Virginia Tech hires former Wofford basketball coach Young
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech has hired former Wofford men’s basketball coach Mike Young to replace Buzz Williams.
The school announced the decision Sunday night , just four days after Williams left to take the same job at Texas A&M. Young, a native of Radford, Virginia, about 10 miles from the Virginia Tech campus, is scheduled to be formally introduced Monday morning.
Young has spent the past 30 seasons at Wofford, the last 17 as head coach, and turned the Terriers into a Southern Conference power. He compiled a 299-244 record and was selected as the conference Coach of the Year honors four times, including this season. Young’s Terriers went 30-5 and beat Seton Hall 84-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last month, the league’s first tourney win in 11 years.
Wofford made five NCAA Tournament appearances during the past 10 seasons and won three conference titles in that span. This season, they finished 18-0 in league play and put together a 21-game winning streak and rose as high as No. 19 in the AP’s Top 25.
The 55-year-old Young took over as Wofford’s coach in 2002 after serving as an assistant for 13 seasons. He previously was an assistant at Radford for one season and for two at Emory and Henry, where he played four years of college ball.
In addition to the success of his teams on the court, 100 percent of his players who completed their eligibility graduated.
With the Hokies, he inherits a program that flourished in five years under Williams. Virginia Tech made a record third consecutive NCAA Tournament this season and finished 26-9, setting a program record for victories. They reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Duke.
But he also inherits a team losing three of the building blocks under Williams in departing seniors Justin Robinson, Ahmed Hill and Ty Outlaw, as well as star sophomore guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who announced Sunday on his Twitter account that he’s forgoing his final two seasons of eligibility and entering the NBA draft. Alexander-Walker is projected as a first-round draft choice.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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