Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will be without a key component when it opens the season next week against Gardner-Webb.
The 2018-19 Hokies men’s basketball team consists of five freshmen, three sophomores, one junior, two seniors and two grad students.
Forward Chris Clarke has been suspended indefinitely and his name has been removed from the roster.
Clarke has been one of the team’s most versatile players over the past two seasons, playing a host of positions including the post in the smaller lineups that Head Coach Buzz Williams has become famous for.
The 6’6’’, 210-pound senior averaged 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists this past season.
Virginia Tech was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in a vote by media members.
No reason has been given for Clarke’s suspension or whether he will be able to return to the team this season.
Tech guard Justin Robinson has been named to the watch list for the 2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 16th year, recognizes the top point guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
Robinson, a senior from Manassas, led the Hokies in scoring and assists last season. A 2018 All-ACC second team selection, Robinson enters his senior season fifth on the all-time Virginia Tech assists list with 435 and 45th on the school’s career scoring list, with 1,041 career points.
Both Robinson and Clarke had made the rounds with Coach Williams during last month’s ACC media days.
While Robinson will have to step up and be the leader on the floor this season, the key could be in the middle. Kerry Blackshear, 6’10, scored 18 points against No. 8 Kentucky last season and played in 33 games with 32 starts.
He then added a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Citadel. He finished with an average of 12.8 points per game.
As the only player over 6’8 on the entire roster, Blackshear will have to stay out of foul trouble and be there in an even bigger role on the boards. He pulled down an average of 5.8 rebounds per game last season.
The Hokies will play 16 home games this season. Tech opens the season at Cassell Coliseum Friday, Nov. 9, against Gardner-Webb. Tech’s next home game will be Saturday, Nov. 24 against St. Francis of Pennsylvania. Other home games will be Central Connecticut State, VMI, South Carolina State, North Carolina A&T and Maryland Eastern Shore.
Tech will travel to Charleston, South Carolina for the Charleston Classic on Nov. 15-18. On the 15th, Tech will play Ball State at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.
The next day, the Hokies will play either Alabama or Northeastern. The final day of competition will be Nov. 18.
The other side of the eight-team bracket includes Purdue, Wichita State, Davidson and Appalachian State. The Hokies and Alabama met in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Pittsburgh Regional to end last season.
Tech will travel to Happy Valley on Nov. 27 to take on Penn State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at 7 p.m. on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. On Dec. 15, the Hokies will travel to Atlantic City for a rematch against Washington in the inaugural Boardwalk Classic in historic Boardwalk Hall.
The game will tip at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU. The Hokies defeated the Huskies, 103-79, in the 2K Classic last season in Madison Square Garden.
The Hokies open the ACC regular season on Tuesday, Jan. 1, as they host Notre Dame in an ESPNU game. In addition to the Fighting Irish, Tech will host Boston College, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Duke and will close out the regular season on March 8 against Miami at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 in a rare Friday night contest.
Side note: Williams picked up another recruit recently when Andre Gordon of Huntington Prep (West Virginia) announced his commitment. The 6’1 guard is rated the No. 36 guard in the nation by ESPN and averaged 23.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last season at Sidney High School (Ohio).
Also, this weekend In an effort to help raise financial support and awareness for hurricane relief efforts, the Liberty and Virginia Tech men’s basketball programs will come together for an exhibition game Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Vines Center on the Liberty University campus at 3 p.m.
The exhibition is open to the public as general admission tickets are being sold for $10 to the general public and $5 for students.
All of the proceeds from the exhibition game will go to the Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael relief efforts.
All tickets will go on sale immediately through the Liberty University ticket office and LibertyFlames.com. Children ages three and above are required to have a ticket.
