According to our Yahoo! colleague Pete Thamel, Virginia Tech has a top option for its open basketball assistant coaching slot. It's the top dog at a national high school power.

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Under Jones (and also predating him, under legendary coach Morgan Wooten), DeMatha has put out tons and tons of talent. Here's just a selection of names to make it to the NBA:

• Jerian Grant (2007)
• Victor Oladipo (2010)
• Jerami Grant (2012)
• Markelle Fultz (2016)
• Nate Darling (2016)

...not to mention that Michigan bigman Hunter Dickinson is expected to be a lottery pick after two seasons in Ann Arbor.

That's a ton of talent. At a school like DeMatha - where you're essentially recruiting in a similar fashion to a college team, and certainly have connections to many of the top AAU teams in the club circuit nationally - there's not a much better proving ground for making the jump to the college game. At 49, he's in a situation where it's either explore the college waters or possibly accept being a lifer at the high school level (obviously there are exceptions, but that seems like the dichotomy here), and that's really the decision he has to make.

Should Jones get the job, it'd be a blockbuster hire, and while there would be some growing pains in terms of learning the recruiting game at the college level, as I mentioned above, the curve is shorter for a guy in his position than for most others who haven't had to recruit before. There's less experience there than if you hire from the college ranks, but the upside is much greater.

More to come if and when things get more serious in terms of approaching a hire.

I didn't know he was in the portal. Is this old news?

Very encouraging:

Hokies planning to fill Lane Stadium this Fall

Mega Barnwell planning a visit

When he made an (extremely) early commitment to Penn State, Mathias Barnwell didn't exactly surprise anyone - he'd been trending that way for a while - but it was still a disappointment for the Hokies. Since he's been back on the market, it's not only been better than the previous status (for obvious reasons), but it has increasingly looked like the Hokies will be the favorite the second time around for the 2023 TE from Fredericksburg.

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He's given me word that he plans to take an unofficial visit to Blacksburg ASAP - on June 1, when the Quiet Period begins, not even waiting until that weekend (when there'll be a bigger group of visitors in the class above his, taking their official visits). That's a very good sign for the long-term of his recruitment. I certainly won't be putting in a FutureCast any time soon - he simply has too many options and too much desire to explore them after feeling like he made a choice to early last time around - but the coaching staff has a chance to move to and cement a role on the top of his list.

Walk-ons in the portal

CJ Smith Wednesday, Dylan Fairchild and Nick Craig today. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH WALK-ONS LEAVING THE PROGRAM???? Essentially, this is what you want to see: guys who walk onto the program either improving enough that they're able to become contributors (and potentially earn scholarship offers in the long run), or feeling that they've improved enough that they'd have a legitimate shot to drop down a level - whether that's to FCS or a Group of Five program - and become a full-time starter in a slightly smaller pond.

In the long run, aside from walk-ons who enter the program expected to be contributors (guys who passed up scholarship options elsewhere, specialists in the kicking game, etc.), it doesn't really matter if players leave so long as you have the bodies... and you'll pretty much always have the bodies to fill those roster spots. Just like attrition from scholarship players who weren't going to see the field is good (because it doesn't take up a spot anymore and indicates realistic expectations from all parties), the same is true - though to a lesser extent - for walk-ons. Guys coming in hoping to become contributors, realizing that they aren't going to do it but have gotten the physical development to maybe do it elsewhere, and leaving? That's a sign of a healthy program.

How the staff handles the Pettaway/Brown recruitments will be interesting. Initially, Pettaway (who has been the preferred target) was slated to make his decision first. Know what he's doing, and you have the chance to adjust course with Brown. Now, Brown is on track to make his commitment sooner. Would the staff take both after a number of classes with plenty of (too many, in fact) running backs? Is that a decision they'll have to make? Is it first-come, first-served?

Hokies in the final seven for Ramon Brown

6’4 2023 Marvel Allen of Fort Lauderdale (FL) Calvary Christian won a state title this season, he also help lead his team to a 2nd place finish at the famed Beach Ball Classic

His recruitment is still in its infancy as VT is one of only 2 P5 offers. here are highlights from Allen’s performance at the Beach Ball ... what do you guys think of this game? Who does he remind you of?

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Obviously it's better than nothing (and the Hokies have plenty of time to push if they want), but being in the 4-7 spots for a guy who has three officials set in stone is pretty telling.

John Ransom:


Obviously when you see guys like that (minimal contributions - but not zero contributions), it's somebody thinking VT has developed him enough that he can go be a contributor at a mid-major or FCS program. Hope he finds a spot where he can have a major role.

The VT basketball team had a good year. Picked to finish 11th in the ACC but finished 3rd. However, as a Hokie fan for over 60 years the phrase come up just short is all too common. The only time I can remember where the Hokies did not come up just short was the 1973 NIT Championship. This team should have made the sweet 16 (they were that good). Clearly we need a big man for defense to compete against certain teams. We also need a point guard that can create their own shots, hit open shots and hit free throws. Love their toughness and heart, but we need a big and a point guard next year.

I'll connect with him in the coming days to find out what date(s):

From @Jamie Shaw:

LJ Thomas looking for the best situation

Catching up with the publishers around the Rivals network covering VT's closest competition this offseason:

Around the Coastal: Georgia Tech

At today's Rivals Camp in Indianapolis, Nashville 2023 OL Joe Crocker said he has scheduled a June visit to Blacksburg for June 9. He talks more about the Hokies in the article below: