Hokies’ Nolley scores 30 in debut
Freshman helps Young get 300th win
CLEMSON, S.C. — Virginia Tech coach Mike Young knew he had a special player in Landers Nolley before Young even saw him practice, but he got a better impression of just how unique Nolley could end up being Tuesday night in Tech’s 6760 victory at Clemson.
Nolley, a redshirt freshman wing who had to sit out all of last season while the NCAA reviewed his credentials for academic eligibility, scored 30 points in his college debut to help Young get his 300th career win in his first game as Tech’s coach.
“Coming in, I didn’t expect anything,” Nolley said. “My teammates just looked for me. I hit the open shot and hit the shots when I got the opportunity, and just helped my teammates get our first win.”
It marked the third consecutive season Virginia Tech (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a player score 20 or more points in his college debut, joining Nickeil Alexander-Walker two seasons ago (24 points against Detroit Mercy) and Isaiah Wilkins last season (21 points against Gardner-Webb).
So, how long did it take Young to recognize Nolley could be his team’s most explosive scorer?
“About 20 minutes after I got on campus and we worked out,” Young said. “He’s just one of those guys. You watch him play for just a little bit and you say, ‘Whoa.’ I mean, he’s a pretty talented guy. I mean, he knows how to put the thing in the bottom of the barrel, but yeah, it didn’t take me long. … I want to see him rebound better. I want to see him do a lot of things better, and he will. It’s really important to him.”
With the game tied 57-57 after Clemson’s John Newman made a pair of free throws with 1:11 remaining, Tech went on a 5-0 run to build a comfortable cushion in the final minute.
Tech’s Wabissa Bede broke a fullcourt press with a long outlet pass to P.J. Horne, who dunked, got fouled and made a free throw with 1:03 left to put Tech up 60-57. Tyrece Radford scored with 39 seconds left to boost Tech’s advantage to 62-57.
“This is a huge, huge win,” said Bede, who had seven points, eight rebounds and six assists. “Huge win. I’m so happy for the younger guys. It’s their first real battle. Some of them just came out of high school. Jalen (Cone) skipped his whole senior year. This was a real dogfight.”
Tech shot just 39 percent from the floor, but it held Clemson (0-1, 0-1) to 34 percent shooting. Though undersized, Tech managed to pull out a 44-36 advantage on the boards.
Newman led Clemson with 15 points. Freshman Naheim Alleyne added 11 points for Tech, which had no double-figure scorers other than Nolley and Alleyne.
“It’s rewarding,” Young said of his 300th career win. “It’s great. It means I’ve been around a long time.”
“(Tech’s players will) fight you.
They’ll fight you. That accounts for something in athletics, certainly basketball. P.J. Horne’s toughness. Wabissa Bede’s toughness. You better have some toughness on that backside if you’re going to do this, and they did it, and I’m proud of them.”