The Virginia Tech Hokies basketball program will be continuing without their best player moving forward. Redshirt freshman Landers Nolley has officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. The wing/forward was the team’s leading scorer in his first year of action with the Hokies. He largely played the forward position at Virginia Tech. The move seems to be directly influenced by his desire to play on the wing.
BREAKING: Virginia Tech leading scorer Landers Nolley II will transfer, source told @Stadium. The 6-foot-7 sophomore averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 boards per game last season.
Source told me he wants to find a spot where he can play on the wing.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 16, 2020
Landers Nolley decided not to transfer after the departure of Head Coach Buzz Williams to Texas A&M last year. This is a setback for new Head Coach Mike Young and his ongoing rebuilding process with the Hokies. Nolley’s first season playing with the Hokies was largely a success for him and really saw him leading the team. He averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in his first season with Virginia Tech.
His production levels would suggest he is better suited for the forward position versus his desired role as a wing player. The list of schools that will try and add the young man to their roster will be fairly large. This will be one of the best transfer additions in this season’s cycle. The talent is unquestionably there; combined with a rarely heard of three years remaining of eligibility. This could end up being the hardest fought battle in the transfer market this year.
Virginia Tech now faces even more of an uphill climb with the loss of Landers Nolley. The team lacks a program defining player now that makes rebuilds far easier. The rebuilding path just got a lot harder at Virginia Tech for Mike Young.
