Offseason Priorities For Virginia Tech Men's Basketball

31 Comments

1. 

   133303Hokie March 27, 2026 at 7:55 AM

   Recruit tough guards/players. LOL. How about retain them. This isn't a you just add a tough player or two thing. This is a philosophical are you a tough team/school/program. You can't fake toughness, you tend to fall back up what you are. And Young isn't a program builder of toughness.
2. 

   Cheesehokie March 26, 2026 at 10:44 PM

   Good read, Chris. Adding a tough, gritty player like Bede or LeDay would help. However, I would suggest that Tech's biggest MBB need is for a sports psychologist. Yes, a couple games were lost due to fluke shots at the buzzer. But the frequent collapses down the stretch and consistent inability to close out games suggests the problem lies between the ears. And that applies to the head coach as well as the players. Sorry, but that's how I see it.
3. 

   VT Rocker March 26, 2026 at 3:19 PM

   Didn't know that we lost the GM. So no GM, no toughness, and a lame-duck contract status...? I mean, it sounds like the perfect time to reboot. Just IMO. Great points CC. Toughness can easily transfer within the portal as compared to learning CMY's offensive scheme. Toughness allows time in the beginning of the year and conference schedule to get an extra W or three. And desperately need to get bigger at the Guard positions as well.
   1. 

      MACE HOKIE March 26, 2026 at 11:31 PM

      Not sure I understand "bigger at guard position", this is biggest guard team I can remember. Neoklis at 6-9, Bedford 6-4, Schutt at 6-5, Ben 5-11, Pasha 6-5, Freeman 6-5, Johnson 6-5 and Peterkin 6-3.
4. 

   VT One March 26, 2026 at 2:48 PM

   If we had Johnson in those tight games we would have won 2-3 of them.
5. 

   VPI4Life March 26, 2026 at 2:22 PM

   To me that starting lineup with current coach gets you nothing but middle of the pack ACC at best. We’ve need to be better
   1. 

      NMB Hokie March 26, 2026 at 8:38 PM

      To get out of the middle of the pack we need funding like the top quarter. A new coach won't change much without the funding we need for a stronger roster.
6. 

   Red Headed Hokie March 26, 2026 at 1:54 PM

   I think “tough” is THE right word for what’s missing…
7. 

   RustyHokie94 March 26, 2026 at 1:53 PM

   I hope Neo doesn't come back. Use his money to get 2 players that aren't soft and can shoot, unlike Neo.
   1. 

      HokieDelNorte March 26, 2026 at 3:29 PM

      I would love for him to come back, but I don’t expect it. I think he played hurt and would play with a chip on his shoulder.
      1. 

         NMB Hokie March 26, 2026 at 8:38 PM

         agree
   2. 

      NC Hoke March 26, 2026 at 4:41 PM

      Agree.
   3. 

      HokieJB March 27, 2026 at 3:23 AM

      Was Neo a case of poor player evaluation on the part of our coaches. For someone who was said to be almost NBA-ready, the season was certainly a shock.
8. 

   vtsam March 26, 2026 at 1:14 PM

   So is Bedford gone? Thought that there was a Diego JC loophole. Evaluated Chester’s defensive scheme. I thought at times we looked really weak. And for toughness we lost a lot of rebounds where we had our hands on it first. Especially noticeable for our women.
   1. 

      NC Hoke March 26, 2026 at 4:45 PM

      He has to a ruling on his eligibility. Don’t know when that would come. I wouldn’t hold a spot if I could get a suitable replacement for him from the portal.
9. 

   hokieheartdoc March 26, 2026 at 12:50 PM

   Good article Chris! VT ranked in the bottom third of the ACC in: Offensive rebounds Defensive rebounds Rebounds/ game with a total -0.7 rebound margin These simple stats justify your toughness argument. We just didn't attack games this year! Appeared lazy or not 100% involved during segments of almost every game I watched. The intensity was not there every minute of every game.... If youre not playing with 5 star / top level talent, difficulty to win consistently without a killer / competitive mindset!!!
   1. 

      DADEC52 March 26, 2026 at 4:40 PM

      Really makes you question if the coaching we have is the coaching we need. You point out some serious shortcomings if you want to win consistently and without bunch of lottery picks.
   2. 

      NC Hoke March 26, 2026 at 4:58 PM

      Just doing a better job of getting defensive rebounds would go a long to solving our defensive problems. The talent is just too good to give the opposition second tries after you’ve defended the first attempt. We were 15th in the ACC in defensive rebounds and that’s really going to hurt your chances of winning these close games.
   3. 

      VTKev80 March 27, 2026 at 8:25 AM

      Two best rebounders in Tobi and Tyler missed large chunks of the season.
10. 

    92Hokie14 March 26, 2026 at 12:33 PM

    I’m OOTL - what’s the story behind the Hernandez debacle?
    1. 

       Freddyburg Hokie March 26, 2026 at 12:56 PM

       Everybody is. CC has said he's not reporting on that, so there's probably a good reason.
11. 

    truhoky March 26, 2026 at 12:26 PM

    I agree with you Chris - let Frazier cook and recruit his type of players.
12. 

    fosterD1 March 26, 2026 at 12:25 PM

    Need tough guys who can score
13. 

    PenthouseAlumni March 26, 2026 at 11:38 AM

    Why was Hernandez canned?
    1. 

       joshydod March 26, 2026 at 12:41 PM

       I was curious about this as well, I don't remember seeing anything about it.
       1. 

          Chris Coleman March 26, 2026 at 7:47 PM

          You didn't see anything about it because it was not announced. I can't really say what happened, because I don't (officially) know what happened. But think about it like when the softball pitching coach got canned. None of that ever made it into public light, either. He just left. This is similar (though the transgression is a lot different).
14. 

    HokiesandHerd March 26, 2026 at 11:34 AM

    One thing that I think will help this team a lot next season is having Hammond be the primary ballhandler. I think this was supposed to be the case as this season went on, but you often saw Neo also in the backcourt asking to receive the ball before it eventually made its way to Hammond. It might not seem like a huge factor, but it made a difference. Compare it to a 2QB system in football which rarely works.
    1. 

       Walkin` Willie March 26, 2026 at 11:44 AM

       Agree - I think we sacrificed the season to accommodate Neo.
15. 

    SarahVTHokie24 March 26, 2026 at 11:22 AM

    Derailed
16. 

    SarahVTHokie24 March 26, 2026 at 11:21 AM

    I hope it's not a torn ACL for Hansberry. Yes, Gosnell came back quickly and played well. But I also think it detailed Liz's pro career. Gosnell was tough, so is Hansberry. So hopefully That will help.
    1. 

       SC_Hokie March 26, 2026 at 3:41 PM

       If it really is torn you have to fire whoever listed him as “probable”. Like are we serious 😭