Virginia Tech’s leading scorer Tobi Lawal provided a blisteringly brutal yet honest assessment of his team’s season after it came to an end Tuesday in the ACC Tournament with a double-overtime 82-73 loss to Cal. Lowal, a VCU transfer who led the team in scoring and rebounding this season, made it clear that from his view, a 13-19 season was better than some expected — but still not very good.
“What did they have us in the preseason? Maybe 14th or 15th?” Lawal asked before leveling a hilariously honest evaluation of the season. “They thought we were going to be ass. I mean, we were still ass but, you know, we weren’t that bad. You know what I’m saying? We beat expectations.”
We were still a–. That’s an all-timer.
Virginia Tech was picked to finish 14th in the ACC preseason media poll and finished ninth after going 8-12 in ACC play. So technically he’s right: the Hokies beat expectations and weren’t as bad as some expected.
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They still weren’t good, finishing 13-19 overall, and that was an assessment even head coach Mike Young seemed to agree with Tuesday after his team’s season came to an end.
“A lot was missing. A lot was missing. Just call it what it is,” Young said of the team’s shortcomings. “They’re great kids and a pleasure to work with. We’ve got to get more talented, and we’re going to, quick.”
When asked a follow-up question about if the roster’s talent could be upgraded, Young also offered a brutally honest answer.
“It better be,” he said. “It better be. I’m not living through that again.”
Young will be entering his seventh season as the Hokies coach next season and this year was his first in which they failed to finish with a record at or above .500 overall.
The good news is that there seems to be a consensus view among players and staff: they weren’t good enough this season. The team will have a full offseason ahead of it to revamp and regroup, and that focus appears to likely be focused on upgrading via the portal.
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