Ty Outlaw and Ahmed Hill have both been fully cleared for basketball activities, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Virginia Tech's Ahmed Hill (patella) has been fully cleared for all basketball related activities, Buzz Williams told @CBSSports.— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 6, 2016
Virginia Tech's Ty Outlaw (illness) has been fully cleared for all basketball activities, Buzz Williams told @CBSSports. DNP last year.— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 6, 2016
Hill was a significant contributor for head coach Buzz Williams as a freshman before missing the entire 2015-2016 season with a knee injury. Outlaw transferred to Virginia Tech last summer but redshirted due to unspecified medical concerns.
Outlaw averaged 21.8 points per game for Lee College (JUCO - Baytown, Texas) as a sophomore and figures to play an important role for the Hokies in Williams' third year in Blacksburg.
Comments
i'm ready. is it november yet??
Can't wait for the season!
#hokiesjustgotbetter
An all time great movie.
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
#GetBetter
Win a Battle, Take a Bite
and, this:
Everything Matters!
Buzz is teaching this team SO MUCH!
This coming season is gonna be something else...
I don't think I've been this excited for BOTH basketball and football season at the same time.
I really am more excited about basketball starting than football.
Even the few articles I've seen about "VT included in another Top 25 poll" are baffling as I'm expecting someone is giving Fuente credit for having a real offense, then I click on it and see that it's all about Buzz' Crew.
Outlaw being healthy cannot be celebrated enough. But now having him and Hill back? Oh things just got very interesting for next season. VERY interesting
Any guesses on the starting 5 next year? We are getting close to ACC level competition at every spot.
I think we've got 8 guys who may well average over 20 minutes and we shouldn't feel embarrassed to have any of them on the floor.
This should be a really fun team to watch.
Don't let Buzz trick you into that game! It will be four names picked out of a hat + Med Hill.
Bigs: Blackshear and LeDay
Wing: Hill and Outlaw
Point: Robinson
6th Man: Bibbs or Clarke
Seth Allen will be in heavy rotation too ...
There's too many of them
There's a reason Hudson transferred ...
Hamilton and/or Sy will get minutes too. Hamilton started like 10 games last year.
Of the two mentioned, I would suspect Sy will get more PT but doubt either get really big minutes this season. In 2015-16, Hamilton had 4 starts and 18 DNPs. For the season, he totaled 124 minutes, but 73 of those minutes came in November. He may get an uptick from that, but at best, I think he'd get 8-9 minutes (i.e. what Henry played this season). More likely I'd bet on Hamilton topping out at 2-3 min per game. I'd love for him to come out as a force and dominate, but I would be (pleasantly) surprised if that's actually what transpires.
Of our big men, I'm hoping to see Blackshear take a big step forward. I'm not sure he'll ever be a great defensive big man, but towards the end of the season he showed some flashes on offense that made me very hopeful of what he could become on that end of the floor.
when u cant even name a starting 5 cause theres about 8 legit guys its a good day!
I can't wait to spend my next 4 years at Virginia Tech, and seeing how this basketball team progresses. Buying season tickets as soon as they're available for incoming freshman
Welcome aboard, you little whippersnapper.
Here's some sagely advice. (Posted this years ago in thread here)
Leonard's picture Leonard | 2 years 9 months #
Some great tips on here already for sure. Here's my 2 cents -
1. Make an effort to introduce yourself face to face with ALL of your professors in every class. It makes a difference.
2. Spend at least 45 min every day after class on each class that you had that day, whether you have an assignment or not...go over notes, etc.
3. I really like Stiney's #9 above. Really...don't be a douchebag. When meeting people, listen to what they have to say. Especially the womenz. They love to talk, and if you let them, you're in there.
4. Alcohol is going to happen. Period. But really...know your limits. Don't get shit-faced and act like a fool.
5. No matter where you are, or what you're doing...always look good. Personal hygiene is a must.
6. Go on a diet and lose 15 lbs...like, now. That way, the 15 lbs that you are going to gain by Christmas break is a wash.
7. Lot's of outdoor opportunities in the New River Valley. Take advantage of them - hiking, biking, skiing, camping.
8. Unless it's Romeo and Juliet style, star-crossed true love...cut the high school girlfriend/boyfriend loose. Too complicated. If it's real, it'll happen again.
9. Practice your Pong and Quarters game. It'll help with #4.
10. Pay attention to the above comments on the weather. Not a ton of snow in Bburg, But there are a lot of days when its 33 F, wind blowing at 50 mph, and raining. That shit hurts. You need some gear.
11. Bring a bike, but not the $3500 Cannondale. Just something to get you around, and lock it up.
12. Eat at Mike's every chance you get.
13. Lastly...savor every moment. In four years you'll have a bunch of stuff to worry about and take care of. This is your last shot to be truly care-free. (Relatively speaking, of course.)
Apparently I sucked at college.
So did I.
I was blind. My ophthalmologist, Dr. Hindsight, fixed me right up. 20/20 vision now.
You better listen to him- He's Pre- Med
Otter: Take it easy, I'm pre-law.
Boon: I thought you were pre-med.
Otter: What's the difference?
Just extrapolating on a couple of the points
6. Not sure when this list was compiled but the addition of Turner's Place warrant's losing 20...VT has a freshman 20 now haha
7. If you go on the McAfee's Knob or Dragon's tooth hike, make sure to hit up Home Place! THAT IS A MUST, great post Hike dinner!
9. Watch your elbows in pong... just sayin'
10. The drillfield is straight WIND in the winter, bundle up
12. yes. yes. yes.
13. JUMP HIGH DURING ENTER SANDMAN CAUSE THOSE 4 YEARS FLY. Remember, you can sit when you graduate.
FTFY
Wish I would have had this list before I started. Congrats to heading to Hokietown, population YOU!
Awesome list. Concerning #13, I definitely agree. Being an adult has a lot more worries. Although, to a certain extent, being done with classes, assignments, exams etc., getting your first big boy/girl job, and having some money is fun too. I would say if you are going to do grad school, jump right into it after undergrad and don't take time off. Once you start a full time career making your own money, it's hard to want to go back to taking classes and doing the academia thing (trying to balance that right now).
To expand on #8 (and this CANNOT be emphasized enough)...a wise bouncer once told me "DON'T BE A FOOL, WRAP YOUR TOOL."
A VT version of this would be "Wrap your Hokie before you Pokie."
Or "Don't be a Hoo, wrap dat Tool."
America.
Top 4 ACC finish and a tourney bid.
Real quick analysis on my part: Since the ACC expanded 4th place has been 12-6 or better each year. Looking at it now we got a fairly tough draw. The teams we get twice are Miami (strong recruiting class, very good class), UVA (should again be top 10), Clemson (a team that brings back everything like us), and BC (definitely need these two wins). Our road games are all against teams receiving top 25 hype: FSU, UNC (top 10), NC State (elite talents), Pitt, and Louisville (who the hell knows what will happen to them). Home games against Wake Forest, GT, Syracuse, ND, and Duke (that game will be a bear).
So in my opinion the path to 12 wins looks something like this: (1+2) sweep BC (3,4,5) sweep the easy home games of Wake, ND, and GT (6+7) split with UVA and Miami (8+9) Sweep Clemson (10+11) Beat 2 of FSU, Pitt, NC State (12) win one of Duke, UNC, Louisville, Syracuse. Its doable IMO but we'd need some good breaks along the way and need to be a lot better on the road. Getting none of Wake Forest, GT, and ND (who I think will be among the dregs of the conference) on the road is pretty brutal because its so hard to go on the road and win against good teams in the ACC. I'll maintain going into the season that I expect a high level of play and a tourney bid but it's entirely possible we fall back a bit in the standings along the way.
I've said this before, but it is very possible, maybe even likely, that our three best players from last year (LeDay, Allen, Bibbs) won't be our three best players next year. For a team that finished 7th in the league and is returning all 3 of those guys, that is insane.
Who do you think it will be? Outlaw, Hill, Robinson?
Hill without a doubt. He's Buzz's guy
LeDay because he's too much of a threat at the 4.
Literally any of the Bibbs, Robinson, Clarke, Outlaw bunch as the 3rd. Any of those guys could go for 20.
I could see those three being very difficult to take off the floor. JRob still made some forced decisions last year, but if he minimizes those and shoots all year like he did late in the year, it will be tough to not have him out there.
I'm not quite as sure on Outlaw, there may be a bit of a mythbuilding going on with him. But he's a shooter, if he defends, he could cut into Bibbs minutes heavily.
And I'm renowned for my admiration of Hill. He started 30 games as a freshman, he'll start more than that this year. I could see him taking the step that Blossomgame took last year and push for All-ACC.
The thing is, it could be almost anyone. I'd say pick from Hill, JRob, Outlaw, Clarke, and Blackshear. If I had to pick three new guys I'd agree with you: Outlaw, Hill, Robinson. But Clarke could be dominant and Blackshear is very underrated, he could be a huge factor next year. However I would still expect LeDay and Allen to be the leaders of this team.
I'm surprised to see how often bibbs is overlooked. He may not shoot as well against great defenders, but he is lethal when he is square to the basket. Now that there are so many more players that can create their own shot he will be much tougher to defend. And he has another full summer to refine his game.
Buzz has also referred to him as one of his defenders, and said it was hard to take him out last year.
Bibbs improved a lot last year too. He got better at creating his own shot and driving to the rim. He was extremely important last year as basically our only shooter. When he wasn't going, the team struggled (see Duke, BYU). I've said that I think he can play in the NBA as a role shooter a la Danny Green, especially if he keeps improving at the rate he did from freshman to sophomore year. He's my favorite player, I hope he can step up even more next year. But if he's not one of our top three players we're going to be pretty great offensively.
Robinson was a beast down the stretch, im lookin for a breakout year for him.
There is so much versatility on this lineup. Can go big. Can go small. Can go fast. Can go long. Just thinking of possible rotations and where people could fit in:
PG: Robinson, Allen, Wilson, Jackson
SG: Bibbs, Allen, Hill, Clarke, Outlaw
SF: Hill, Clarke, Outlaw, Bibbs
PF: Leday, Clarke, Blackshear
C: Blackshear, Leday, Sy, Hamilton
Good times are ahead.
Buzz only has 2 speeds - fast and faster with his guys. I predict at least 1 win against LOLuva and really hope for a sweep.
I think we're going to see a much more intense team this year. We'll be deep, and Buzz is going to have options if things get dicey.
We have official word on what the "illness" was last year for Outlaw.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy
First sentence....
Damn, I truly hope he's fully recovered from this and the health issues are behind him. As much as I want to see VT dominate in basketball, and as much as I want to see him lead us to greatness, I don't want anyone to literally be risking their life for us on the court.
This was a big part of the tv show One Tree Hill
...not that I am familiar with it.
I am.
Brooke Davis is the GOAT
If I could give this 1000 legs I would.
I agree completely. There must have been some pretty big changes brought on by the medicine for the doctors to clear him. Hopefully it is something they continue to monitor so that if the heart muscle thickens again, they can catch it.
I had no idea Chaney ended up retiring at HPU due to another incident. I hope the best for his health. That is too damn sad.
Diagnosis of HCM is complicated. Lots of factors including cardiac tests and genetic testing must be taken into account. Only recently cardiac dimensions criteria were revised upwards for basketball players. Nobody wants to clear a young person and have a tragedy.
http://www.jwatch.org/na40701/2016/03/22/turns-out-body-size-correlated-...