Most fans would surely take what happened for the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team in head coach Mike Young’s second season of 2020-21.
The Hokies finished 15-7, 9-4 in the ACC, which was third in the conference, tying the highest finish in school history. They beat third-ranked Villanova, eighth-ranked Virginia, No. 19 Duke, and No. 24 Clemson, and defeated Syracuse in the Carrier Dome for the first time in school history. They beat Wake Forest by 38 points, the biggest margin of victory for an ACC game in school history. They beat Miami in overtime when Hunter Cattoor buried a three at the buzzer to tie it and then hit clutch free throws in the extra period to seal the 80-76 win.
They made the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight time (No tournament was held in 2010.) as a No.-10 seed, which made Young the fastest coach in school history to make it to the Big Dance. He was named the ACC Coach of the Year, becoming just the second-ever coach at Tech to earn the prestigious honor. He also would be tabbed the district Coach of the Year.
Keve Aluma earned second-team all-league honors. Sophomore Tyrece Radford was named ACC honorable mention. Five Hokies — Justyn Mutts, Jalen Cone, Hunter Cattoor, Wabissa Bede and Nahiem Alleyne — were named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
All this happened despite the complications and delays presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The season opener was delayed by two weeks, but the Hokies nevertheless finished 8-1 in December. They then had the season interrupted once again in February as coronavirus protocols forced the cancellation of four games.
As a recap of the season from the athletic department put it, “Overall, HokieNation must feel pretty proud of a job well done by Young and Co., especially when you put in perspective it all was happening during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
While the season ended on a disappointing note with the first-round loss to seventh-seeded Florida in the NCAA Tournament, it was nevertheless a year worth remembering. “Looking back,” the athletic department noted, the players and the staff “will hold their heads high.”
