Virginia Tech Basketball: Kerry Blackshear Jr. could potentially miss entire season
Buzz Williams and Virginia Tech basketball may not have a key rotation piece for the entire 2016-17 season.
Due to an off-season surgery for a lingering stress fracture in his right leg, one of Virginia Tech’s most reliable big men, Kerry Blackshear Jr., is unsure if he can suit up this year.
The 6’10”, 260 pounder from Florida proved himself worthy of solid minutes in his first year with the team, averaging 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 minutes per game.
#Hokies coach Buzz Williams says forward Kerry Blackshear could miss the season as he recovers from a stress reaction in his right leg.
— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) October 10, 2016
He’s not an elite scorer, but this is a freshman who remained a consistent contributor on a bubble team throughout a hard fought schedule in the country’s toughest conference.
Even without Blackshear, head coach Buzz Williams feels confident about his Hokies, who went 10-8 in conference play a year ago. The Hokies handled their non-conference games like a top tier ACC team should expect to, and rode a six game win streak late in the season to give themselves an above .500 record in conference play.
With talented three-point shooter Ahmed Hill coming back to the team after sitting out last year with a foot injury, Williams hopes to continue to compete with the top teams in the ACC during Blackshear’s absence.
He also hopes that Hill can offer Blackshear some guidance on what it’s like to go through a long-lasting injury.
While sidelined with his foot injury last season, Hill says Coach Williams helped him “become a leader off the floor.” As one of the younger but more important members of the team, Blackshear could have a huge impact on the Hokies’ season if he is able to grow as a respected leader.
If Blackshear can get healthy by February, he could help lead the Hokies on another late year streak through their last nine conference games. Those final games feature some of the team’s more favorable match-ups, Miami, Boston College and Wake Forest.
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