2014-15 Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Preview: Roster Rundown

It's back!

The newest edition of Hokie hoops is set to take the floor for the first time this Friday, and we'll finally get to see what Virginia Tech basketball under Buzz Williams looks like.

I'll provide my overview of the roster today, and share my season outlook later this week. Since much of this team is new, 6 of 10 available scholarship players have never played a collegiate game, I can't say with certainty what any player's production will be. However, I can set a floor and a ceiling for each player, and hope what'll happen on the court lies somewhere in the middle.

Devin Wilson

Probably the only pleasant surprise from last season, especially when you consider that he was a last minute addition to the 2013 recruiting class. He's the most interesting case study for trial-by-fire, as he quickly became the only point guard on the team's active roster. That lack of depth lead him to play such a staggeringly high amount of minutes, even Kobe Bryant would say it was too much.

He showed above average floor vision but often over-passed, especially early in the year, which lead to a ton of turnovers. Eventually teams backed off of him and dared him to shoot, which ended up as a mixed bag for Tech. There was a three game stretch in mid-January where he went 18-31 and averaged 20 points a game, yet at other times, it didn't work out so well. As you can imagine, Wilson's shooting plummeted as the season dragged along, the countless 38-minute nights barely left him legs to stand on, not to mention shoot jumpers.

It's nearly impossible to judge Wilson's overall ability on last season. The team was horrible and he was the lone guy who could create shots for others. That lead to mistakes happening in droves, yet the season would have gone much worse without him (if you can imagine what that looks like).

Best Case

Wilson takes everything he learned last year and gets better because he's playing fewer minutes. The mistakes drop off, the shooting improves and the football toughness in him makes him a favorite of Buzz's. He'll never score 20 a game, especially not in the offense that they'll run. He does, however, have all the skills to be a swiss army knife, someone who can do a little scoring, a little rebounding, a lot of passing and decent defending.

Worst Case

He looks just as flustered as he did at times last season, he struggles to shoot the ball again (maybe he's nothing better than a 40 percent shooter) and spends all season feeling like he's auditioning against Justin Robinson as next year's point guard. This is going to be very interesting to watch, because Buzz has no ties or allegiances to Wilson. If he struggles, will we see some of the freshman combo guards rotate in at point?

Malik Mueller

He's been on campus for over a year, and very few people have any idea about what kind of player he is. Is he good? Bad? Did he teach Adam Smith German while they sat next to each other on the bench in shirts and ties? Did he run out of ties? How many dress clothes combinations did he have last year? I know when I was in college my dress clothes selection wasn't stellar, how many times did he wear the same clothes? These are the hard hitting questions I think we all deserve to know answers to.

Best Case

His frame (6'3", 220) causes opposing backup guards problems, and Mueller can come in like a wrecking ball off the bench for 15 minutes a night. I wish I could go into more detail, but I've only watched one grainy nine-minute highlight clip of his time in Germany.

Worst Case

Due to the plethora of guards, Mueller never has the opportunity to see much of the floor. He spends the year cursing at officials in German and becoming the next member of the Cadarian Raines Memorial TOTS All-Stars. He's already on track, look at his Twitter profile picture.

Adam Smith

Another player who's been on campus for seemingly forever, yet we barely know anything about him. Smith transferred to Tech from UNC-Wilmington, sat out a year, and then missed the final 14 games of his first season as a Hokie with a leg injury. What he showed when he did play was that he's a small two guard with a streaky stroke from deep and an array of floaters.

Best Case

Since the team has many more shooters than a year ago, it's much tougher for opponents to key on Smith. This gives the 6'1" shooting guard enough space to get his shot off, showing the ability to nail threes that he flashed last season (7-14 from three against Michigan State and Seton Hall). With opponents having to respect his shot, Smith could also capitalize on overzealous closeouts and show off his nifty mid-range game. His size will always be a problem on defense, but playing alongside a bigger ball handler like Wilson or Mueller could mitigate that.

Worst Case

His calf injury from last year lingers, or his body just won't be able to handle the grind of another full season. His ceiling is pretty well defined as a solid scorer who poses a liability on defense, so the only thing that would hold him back from reaching it would be his health.

Will Johnston

As the only scholarship senior, we basically know the deal with Johnston. Deep threes, hair bands and trying really hard on defense. We'll get to the trying really hard on defense thing in the 'Worst Case' section. He also looks like a guy who calls his hair 'lettuce'. I can neither confirm nor deny that, I'm just projecting due to the fact that he has a gloriously delicate mane.

Best Case

"Hey Will, do you just want to go stand in the corner and hit three pointers? No, you don't need to move. Just hit the shots, thanks."

Seriously though, Johnston could be the person who benefits most from this influx of talent. Since there was barely any movement, on-ball or off, when the Hokies were on offense a season ago, defenders could move with Johnston, keeping him close to easily contest his shot. Now, the Hokies will have to move the ball around and stretch defenses as much as possible, meaning that defenses won't be able to simply shadow Tech's shooters like last year. This could give Johnston more open looks, which means more drained three pointers.

Worst Case

He gets the open looks, but doesn't hit enough of them to make up for what he gives up on defense. That's the key with shooters, they have to score at a higher rate than they give up defensively. I'm not saying that Johnston is a bad defensive player, he gives great effort, but I've seen the number on the back of his jersey desperately chasing his man around screens a LOT. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he get gets game-to-game. He was not used creatively by James Johnson over the last two years, and I think a good coach can avoid the worst case in this scenario.

Ahmed Hill

The highest rated incoming freshman on the team, Hill originally committed to Marquette and then followed his coach to Blacksburg. Listed as a 6'5", 190 pound shooting guard, Hill will likely play more of a swing position for Tech, depending on the lineup. He's a perfect Buzz Williams-type of player, an athlete who can move with or without the ball, finish at the hoop and put his teammates in positions to score.

Best Case

Hill has already locked down a starting spot and destroys defenses with the little things, scoring in double digits by cutting to the basket and scoring in transition. He's one of the players that personifies the gritty personality of his coach, and becomes a fan favorite for his explosiveness around the rim.

Worst Case

Unsure about his shooting and ball handling, Hill jams up the offensive spacing and doesn't really find a role all year. He still does all the little things, but now the little things don't make fans overlook the fact that he was a top-100 guy and considers him a disappointment. Think Vander Blue's first two years at Marquette. Another explosive swingman who did a lot of little things, he was considered a slight disappointment his first two seasons for the Golden Eagles until his scoring ramped up during his last year.

Jalen Hudson

One of the two holdovers from JJ's final recruiting class, Hudson is a bouncy guard listed on Hokiesports at 6'5". He's from Richmond, but played his high school ball at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. (Yes, the same one LeBron James went to). He's an athlete with a streaky jumper and a decent handle, but I'm not sure what other position he can play besides shooting guard. I've seen it thrown around that he could be the third point guard, but let's just wait and see what develops before we make that leap.

Best Case

He's Jamon Gordon. An athletic, tough defender who's tricky in the paint and can shoot it well enough to make opposing defenses respect him from range. Not to toot my own horn, but I really like this comp. I don't think he's a starter right now, but he can handle the ball well enough to be a distributor from the off-guard spot and anchor the second unit alongside Smith.

Worst Case

He's the odd man out in a deep wing rotation, barely gets any playing time and transfers out of the program after just one year. I know this is a dark scenario, but with Buzz taking three players to two open scholarship spots in this upcoming recruiting class, something will have to give. If Hudson can't make the most of his opportunities, would you blame him for leaving? Especially with Chris Clarke coming down the pipeline as another player who could take minutes from him? I really hope this doesn't happen, because I love Hudson's potential, but you have to at least acknowledge the possibility of this scenario.

Justin Bibbs

The next best prospect in the class, Bibbs was the other player who originally committed to JJ. He's a lefty swingman who can definitely play both wing positions, and I'm wondering if he can play a little power forward as well. Sure, he's only 6'5", but he's listed at 220 and has some extra length to him that can help him guard bigger players. It's not something that you'd want to see a ton of, but having an opposing four try to guard him would be a pretty nice advantage for Tech.

Best Case

Bibbs blossoms under Buzz and turns into the best scorer of the freshman class and maybe even the best scorer on the team. He's fast enough to get behind bigger guys on the perimeter, but big enough to body smaller guards close to the basket. He's not the most athletic guy, but he has good feet and will be a staple on both ends of the court.

Worst Case

I'm really not sure what the basement is here, I liked him a lot as a prospect simply because his game seems very sound. The only thing that I would be concerned about is him being relied on too much. He played on a tremendously talented team in Florida and never had to be the number one guy, so what happens if he's constantly guarded by other team's best defender? I could definitely see Bibbs hitting a freshman wall around conference play, when teams have more film on him to study.

Shane Henry

Get ready for a ton of minutes, Shane, because you're the only scholarship power forward on the roster! Henry, the JUCO commit from Georgia Perimeter College, averaged 13 points, 12 boards and almost five blocks in just 20 minutes a game last season. While those numbers are nice, he's undersized, no taller than 6'7" and less than 200 pounds, so I'm not exactly sure how well his game will translate to ACC play. Henry's athletic, and he's definitely an upgrade at the four over Marshall Wood and C.J. Barksdale, but I need to see the way he defends before I can be as optimistic about him as others.

Best Case

Two years of junior college makes him more ready to go than the other new guys and he starts at power forward all year. Making up for his lack of girth with athleticism, he teams up with JVZ to form a nice high/low combination and crashes both the offensive and glass like a menace. If he does that, he will be a perfect fit for this undersized and (hopefully) well-spaced squad.

Worst Case

He's too small to guard most power forwards, leaving Buzz in an awkward situation defensively. Do you try to double the opposing power forward to help Henry out, leaving the rest of your team vulnerable? Do you play a lot of zone? (probably) The amount of four-guard lineups we see will directly correlate with whether or not Henry can handle extended time against other big men.

Satchel Pierce

Pierce is the other freshman who left Marquette to follow Buzz to Tech. He's the biggest player on the team at a bulky 7'0", 255, but I have big concerns about whether or not he's ready to play. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't matter if he's ready or not, because he's going to be forced into action due to a shallow front court.

Best Case

He thrives in a small role as an energy big man off the bench for 15 minutes a game. He may not score a ton, but he grabs rebounds and protects the rim enough to succeed while surrounded by guards. It's not the sexiest ceiling, but if he can develop throughout the year he could be poised to be an extremely helpful big man for the next three years.

Worst Case

He's painfully slow and can't keep up with the pace that Tech tries to play. We see a lot of stat lines that look like 5 minutes, 0 points, 1, rebound, 0 blocks, 4 fouls.

Again, I haven't seen a minute of him playing collegiately, but I think that this is going to be closer to the truth this season. Unless they're a five-star prodigy, young big men take a little time to develop and are often not ready to play as an 18- or 19-year-old. It will be fun to watch him develop as the season goes along, but that's assuming that we will still see him on the court come February.

Joey van Zegeren

It's been amazing to watch JVZ develop over the last three years. I was in Cassel for all three of the games that he played as a true freshman, and although he played just 10 total minutes before Seth Greenberg decided to redshirt him, it was clear he simply wasn't ready.

Two years ago he had all the signs of a backup big (or "stiff" in derogatory terms), fouling at an absurd rate and failing to finish around the rim. Last year, however, he took a bigger step forward than I ever dreamed we would see. He was a true rim protector, a stronger rebounder and someone who went up without hesitation when he got the ball dished to him around the hoop.

JVZ's development is going to be the single most fascinating subplot of this season. He's the only known quantity in the front court and will be relied on much more than ever before.

Best Case

van Zegeren is everything that Tech needs him to be. An eraser on defense, an energy rebounder/pick setter/garbage scorer on offense while simultaneously controlling his foul situation. That's a ton to ask, probably way too much, but Buzz will have to do so considering that he has no viable backup.

If I had to guess, Buzz will scheme to make the foul situation as easy as possible for his center. I bet we see him pack the paint on pick and rolls as opposed to hedging the screen in space, a place where big men tend to pick up cheap fouls. We will also see a ton of van Zegeren in the middle of the lane, long arms stuck straight up, absorbing a beating from opponents. It's the "law of verticality", something that turned Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert into a defensive ace and would allow van Zegeren to defend the rim while also remaining in the game.

If Tech is able to get away with surrounding JVZ with four guards for chunks of time, their ceiling raises significantly.

Worst Case

He won't be able to stay on the floor. This is going to be a real concern every game, because if JVZ's off the floor the Hokies will be dominated inside. It's tempting for a guy as good at blocking shots as van Zegeren is to go chase them, but if he does that and picks up two early fouls his team is at a HUGE disadvantage.

It feels odd to say, but Joey van Zegeren may be the most important player on this team, the difference between 12-13 wins and 16-17 wins. I don't know how I feel about that as someone who follows the team, but what choice do they have? It's a young, undersized team that will have a very small margin of error.

They'll get better, but just remember that this team has a best case and a worst case just like all of it's players. It'll surely fall somewhere in the middle, but we'll simply have to wait and see what that middle looks like.