Photo Credit: Liam Sment
Virginia Tech kicks off their 2020-21 men's basketball season today, but they will be without one of their top returning players in Jalen Cone according to his father.
Let’s goooo. Heading to Blacksburg for a game against Radford. It’s going to be fun to see everyone on the floor. Jalen will sit out this one but it’s going to be fun seeing the other guys.#luke137 pic.twitter.com/2V4aUI2Lsn
— Harold Cone (@CoachCone15) November 25, 2020
CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein had reported Monday that Jalen Cone was likely to play, but clearly, his father is as good of a source as possible in regards to Cone playing in today's game or not.
Given Tech's depth, this move doesn't seem like much of a surprise especially ahead of a couple interesting games against Temple and South Florida this weekend at the Mohegan Sun's Bubbleville. However, it is still a small surprise given the fact that the Hokies had Cone reveal their uniforms for today's game in a short video released yesterday.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #Hokies https://t.co/P44tEr7LpJ
— The Tech Lunch Pail (@TechLunchPailD) November 25, 2020
There's no doubt that Cone should receive significant minutes this season after a strong freshman season averaging 8 points in 18.4 minutes per game while shooting 45.7% from three-point range, drawing comparisons from ourselves as a better three-point shooting version of Seth Allen.
With Cone out, it'll be interesting to see if the Hokies give Cartier Diarra some minutes running the point or if those minutes will largely go to Wabissa Bede in terms of running the floor. Additionally, guys like Nahiem Alleyne, Joe Bamisile, Hunter Catoor, and Darius Maddox all seem likely to receive more minutes today with Cone out.
