While the recruiting focus this past weekend for Hokie fans was on football, Mike Young and his men's basketball program also hosted a few visitors this weekend including rising three-star SF Darren Buchanan Jr. By the time his visit was over, Buchanan had himself an offer from Virginia Tech.
Beyond blessed to have earned an offer from Virginia Tech ! 🙏🏽 @wHOKIEmj @CoachTeeJohnson @CoachMKYoung #GoHokies 🧡🦃 pic.twitter.com/ZnmlyPbIdt
— Darren Buchanan Jr 🙏🏽 (@dbuchananjr2) January 15, 2022
He had this to say about his reaction to receiving an offer from the Hokies.
"I had a big smile on my face for sure and I was filled with joy and excitement," Buchanan said.
He received the offer during a conversation with head coach Mike Young and associate head coach Mike Jones with that conversation going quite well beyond just receiving an offer as Buchanan shared with us.
"It was great, Coach Young talked about how much he loved my game and how he has been following since he saw me this summer. Talked a lot about the program and how I would fit into what they are building," Buchanan said.
Buchanan has built up a strong offer list over the past couple years that includes Xavier, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Rutgers, VCU, Loyola-Chicago, Richmond, St Bonaventure, George Mason, George Washington, and more. Georgetown and South Carolina are among the other programs also showing interest who haven't offered Buchanan just yet but could be close.
That shouldn't come as a surprise as the 6'7'' Buchanan has been having a strong season at Woodrow Wilson HS in Washington D.C. proving to be a double-double machine at the 3.
One thing that has been an issue for Tech at times has been being a little undersized. Darren Buchanan would be an answer to that issue given his size at the 3 while his rebounding production in addition to his scoring is a big plus for a team that has been improved rebounding this season, but has limitations due to lack of size currently.
Buchanan's visit to Virginia Tech also went well as he shared with us.
"It was great. I got to see a little bit of campus and watched the team pull out a tough comeback win," Buchanan said.
As mentioned, his visit included a tour of campus, photoshoot, tour of facilities, and then Tech's comeback victory over Notre Dame. While the visit left a strong impression on him as a whole, there were a couple things that stood out the most.
"Just the love the coaching staff showed me and the managers as well. The fans stood out to me too, the atmosphere was outstanding," Buchanan said.
Keep an eye on Darren Buchanan Jr as the Hokies seem poised to make him one of their top remaining high school priorities for their 2022 class.
