Hearing from multiple sources Virginia Tech junior forward PJ Horne is in the transfer portal, and also hearing he'll be a grad transfer with immediate eligibility. The Georgia native averaged 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this season for the Hokies. pic.twitter.com/Btgp14uNBQ— Dan McDonald (@RivalsDan) May 23, 2020
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We have reached out to a Indiana forward grad transfer, on mobile so cant embed. He still isnt in transfer portal yet but he might not have been added just yet. Wouldnt think we would reach out to someone if we didnt have or werent going to have a spot open
Don't we have a spot open because of Kabongo's injury?
Wilkins, Nolley, Johnson, Kabongo gone. Then adding Bamisile, Maddox, N'Guessan, Pemsil, Diarra this year. So Horne would make the numbers work?
We were down 1 scholarship to begin with. We're now back at 12.
r-Srs: Diarra, Pemsl
Sr: Bede
r-Jrs: Aluma
r-So: Radford
Sos: Cone, Alleyne, Ojiako, Cattoor
Frs: Bamisile, Maddox, N'Guessan
It's possible we can go for a transfer player or go for another ridiculous four player class, giving us 12 players in 3 classes
Uhhhh wtf?
Yikes
Idk if it's a yikes in terms of points/talent, but probably in terms of experience and leadership it is. I feel like PJ is a weird fit for Mike Young's offense, he's not quiet good enough of a shooter to shoot as much as he did last year, and he's not big enough to play the 4 most of the time like he would likely play this season. He might have felt that, but saw his minutes likely cut by Aluma?
Idk man he shot the 3 real nice last season, could easily be a stretch 4 in this offense. We could use all the post depth we can get.
When he shot well, he shot really well. On the flip side he also had some terrible streaks of poor shooting. I'd definitely like to see some more consistency before we rely on him to shoot as much as he did last year. Agree any post depth is a plus though, and he seems like a good locker room guy.
He shot 34%, which isn't terrible. I think he could be really effective if his minutes were closer to 20-25 a game rather than the 28 he was playing last year.
Bird in the hand
I'm gonna miss PJ. I was looking for an uptick in his "production" this year and was surprised it didn't happen. Whether because of changes due to new coach or just whatever, though, it just didn't seem to happen. Still, he was high on my rooting for list, and I'll miss him.
Dude did everything he was asked to do, which was a lot as a 6'5" guy guarding guys 4+ inches taller than him for damn near 30 minutes a night. I hope he lands somewhere, has a great season and gets a masters degree out of it. Dude deserves it.
Agree 100%. I'd have loved to have him on the team, but hope he lands somewhere he can feel good about being, and I hope his next cadre of fans love him as much a most of us did.
I really like PJ, too, but agree that his shot is not very consistent. Likely Young probably told him his minutes would go down this year due to the influx of new players, and maybe PJ is just checking out his options. However, I couldn't see his minutes being drastically reduced, unless some of this new talent hits the ground running, which wouldn't be a bad thing. It would be sad to see him leave for his senior year because of the burgeoning talent around him, though.
Based on the Roanoke Times article today, it sounds like this was Horne's decision and not influenced by CMY. Young said that it wasn't motivated by playing time, and that Horne gave him reasons but "those are conversations that we'll keep between us. Like everything else he does, he did it with class and he was up front and that's how we'll leave it."
Here is the Roanoke Times article for anyone interested.
So that means he recognized to beat the best you got to go big. That would help VT in the rebounding margin hopefully.
I don't like this at all. He was a very productive player and one of our most experienced. Bede is now the only Buzz guy we have left and those guys definitely had more physical strength and higher motors than the other guys. We don't need an extra scholarship and I very much doubt whoever we add could be considered an upgrade
To be fair, on Buzz's best squad, I wouldn't consider either guy a starter. Yes, Bede started after J-Rob was cleared, but that was more for continuity purposes I believe. I just wonder how high the ceiling is for a guy who is 6'5" (maybe even 6'4") playing on the low block. CMY is trying to build his roster, and I'm not sure PJ's attributes fit that. With Aluma and Pemsl entering the fold and Ojiako likely improving, it makes sense. I dislike it because he was a good leader and knew what it took to make a deep run, but I don't think that deep run is happening for another few years anyway.
Young has lost the locker room, it's in shambles, the program is doomed, DOOMED!
So, is he running from the girl that gave him Valentin'es Day candy?
Wanted to hold off commenting here until anything was official. Now that it is....
Ugh, I liked the way his game was coming around. I think he could have been a very solid player for us over the next couple years, but if he wasn't bought into what we are doing and wanted out, then I wish him the best in wherever he goes.
I think some of the new guys who are coming in probably would have eaten into his playing time, but we definitely need as many talented big bodies to compete in the ACC. Even if Horne was only going to be a bench player (and I didn't think he was, I was expecting him to at worst be a solid 6th man off the bench, playing starter minutes) he would have been a major contributor toward us competing next season.
Just wanted to point out he only has one season of eligibility left. True junior and is trying to graduate this summer so that he doesn't have to sit.
I just want to point out that, according to 24/7, when PJ was a high schooler he was a 3 Star recruit. Specifically he was the 208th nationally ranked recruit and the 53rd ranked power forward.
And this MF went on to be a DUDE for us. Two seasons ago he averaged 13 very valuable minutes per game and this season he averaged 28.1 in arguably the best conference in hoops. I dont know if any of us expected that kind of contribution from him when he signed, but we should all be grateful. PJ exemplified out-performing your ranking and I wish him well.
Also that he chose to stick around after Buzz's departure was extremely helpful to CMY. Coach said multiple times how his (and Bede's) presence this past season was extremely beneficial to the new guys and to the success the team was able to have despite being so young. Thanks PJ and best wishes wherever you land!
PJ went to UGA
Damn he grew 2+ inches since the season ended??
guess the prospect of going to UGa got him excited?
Baby!
PJ told the Roanoke Times he's transferring to be closer to home because of the ro-ro.
Article says that he's been impacted fairly closely and the whole thing has made him want to be closer to home.