The Art of Rehashing Kerry Blackshear News (A.K.A. a Blackshear Drama Update)

Kerry Blackshear Jr. is far and away the best player on Virginia Tech’s roster right now (And before you ask, yes, he’s still technically on the roster even though he entered the transfer portal), and is already one of the better players in the history of the program. So it makes sense that the Hokies, who may now have legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations (Considering the job newly-minted Head Coach Mike Young has been able to do in convincing players to both come to and STAY AT Virginia Tech), as well as many other schools around the country, would be actively recruiting him to their schools.

From all accounts, Blackshear is winding down his recruitment, having already eliminated the possibilities of leaving to the NBA as an early entrant, or simply moving overseas to play professionally for a year before entering the 2020 NBA Draft (Some humorous tweets to the contrary notwithstanding). As we detailed before, this situation is short on information, but not on speculation (One need only type in the word Blackshear to perform a cursory search of Twitter to understand), and now, with a decision on the horizon (As Rocky Top Talk points out in this wonderfully crafted and very respectful—to Blackshear and his process—piece, the transfer deadline for eligibility in the fall is July 1st) the cauldron has overflowed and is running rampant. Most of that speculation is due to tweets, such as the following, surfacing over the last few days:

Obviously the news that Virginia Tech are even contenders to retain the services of Blackshear sparked a huge sigh of relief and an uproarious cheer amongst those on Tech Twitter—especially as it was for a long time, either omitted or simply assumed that Virginia Tech was no longer in play for Blackshear. It has created a bit of an echo chamber, and a confirmation bias for those who thought he would return all-along—just like those in the fan bases who thought their team was in the lead for his services. Blackshear and his family may be the only ones who truly know which way he is leaning, and it’s entirely possible that he hasn’t made up his mind yet.

Ultimately, while there is a date by which Blackshear must decide (Again, that’s July 1st), it’s not really clear what—if anything—will become clear before then. While rumors run rampant, it’s advisable to not “get too high or too low,” as the legendary Frank Beamer has been known to say. After all, it’s entirely possible that this story changes 100 more times over the remaining days before that deadline. And if it does, stick right here with Gobbler Country—or the Kentucky SB Nation site, A Sea of Blue, who has been doing near daily updates on Blackshear, despite being “out of it,” or Florida’s Alligator Army, who also have an update about Blackshear from a Florida perspective. For all Hokie-related perspectives, you’re on it at Gobbler Country, and be sure to follow me/us on Twitter @LunchpailD and @GobblerCountry.