Virginia Tech Basketball: Post-season Player Rankings #11-8

The Hokies season ended on Tuesday. College basketball came to a stop by Thursday. And the country began to halt by the end of the week. It was an unprecedented week in sports, as global efforts to stem the spread of Covid-19 were implemented. Prior to the shut down Virginia Tech’s season had ended following their opening round loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament.

For now, the focus is on more important issues, but eventually sports will return and the Hokies can begin thinking about the 2020-21 college basketball season. But before we close the book on this year, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at this year’s roster and rank the players based on performance during Mike Young’s first year.

#11 - Brendan Palmer

The start here is going to be slow, but everyone contributed each week in practice so they all deserve recognition. The 6’4” sophomore guard saw the least action this season, seeing only 10 minutes of action across four games. Given the incoming recruits and the impressive year the freshman class had, you have to wonder if Palmer will transfer in the summer to find more playing time.

• Games Played: 4
• Starts: 0
• Minutes: 10
• Average Points: 0.5
• Shooting Percentage: .250
• 3 Point Percentage: N/A
• Average Rebounds: 1
• Total Assists: 1
• Total Steals: 1

#10 - Branden Johnson

The graduate senior rarely featured, despite Tech’s lack of height. Even John Ojiako who has a big learning curve ahead of him saw the court more often when Mike Young needed height. Perhaps if the freshman class had struggled early Johnson would have been called on more often. But in the end he spent the last year of his eligibility mainly featuring as the hype man on the bench providing the big reactions when Tech made a big play. His spot opens up for one of the incoming guards next year.

• Games Played: 11
• Starts: 0
• Minutes: 46
• Average Points: 0.4
• Shooting Percentage: .286
• 3 Point Percentage: N/A
• Average Rebounds: 1
• Total Assists: 0
• Total Steals: 1

#9 - John Ojiako

At the start of the year we didn’t think we would see much of Ojiako, who is raw but has the height and tools to develop into a solid college center. The freshman ended up getting into 31 games and shot an impressive 54% from the floor. Now Mike Young will have an entire summer to develop his strength and inside presence to hopeful create more open looks for his teammates behind the three point line. The potential is there.

• Games Played: 31
• Starts: 2
• Minutes: 324
• Average Points: 2.7
• Shooting Percentage: .541
• 3 Point Percentage: N/A
• Average Rebounds: 2.7
• Total Assists: 2
• Total Steals: 6
• Total Blocks: 23 - bonus stat for the big guy.

#8 - Isiah Wilkins

As one of only three returning faces, and one of Virginia Tech’s better shooters from last season, you would have expected more contribution from Wilkins this year. Whether he struggled to adapt to Mike Young’s system in practice or simply because the freshman class pushed him down the depth chart, it was a quiet year for the 6’4” guard. Regardless he provides depth and experience on a team that will remain young next season. However, with Keve Aluma returning after he sat out to transfer, Wilkins will be hard pressed to see his minutes increase next year without serious improvement.

• Games Played: 32
• Starts: 5
• Minutes: 461
• Average Points: 4.3
• Shooting Percentage: .340
• 3 Point Percentage: .284
• Average Rebounds: 2.6
• Total Assists: 43
• Total Steals: 25

Up next is players ranked 5th through 7th. But for now leave us your thoughts on these four players in the comment section below.