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ACC Basketball: Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech receive commitments

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 11: The Duke Blue Devils hold up the trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 75-69 in the championship game of the 2017 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at the Barclays Center on March 11, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 11: The Duke Blue Devils hold up the trophy after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 75-69 in the championship game of the 2017 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at the Barclays Center on March 11, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are two teams in need of perimeter depth for 2018. Both ACC basketball teams have received solid guard commitments.

Buzz Williams and the Virginia Tech Hokies are in the midst of a retooling of the roster after two of their leading scorers graduated. When it comes to the guard line, their key current players are upperclassmen, including Justin Robinson and Ahmed Hill. This experience will make the Hokies a great team this year, but it will also make the 2018 recruiting class important in finding new guards.

The school already has two commits in wings Jarren Mcalister and Landers Nolley. Both players can play both the shooting guard and the small forward roles, spots that will be opened soon as well. This newest commit fills the point guard spot in top-300 player Jon Kabongo.

Kabongo, a 6’3″ ball handler from Canada, plays similarly to his brother (Myck spent two years at Texas before going pro). His scoring ability and athleticism are a great fit for the ACC.  Schools who missed out on him include Indiana and Missouri. While Virginia Tech was able to get their future point guard, they missed out on another guard that just committed to a fellow ACC competitor.

Like the Hokies, Georgia Tech was also in need of help on the perimeter. Not only is Tadric Jackson leaving after this season, but shooting as a whole has been a weakness of late. That makes the pick up of Khalid Moore all the more important.

247Sports Composite ranking has the three-star prospect outside of the top-200 currently. The Yellow Jackets not only beat out the Hokies for his services but Seton Hall as well. The 6’6″ wing will likely play at the three in 2018-19, sliding All-Conference caliber player Josh Okogie to the two spot.

He took an official visit to the program this past weekend and reconnected with his former AAU teammate and fellow New Yorker Jose Alvarado (who is a freshman this year). That connection put Coach Josh Pastner in the driver’s seat for Moore. He joins fellow 2018 commits Mike Devoe and Kristian Sjolund.

Next: Stars of the 2017-18 ACC

With the amount of talent that comes year in and year out, it’s always important to have good consistent guard play. Neither of these teams is a contender for the athletes Duke and North Carolina go for, so it’s important for three-star players to be more of a hit than a miss. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are rising in the conference and these are solid commitments for the future.