Virginia Tech Guards Ben Hammond, Jaden Schutt De Facto Starters In Young's Eyes

Young remarked that he sees the two as starters, even if they're not often among the first five on the court.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Despite guards Ben Hammond and Jaden Schutt only combining for two starts (both from Hammond, in place of the currently injured Tobi Lawal), Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young considers the two de-facto starters, even if they're seldom among the first five to assume the floor.

"I've said before, I think I've got seven starters," Young said. "... Ben Hammond would be in that group. Jaden Schutt would be in that group. They're all playing starters minutes and certainly value each of their contributions."

Schutt, a redshirt junior who enters his second campaign with the Hokies, has developed into a readily capable catch-and-shoot option, averaging 10.3 points in eght games. Young refrains from calling Schutt a specialist in that area, however, saying that he doesn't want Schutt to only be the "white suburban catch-and-shoot" archetype.

"He's got a lot more to his game," Young said. "I don't want him to be the white suburban rec league catch-and-shoot guy. He's got more to him. I mean, that guy can really play. He's got a lethal shot fake, one bounce, get to 15 feet. He's fighting harder defensively, doing a nice job for us there. He's a good basketball player, man. I love coaching him."

Schutt’s improvement at attacking off the dribble and working off screens has also been noticeable, with his spot-up ability taking another step forward and giving the Hokies a more versatile scoring option on the perimeter.

Schutta carving 'em up 🏹🏹🏹

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/ucPG2xVcmX

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 28, 2025

Through eight games, Schutt boasts a 63.8% true shooting percentage, second on the team, only behind Tyler Johnson (65%).

Meanwhile, Hammond has meshed well with Greek wing Neoklis Avdalas, allowing the Hokies to occasionally run two point guards on the court at the same time, allowing for more ball distribution without settling for ball kickouts. Through eight games, Hammond's 4.3 assists/game is second on the squad, only to Avdalas' 4.6. And a year after sporting a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio as the Hokies' starting point guard, Hammond has thrived in his revised role, compiling a 4.86 ratio this year and committing under a turnover a game.

Ben Hammond drives to the rim during Virginia Tech's third-place game for the Battle 4 Atlantis vs. VCU. (Virginia Tech Athletics)

Schutt and Hammond settling in as the team’s interchangeable sixth and seventh men marks a meaningful step forward for the Hokies. As Young has noted repeatedly, the overall talent level on this year’s roster is a clear upgrade from last season. For Schutt, even though he no longer holds a starting spot, he remains a key piece in what the team is trying to accomplish.

That was evidenced most in that two-game stretch against the Gaels (8-1) and VCU (5-3). In the semifinal contest, Schutt recorded a season-high 17 points, cashing in on four triples and establishing himself as a threat from the perimeter. That, in turn, spaced the floor and opened up more opportunities for the Hokies to push the pace; as a result, forward Amani Hansberry notched a game-high 18 points and wing Neoklis Avdalas supplied an additional 13 points. A day later, Schutt kept VCU honest, pouring in 13 first-half points.

"He's a good basketball player," Young said of Schutt. "Had a tough game a couple of nights. You know what you're going to get, he's going to play really, really hard. And he's going to have some nights when he's banging shots like he did tonight. He's good. He's a huge part of it."

That effort shows up on the advanced statistics for both, as well. On Bart Torvik's PORPAGATU (Points Over Replacement Per Adjusted Game At That Usage) metric, Schutt tallies a total of 2.4, fifth on the team behind Hansberry (3.9), Johnson (3.3), Tobi Lawal (3.0) and Avdalas (2.8). Box plus-minus? He ranks fourth with a 3.6 tally, behind Hansberry (6.1), Johnson (5.7) and Avdalas (3.7).

The same holds for Hammond, who ranks sixth in PORPAGATU (1.6) and fifth in box plus-minus (3.1).

It calls back to an old adage Young referenced earlier this season: Better players make the players around them better. That holds both for what the nine newcomers have brought to Schutt and Hammond and vice versa.

It's not perfect, however, and Young recognizes that there is still a ways to go with this current roster. Virginia Tech enters its next slate after going 1-2 at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. In its two losses to Saint Mary's and VCU in the tournament semifinal and the third-place game, respectively, the team tallied marks of 50.0 and 29.0 on Bart Torvik's game score metric, the two lowest tallies for the squad this season. The road is uphill but unlike last season, there's more of a paved route to postseason success.

Since that two-game skid, the Hokies have slid to No. 76 in Ken Pomeroy's overall metrics, falling from the mid-50s. But there's still time. And for Young, it's best to simulate this tournament-style of basketball to diagnose the team's shortcomings. It's different from last year, where he remarked that the team had only turned a corner in early February following the Hokies' slim victory over Virginia in Charlottesville. This year, the team's two losses are to Quad 1 or 2 teams; there are two additional opportunities against teams of that caliber — South Carolina and George Mason (both listed as Quad 2 this morning) — on deck this week.

Schutt and Hammond receive their next chance to shine tomorrow evening; the Hokies will be in Columbia, South Carolina to face off against South Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge at 7 p.m. ET, with viewing available on SEC's ESPN network.