As big of a weekend as it is for Virginia Tech football, it’s an important few days for the men’s basketball program. Mike Young & Co. welcome three talented recruits, Rodney Rice, Tyler Nickel and Braden Huff, to Blacksburg for official visits over the next few days.
Rodney Rice
A four-star, 6-4, 185-pound guard from Clinton, Md., Rice plays his high school ball at DeMatha Catholic, the former home of Tech associate head coach Mike Jones.
Rice is the No. 3 player in the state of Maryland, per 247Sports, and the No. 72 player in the country. Back on June 26, Rice announced his top six schools: Notre Dame, Alabama, Louisville, Georgetown, Maryland and Virginia Tech.
247’s crystal ball currently has three predictions, all of which lean towards the Hokies. He’s taken an unofficial to Blacksburg previously, but visits officially for the first time this weekend. He has an official visit to Louisville set for Sept. 17.
Here’s five minutes of film on Rice: Link
He’s a shooter, which Mike Young loves. He reminds me a little bit of Nahiem Alleyne. They’re the same size, 6-4, have similar build and a unique shooting stroke.
Like Alleyne, Rice is a spot-up shooter who can catch and fire at will. Rice can drive into the lane and create his own shot, too, which is something we’ve seen bits and pieces of from Alleyne, typically from the elbow.
Rice definitely fits the mold of wings in Young’s system, like Alleyne and Cattoor, that can move the ball, catch and shoot on the spot and occasionally create their own shot.
Young’s hiring of Jones could pay dividends in this situation, considering Rice already has a relationship with Jones built.
Tyler Nickel
A four-star, 6-8, 210-pound forward from Elkton, Va., Nickel plays at East Rockingham High School. Tech assistant Christian Webster is his lead recruiter.
Nickel is the No. 4 player in the Commonwealth of Virginia, per 247Sports, and the No. 75 prospect nationally. He visited Butler on Aug. 27 and has visits planned to North Carolina (Sept. 10) and Iowa (Sept. 17) after his trip to Blacksburg.
247’s crystal ball currently has two predictions, both for Virginia Tech. Nickel’s top five consists of the four aforementioned schools and LSU.
Here’s a look at Nickel, who can really shoot the ball: Link
At 6-8, Nickel is barely taller than Justyn Mutts (6-7) and shorter than Keve Aluma (6-9). He plays like he’s a guard, though. In a way, he reminds me of Landers Nolley, a big who often found himself out on the perimeter pulling up from deep. He also has a little bit of a post presence, though he seems to be more suited for the wing.
Like Rice, he’s a shooter. That’s the theme of Mike Young’s offense, even with the bigs. He’s an in-state kid, too, which is always important.
Braden Huff
A four-star, 6-9, 205-pound forward from Glen Ellyn, Ill., just outside of Chicago, Huff plays at Glenbard West High School. Huff was offered by Young & Co. in June of 2020.
247 lists him as the No. 2 player in Illinois and the No. 93 player in the country, and says he’s visited four schools: Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech (June 13) and Wisconsin.
First impression from his film: He’s practically a point forward.
Huff is tall and lengthy and can spot up from three but also handle the ball. At :45 of the clip, he grabs a rebound and goes coast-to-coast. That’s impressive, even more so for someone of his size. He’s just that athletic.
He’s as tall as Aluma but seems more mobile and agile. It’s like he’s a guard in a forward’s body. Huff can catch the ball on the outside and attack the rim, and he’s a solid distributor, too.
It’s easy to see why Young and Tech are pursuing Huff. He’s a unique specimen, kind of Nikola Jokic-esque, where he can body people in the paint but also attack off the dribble and hit tough shots from the wing.
The Scholarship Outlook (And Clarification)
Here’s a snapshot of the Hokies’ scholarship outlook. MJ Collins (6-2, 175, Rock Hill, S.C.) is currently Tech’s only commit in the 2022 class.
The Hokies have four scholarships open for next season (2022-23) and, thanks to the NCAA granting players an extra year due to COVID, could still have Aluma and Mutts on scholarship. Nahiem Alleyne and Hunter Cattoor will be fourth-year players in 2022-23 (with an extra year thanks to COVID, should they want to use it).
It’s here that the scholarship situation gets complicated. With COVID, the NCAA granted all student-athletes from 2019-20 an extra year of eligibility. The 2020-21 athletics season was essentially a freebie where that year of eligibility wasn’t counted against an athlete. Because of rollover of scholarships, the NCAA allowed all programs to go over the scholarship limit in 2020-21 to keep those players with an extra year, and it’s the same situation in 2021-22.
Starting in 2022-23, however, while student-athletes have the opportunity to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility, it counts against scholarship numbers like normal years. Storm Murphy doesn’t count against Tech’s scholarship numbers this season, but Keve Aluma and Justyn Mutts would next season, should they decide to return.
For those still confused (It’s complicated, don’t worry), I encourage you to check out this story from John McGonigal of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on how it impacts college football’s 85-man scholarship limit. It’s the same for college basketball, except there are only 13 scholarships (15 for women’s hoops).
Should Aluma and Mutts decide not to return next season, that would leave David N’Guessan, John Ojiako, Lynn Kidd and Jalen Haynes as the only players 6-8 or taller. That seems like the perfect situation for Tyler Nickel and Braden Huff, both of which who would fit right in to Young’s offense.
Rice could have a big role on this Tech team after Alleyne and Cattoor depart, and he’d compete with Darius Maddox and Collins for that spot on the wing.
Overall, it’s an important weekend ahead for the Hokies with three huge prospects in town. All three are great matches for Virginia Tech’s style of play and would really help Young & Co. replenish the depth at forward and wing over the next two seasons.
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Why can’t you guys and gals just put the negativity away for a few minutes or actually years. He is a really good coach and he is building a great program and he will be here for a long time. He is not like the last coach…coach one foot out the door
Be happy that coach young is here and progressing nicely.
Hopefully they will get to attend the football game tomorrow night and see Lane in full force in all it’s glory AND witness a Hokie win…that atmosphere combined with a win to top it off could surely sway an undecided recruit our way!
If all our major recruits sign with VT, the long awaited national championship is more likely to be won in BB than FB. Who would have guessed when Buzz left the program thread bare less than three years ago that we would have reached this competitive level so quickly?
Buzz “left the program thread bare” regarding the players, but had elevated the program’s reputation, which is what he was brought in to do. Young has done a great job of continuing the reputation building, and has brought in the players as well. Hopefully, unlike Buzz, his recruiting does not fall off as time goes by.
Good article. The question is how do you keep “million dollar babies” happy when there are only 5 players and one basketball on the court at a time. If they show any talent they head for the NBA draft or to teams with fans who don’t speak English. And if they don’t show well or if they end up in the doghouse they hit the portal. And then you have the kids who drive drunk and carry loaded weapons in their car. Basketball rosters are one maybe two year 9th grade chemistry experiments at best. Throw in the obligatory six figure NIL or the disgruntled handler and that experiment turns into a yearly merry go round
Truth is you don’t or can’t. You just hope that you’ve created an environment that encourages them to return. The other side of that coin is sometimes you need to make room for a better player. The best policy is be genuine and honest with the players.
This was a great story on an important basketball recruiting weekend
The snapshot outlook of scholarships is really good. Excellent way to present information to some of us who are somewhat less familiar with the status (class) of current personnel in the program. I hope Young can reel in all three, though that might be too much to ask for.
Those three plus Clowney would make a fantastic recruiting class, at least on paper.
Where are the focus police? You can’t post an article on basketball right before the FIRST football game! Especially against UNC, a bball school. What are you thinking? Nice article – thanks.
Some of us are capable of reading more than one article.
Get ’em !!! Come on down, gentlemen !!!