Time really flies by as this is already year eight for Mike Young as head coach at Virginia Tech. He got the Hokies on the right track quickly with a pair of trips to the Big Dance, but the Hokies have been left out of the NCAA Tournament every year since 2022. Last year was a step back in the right direction with a 19-13 finish, but the Hokies were still just 11th in the ACC and have much work ahead to become a contender.
This was far from a perfect offseason in Blacksburg but the Hokies are far from empty. They did lose Neoklis Avdalas to North Carolina and Jaden Schutt to Kansas State, among others, while also seeing Toibu Lawal head off to the NBA. However, leading scorer Amani Hansberry is back for his senior year while Ben Hammond returns to run the point as a junior, giving Virginia Tech quite the pair of stars back in the fold. We can’t forget returning guard Tyler Johnson either, who showed great potential in this backcourt last year.
Many of the new pieces of this Virginia Tech puzzle came to town via the transfer portal. The backcourt gets plenty of new depth, highlighted by double-digit scorers Jaylen Curry from Oklahoma State, Ethan Copeland of Stetson, and Isaiah Elohim from Florida Atlantic. There’s some great new pieces in the frontcourt as well, notably getting Miles Heide from San Diego State.
The standout needed
It’s Kuol Atak that stands out just a bit more than those other transfers. Formerly considered a 4-star prospect, Atak is a 6-9 forward from Haltom City, Texas who brings size and great potential to the Virginia Tech frontcourt. He actually redshirted his first year at Oklahoma before becoming a bench piece last season, putting up 7.0 points and 1.3 rebounds a game in limited minutes.
Atak is not what you’d initially expect from the potential starting center for the Hokies. He’s tall and lanky and is actually a great long-range shooter, making 41% of his 3-pointers last season. While he may struggle battling against the bigs on other ACC programs, Virginia Tech is hoping that with more playing time and strength training that he can become a focal part of this offense all over the floor, as well as a more established rebounder and defender.
A lot of the focus with Virginia Tech rests on Hammond and Hansberry and that isn’t changing based on this transfer haul. However, Young and his staff have found some intriguing pieces and Atak in general will really need to live up to that billing if the Hokies are going to make a push in the ACC. Right now it’s hard to see him as an elite big in this league, but perhaps Atak is going to surprise us while continuing to be an elite shooter.
Add us as a preferred source on Google