Buzz Williams and the Hokies have lost their second player in as many days, as the team announced Wednesday that G Jalen Hudson will be leaving the program.
In a release, Williams said that Hudson "asked for and was granted his release" Wednesday.
The sophomore guard started in 23 games and averaged 8.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game this season. There's no word on where he might be transferring exactly.
Forward Satchel Pierce announced a similar move Tuesday night, planning to transfer after two years with the team.
The Hokies still return a bevy of players next year, however, losing out only on Pierce, Hudson and forward Shane Henry.
However, Hudson was a unique athlete, and it's a sure bet that Hokies fans won't forget his performance in the 2015 ACC Tournament that helped engender talk of his alter ego, "Tyrone."
Comments
Wow, this is shocking.
Not if you've watched closely and recognize Clarke and Hill are more consistent all-around players. Nobody, not even Buzz, knew what we'd get out of Hudson nightly. It stinks that the light didn't always stay on, because when it was ON, boy did it SHINE!
Hill didn't even play this season and he is coming off injury. Clarke doesn't even play the same position as Hudson so they weren't really competing for a spot.
You can't look at it by traditional positions. Hudson was not only competing for playing time with Hill, but also Bibbs, Clarke, Allen, Wilson and possibly (though I wouldn't hold my breathe) Ty Outlaw. Buzz's tendency to play all three PGs at once cuts into Hudson's potential minutes, as does any time he'd play both LeDay and Blackshear together.
It's a deep team, and Buzz yo-yo'ed the hell out of Hudson's minutes over the last two years. If you look up at the rotation and see 8 guys ahead of you, which right now there are, then you bounce out.
I disagree that he was completing with all those players for time. He was competing with the guards and that's why he saw himself so far behind.
AMEN!
Since this announcement I have been wondering if he's NOT one of those athletes that steps up when under pressure, but instead one who shies away/folds. It's definitely unfortunate given all the talk about how Jalen's athletic potential was through the roof. I hope he finds somewhere else that may not put as much pressure on him and allow him to succeed and reach his potential.
He doesn't shy away when put in a pressured situation, he just doesn't have the consistency to always pull it out for you in an end of game situation. He gets confidence when he does well on the offensive end, and seems to fade on poor shooting nights rather than if the game picks up. It's him vs. his mind in that regard.
Attrition was a regular theme of Buzz's tenure at Marquette, yes? Seems like turnover is a component of his formula for success.
Attrition and turnover is the norm, not the exception, in college basketball. As of 2014, ~40% of players who entered Div 1 out of high school left their original school by the end of their Sophmore year (source: NCAA.org). The list of players transferring mid-season and post-season is VERY long.
It's no more a component of a formula for success than it is a formula for failure.
...especially when the program is in major overhaul and recovery. Look at Duke and UNC: two of the top most consistent teams in the country. They have their fair share of attrition as well.
Look at the list of teams from which players transfer...it's the good, the bad and the ugly.
The only pattern is that kids see greener grass on the other side. It's not a stategy for coaches in the least; it's just a fact of life for college coaches now - if they had their druthers I'm pretty certain most would prefer to do away with any transfer allowability.
And not surprisingly, the pecking order for getting transfers isn't that different from the pecking order out of high school.
This sucks- sure hope Ahmed Hill is ready to roll.
Hopefully Buzz can bring in some good players with the additional scholarships that have become available.
That shocked me. Not thrilled about this one, but I am thinking he may not see many minutes in the years ahead and wants out while he has two years of eligibility left. With Robinson coming on strong and Hill coming back, it looks like a crowded backcourt.
Have we had any news about Outlaw?
This one hurts.
Farewell TYRONE
Shit, I always was afraid this would happen. For some reason he was in the doghouse from day 1. From a fan's point of view it seems like he got a bad rap, but Buzz obviously knows these guys way better than I do. I just hope we can find a reasonable replacement because if Outlaw isn't ready to go, the wing suddenly doesn't look so deep.
That's the one everybody has been holding their breath on. Talented player, but tough to convince him to stay with Hill coming back.
Daaaaaamn. This one hurts, guys. I was a big fan of what Tyrone did on the court as well as being on the all-acc academic team. Cheers, Tyrone! We're gonna miss you. Best of luck.
This is not a huge loss IMO, kid never bought into what Buzz is selling. Gotta have a team first attitude. There were games that Jalen took over and looked like a beast and then the next game was barely even recognized the next. Good luck to the kid! Now let's see what Buzz has up his sleeve!
We would be better with Hudson on our bench than without him.
While I was definitely a fan of Tyrone, when he showed up, I think we won't know for sure that we are better off with him on the bench until we see who replaces him on the roster.
In what way(s) did he not "[buy] into what Buzz is selling" or not "have a team first attitude"?
I agree that he was inconsistent, but when he was on, he could nearly take over a game. And with so many other scoring threats on the team, he didn't need to be The Man every night.
I agree, when "he was on", he lit up the court usually when no one else was. He was a key player, but hopefully Hill canpick up the loss. He seemed to be a key component,when called on.
I don't like this. I don't like Pierce leaving either. I understand that sometimes players leave, but I hope constant attrition is not a major component of Buzz Williams' tenure
It has become a major component of college basketball. Adam Smith played for 3 different teams. Miami started 2 transfers. Gill at UVA was a transfer.
It's that way at QB in football...guys want to play.
Yep, over 800 transfers last year and it might top that this year. Transfers are becoming a major theme in college basketball, and some schools rely heavily on it (like Miami.)
Yes, but where is the line drawn? Transferring just for playing time's sake has advantages and disadvantages. For football's sake, are you better positioned in the draft starring at FCS School X than competing and earning playing time at FBS School Y? I can understand making a move that may afford you more opportunity, but the flip side of this is just being afraid of competition or unable to prove yourself against better competition.
I think in Hudson's case, part of the reason is potentially losing playing time to Hill but we have to remember that he wasn't a Buzz guy. Yes, Buzz retained his scholarship but realistically if Buzz came here a year earlier Hudson would have likely never been pursued. That's not a knock on Jalen, it's just the reality that he may not have been the type of guy Buzz typically pursues.
Hudson is a good kid and really talented player, he will land on his feet and have a good college career. I fully expect Buzz to fill his schollie with an impact player, and likely an impact player next year.
dunno, but guys seem to become typecast in a system and many have dreams to play pro ball somewhere. most also play as true frosh and can redshirt during the transfer year.
And how many actually end up playing pro ball? Small percentage, I'd wager.
You might be surprised at the quantity of basketball leagues overseas and how many former Hokies actually pull in a professional paycheck for a few years playing basketball.
Just off the 2000 roster - (which got blown up with Ricky Stokes leaving)
Tony Dobbins - had a 10 year pro career mostly in Europe
Rolan Roberts - Still playing in Europe
Dennis Mims - Still playing in Europe
Jermaine Kimbrough - Went into coaching and is an assistant coach at Cleveland State
Jonathan Smith - Played in Europe until 2013-2014 season
Rodrigo Viegas - played about six years between Europe and South America
David Whaley - played at least one season in France
Russ Wheeler - played two to three seasons in Europe
Thats eight of fourteen that pulled in a basketball related paycheck after Tech and only what I could find doing limited searches. Not sure on the rest of the roster as I could find no record of them being affiliated with basketball afterwards but that could just be the limited search I did. I really wish Tech did a better job keeping up with where people ended up to show we have produced a much stronger basketball presence other than our limited NBA draft picks.
Looking at the 2007-2008 roster:
Deron Washington - Drafted by Detroit in 2008, still playing in Italy
Jeff Allen - Still playing in Israel
Terrell Bell - Played in UK in 2014 is last record
Malcolm Delaney - Done a couple things over in Europe, a few MVPs of several different leagues, in Russia still this year
Cheick Diakite - Played last in 2010 in Hungary
Hank Thorns - Bounced between Montenegro, Mexican professional leagues and the NBA D-League. Last known playing in 2014
A.D. Vassallo - Still playing in Puerto Rico
Terrance Vinson - worked in the strength and conditioning programs of Louisiana Tech, Mercer and Georgia Southern before becoming an assistant coach and recently named head coach of Pinecrest Academy in central Georgia.
Lewis Witcher - Played last in 2013 in Japan
Marcus Travis - Played last in Ireland in 2012
Thats 10 out of 13 that pulled in a basketball related check after Tech.
Well, then, I would have lost that bet, huh? I stand corrected, thanks.
i would have lost it, too. i was factoring in other pro leagues but had no clue it is that many
I forgot about little Hank Thorns, I really liked that guy.
I believe it was you who said Delaney was making millions of euros a year playing in Europe and had turned down a few smaller offers to come to the NBA. That was a real shock to me, just realizing some of these european guys are making really, really great money.
Yeah Delaney only got one offer from the NBA before last season, a season in which he was coming off being the MVP of the top European League. Houston offered him a 3 yr, $900,000.00 deal. Lokomotiv in Russia offered him essentially $6M for the first year. Not sure what he is making this season as he signed back on with them again but I imagine its something similar. Even his first season though, he made $130,000.00 playing in France.
If I were a student athlete athlete putting in at least 20 hours of practice time each week, but not playing much, I would transfer too.
Some people would rather be a big fish in a small pond than an average fish in a big pond. People do this in the professional world (not just sports, job market in general) all the time, and no one thinks ill of it.
If there's one trend over Buzz's VT career, it's that he is not afraid to make any change if he thinks it benefits the team. On its face, I don't like this because I don't like how it disrupts the continuity and chemistry of this very promising team going forward. Hudson wasn't a star this year, but he was a solid contributor. But I have no doubt that any personnel move we have is an indication that Buzz sees room for improvement.
I have considerable doubt that either of these transfers are an indication that Buzz sees room for improvement. I'll bet that if it was solely up to Buzz, neither guy would be leaving.
I'm thinking this news means Outlaw is likely cleared to play
my first thought as well, but there haven't been any reports
I think it's more a definition of roles. Hill is the best player on the team, he's going to get 30 mins at the 2 or 3. Rob is the PG, Allen will get his time. Bibbs and Clarke are going to get a lot of time at the 3 and 4. Leday and Blackshear in the post.
It would be hard to see a scenario where Hudson got more time than last year with Hill back and Clarke healthy.
Disagree with Hill being the best. He's sat out a year so it's hard to predict how many minutes he'll get. Plus, he's a good all-around player, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's the best player on our team. I think that should go to LeDay or Allen at this moment. If we see him take a step up from his freshman year in a big way, I'd reconsider.
cds7c isn't driving the Ahmed Hill hype train, he IS the Ahmed Hill hype train.
Live look in at cds7c:
cds7c has it on the nose here. Hill has been fully healthy since late January, early February and has really refined his game. Other than another freak injury happening, Hill is absolutely going to be a 30 minute per game guy.
I don't even think it's close that Hill is the best player on the team. He's the best defender, 2nd best pure scorer (Allen), 2nd best shooter (Bibbs), 2nd best ball handler (Rob), 2nd best driver (Allen) and 2nd best wing rebounder (Clarke).
I don't agree with Allen as the best driver, he did it tons and got fouled a lot, but he didn't make many when contested at the rim. This year I would argue Hudson was better at taking it to the rim and finishing than Allen. He just didn't have the volume that Allen did. I do believe that Hill could be the best though, he is very athletic. I agree with the rest, but it will be interesting to see who is the best defender between him and Clarke next year.
It's going to be excited to see what Clarke becomes next year. I'm guessing he becomes the starting 4 once Leday graduates. They are basically the same height (if Clarke is 1" shorter, he jumps a helluva lot better), both gritty post defenders. Clarke has more slash from the perimeter whereas Leday has that set shot. Athletically, Clarke and LeDay are very dissimilar, but their games are odd parallels.
Yeah, I also see them playing similar roles and Clarke backing up LeDay. Although if we can't find someone to back up Blackshear they might be playing a lot of minutes together. Clarke can learn a lot from how LeDay plays and inherit the starting spot in 17-18. He offers a lot of athleticism/speed that LeDay doesn't and that is always a game changer.
Hill might be the hardest working player on the team, but he isn't remotely the best player on the team. He isn't even the best player of the tandem of Hill and Hudsen IMO.
I think Buzz thinks Hill is his best overall player.
When has he said that? He may be Buzz's favorite player and has said he is the toughest player, but he has never said - or even implied - that Hill is the best player on the team. And that's probably because Buzz doesn't think he is.
Buzz is remarkably honest - probably to a fault - about his players. He said Hudsen was the most talented - even early in '14-'15 - and he was right. He said Leday was most improved before the start of last season - and he was right. He said Outlaw was the best incoming wing in the country and the best scorer on the team - and unfortunately he was probably right.
But he has never said Hill is the best player on the team.
Buzz spoke at the Blacksburg Sports Club luncheon on Wednesday. I can confirm that he thinks Ty Outlaw could be the best player on the team. He is very hopeful that the clearing process for his medical issue will be resolved over the summer. He said there was great progress, but the process is far from over.
Remember: Win a Battle, Take a Bite!
Also, he is an excellent and hilarious speaker. It was really great hearing him speak and his discussions with the audience were great. The kids he coaches are really lucky to have him as a mentor. He is teaching these kids not just basketball but life lessons.
I really think Hudson would have still played more if he had stayed and grown under Buzz's tutelage. He was a sophomore this year, right? Man, still plenty of time to grow and rid himself of that inconsistency. Kid could light it up and I sensed that he was getting more consistent later in the season (but I'm not looking at his game to game stats, so I could be wrong).
I haven't looked at stats either, but I saw more consistency from Hudson all year. He had more Tyrone games and contributed more when he wasn't Tyrone. There have been a lot of posts on this thread claiming that he was inconsistent and would disappear some games. Maybe you couldn't predict when he would score 20+, but the inconsistency narrative comes from last year. Every night, especially as the season went on, you could expect a good 3-point shooter, a guy who could rebound and drive, and good defense. Especially when Allen was struggling to hit 3s, and J-Rob hadn't had his coming out party yet, Hudson was the only reliable 3-point shooter outside of Bibbs (I'm discounting LeDay because of how open he needs to be to get his shot off).
Eh, he more monster games this year but he still scored 5 points or fewer 14 times. I think that he will find that consistency eventually, though.
In Buzz I trust. Best of luck to Jalen! He's a model student/athlete.
I think Hill for Jalen isn't a bad switch. Still would have loved to have him out there though.
Why does it seem like there are more basketball transfers than football players per year? I swear this program can't go a year without someone dipping out. In Buzz I trust, but just unusual.
Probably because if you are good enough to play as a freshman in football you are less likely to be passed for playing time, while if you are redshirted you probably don't think you are too good to sit, and don't want to transfer and lose a year. There are also a lot more D-1 basketball schools, and somebody is always there to tell you they need you at their program. How many of our sophomore bench sitters in football do think are told they are the answer in another D-1 program?
Because there are more basketball transfers than there are football transfers everywhere. Basketball players transfer at nearly twice the rate of football players.
And most basketball players have some name recognition. Even a guy like Pierce is known by fans. But other than QBs and maybe RBs, most FB transfers are largely unknown bit players to many fans.
It sucks but Buzz had to make room for Thon Maker
Please no
Actually I heard it's because Drew Harris is finally eligi...wait
Devin Wilson for a Drew Harris trade... man Fuente really knows how to work it.
When Jalen was on, there were none better. When he wasn't, he just took up space. Smart guy and talented, he will do well somewhere else.
We're going to miss you, TYRONE!
This sucks. He could be a huge scoring threat on any given night (and yes, I acknowledge that he could be very inconsistent). I can't help but believe that he could become more consistent with his big scoring nights as an upperclassmen, having had two years of experience under his belt. And even though I acknowledge that he would have some really stiff competition for playing time next year, I don't see why he wouldn't be right there in the mix with Allen, Bibbs, Clarke, Hill, etc.
I do wish him well in the future, and am glad to be reminded of his Academic All-Conference status. Big ups!
I love Jalen and I wish him the best of luck, but he was a player that was hard to figure out what makes him tick. One game you would get almost 30 points and the next game you get 0 points and 4 fouls in a half. IMO that is not the kind of consistantcy this teams needs.
Just read in the Richmond Times this morning that both Pierce's and Hudson's transfers caught the coaches by surprise, which surprises me.
Commit incoming Lyle Wolf with the Bat Signal up.
I am guessing Nickeil Alexander-Walker who just officially visited
http://247sports.com/Player/Nickeil-Alexander-Walker-86080
I hope you are right, figure it might be the Liberty center.
Alexander-Walker would be a great get. Would boost our outside shooting immensely, and complement Robinson once Seth Allen moves on from the 2 spot. Ball handling still needs a little work but probably is better than Clarke's was this year already. Also would be nice to snipe him out from under Maryland.
We just picked up a CB on this guy, for what it's worth.
Pretty good CB if it came from Corey Evans.
Making us wait to see who is committing. Hopefully some news in the next few hours.
It sounds like today could be a great day for Hokie basketball if rumors come true.
Hopeful we land both Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Markell Johnson!!!
I believe we will. Also Maxwell.
Who is this Maxwell person that you speak of?
Evan Maxwell - 6'10" transfer from Liberty
https://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm?PID=10872&TeamID=6&RosterID=10065
Evan Maxwell, transfer from Liberty.
Hopefully Buzz has confirmed that Devin is making the football team or someone is going to be odd man out in terms of scholarship if get all three.
Alexander-Walker is class of 2017, correct?
Yes.
NAW is 2017, right?
Yes.
Sorry, thought he was one of the group that had recently reclassified to 2016. There has been about 15 players that just did that in the last two weeks. No worries if we get all three then.
How about just 1? Then worry about the other 2
Walker just tweeted he would announce who he is committing to tonight at 7. Looking very good.
8 EST.