ACC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2023-24 season

CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 25: Leaky Black #1, Armando Bacot #5, R.J. Davis #4 and Caleb Love #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels walk away from the camera during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers on February 25, 2023 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 71-63. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /

9 of 14

ACC Basketball Hunter Cattoor #0 and Grant Basile #21 of the Virginia Tech Hokies (Photo by Ryan Hunt/Getty Images) /

6. Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech’s 2022-23 season was hampered by injuries and absences. Hunter Cattoor missed a key stretch of games at the beginning of January while Darius Maddox missed the last 14 games of the season. They were 12-4 with all five starters healthy and 7-11 with one or more out of the lineup.

Darius Maddox has since hit the transfer portal, which stings. They’ve filled that wing gap with two transfers already, though. Mekhi Long (10.7 PPG) is transferring in from Old Dominion, giving the Hokies experience on the wing. Tyler Nickel, a rising sophomore from UNC, is perhaps the more enticing addition. His offensive ability was largely untapped in Chapel Hill, and his 3-point shooting makes him an obvious fit for Mike Young’s system. The defense needs work, but the potential is there.

Justyn Mutts is out of eligibility, but Grant Basile and Cattoor both have a COVID year remaining. Basile was the team’s leading scorer, and Cattoor was the team’s best shooter. Sean Pedulla (15 PPG) is also expected to return.

Virginia Tech’s ceiling is a preseason top-25 team. Its floor is a mid-to-upper-tier ACC team. Either way, they’ll be competitive.