Playing his third consecutive season at Virginia Tech makes Ben Hammond a bit of an anomaly in the NIL/transfer portal era of college basketball.
For Hammond, staying put has facilitated his development, as he is off to a quick start with averages of 22.7 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 steals per game.
On Friday night, when Virginia Tech (3-0) hosts Mount St. Mary’s (1-1) in Blacksburg, Va., the game could present Hammond with one of his more unusual matchups of the season.
The 5-foot-11 point guard will have to deal with the Mountaineers’ 6-7 point guard, Abdou Khadre Kebe, a preseason All-Metro Conference selection who has made his mark as a long, elite perimeter defender.
Mount St. Mary’s coach Donny Lind said this week that he knows just what Hammond and the Hokies will face when they encounter Kebe.
“He’s a guy that affects the game in so many ways, and his scoring has really stepped up a level this year,” the coach said on The Donny Lind Show. “I thought his defense freed him up to be a good offensive player.
“He’s focused on being a good defender on guarding the other team’s point guard, making it really difficult on them to score, and because of that, he gets himself some easy baskets. … When he’s at his best, you know.”
Hammond is different as well. In a 93-88 overtime win Tuesday against Iowa, he scored a career-high 32 points before fouling out.
Hammond has taken enormous strides in his three seasons at Virginia Tech, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. As a part-time starter, he averaged 5.6 points in his freshman year and 13.2 as a sophomore.
Hammond isn’t the only Virginia Tech backcourt player who is thriving. Oklahoma State transfer Jaylen Curry is averaging 19.3 points per game.
After Hammond fouled out at the end of regulation Tuesday against Iowa, Curry scored nine of his 25 points in overtime.
“We beat a really good team, a very well-coached team, but let’s cool our jets,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. “It’s a November humongous win. We’ve got a lot more to look forward to.”
Mount St. Mary’s is coming off a 68-57 win over Loyola (Md.) behind Redd Thompson Jr. (17 points, six rebounds, five assists), Kebe (15 points, six rebounds) and Wilguens Junior Exacte (14 points, eight rebounds).
The Mountaineers, who are 2-27 all-time against teams from the ACC, were picked by coaches in the Metro Conference preseason poll to finish eighth in the 13-team league.
–Field Level Media
