year], she was our highest 3-point percentage shooter, and that came off a year when she never even shot one in junior college. But she’s got a nice stroke from 3, she’s poised, and she knocks it down. Decision making and ballhandling will be a little different for her, but she offers an element there that makes us bigger and stronger and able to rebound with some bigger teams, so we like that versatility that we have with that. “We just don’t have a traditional 3. If you sculpt out a traditional 3, we don’t have that on our roster, but we have a lot of kids who can fill that role.” For sure, he has a lot of kids with the ability to contribute in the post. Arguably, Tech’s post contingent represents the deepest part of the team and the most proven. The group features five players taller than 6-foot. Baptiste headlines the group, but Brooks expects big things from both Rivers and freshman Elizabeth Kitley. Rivers transferred from nearby Radford and averaged 7.7 points and 8.6 rebounds during her three seasons there. As a junior, she averaged a double-double at 12.2 points and 10.4 rebounds on her way to earning first-team All-Big South honors. Rivers has ties to Tech—her father, John, played both football and basketball in Blacksburg in the early 1990s. Actually, John Rivers and Brooks played against each other four times when Brooks played at JMU. “I’ve known her for a long time,” Brooks said. “Watched her and competed against her. I’ve known her dad for a long time. When she made herself available, we were, like, ‘Yeah, we’d be very interested.’ It was a dogfight to get her. She visited Purdue and a couple of other schools. She had a lot of Power 5 schools that were very interested in her. Why wouldn’t you be when you have a 6-2, athletic, experienced, Continued on page 28