Mike Young led Virginia Tech to the postseason for the fourth consecutive season last spring as the Hokies advanced to the second round of the NIT. Now, entering his sixth season as the coach, Young faces arguably the biggest challenge in his more than three decades in coaching. The Hokies lost all five starters, including four to the transfer portal. Only four players return from the 2023-24 team, and those four combined for just three starts a year ago.
Mylyjael Poteat (graduate C, 6-9, 6.4 ppg). Poteat was a role player a year ago, averaging 14 minutes per game and scoring in double figures six times. The 260-pounder lost 20 pounds in the offseason and will be counted on as an anchor in the post.
Jaden Schutt (redshirt sophomore G, 6-5). Schutt transferred from Duke after missing last season with a left knee injury. The former 4-star recruit shot 35% from beyond the 3-point arc as a freshman with the Blue Devils, and Young is hoping that Schutt flourishes in the Hokies’ 3-point heavy offense.
Hysier Miller (senior PG, 6-1, 15.9 ppg). Miller transferred from Temple after finishing ninth in the American Athletic Conference in scoring and sixth in the conference in assists (4.0 apg). Given his past production, Miller, who set the AAC Tournament record in points (96), assists (23), and steals (16), may very well be the most important player on the roster.
The Hokies lost three double-figure scorers, led by the school’s all-time 3-point shooter in Hunter Cattoor, who graduated. Sean Pedulla led the team in scoring (16.4 ppg), but transferred to Ole Miss, while Lynn Kidd (13.2 ppg) transferred to Miami. Young added six transfers, including Schutt, Miller, and Tobi Lawal, a 6-8 forward from VCU who is an exceptional athlete. Lawal recorded a 49.5-inch vertical jump in preseason testing at VCU last year.
The Hokies’ open the season Nov. 4 against Delaware State. Their nonconference slate features games against Penn State, Michigan, and Vanderbilt, and the Hokies got a bit of a break in that they play two of the ACC’s predicted heavyweights — Wake Forest and North Carolina — at home. They do, however, play preseason league favorite Duke in Durham, North Carolina on New Year’s Eve.
Young hasn’t had a losing season in his five seasons at Virginia Tech. … Virginia Tech ranked 12th in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense last year (45.2%) — a number that Young has said needs to improve this season. … The Hokies were picked to finish 14th out of 18 teams in the ACC preseason media poll.
FILE - Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young directs his team during the second half of the Atlantic Coast Conference second round NCAA college basketball tournament game against Virginia Tech, March 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Attackers set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at Turkey's state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing four people and wounding more than a dozen, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Two of the attackers — a man and a woman — were also killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. He did not say what organization was behind the attack, as the process of identifying the assailants continued. Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and leftist extremists have carried out past attacks in Turkey.
“We have four martyrs. We have 14 wounded. I condemn this heinous terrorist attack,” Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Russia.
Putin offered condolences. A U.S. Embassy statement said Washington “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack."
TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense industry and space systems. Its UAVs have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants in Turkey and across the border in Iraq.
The attack occurred a day after the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party that's allied with Erdogan raised the possibility that the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization.
Abdullah Ocalan's group has been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.
Turkish media said three assailants arrived Wednesday at an entry to the TUSAS complex in a taxi. The assailants, carrying assault weapons, detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to enter.
The taxi driver was among the dead, according to HaberTurk television.
Security camera images, aired on television, showed a man in plainclothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle.
The interior minister said security teams were dispatched as soon as the attack started at around 3:30 p.m.
Multiple gunshots were heard after security forces entered the site, the DHA news agency and other media reported. Helicopters were seen flying above the premises.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the target of the attack was Turkey's “success in the defense industry.”
Associated Press writer Robert Badendieck in Hamburg, Germany, contributed.
People gather outside of the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)
People gather outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Mert Gokhan Koc)
Emergency and security teams are deployed outside the Turkish state-run aerospace and defense company Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)
Smoke raises as emergency rescue teams and police officers attend outside Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (IHA via AP)
Emergency rescue teams and police officers work outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (IHA via AP)
