Virginia Tech shooting guard Darius Maddox is entering the transfer portal as first reported by ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
Virginia Tech guard Darius Maddox plans to enter the transfer portal, sources told ESPN. Started 19 of the first 20 games this season, averaged 8.5 points.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 24, 2023
Maddox played in 20 games this past season starting 19 while averaging 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game plus shooting 40.4% from the field including 32.3% from three-point range. This comes after he shined in a rotational role last season averaging 6.5 points per game while shooting over 50% from three-point range and hitting some big shots in clutch wins at Miami and most notably against Clemson in the opener of the 2022 ACC Tournament title run for the Hokies.
He missed the rest of this past season while he and his family were dealing with some health related issues which Maddox's mother recently tweeted out an update on.
Thank you @HokiesMBB for your support over the last few months! Hubby returned from medical leave 🙌🏽🙌🏽 last week. We appreciate the “family first” culture and respecting our privacy during a time of uncertainty. It meant the world to us♥️♥️#Grateful#Godstimenotours!
— StephMaddox (@Maddoxfan13) March 22, 2023
Maddox is the second Hokie to enter the transfer portal after freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr entered earlier this week. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
There's no doubt in my mind that Maddox will be a popular player in the portal among high-major programs. Yes, he had his struggles this season, but he's shown in the past that he can score at all three levels and a change of scenery could do him wonders.
Meanwhile, the upside of Maddox going away is definitely a loss though as we all saw, we didn't get to see an in-form Maddox this past season as a shooter. This clears the way for a four-guard rotation of Sean Pedulla, Hunter Cattoor (if he returns), Rodney Rice, and MJ Collins next season with incoming freshmen Brandon Rechsteiner and Jaydon Young providing farther down depth.
However, I also expect that Tech will bring in one more guard maybe in more of a 3 and D mold who fits more as a small forward type wing. Tech could also look for more of a slasher type wing to compliment what is more of a finesse-driven backcourt currently though the defense and fit pieces likely will, or at least should, be points of emphasis.
We've already seen that Tech is showing interest in several bigger wings like Illinois-Chicago SG Jace Carter, Florida SG Kowacie Reeves, Tarleton State SG Freddy Hicks, and Tulsa SF Tim Dalger.
