Assuming all players with eligibility return for the 2024-25 season, the Virginia Tech Women's Basketball roster looks very good.
Gr - Georgia Amoore - 5-6 G
Sr - Matilda Ekh - 6-0 G/F
Sr - Rose Micheaux - 6-2 F
Jr - Amelia Hassett - 6-3 F
r-So - Carleigh Wenzel - 6-0 G
So - Clara Strack - 6-5 C
So - Samyha Suffren - 5-8 G
So - Carys Baker - 6-2 G
r-Fr - Mackenzie Nelson - 5-8 G
r-Fr - Gabby Brooks (walk-on) - 5-10 G
Fr - Lexi Blue - 6-2 G
Fr - Myah Hazelton - 6-4 F
Fr - Clara Silva - 6-8 C
That's 12 scholarship players and 13 on the bench.
2 true Claras....I mean Centers
3 additional post players
8 guards
And room for 1 more transfer.
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Keep an eye on Ashlyn Traylor-Walker out of Radford. If that name sounds familiar, she averaged 16 per game, including 16 against us, with 5 rebounds, with only 3 games under 10 points AND she's the younger sister of former Tech standout Kayana Traylor.
Strack is gonna be a problem for the league. She doesn't have kitleys fadeaway but she can stretch the floor and bit and she bangs inside more than kitley. As long as she can learn to avoid cheap fouls....
I just hope she's a problem for the ACC and not the SEC
Kitley had the same problem as a FR. 9 times she had 4 or more fouls, including 2 DQs
Strack had 3 times with 4 or more with 2 DQs
I don't think Kitley ever hit a 3 in the NCAAT. I'm here for the long range Strack Attack more often.
Yup i went to the @Rutgers game and remarked that the game just needs to slow down a bit for her
The more important thing to worry about is the future of Kenny Brooks. If he's gone, this entire thing gets thrown into chaos.
I think we can forget about roster projections until we know what Kenny Brooks is doing
Hopefully this recruiting is for us...
Mark Berman pressed Whit Babcock about Coach Brooks
Not sure what good it'll do (if any) or if he'll even lay eyes on it (maybe a GA or intern) but I sent Babcock a long email last night expressing the concerns surrounding Brooks and WBB. Basically laying out all of his accomplishments with the program and it's trajectory. In short I said:
Brooks staying isn't up to Babcock. We can match the offer. This is a Kenny decision. I don't feel good about it anymore.
Quite frankly, it's a great looking roster next season and thereafter. If recruiting continues like this, VT will be a Top 10 school and fights for Final Fours regularly.
The biggest concern for us is his mid & long term view of the ACC and how it can/will keep up with the SEC $. We know that isn't happening now or any time soon. Him hitching his wagon to the SEC is an opportunity he will be hard pressed to pass up.
And, that is the bottom line and will be the deciding factor, regardless of how much he loves VT.
This 100%. I think we can match anything Kentucky offers him this year as far as salary and other financial resources, but will we continue to have the ability to do so in the future?
Honestly though we arent now. Cassell Renovations were put on hold to focus on football staff, NIL, and thats not going to change soon and likely shouldnt. That effects the facilities he has to work with and the revenue generated. Rupp Arena can host events year round, which brings in additional revenue. They also have a blank check on facilities more because of the MBB side. We can match salary for him, maybe his coaches, but Kentucky can probably top that in hiring additional support staff to give Kenny and his coaches more time to focus on development and recruiting.
Sure, but it's not like Kenny isn't getting it done on the recruiting side, and success on the court helps with that.
He can succeed AT VT.
I think this is the leverage Brooks is trying to use the more I think about it. Cassell renovations were announced 3 years ago and nothing has happened progress wise since. I understand NIL has taken focus but at the same time you still need to support the programs that are driving in eyeballs. GameDay would have been an excellent opportunity to showcase a renovated Cassell to the nation (free recruiting for Brooks).
Whatever you do, pour billions into the Women's hoop program so that a nothing program like Kentucky doesn't steal your coach. Billions. It's what it takes.
Yep, that's what he's saying. Not that planned renovations that would benefit the men's and women's teams (plus other indoor sports) that were already planned might be something you could do to help keep the most successful coach that we currently have at Tech.
It's never enough. Never. What if Louisville who has a professional arena better than 90% of NBA teams, wants him? We could put 1 billion into Cassell and it's not as nice as the Yum Center. It's never enough.
Depends on what you're shooting for. Obviously there's an ongoing arms race, and I don't think there's anything that could have gotten someone like Buzz to stay. I don't know that is true with Kenny. He's from Virginia, he's built a real thing here. He's also been here a while. That matters. I don't think we'd ever bring it Kim Mulkey. I don't know about you, but I'm cool with that. Not every coach, not even every good coach, is a mercenary in that sense. But, there's a baseline for any coach, and their ability to perform in a place. I hope (and think) that Tech can hit the baseline Kenny needs to be a good coach here without pouring billions in to the program.
I had high hopes for buzz, considering he only coaches at Nike schools. That's a huge deal to him.
The actual engagement with conversations is what makes this place so special.
Sure, why not. 2022-2023 squad might have been the best ever Hokies sports team. They sold out some games this year. With conference realignment likely to kill our football hopes for a generation, perhaps it's time to push our chips in on women's basketball.
Totally scalable this is... no, the better plan is to let Brooks go to Kentucky if his demands are insane. Watch them get drummed four times a year by LSU and South Carolina, and actually try to commit to hire a great coach to replace him.
If our resources aren't enough to retain a great coach, why would they be sufficient to hire one as his replacement?
Was Kenny Brooks Red Auerbach when VT hired him? Or was he coaching at JMU?
Brooks was 327-121 at JMU (.736 winning %). They won 24 games or more every year from 2005 to 2016. Took them to 6 NCAA Tournaments. So career wise Kenny (.717 career winning %) has a better overall winning percentage than Red Auerbach (.662 career winning %). His last three years here at Tech are a 77.4% winning percentage.
1. Why did he take the VT job then? and 2. Did Brooks win 9 championships in 10 years at JMU and invent modern basketball scouting?
Finished 1st or 2nd every year from 2005-2016. Four Championships. Last three seasons there they lost 1 game per season in conference.
As for modern basketball recruiting you are pulling on straws to build a straw house. Recruiting then and now has gone through thousands of evolutions with the changing styles, media involvement and systems. Brooks has managed to be relevant at the top of the game while managing the portal and recruiting. Auerbach never dealt with anything close to the environment that is NIL/Portal/student-athletes. He coached in a time of small contracts, purely professional athletes, lack of free agency and very little media interference. He was a great coach but never had to deal with many of the challenges faced by college coaches today.
Kenny Brooks is a great college coach that won 4 CAA Championships. Red Auerbach is arguably the greatest coach in the history of professional basketball, and a hall of famer as a Coach and GM. If you are arguing that Red Auerback could not identify and scout talent in today's basketball world, I can't help you. 10 World Championships when the very best players in the world were concentrated on 12 teams- not 30 teams. 70% of the NBA today would not have made rosters in his time. He won 10 championships with a 6'07 Center that really couldn't score. I'm actually shocked you make any comparison. This exact logic puts Larry Kehres on Bellichick's level. I respectfully disagree.
The point is we will never know and it's a poor comparison. I don't take anything from what Auerbach did. It's not the same. He and Phil Jackson are the best to ever do it at the pro level.
Kenny isn't even the best women's college coach but he is in the conversation for top ten especially if he continues coaching at this level another ten years. When, outside of Frank Beamer, has Virginia Tech had a top 10 coach? Robie for wrestling might be the only other close candidate.
We like to bang on resources here and I really hate to throw fuel on that fire, but Robie does much more with less than most college coaches. Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa all have development facilities for example. This is an NCAA loop hole. Robie has been asking for one for years and we can't get the donations. He is a great coach. I should have said "Brooks is not Geno Auriema" and made this thread a lot shorter.
There was a lot of chatter that being a man was a big hurdle for him to overcome at the time. Sure there were entrenched male coaches, but he was trying to level up during a really strong "women shpuld be coaching elite womens programs" movement. Now that he is incredibly established as successful and sufficiently supportive of women, the risk/benefit calculation for another school has shifted in his favor.
His winning percentage in the last ten years is about 7th best of all coaches and top 15 overall for coaches with 500+ wins in history at the D1 level.
I love Kenny Brooks- never said otherwise. Is he Red Auerbach? You would likely be the only person on earth to argue that in the affirmative.
Not arguing that they are equals because it's an apples to oranges comparison. Auerbach was an amazing coach for his parameters and eventually was an even better general manager for Boston.
That said Kenny is forced to basically be coach and general manager dealing with NIL and quasi-pro athletes, recruiting year round which is not a thing for pros, and still developing and coaching the team.
You cant compare them directly since Auerbach and Brooks operate in entirely different environments.
Is Brooks Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Tara Vanderveer? No. He is likely one step down from them but that's still a top 10 coach compared to his actual peers.
This whole sub thread right now
THIS comment I can leg all day.
No one is calling for Billions. Might amount to a couple extra MILLION over 6 years in terms of salary for Brooks and his coaches. Brooks is currently the 22nd highest paid coach. An increase of $300K puts him in the top 10. That still wouldn't even make him the highest paid ACC coach. Right now he is 4th behind Jeff Walz, Wes Moore and Courtney Banghart. Walz is making $1.75M at Louisville. They would need to add $850K a year to bring Kenny to that number. Staley and Mulkey are making $3.1/$3.2 respectively.
As for the YUM Center, the city of Louisville owns that and gets most of the revenue generated from it so that's not even remotely a close comparison.
Rupp Arena is also owned by the county government, not UK so UK only gets a portion of that revenue. If the Hokies continue to improve Cassell to where it's possible to hold non-sports events year round, those dollars likely go directly to the Athletic Department.
Ownership of the posh Yum Center is irrelevant. In fact, I'm sure they had private equity to build it. That does not change the fact that it is what they sell to recruits, which is what Brooks wants. Look, i'm on record on this forum stating that VT should spend fake money like Tennessee and Louisville do. Of course their women's hoops coach makes more than Frank Beamer in his prime. Why the fuck not? Their baseball coach probably does too. Louisville. Ranked in the 100's in every academic poll in one of the poorest states. A potted plant can get into Louisville, so why the fuck not is their coach paid at a premium? VT should take on massive debt like they do and pay brooks what the fuck he wants. Win baby. Just win.
Louisville's coach is making 1.75 a year. Frank in 2015 was making 2.75, which adjusting for inflation is ~3.75 today. Also, Frank would be making more today, ignoring inflation. By a decent margin. I get your point man, but chill. You don't need to be wrong to make you point, and shockingly, it makes it harder to listen to when you cover real points in nonsense.
re-read the post. 2015 was not Beamers Prime. What was beamer making in 2005?
2 million. Adjusted, 3.1.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9046163
Thanks for pulling those numbers. I was wondering where he stood. Looking at that list, the question VT/Whit have to ask is what is KB worth? To me, his recent track record and current level of recruiting puts him at the top of the league. Should he make less than those 3 coaches? If we're serious about this program sustaining its current success, it's an investment we should make regardless of what we think the TV revenue stream looks like 3 to 5 years from now. What I have no insight into is whether or not that's remotely feasible for VT or what imbalance that may create or setoff with other sports deemed more "valuable".
Not Billions, only 75 million. I assume that number hasn't been adjusted for inflation since 2021, so probably 150 million today.
https://reach.hokiesports.com/cassell/
How much revenue was missed with 2 years of March Madness games in Cassell without those? Are we trying to be in the big leagues or what? SEC is about to start putting money in BBall as Football gets more money for the athletic departments. It's the next area to start pushing the P2 situation.
They already are. They have the highest paid coaches in both men's and women's.
Eight of the top 25 on women's side counting Oklahoma and Texas. Four of top 10 in Mulkey, Staley, Schaefer at Texas, and Taylor at A&M.
Men's side is six of Top 25 and four of Top 10. Calipari, Barnes, Pearl and Musselman at Arkansas. Buzz is #11.
The problem is if we can't keep a Women's basketball coach then what happens if Pry goes 9-3 or better this year with an exciting offense? I totally get where you are coming from and tend to agree that going all in on women's basketball is the wrong move right now. On the other side, what other moves are there? If KB goes to Kentucky and we find out it was to secure his spot in the P2 then this is just going to be our new reality until the P2 goes bust.
Pry could get several VT Tattoo's, build his dream mansion on the drillfield, be named mayor of blacksburg for life, and if he goes 7-5 and Northwestern offers him a B1G job, he is leaving. Whit can build field boxes in Lane, build a 360 degree 100 yard score board, more vegas style player dorms, multiple charter planes- he's bolting for Northwestern or Purdue or Mississippi State or Maryland or Vanderbilt.
I don't think this is true. Not of every coach anyway. Maybe I'm naive, but there is a line that makes things tenable, and if we can hit that line with a good coach who wants to be here, then we have a shot. If the whole landscape blows up, then I'll reassess. But, in the same way that I was never worried about Drones leaving this year, I'm not worried about a successful football coach leaving to a job that isn't a true blue blood. There's enough here, in terms of resources, fan support, etc. that it's not a place you leave on a whim.
"Baylor is a better job than VT in every aspect" Bill Roth, Voice of the Hokies, Blacksburg resident for 40 years.
Did JF go to Baylor? This feels like it's proving my exact point. There is every measurable way that one could assess a job, and then there's the feel. For some people, the measurables are more important. Others want the right feel, and could sacrifice a little to keep it. JF doesn't have to have been the right fit for the football program to prove that there is importance to how the athletic department as a whole feels, and what it seems to be prioritizing. Which is how things like Cassell renovations could prove to be important even without pouring billions into the WBB program.
JF was never offered that job. Point is, why did Roth say that?
Because they have more money. Which, I get, is your point. And of course that's true. My point was that isn't always the single deciding factor. Which you don't seem willing to engage with.
Roth said every aspect. Why? because its a Big 12 job. Anything but the ACC I suppose.
I guess I just disagree man. And I haven't seen anything that actually proves me wrong. Feel free to pin this and come dunk on me when Pry wins 10 games and an ACC title and leave for Vandy or Northwestern, but I don't see it.
Thats fine, I respect your opinion. Keep in mind, the whole premise of this topic is kenny brooks - coming off a final four run/acc title possibly leaving for the most mid job you could in womens hoops.
Sure. And if he does, it'll be a blow to my overall point that money isn't everything. And I'd be bummed. But the idea that it would take a monumental investment in women's basketball to remain competitive just doesn't hold up. Maybe in ten years it will, and maybe he's looking that far ahead, and trying to position himself. Right now though, it's just not the state of the world.
It'd've been a lot cooler if he had.
Hopefully Georgia returns.
Eh depends. One of the currently 4-5 better programs than ours will pay her millions in NIL - LSU, South Carolina, Ohio State, etc. If we can pay her more salary, perhaps she will stay. My money is on South Carolina
She can't collect NIL. Something to do with her citizenship.
Just need to get a work visa and show that she can perform a job an American can't - which her accolades should show she performs better than americans. Would be interesting to see if a university is willing to get a work-visa / if it would fly in the immigration world.
Wonder if there's a way we can get her some international sponsorship deals.
They are working on a law to amend that due to NIL. Lots of kids from Canada come down.
What does NIL have to do with Mulkey offering her cold cash payments?
After playing for Brooks, Amoore probably wouldn't want the nausea and self-loathing associated with playing for Mulkey.
Wasnt tracking this.
To suggest that they have a women's only arena as if it's super invested in women's sports is a bit of a stretch. UK built an arena only for the men and let the women use the old arena is more appropriately stated. But it's good to see that UK is doing renovations on a 70-year old building.
Lol, from the wikipedia:
Wow. What an investment in women's sports that they actually let them play in an air conditioned building!!!
To be fair technically neither our men's or women's teams play in an air conditioned building, or at least it wasn't it may be now
Well thanks for the post, sorry it didn't last long.
RIP
The bright side is we will have 13 open scholarships for next year. /s (kind of)
Ha, yeah I feel like this thread is about to take a turn towards the dark side.
It's truth. Not mad if all the players choose to leave. They signed to play for Brooks and staff and Kentucky only had five players left before the Kenny announcement and I am sure he can shuffle the rest out the next few weeks.
Whit should call Forbes and Capel and see how to purchase a roster in one off-season