Jalen Cone Enters the Transfer Portal

By: Will Stewart | Founder

Virginia Tech shooting guard Jalen Cone has entered the transfer portal, per his announcement on Twitter, shown above.

“I don’t even know where to begin … Virginia Tech has become my second home,” Cone wrote, before going on to praise Blacksburg, the basketball coaching staff, his teammates, and the basketball program as a whole. He then concluded with, “After prayer, giving it long thought and conversations with my loved ones I’ve decided to reopen my recruitment and enter the transfer portal.”

The entire statement, in case the tweet above is not visible or is later deleted, can be seen here.

Cone played in 47 games in his Virginia Tech career, starting seven. Here are his career Virginia Tech statistics:

Cone’s three-point shooting percentage of 0.457 in 2019-2020 would have finished fourth in the nation, if he had attempted enough shots to qualify.

Cone started out hot from behind the arc in 2020-2021, making 30-of-70 (42.9%) three pointers before hitting on just seven of his last 36. Cone missed the last six weeks of the season after injuring his foot against Miami on February 6th.

Jalen Cone is from Walkertown High School (Walkertown, NC) and was signed as part of Mike Young’s first Virginia Tech recruiting class, the 2019 class that also included Hunter Cattoor, Naheim Alleyne, and John Ojiako.  Cone was the highest-ranked player and the only 4-star recruit in that class, coming in at No. 102 in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Since this year is a free year of eligibility due to COVID-19, Cone will have three years of eligibility at his new destination. If he transfers to an ACC school, he will be able to play right away, due to the ACC recently eliminating the requirement to sit out a year in the case of in-conference transfers.

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  1. I’m sorry to lose Jalen, but of the non point guards: Alleyne, Cattoor, Radford, Cone (don’t know enough about Maddox to include him in this hypothetical), if I had to lose one, I’d have to pick Cone.

  2. If Coach can continue to bring in more talented players than the players leaving then I am not concerned. Seems very strange why Cone is leaving though. Played significant enough minutes and started 7 games as a first year player. Didn’t Cone also get reclassified to join VT earlier than a normal freshman player? Played lights out from 3 point range to start the season and then cools off and then has an ankle injury, then decides to transfer even though he loves VT players and coaches. Somethings definitely off here. Cone’s statement doesn’t make any sense. Why leave if everything is great at VT? It would have felt better from the VT fan base if he explained why he was leaving VT, not why he loves VT.

  3. I think these kids have lost their marbles. They all think they’re going to the NFL or the NBA. What’s the number? 2%?

  4. Well, this sure makes the 2021 depth chart easy:
    PG – Murphy, Padulla
    SG – Alleyne, Cattoor
    SF – Radford, Maddox
    PF – Mutts, N’Guessan, Williamson
    C – Aluma, Ojiako

    1. More Likely:

      PG – Murphy, transfer/freshman/Padulla
      SG – Radford, Alleyne, Cattoor
      SF – Mutts, Maddox
      PF – Aluma, N’Guessan
      C – transfer, Ojiako

      1. Yeah…but if we have 13 players expecting minutes every year, won’t we be doing the transfer dance with 3-4 players every Spring? Or is that going to be the new norm?

  5. Cone woulda been fun to watch coming off screens for 3’s, but he really cannot cover other guards at the P5 level. And as a result he wasn’t going to get lots of minutes with the other options available to Coach Young. His value to us as a instant short-term offensive boost will be missed. Would not surprise me to see him drop down to G5 or lower but then pull an Eric Green and lead the nation in scoring. Wish him well.

  6. Good luck to Jalen. He was a good 3 pt specialist that wants more minutes and I hope he finds them (just not at another ACC team). Another spot just opened up for a 4 or a 5. Let’s go!

  7. Yep , I love my wife …cant live without her ….enjoyed every breath we take …but I’m leaving her …really 🤷‍♂️🙈

  8. Dang. Would love to know if this is MY telling him he’s going to lose minutes or JC deciding that status quo/work to move up was not attractive. Either way, I suppose it is either “truth hurts” or bad assessment.

    2. If he goes to almost any other P5 program, the only thing that will change for him is the jersey. Unless the program is really lacking outside shooting, his role will be pretty much the same.

      There just isn’t 25+ min for a 5’9” guard who isn’t really a point guard, can’t really go to the hole, is average at best defensively, and is most effective (significantly) coming off screens to get his shot.

      Now I don’t really like to see him leave because I think he is a good piece on this roster. But he’s just a piece and his value drops considerably the more minutes he plays after about 10-15 a game.

  11. His Dad says Cone wants to go to the NBA. I like ambitious people for the most part but that is quite a stretch figuratively and literally.

  12. I hope Mr. Cone finds what he is looking for – sad that it couldn’t happen at VT.

      1. That makes three of us- had to re-read the headline to be sure what it said. Hope Jalen finds whatever he is looking for that he couldn’t find at VT. Seemed like a great kid.

    1. The “explanations” never really make sense…would actually be refreshing to have one say “I really don’t think I will get enough playing time so I am outta’ here….”

        1. Everything Cone said could be the absolute truth, he is the only one that truly knows his feelings. It’s not easy being the BMOC, then finding out that almost ALL of your teammates are the same if not bigger…..

      2. Actually the JB did say exactly that, I have respect for him saying, and he is probably correct about his playing time.

  17. Virginia Tech is the best.
    Blacksburg is the best.
    The fans are the best.
    I have decided to leave.

    1. He will most likely stick out another season and try to get himself back into playing shape.

      Everyone was like…man that guys going to be a monster cause he’s strong and very mobile. Then, the dreaded knee surgery, inactivity and 30 pounds of bad weight combined to make him sort of useless in games that count.

  20. He is gambling on a different hand being dealt at a different school. He didn’t like the cards here at VT. The competition for minutes at VT… playing in ACC… the likelihood of making a deep run in the big dance…? We’ll see where he ends up. Certainly a classy goodbye tweet.

    1. The advantage he has now over when he made his initial decision to attend VT is that he knows more how his style of play meshes with that of other D1 teams. He can look out and see where he could play and reach his goals.

    1. My guess is playing time, like Bamisile. Storm will come in and play a lot. And he’s good hitting 3’s. Catoor and Alleyne will still play a lot, and they’re good at 3s and taller than Jalen. Radford is going to play a lot. Cone can’t take minutes from the big guys.

      1. I really liked Jalen Cone, but he is a liability defensively due to his height. If he lands at the right spot he will prosper. Good luck Jalen.

    2. kid has dreams to start and be a dominant player. Ain’t happening in the Power 5 IMO, but he might just find a good situation elsewhere.

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