On Thursday night, Hokies All-American point guard Georgia Amoore announced she's following Kenny Brooks and transferring to Kentucky for her final year of eligibility. Teammate Clara Strack (6-5, Fr., C) did the same a few minutes later. Both entered the transfer portal on Tuesday.
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A 5-foot-6 senior from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, Amoore accumulated 1,853 points and a school-record 656 assists in four seasons with the Hokies. She leaves Blacksburg with the program's lone triple-double and ranks first in assist/turnover ratio in a career (1.8), second in 3-pointers made (330) and third in games started (124).
"I've had a time here," Amoore said on March 24 after Tech's second-round NCAA Tournament exit vs. Baylor. "I came here, and I was not good, couldn't shoot, probably a little too overweight, probably too slow, had too much fun, had to get reeled in. But I got here, and it was the perfect place for me to settle in and kind of not control myself, but lock in on basketball. It's a perfect place to do that.
"I came here, and I trusted Coach Brooks 100 percent, even when I didn't trust in myself. It's paid off immensely. I couldn't be more grateful for our time together. ... I couldn't be more appreciative of how it's transformed me as not only a basketball player, but a person, and it's because I surrounded myself with great people. ... I didn't know at that time how it would play out, but I took the chance, and I'm very, very grateful that I did because I've got him for life now. I've loved it, and I couldn't be more grateful."
Amoore was a two-time First Team All-ACC selection who propelled the Hokies to an ACC Tournament championship and a Final Four appearance in 2023. She averaged 22 points and nearly five 3-pointers per contest that March and scored 20-plus points in six straight contests. She was named ACC Tournament MVP and Seattle 3 Regional's Most Outstanding Player.
After averaging 16.3 points and 4.9 assists per game last season, those jumpers jumped up to 18.8 points and 6.8 assists, the latter of which ranked in the top five in the country. She had two 30-point games against Iowa (31 on Nov. 9) and Virginia (39 on March 3), respectively.
Amoore was pivotal in helping the Hokies rise to national prominence. In her four years, they were 94-33 (.740) overall and 49-21 (.700) in ACC play with three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2022-24. She played in 126 of the 127 games in that stretch, starting 124.
On March 26, Amoore was announced as one of the 26 players that will participate in training camps, tours and fixtures for the Australian national team ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. The final 12-player team will be chosen from the extended squad.
Virginia Tech was just one of two D-I visits for Amoore out of high school in 2019. Brooks discovered her in Belarus and knew immediately he had a gem on his hands. The two have a very close relationship, and despite being a potential top-five pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, she'll join him in Lexington, Ky. Brooks was announced as the new head coach of the Wildcats on March 26.
"This is my second dad," Amoore said of Brooks. "Seriously, basketball, all that, but off court. I am fearful that we are the same person. I'm a 23-year-old woman, and I think I act a little too much like him. That's my second dad. That's my American dad.
"We've been through some tough times. We've been through some great times. It's a relationship that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I know that I always have him, and I love him to death."