Three years have now passed with three straight finishes outside of the NCAA Tournament for Virginia Tech. The Hokies are coming off their worst season since head coach Mike Young took over in 2019. This team was pretty rough during a really down season for the ACC, though there’s hope that Young can get them back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2022’s ACC Tournament title.
The first good news is the return of leading scorer Toibu Lawal, a rising senior forward from England who was the only double-digit scorer for the Hokies. Lawal was also the top rebounder and a major piece to build around this season, though there’s a lot of new faces around him. Underclassmen like Jaden Schutt and Tyler Johnson return for bigger roles, but the Hokies will miss starters like Mylyjael Poteat and Jaydon Young.
A slew of freshmen talent enters the fold, including a pair of 4-star frontcourt players, but we’re looking more closely at the transfer portal haul. Young and his staff lost half a dozen names into the mix but aren’t leaning as heavily on new veteran talent. Former UNLV guard Jailen Bedford is the backcourt’s newest veteran while Izaiah Pasha comes to town after success with Delaware, though the third and final name will attract more attention.
Amani Hansberry is a 6-8 forward from Baltimore who was a Top 75 prospect back in the Class of 2023. He began his collegiate career at Illinois but saw mostly backup minutes as a freshman before transferring to West Virginia. Hansberry established himself in a more significant role with the Mountaineers, averaging 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds last season, with decent efficiency especially on defense.
He wasn’t a notable prospect for no reason and the Hokies are hoping that he can take another big step forward now as an upperclassman. Hansberry pairs nicely with Lawal and could form one of the most viable frontcourt duos in the ACC. With the slew of new bodies in the backcourt, it’s even more important for Hansberry to take that measured step forward, becoming a reliable scorer, rebounder, and defender in the paint.
You could certainly argue that Bedford will be more important with all the moving pieces at guard, but Hansberry is the one new athlete who can elevate Virginia Tech back to where they want to be. Not many people are heading into this season and expecting the Hokies near the top of the league standings. Could Hansberry and the rest of this new talent surprise folks around the country? If so, they’ll need him playing like a Top 75 athlete.