CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Tuesday we learned that Rodney Rice decided to step away from the Hokies program. More context was provided Wednesday during the Virginia Tech interview sessions.
We learned that Rice’s decision was one that Virginia Tech respects, one that Rice made on his own, and despite being two weeks away from the season the Hokies are confident in who they have.
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“He walks in and tells you a change of scenery is best for him and that’s what happened,” said head coach Mike Young. “It’s college athletics, you move on and wish him well.
“We think we can still be a great team and live up to the goals without him,” said Hokies forward Mylyjeal Poteat. “So, it sucks but at the end of the day he made a decision that’s best for him so you can’t really hate him, at least in my perspective.”
While Tech is deep at the guard position—a more experienced MJ Collins and Sean Pedulla—the biggest question: who or what replaces Justyn Mutts? Not only his style of play but his energy as well.
“We’ve had guys step up and fill that void and we’re doing good things for our offense and defense,” said Hokies guard Hunter Cattoor.
“There are things in practice most every day where you realize he’s not there,” Young added. “His passing, his ability to guard almost anything on the floor.”
Three-point shooting is expected to play a major role again. Virginia Tech ranked fourth in 3-point percentage in conference games last season.