Virginia Tech
Projected finish: 11th
Last year’s record: 20-14, 4-12 ACC
Key Returners (last season’s stats)
F- Regan Magarity, 6’3, (Norrkoping, Sweden), R-JR- 13.5 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 33.4 MPG; 15 double doubles on season; set; only player in ACC to average a double-double (13.8 points, 10.3 rebounds).
G- Chanette Hicks, 5’6, (Norfolk, VA), JR- 16.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 33.0 MPG; program record for steals in a season (123).
Biggest losses (last season’s stats)
F-Sidney Cook, 6’2, (Parkton, NC), SR- 12.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG.
Newcomers
G-Aisha Sheppard, 5’9, (Alexandria, VA), FR- espnW HoopGurlz five-star recruit ranked 34th, All-Metro Player of the Year.
G- Taylor Emery, 5’10, (Tampa, FL), JR- 19.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG; WBCA Player of the Year, Spalding NJCAA Player of the Year, Third Team All-American.
Head Coach
Kenny Brooks, 2nd season
“We have a lot of new faces this year taking everything slow.. to implement our system to young ladies who didnt play,” Brooks said. “We will be deeper and more athletic. Chemistry is going to be the biggest issue with us this year until we can find our identity.”
Key non-conference games
Nov. 25-West Virginia
Nov. 30- @ Illinois
Outlook
Coming off of the first 20-win season Virginia Tech has had since the ’05-’06 team, things are looking up for the Hokies. They started off strong before slumping toward the end of the ’16-’17 conference schedule.
It is no secret that a new coach must deal with the ebbs and flows of assimilating new ways of doing things, and frankly, Coach Brooks claimed “last year wasn’t ready” to be as successful as anticipated.
This year, however, they return forward Regan Magarity, who averaged a double-double, as well as guard Chanette Hicks who can not only score, but is a pesky defender who stripped the ball from her opponent 123 times last season.
Adding freshman Aisha Sheppard to the backcourt will be an asset to the depth Coach Brooks said was lacking last year. He expects the team to be “fast and shoot super well from long distance.”
Though speed and offense are predicted to be a VA Tech staple, the team is still working to improve defensively. Rebounding will be a point of emphasis for them, though it is unclear who will fill the void of Sidney Cook.
With a six-player, injury plagued ’16-’17 team, they just lacked depth. This year, the Hokies are easily nine-deep.
Best case scenario:
Virginia Tech develops into the team they were predicted to be last season. They move the ball well and set the tempo for other teams. They hold their own in the ACC and go on to the NCAA tournament.
Worst case scenario:
Cannot seem to lock down defensively and let games slip away due to lack defensive maturity and overall chemistry.