Though Virginia Tech has not officially announced the signing of Seth LeDay, that didn't stop Zach LeDay from doing so on Twitter yesterday evening.
Proud to announce my lil brother will be joining me for my last year at VT #Blessed&Thankful pic.twitter.com/Pfz3BPlFYL
— Zach LeDay! (@ZachLeDay32) May 18, 2016
The younger LeDay will join his older brother in Blacksburg later this summer, though apparently he'll have to sit out the 2016-17 season because of some credit transfer issue. I'm perfectly fine with that, and we'll discuss it later in today's article. First, let's get to a couple of other topics.
The Effect on Scholarship Numbers
Note: this section is written assuming that Seth LeDay will be on scholarship. There are some rumblings that he won't be, though we don't have any confirmation either way.
Virginia Tech's 2016-17 scholarship roster will now look like this:
Seth Allen (r-Sr.)
Zach LeDay (r-Sr.)
Johnny Hamilton (Sr.)
Ty Outlaw (r-Jr.)
Justin Bibbs (Jr.)
Seth LeDay (Jr., ineligible)
Ahmed Hill (r-So.)
Justin Robinson (So.)
Chris Clarke (So.)
Kerry Blackshear (So.)
Khadim Sy (Fr.)
That's 11 scholarship players. Remember, Devin Wilson counts towards football now. That means Buzz Williams can bring in two more players for the 2016-17 season, if he so chooses.
Virginia Tech's 2017-18 roster is scheduled to look like this…
Ty Outlaw (r-Sr.)
Justin Bibbs (Sr.)
Ahmed Hill (r-Jr.)
Seth LeDay (r-Jr.)
Justin Robinson (Jr.)
Chris Clarke (Jr.)
Kerry Blackshear (Jr.)
Khadim Sy (So.)
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Fr.)
If the Hokies don't add anybody else to the 2016 class, they could potentially take four more players in 2017. They could also add a graduate transfer or two for the 2016 class and still take four more players in 2017.
I don't know how Buzz Williams will elect to use his remaining scholarships. He could bring in two more players for next season, but as I've said before, I've heard that he doesn't like very many of the available 2016 prospects. He could choose to pocket those scholarships for 2017, he could use them for 2016, or perhaps he could pocket one for 2017 and use the other for 2016. How he handles the situation will likely depend upon who he can get. Obviously he would take Markell Johnson. After that, I'm not sure.
Buzz doesn't seem like the type of guy who would pocket scholarships, but at the same time he's a very secretive guy when it comes to recruiting. It's hard to predict what he'll do. I'd probably try to bring in another player in 2016 and pocket the other scholarship for 2017, but like I said, what Buzz does will depend on who he can get.
Who Is Seth LeDay?
Though Zach LeDay said his brother was 6-8, I don't believe that he is. From the picture that Zach posted, they look the same height. Zach is listed at 6-7 and is probably closer to 6-6. Obviously power forwards who are somewhere between 6-6 and 6-7 are not in high demand in the ACC, and thus Seth was not a highly recruited player.
He wasn't a highly recruited player out of high school either. He was an undersized guy without a true position. While in JUCO (as a freshman at Seminole State and a sophomore at Northwest Mississippi) he grew and transitioned into a post player. Here are his stats from this past season at Northwest Mississippi…
PPG: 18.5
RPG: 8.0
BPG: 1.6
APG: 1.9
SPG: 1.1
FG%: 58%
3Pt%: 25%
FT%: 69%
Of course, stats aren't everything. They don't necessarily translate as a guy moves up a level. Scouting reports are more valuable than stats, so I reached out to someone who knows a JUCO scout and got the following report…
"6-7, 220. Ultra-athletic lefty. Can't shoot very well, minimal range. Strong and takes good shots. Can guard all but the biggest and strongest post players. Good finisher above the rim. He needs an uptempo team that can take advantage of his athleticism and quickness."
He characterized LeDay as a low-major type of recruit (scouts don't exactly love power forwards with his size, especially ones who aren't good shooters) but acknowledged that he can be much better than that if he finds a program that fits his skillset.
It seems as if Seth LeDay did just that. Virginia Tech likes to push the tempo. Buzz Williams is terrific when it comes to spacing the floor, which should enable LeDay to take advantage of his athleticism and quickness.
I believe he's a good fit. It's not fair to expect him to be as good as his brother. He probably won't be. But if he has his brother's intangibles, namely toughness and work ethic, then he'll likely become a solid contributor for the Hokies. His best fit at Virginia Tech will be power forward, and I would love for him to develop his jump shot to complement his athleticism.
I'm good with adding Seth LeDay. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm good with it. Buzz Williams is going to take his type of players. He isn't going to offer a guy who is highly-ranked just because he's highly-ranked. He's going to find hard workers who don't mind getting yelled at. He likes guys who respond well when you tell them that they stink. If Seth is anything like Zach, he'll fit in nicely at Virginia Tech.
The Value of Redshirting
Buzz Williams likes to redshirt players. He made a comment to the media this past year that football coaches figured out a long time ago that the more players they redshirted, the stronger their programs would be long-term. Frank Beamer generally took that approach when building Virginia Tech's football program.
Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to redshirt basketball players these days. They've had their egos beefed up for several years by the recruiting process. They all think they should have a big impact as freshmen. If you even mention the word redshirt, they aren't going to consider signing with you.
However, by taking transfers who have to sit out a year, you can still reap the benefits of redshirting in college basketball. Seth Allen and Zach LeDay were good players as fourth-year juniors, but we'll really enjoy them as fifth-year seniors. Though he wasn't a transfer, Ahmed Hill's injury will give us a really good fifth-year senior down the line.
Likewise, Seth LeDay's redshirt year should help him develop. He can learn the system without spending a year of eligibility, he can get stronger in the weight room, he can adjust to the speed of the game at the ACC level, and he can work on that jump shot that I mentioned. Rather than getting one mediocre year and one good year, which would probably happen if he could play right away, we'll likely get two good years.
Obviously you can't redshirt every college basketball player. There are only 13 scholarships available, and many of them are capable of playing major roles as freshmen. However, if you get the opportunity to use redshirts to bolster your program, you should take advantage of it. Buzz Williams is doing exactly that.