Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 27, 2022; Philadelphia, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels pose for a photo after the Tar Heels defeated the St. Peters Peacocks in the finals of the East regional of the men's college basketball NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2022; Philadelphia, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels pose for a photo after the Tar Heels defeated the St. Peters Peacocks in the finals of the East regional of the men's college basketball NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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ACC Basketball Virginia Tech Hokies forward Justyn Mutts Ryan Hunt-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Virginia Tech Hokies

All of the attention was on the Hokies’ frontcourt this offseason, pending the decisions of starting forwards, Justyn Mutts and Keve Aluma. Only one came back, as the leading scorer Aluma (16.5 ppg) stayed in the NBA Draft process. However, the versatile Mutts (10.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.4 apg) are back and can help plug some of the missing holes on the roster in other positions.

Replacing Aluma in the frontcourt is Grant Basile, a 6’9 transfer forward from Wright State that averaged 18.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg last season. He’s not as good defensively as Aluma but has the potential to replace his scoring ability. And to provide depth inside is Rice transfer Mylyjael Poteat, a big body at 6’9 and nearly 250 pounds.

The backcourt has undergone changes as well, with Storm Murphy moving on and Nahiem Alleyne transferring to UConn. Sharpshooter Hunter Cattoor (10.0 ppg) is the lone returning guard, while both Sean Pedulla and Darius Maddox will get more minutes and have the chance to be breakout players. Four-star guard Rodney Rice will look to get into the rotation, while Memphis transfer and former top-50 prospect John Camden could easily start on the wings.

Despite losing a fair amount of talent this offseason, Virginia Tech’s roster has a good amount of depth and several breakout candidates. As long as they figure out the point guard position and do not have to rely on Mutts being the “point forward”, they’ll be in NCAA Tournament contention.