After exploring his options regarding the 2021 NBA Draft, Virginia Tech is set to return one of the premier post players in all of college basketball in redshirt-senior Keve Aluma.
The Berlin, Maryland native is coming off a season in which he averaged a team-high 15.2 points per game, which included a career-high 30 points at Pittsburgh, and was selected as a Second-Team All-ACC pick in 2020-21. The 6-foot-9, 235-pounder also put up a team-best six double-doubles a season ago and immediately became a major factor in Blacksburg after following head coach Mike Young to Southwest Virginia in 2019. The Preseason All-ACC pick will have lofty expectations heading into the 2021-22 campaign - many consider him as a top candidate for ACC Player of the Year. He's also been named to the Karl Malone Award and the Lute Olson Award preseason watch lists.
He did the NBA thing. I've had a number of kids do it, and I've always thought that that feedback is so powerful coming from NBA executives. They told him you got to get in the best shape you've ever been in. He's there, he looks different and is in the best shape he's ever been in. He is shooting the ball at a very high clip. Now, he is shot faking and getting places. He and Mutts might be our best drivers and the best ability to pitch it around because of their ability to shoot and because they're both good players. Aluma is still learning. When he came to us at Wofford, I think it was his third or fourth year of organized basketball and everything was so new to him. He's still exploring and still expanding his game to this day. He put together a really fine year a year ago, and he's better and ready to have an even better senior season.
Coach Young on Keve Aluma
OTHERS IN THE MIX
While Aluma is set to dominate the post for Virginia Tech this upcoming season, guys like John Ojiako, Clemson transfer Lynn Kidd and true freshman Jalen Haynes are set to provide much-needed depth for the Hokies. Starting with Ojiako, the 6-foot-10, 245-pounder is looking for a breakout season after only playing in six contests in 2020-21. The former three-star prospect, according to 247Sports, is poised to make a substantial impact with his body in the best shape it's ever been.
Kidd saw action in seven games a season ago for the Clemson Tigers. The Gainesville, Florida native was a highly-coveted recruit out of IMG Academy, choosing Clemson over the Hokies, Miami, Wake Forest, Auburn and Florida among other schools last year. The 6-foot-10, 245-pounder was the No. 77 overall prospect in the 2021 ESPN 100 before reclassifying to the 2020 class.
Haynes is also looking to provide some minutes for the Hokies down low this upcoming season. The former Montverde Academy star and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native comes to Virginia Tech after averaging a double-double for the second straight year with 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in his senior season.
POSITION NOTES
- Aluma was the only Hokie to start all 22 games a season ago.
- Aluma was a two-time ACC Player of the Week last season after performances against Villanova and Virginia.
- Aluma has scored in double-figures in 25 games throughout his career.
- Aluma led Tech in rebounding 12 times last season.
- Ojiako possesses a career-high 15 points vs. Maryland Eastern Shore in December 2019.
- Ojiako first started his high school career playing in Kentucky before transitioning to St. Petersburg, Florida.
- Kidd has scored eight career points in seven games played at Clemson.
POSITION OUTLOOK
All eyes will be on Keve Aluma, the nation's 19th-ranked player according to ESPN. However, opponents' scouting reports cannot focus solely on the Hokies' star post player. With Tech's potent punch from outside, will opponents choose to double-team Aluma and risk giving up open 3-pointers, or will they allow Aluma to go to work down low?
Tech fans should look forward to seeing the progression Ojiako has made in the offseason. With his body in the best shape it's ever been, the junior should have a notable jump in production in the paint.
