jalen cone to transfer from virginia tech

Chris Hirons

March 25, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech will be looking for a new spark plug off the bench next season.

Jalen Cone announced that he would enter the transfer portal Thursday afternoon after two productive seasons off of Tech’s bench. The sophomore guard provided an instant punch anytime he checked in this past season, scoring 9.2 points per game on 34.9% shooting from beyond the arc.

“After prayer, giving it long thought and conversations with my loved ones, I’ve decided to re-open my recruitment and enter the transfer portal,” Cone wrote in a Tweet.

As a freshman, Cone emerged as the Hokies’ sixth-man during the 2019-20 season, and even earned a few starts when the injury bug bit Tech.

This past season, Cone missed the Hokies’ first three games with an ankle injury. After he returned, though, he re-assumed his sixth-man role and recorded six straight double-digit scoring games, a span in which he averaged 17.2 points per game.

However, starting against Wake Forest on Jan. 17, Cone’s hot shooting stroke turned cold seemingly overnight. In his last six games of his season, the North Carolina native shot 21.1% from beyond the arc and only averaged 2.5 points a night.

Perhaps it was his ankle that slowed his production, or maybe it was the lineup switch head coach Mike Young made when he inserted Cone into the starting lineup. Cone replaced Tyrece Radford for four games, who was battling legal trouble in late January.

Cone’s up-and-down season took a turn for the worst when he left a contest against Miami early after injuring the same ankle that held him out of the Hokies’ first three contests of the year on Feb. 6.

He was seen in a walking boot at the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament and was never deemed healthy enough to return to Virginia Tech’s lineup, hurting its chances at making a deep run in both tournaments earlier this month.

Cone is the second Tech guard to enter the transfer portal this week after freshman Joe Bamisile announced his intention to transfer on Monday.

With Bamisile and Cone on the roster, the Hokies would have had eight guards on scholarship next season — not including Wabissa Bede, who wouldn’t count against the scholarship limit if he chooses to return to Blacksburg.

Sean Pedulla, a three-star commit, and Storm Murphy, a graduate transfer, further add to the log jam at guard, which includes Hunter Cattoor, Nahiem Alleyne, Tyrece Radford and Darius Maddox.