Virginia Tech: Buzz Williams to Mike Young
Losing Williams was a significant blow to the Virginia Tech program. He had the Hokies regularly competing with the upper echelon of the ACC. That’s not an easy accomplishment in Blacksburg.
The program has significant resources, it just doesn’t have the tradition of the ACC’s blue blood programs. They needed to hire another really good coach if they wanted to continue their success. Mike Young isn’t going to blow alums over at the opening press conference, but he’s one of the best tacticians in the country.
Winning 30 games at Wofford is quite an achievement. The fact that Young guided the Terriers to five NCAA Tournament berths in the last 10 seasons might be even more impressive. His last team at Wofford was not an accident. It was the result of years of careful program building by a really talented coach.
There are legitimate questions over whether or not Young can recruit at a high level at Virginia Tech. The Hokies will almost certainly experience a downturn in talent during Young’s tenure. It might not matter though. None of the players he just won big with at Wofford would have turned down offers from Virginia Tech.
It’s going to take Young some time to rebuild things for the Hokies, but this hire is an excellent response to Williams’ departure.
Grade: A-