Mike Young after loss to Jacksonville: 'We got a long way to go'

The Virginia Tech Hokies suffered a frustrating loss to the Jacksonville Dolphins on Wednesday night. It’s a game that head coach Mike Young knows proves that the Hokies have a long way to go this season.

Following the game, Young met with media members. There, he laid out the plan moving forward as Virginia Tech gets ready to take on Michigan. This comes at a time in the season where it’s going to be important for Virginia Tech to quickly find a way to improve.

“We got a long way to go,” Mike Young said. “We take tomorrow off, which is mandatory. We’ve got three days to practice and prepare for [the] Michigan Wolverines. Haven’t played well at all in these last two and the road gets more difficult as we go along. Improvements to be made, certainly, and they understand that as well as our coaching staff.”

Jacksonville ended up beating Virginia Tech by a score of 74-64, despite the Hokies leading at halftime, on the back of a 45-point second half performance. It was a game where the Hokies shot 12 more free throws than the Dolphins did. However, 16 Virginia Tech turnovers would play a massive role in the game.

Mylyjael Poteat, Toibu Lawal, and Brandon Rechsteiner were the only three Virginia Tech players to score in double digits. Poteat, for his part, also led in rebounds with eight in the game. With three assists, he also was tied for the team lead in assists. On Jacksonville’s side, Zimi Nwokeji led the way in scoring with 19 points and had nine rebounds.

For Mike Young and Virginia Tech, this was their second loss in a row. Penn State previously beat the Hokies by 22 points last Friday. With that, the Hokies moved to 3-2 on the season. That includes one loss at home and one loss on a neutral site. They’ve yet to play in a true road test. None of those wins has come against a power conference opponent.

Now, the Hokies are turning their attention to Michigan on Monday, November 25th. That will be another neutral site game played in Fort Myers, Florida. That’s part of an early season tournament and Virginia Tech will then either play Xavier or South Carolina the Wednesday after. Mike Young will then need to be prepared for ACC play starting on December 7th and their first road test coming on December 31st.