Hood
Hood, VA · Sports
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The State
ACC star said no to Gamecocks in portal. Why she's still a big Dawn Staley fan
Kymora Johnson had a tough phone call to make. Dawn Staley beat her to it. It was mid-April, and Johnson had just made a big decision: She was removing her name from the transfer portal and returning to Virginia for her senior season. She’d already told new UVA women’s basketball coach Aaron Roussell the news in person. Now she needed to tell Staley, who’d been recruiting Johnson to join the South Carolina Gamecocks instead. As Johnson left the team facility in Charlottesville that day, she called Staley from her car. Staley didn’t pick up. Turns out she was trying to call Virginia’s star point guard at the exact same time, so neither call went through. That coincidence alone felt like “God’s timing,” Johnson said. Once they connected, the conversation got even more memorable. “I think you should stay at Virginia,” Staley told Johnson. Wait, what? Johnson did a double take. She’d visited Columbia, hung out with Staley and met potential teammates. The Gamecocks recruited her hard, but they finished second. Given all their time and effort, shouldn’t she be the bearer of bad news? Instead, Staley was telling her over the phone that it was OK, that she also sensed
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The Associated Press
Virginia Tech tries to return to March Madness for 1st time since 2022 behind 3 returning starters
Virginia Tech (19-13, 8-10 ACC) The Hokies are chasing their first March Madness bid since winning the program's lone Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title in 2022. Last year's team had a chance before losing seven of its last 10 games. Eighth-year coach Mike Young's Hokies return three starters and have added through the transfer portal to build a team picked to finish ninth in the ACC race. Players to watch Amani Hansberry (senior, F, 6-8, 240). Hansberry led the team in scoring (14.3) and was second in rebounding (7.4) last year, giving the Hokies an experienced player to build around. Hansberry started his career with a year at Illinois then a year at West Virginia as a starter before last year's run in Blacksburg. Ben Hammond (junior, G, 5-11, 170). Hammond was the team's No. 2 scorer last year (13.2) while also averaging 3.2 assists to offer playmaking potential. Hammond shot 43.1% and hit at least three 3s in seven games against league opponents last year. Tyler Johnson (junior, G, 6-5, 208). Johnson averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while starting 13 of the 17 games he played in a year interrupted by a lower-body injury that cost him 15