Marty Gordon
Former Virginia Tech men’s basketball star Nickeil Alexander-Walker is one of 12 athletes selected to represent Team Canada at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as announced by Canada Basketball and the Canadian Olympic Committee Wednesday.
Alexander-Walker, who competed for the Hokies from 2017-2019, guided the program to its first-ever Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2019. He compiled a 47-21 record in the maroon and orange. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 13.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46.4% overall and 38.3% from three in his two seasons in Blacksburg.
With his selection, Alexander-Walker joins Tech’s all-time leading scorer Bimbo Coles as the only two Hokies to become Olympians in program history. Coles represented Team USA in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, earning a bronze medal.
Canada Basketball’s Senior Men’s National Team successfully qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as one of the top two teams from the Americas region at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023. The team secured the berth with an 88-85 victory over Spain in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals.
They went on to capture a historic bronze medal – the first medal at a men’s basketball World Cup in Canadian history – with a 127-118 win over the United States. In the bronze medal game, Dillon Brooks’ 39 points set a FIBA World Cup record for most points scored in a medal-winning game and a Senior Men’s National Team scoring record for most points in a single game.
Canada went 6-2 in the World Cup, including key victories over several top-five ranked federations. Eight players from Canada’s bronze medal-winning team will represent Canada this summer in Paris.
Hokie qualifies for US Amateur
Katherine Lemke, a rising senior on the Virginia Tech women’s golf team, fired a 4-under 67 Wednesday at Heritage Oaks Golf Club to earn medalist honors and qualify for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Behind five birdies, Lemke topped the leaderboard by one shot over Victoria Zheng of Markham, Ontario. In addition to Lemke and Zheng, Caroline Smith won a seven-way playoff for the third and final qualifying spot.
Lemke got off to a hot start, carding four birdies on the front side to make the turn at 3-under 33. She added another birdie at the par-4 11th to coast to the 4-under 67.
The 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be contested August 5-11 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Pry to Dodd Watch List
Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry has been named to the Preseason Watch List for the 2024 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank. The list includes 21 of the nation’s top college football coaches representing all Power Four conferences, as well as an independent.
Managed by Peach Bowl, Inc. and presented by PNC Bank, The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.
Pry is entering his third season leading the Hokies’ program. He guided Tech to a 7-6 campaign in 2023, capped by a win over Tulane in the Military Bowl, the first win over a ranked team since 2021 and its first bowl win since 2016. The seven wins marked a four-game improvement over 2022.
Staff report