Virginia Tech Basketball: Hokies lose another assistant in Steve Roccaforte

The Virginia Tech Basketball program seems to be going through an interesting transition, as Steve Roccaforte heads to East Carolina.

Virginia Tech Basketball and the coaching staff was dealt a huge blow in the past few days when it was announced associate head coach Steve Roccaforte would be leaving to join the East Carolina coaching staff. He is the second assistant coach to leave the program this offseason.

Jeff Reynolds, former director of scouting and game management left back in June to join the Texas A&M Aggies coaching staff. Former Hokies assistant Isaac Chew is also on the Texas A&M staff. Reynolds and Roccaforte both have been with Williams since his arrival in Blacksburg back in 2012. Things have changed mightily since then, leaving two vacancies on the staff.

Roccaforte will join head coach Joe Dooley’s staff with the East Carolina Pirates. He will take on the position of assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, showing one of the biggest strengths he brought to Virginia Tech’s staff.

Since his arrival, Williams and his staff have led the Hokies to a 74-60 record, an NIT appearance, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. After posting an 11-20 record in the first season, the turnaround became apparent in the past three seasons, as the Hokies have gone to a 63-38 record.

After a 10-8 finish in ACC play in 2017-18, they’re expected to be a top team in the conference this upcoming season as they return four of five starters and a bulk of their production from a season ago.

On the court, they’re fine but off of it, recent departures and the current recruiting climate should give fans a reason to worry. Virginia Tech currently has zero commits in their 2019 recruiting class. They originally had the commitments of B.J. Mack, and twins Kobe and Keyshaun Langley but all three players de-committed at the same time this past December.

Replacing what they’ve lost

Since then, not much has changed on the recruiting trail for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Roccaforte was viewed as a longtime mentor and the brains behind their recruiting in the past few seasons. This season, they have three players in their 2018 recruiting class, led by sharpshooting wing Landers Nolley.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see who will be the likely replacements on the Hokies’ coaching staff. One name that comes to mind is former alum Ace Custis. He played for Virginia Tech from 1994-1997, averaging 13.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per contest in his career. His No. 20 jersey was retired by the Hokies back on March 2, 1997.

Custis is currently an assistant coach at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, where he just finished his fourth season at the position. UMES is entering a transition period of their own after parting ways with head coach Bobby Collins. The school is retaining Custis as well as Clifford Reed as its interim head coach but there may be a bigger opportunity unfolding for Custis.

As of now, both Reynolds’ and Roccaforte’s position remain vacant. Reynolds position has remained open since he left at the end of June. As teams are finalizing non-conference schedules welcoming newcomers on campus and beginning to prepare for a new school year, they’ll need to move quickly.