Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 13 No. 2 | October 2020

inside.hokiesports.com 13 After all, six of the seven teams that finished ahead of the Hokies in defensive field-goal percentage also finished ahead of them in the ACC standings. “I thought we took some strides defensively,” Young said. “Not night in, night out, but I thought our team fought, and we had some really nice outings, and we’re going to be better on the defensive end this coming year.” ROSTER ANALYSIS The perimeter Last year’s leading scorer, Landers Nolley II, decided to transfer in the offseason, but the Hokies return five perimeter players who played extensively last season, including three—Wabissa Bede, Tyrece Radford, and Nahiem Alleyne—who started. Bede started all 32 games, while Radford started 29 and Alleyne 27. Bede serves as the leader of this team. He led the ACC in assist-to- turnover ratio (3.3) a year ago, and his 5.5 assists per game ranked third in the league. He struggled to shoot the ball, but Tech’s staff thinks a finger injury affected his shot, and the coaches expect him to be more of a scoring threat this season. Radford was a breakout candidate last season, averaging 10.2 points per game and leading the team with 6.2 rebounds per game. He also shot 60% from the floor and was one of just three players in the ACC to average 10 points, 6 rebounds, and shoot 60%. Alleyne averaged 8.8 points per game and nearly shot 40% from beyond the arc. As the season went along, Young referred to him as one of the team’s top perimeter defenders. “I’ve always thought I had good defense,” Alleyne said. “I’m just glad that he thought of me like that. I’m expected to guard big-time players this year again, but I’m ready for it.” Jalen Cone and Hunter Cattoor also return for their sophomore seasons. Cone shot 45% from beyond the arc, and his 64 3-pointers were 11th in the ACC. Cattoor averaged 6.5 points and shot 40% from beyond the arc. The staff added experience to the backcourt with the arrival of Cartier Diarra, a graduate transfer from Kansas State. A 58-game starter in his career, Diarra averaged 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for the Wildcats last season, and he gives the Hokies a playmaker in the backcourt. The rest of the perimeter contingent includes highly recruited guards Joe Bamisile and Darius Maddox. Both are tremendous shooters with some length. “He’s what I refer to as another ‘runaway shooter,’” Young said of Bamisile. “He’s a kid that can just fly off a screen, catch it, and elevate, and get the thing in the basket. Darius Maddox is a scorer and has some length. He’s a long, young man on the perimeter.” The post The biggest changes to the roster center on the post positions. A year ago, Tech’s post presence consisted of P.J. Horne, a 6-6 forward who played mostly on the perimeter and transferred after the season, and 6-10 John Ojiako, a freshman who played sparingly. But Young added height, length, and size to the two post positions in the offseason. The process to improve this area actually began before the start of last season when Keve Aluma, a 6-9 forward, transferred from Wofford. He sat out last season and now figures to be a day 1 starter. “I love his game, and he was very good for us in practice last year,” Young said. “Chester Frazier [a Tech associate head coach], if I heard him say it once, I heard him say it 50 times, he would make us so much better right now. He had a year in the smokehouse, as I refer to it, and he will be better because of that experience. I’m really excited about what he’ll bring to our roster.” Young and his staff also tapped into the transfer market to add two more post players in Cordell Pemsl (6-9, 250) and Justyn Mutts (6-7, 230). Pemsl scored 550 points and grabbed 400 rebounds in 96 career games for Iowa before leaving, and Mutts averaged 12.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for Delaware last season. Mutts has caught the eyes of several who have watched him play. TO ACTION Mike Young and his staff have added experience, size, and depth to Virginia Tech’s returning core and the Hokies find themselves optimistic heading into Young’s second season at the helm by Jimmy Robertson Continued on page 14 men’s basketball SEASON PREVIEW