The 2023-24 non-conference slate has been put in the books for Virginia Tech. The Hokies tally is a solid 8-3 in out of ACC play with the conference-opening win over Louisville giving Tech an overall record of 9-3.
Some key lessons and realities of the strengths and ceiling of this Tech men’s squad were learned along the way in November and December. Without further delay, let’s dive into the four biggest lessons we learned about the Hokies two months into the season.
Hokies Have Less Top-End Talent But More Quality Options Than Last Year in the Frontcourt
Coming into the new season, it was clear that replacing Justyn Mutts and Grant Basile would be a challenge for Mike Young. Tech hit the transfer portal hard and brought in a trio of wings/forwards to fill the void that was left with their top offensive and defensive players graduating out of the program.
Basile’s team leading 16.3 points per game has been replicated by Lynn Kidd (more on that later). However, Basile was a three-level scoring threat who shot the ball at a 39% clip from three-point range.
The UNC transfer Tyler Nickel has brought some of that three-point punch back to the table. In the case of Mutts, transfers Robbie Beran and Mekhi Long have tried to replicate the five-year grad student’s defense and rebounding. Instead of the two pronged frontcourt that was Basile and Mutts last season, Tech has a deeper but less talented committee doing the work on the inside. The Hokies have more options but no forward or big on the roster who makes quite the same individual impact that Basile or Mutts did last year.
The Hokies clearly have more depth and have experimented with different lineups. All the new pieces in Nickel, Beran and Long have seen time in the starting lineup and off the bench.
If Mike Young can balance out the right lineups at the right times and the best way to implement each transfer's strength to help the Hokies, perhaps less top-end talent but more quality options could be beneficial to Tech in 2024.
