Virginia Tech has been without starting wing Tyler Johnson for the first ten games of ACC play due to an injury suffered in the 81-80 OT victory over Elon, but the Hokies' do-it-all is set to make his return very soon.
Head coach Mike Young said after Virginia Tech's 72-58 loss to No. 4 Duke that Johnson will make his return next Saturday at NC State.
"We’ve missed Tyler Johnson for an extended period since before the new year, but he'll be back in the lineup on Saturday next week," Young said. "It'll be good to have the guy back in uniform."
The 6'5'' sophomore Johnson has proven to be a valuable, do-it-all player for the Hokies who was averaging 9.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in 30.8 minutes. He also has shown significant improvement in his efficiency as he is shooting 53.0% from the field including 41.7% from three-point range, both of which are significant increases from shooting 45.2% from the field including 34.8% from three-point range as a freshman.
The excitement goes beyond just Mike Young to Johnson's teammates including Amani Hansberry who is looking forward to having all that Johnson brings to the table back on the floor for the Hokies.
"I'm very excited to get Tyler back. He's a real good guy. And he has the potential to be a star. So that's pretty scary, especially coming in in sophomore year. I think we gained another good defender on the wing, especially when we face kind of like those 6’5’’ guards that are really physical getting downhill. I'm really excited to get him back. I think it'll change the dynamic of our team," Hansberry said.
The defensive side of things and the physicality are also two major strengths for Johnson, who has a strong 3.8 defensive box plus/minus this season. His versatility on the defensive end to guard both wings and forwards will also give Tech some additional lineup options that could allow them to manipulate certain matchups better.
It remains to be seen whether Johnson will immediately jump back in the starting lineup or come off the bench to start just as Tobi Lawal did. If he does return to the lineup, Tech will have an interesting decision to make with Ben Hammond playing too well to take out with him and Jailen Bedford being Tech's two leading scorers during conference play. It does seem possible that Tech could move Neoklis Avdalas into a sixth man role amidst his slump if they want to put Johnson back in the lineup.
