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

inside.hokiesports.com 15 Support the Student Emergency Fund and student initiatives! vt.edu/HokieE ect Justyn Mutts R-Jr., 6-7, Forward Millville, New Jersey • Started 32 of 33 games at Delaware last season, averaging 12.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game • Had 11 double-doubles last season for the Blue Hens • Sat out the 2018-19 season after transferring from High Point to Delaware • Made the All-Big South Freshman Team at High Point after averaging six points per game David N’Guessan Fr., 6-9, Forward De Lier, The Netherlands • Averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game at Mt. Zion Prep last season • Chose Tech over St. Joseph’s, VCU and Washington State • Led Mt. Zion to two Elite Eight appearances in the National Prep School Championship • Listed as a three-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals Cordell Pemsl Gr., 6-9, Forward Dubuque, Iowa • Played in 96 games, starting 14 of those, at Iowa before transferring to Tech • Averaged 2.8 points and 3.2 rebounds last season • Had 14 rebounds and six assists in a 2017 game at Virginia Tech (a 79-55 Tech win) • Scored in double figures in 22 games at Iowa Gill Williamson Fr., 6-8, Forward Richmond, Virginia • A walk-on who played three sports at St. Christopher’s • Averaged 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks per game as a senior • Picked Tech over JMU and Virginia • Was a standout prep football and lacrosse player as well “I think it’s too early to start making those determinations. John Ojiako would have been an ideal candidate to sit a year ago. We just couldn’t do it. Those things will work themselves out. Are we going to have the ability to play 11? I don’t know the answer to that yet. I do think that I like the character on our roster. I like the basketball abilities of the kids on our roster. They’re good basketball players and smart basketball players, we think. We’ll have to get further down the road before I’ve got a better handle on that sort of thing [redshirting].” At least he’ll have options this season, and the additions also create some excitement about the potential ceiling of this team. A year ago, the team probably exceeded expectations. Everyone associated with the program now wants more. Predicting a ceiling remains difficult without knowing the schedule—as of the deadline of this writing, the ACC had not released a schedule and Tech had not released its nonconference slate. The league figures to be much better, yet the Hokies think they are, too. “The biggest thing is we’ve just got to take it one day at a time,” Cattoor said. “We can’t look too far forward, and we can’t look back on what happened last year. It’s just take it one day at a time and just try to work hard and get better each and every day.” Young admits the program isn’t where he wants it to be. Not yet. But if the Hokies become more balanced on offense, get more out of their post players, and play a little better on defense, they could find themselves in the NCAA Tournament discussion in March. So Hokie Nation, like Young, should grab a bag of popcorn. This year’s show could be worth it. men’s basketball SEASON PREVIEW