Virginia Tech basketball: Jalen Cone is a Hokie

The Virginia Tech Hokies picked up some huge news on Thursday afternoon as four-star point guard Jalen Cone announced he was a Hokie.

This is welcome news for new head coach Mike Young. Cone, a lightning-quick 5’11”, 163-pound guard from Walkertown, N.C., recently chose to reclassify to the class of 2019 from the class of 2020. Cone had a host offers and ultimately chose the Hokies over Tennessee, Texas A&M and Baylor.

Cone originally received an offer from the Hokies back in 2017 from Buzz Williams. Tech was Cone’s first major offer and when Young took over he made Cone a priority for this class.

So, what are the Hokies getting in Cone?

Young gets the perfect guy to build his team around beginning in 2019-20. Cone is a complete point guard who is a terrific passer with good court vision. He does an excellent job penetrating to break down the defense and is a strong outside shooter. There is so much to like about Cone’s game. Cone is a volume scorer who can get it done from all over the court. He is an ideal replacement for Justin Robinson.

While keeping Anthony Harris in the fold would have been nice for Young, getting Cone is even better. He now has his point guard and also someone who can come right in and score. As of now, the Hokies do not really have a proven scorer at this level. Pairing Cone with Landers Nolley and hopefully one or two more players in this class could make this team much better than expected. At this point, it doesn’t look like Kerry Blackshear, Jr. is returning to Blacksburg.

Cone is an exciting player who Hokie fans are going to love. Don’t be fooled by his size as Cone also happens to be an impressive dunker, too.

So, for those of you who questioned the Mike Young hire, are you feeling a little bit better now? Sure, Young has yet to coach a game but that aspect was never in question. Everyone knows Young can coach. Some were worried about his recruiting. From all indications, Young and his staff have been aggressive on the recruiting trail and Jalen Cone is an outstanding addition for Virginia Tech.

Welcome to Blacksburg, Jalen.