No one wants injuries to be the way a young backup makes his first career starts but with Sean Pedulla dealing with a foot injury, freshman point guard Brandon Rechsteiner has made a pair of starts for Virginia Tech to wrap up non-conference play.
While Tech obviously wants a healthy Pedulla, they've also made the best of this circumstance in getting the freshman Rechsteiner some valuable experience playing 25-30 minutes against weaker competition. In the process, Tech has also gotten to gain more confidence in what Rechsteiner can do working off the bench in ACC play.
While his first start didn't go so well, Rechsteiner stepped his game up against Vermont with five points, three assists, and two rebounds with zero turnovers. He also played 23 minutes and allowed the Hokies to limit Pedulla's minutes as he was still recovering from injury but cleared to play against the quality mid-major.
Then in Virginia Tech's 77-55 victory over American, Rechsteiner ran the show like a true floor general with 11 assists compared to only two turnovers. This came as Pedulla was held out for precautionary reasons with Rechsteiner giving Tech what they needed with Pedulla out.
In the process, Rechsteiner's performance against American impressed VT head coach Mike Young, especially since Rechsteiner ran the offense just how Young envisions his offense should look like.
