By Jimmy Robertson
Virginia Tech's somewhat remote location serves as a deterrent for students looking for a more action-packed social scene to combine with their long hours of studying.
But when Wabissa Bede made his first trip to Southwest Virginia, he saw a scene that looked strikingly familiar to him.
In fact, Cushing Academy, the private school that Bede attended for two years, resides in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, a small town in a rather remote and rural part of that commonwealth. Blacksburg may as well have been Boston compared to where he was coming from at the time.
"It's in the middle of nowhere," Bede said of Ashburnham, smiling. "It had two Chinese spots, a bagel place, and a farmer's market. Not much is going on there."
There is certainly much more going on in Bede's world these days, as Virginia Tech's starting point guard navigates a young Hokie squad through the transition to a new coach, and of course, through the choppy swells of a turbulent ACC. He's been doing fine at the helm, too, running things with a steady hand and helping the Hokies into the new year with a winning record.
In many ways, Bede possesses the perfect demeanor for a point guard. He plays with the calmness of a veteran and the smoothness of someone who knows exactly what he wants to do. Coaches crave consistency from their players, and Mike Young knows what he will get each practice and game from his point guard. Bede, for sure, knows all about change, and he welcomes whatever change brings.
He always has. The young man has bounced around quite a bit for someone who turned 21 in July. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, he and his mom moved to North Andover when he was in the sixth grade. Five years later, his mom – a certified nursing assistant – shipped him off to Cushing Academy for a better education and to help improve his burgeoning basketball skills.
"At first, I was going to leave as a freshman and go to prep school, but my mom thought I wasn't ready yet," Bede said. "I thought that was a good decision to go my junior year because I was older. It prepared me more mentally. I'm happy I went to Cushing. It prepared me so much better than most normal kids that had never been in a college-type of environment. Cushing was like that, you could say. The class scheduling was like college, and then being away from home and doing your own stuff – it just prepared me for college, and I'm happy I went there."
The education there extended beyond the court. It even extended beyond the classroom. He found himself surrounded by people unlike himself, or any of his friends at his other schools for that matter.
"I met a lot of new people," he said. "Different cultures. I learned a lot. That was the biggest thing because a lot of foreign exchange students went there. It's just good to know everybody and learn different cultures and have smaller classrooms."
He excelled at all of it – education, socially, and of course, basketball. He took a football approach to basketball, playing with a fierce mentality and a toughness honed from playing football as a kid through his freshman year of high school. After that freshman year, he realized that basketball was his true calling.
His AAU coach, Vin Pastore, recommended Cushing Academy as a prep school, encouraging Bede to follow the path of Kaleb Joseph, a guard who played at Syracuse before finishing his career at Creighton. Another Pastore player, Jalen Adams, enjoyed a four-year career at Connecticut after a stint at Cushing, and Makai Ashton-Langford also played at Cushing before playing two seasons at Providence. He recently transferred to Boston College and is sitting out this season.
Bede played well at Cushing, leading the team to the New England Prep School Athletic Council title his senior season. After receiving interest from schools around the nation, Bede ultimately committed to Buzz Williams and Virginia Tech, choosing the Hokies over Minnesota, Butler, UMass and La Salle.
"Everything about Tech – Cassell, the way it is, Tech is a beautiful campus, everybody is real kind, it's a college town, it's in the ACC," Bede said, naming his reasons for picking the Hokies. "It marked a lot of checks on my box. I was used to everyone talking about it because you're at that school and there isn't anything else. That's kind of what I liked about it. No other things are distracting. People just know it's Tech and none of that other stuff."
Bede spent most of his first two seasons learning under Justin Robinson, who enjoyed a record-breaking career in Blacksburg – he holds the program's career assists mark. Bede averaged less than 10 minutes of playing time per game as a freshman.
Most players would be disappointed at seeing so little on-court time. In fact, in today's world, most would pack their bags after such a season. But Bede understood the situation. Play an all-time great like Robinson, or play an unproven freshman? The answer was obvious.
So Bede committed himself to learning from Robinson and trying to become better. Sometimes, the lessons were painful.
"You always have to test the freshman and see what he's got," Bede said. "You see all the hype behind him – see what he has. You see his tapes, and you hear the coaches talk about, 'Oh he's coming in town.' So let's see what he's got. Everybody goes through it. You've got to get your butt whipped. It's like a tradition. Anyone at your position, you've got to give them a spanking and let them know, 'I'm here. It's not going to be as easy as you and your homeys thought. You've got to get your spanking.'"
Bede held his own, got better and started 26 games last season, with a chunk of those coming during Robinson's absence because of a foot injury. On a squad packed with offensive-minded players, Bede was selective with his shot selection and focused more on getting his teammates involved. He finished with 82 assists and just 37 turnovers, playing a significant role in leading the Hokies to the Sweet 16.
He received a jolt, though, following the season when Williams departed for Texas A&M. Bede then put his name in the NCAA's transfer portal, which allowed him the freedom to look for a different school.
Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock hired Young in early April to fill the vacancy, and Bede and Young spent the better part of the next few weeks getting to know each other.
"Sometimes, I'd ask him to come up [to his office]," Young said. "Sometimes, he'd come up and knock on the door and close the door, and we'd visit for 15 minutes. Nothing about style of play, as much as, 'How's your mom?' and how much he enjoys Virginia Tech – being a student, the people there, Alise Svilha, our academic person. Things that should matter, actually matter, to him.
"I think back to that experience, and I thought it was an indication of how damn smart he is and how self-aware he is. What a fine young person he is – he's great. I'm thankful for a lot of reasons – point guard, leadership, and done it. He's been great for me, I'll tell you that."
Bede had conversations with Young up until the end of the spring semester. Then he went home and had heartfelt conversations with his mom. Six weeks after putting his name in the portal, he took it out.
"I just thought it was the right decision," Bede said. "I believed in Coach Young. I believed in the coaching staff. I knew I'd be in a good spot. It was just everything.
"It was hard trying to leave Cassell and the atmosphere here. Blacksburg is like my second home now. It was hard to move everything out. Even when I went home for that little break period, even packing up some of my things, it was kind of hard to do, and I'm like, 'I don't know if I'll be able to leave this place. It's done so much for me.'"
Bede continues to be the leader for this young Tech squad. He's doubled his scoring, and he had an astounding 144 assists compared to 43 turnovers entering Saturday's game against Pittsburgh. He leads the ACC by a wide margin in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.3). Outside of promising star Landers Nolley II, Bede plays more than anyone else, averaging 30 minutes per game.
In early December, he scored 12 points, handed out five assists and grabbed four rebounds in the Hokies' 77-63 loss to then-No. 10 Duke. After the game, Duke's Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski praised Bede.
"He's good," Krzyzewski said. "Bottom line … When he took over for Justin, they didn't miss a beat. He's been a great, great leader for them. You talk about composed. He's composed, too."
Bede certainly respects Krzyzewski's opinions, but he doesn't obsess over them or those of anyone else. He also only cares little for his stats. Actually, he only cares about one number these days – victories. For someone who eventually wants to be a college coach, he has the perfect mindset.
"I just try to get the 'W' as much as I can because that's what really matters the most to me," he said.
Bede may have spent a lot of time in the middle of nowhere, but rest assured, with that attitude, he is going somewhere – and given his positive experience at Virginia Tech, he'll, for sure, never forget where he's been.
GETTING TO KNOW … WABISSA BEDE
Q: What is your dream vacation?
WB: I don't know. Probably one of those random islands in Europe that people go to.
Q: If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
WB: I don't want to be anybody else, but probably Kobe [Bryant] during his prime playing days. Kobe is the GOAT [greatest of all time] to me. There is just something about him, the focus he has. I just wish I could be a little fly and be behind the walls and see what he did the day before a game or see a workout. Anyone else who is working out, you can kind of find him on YouTube if you search hard enough – but him, nothing. There's nothing you can find about that man. You just hear stories. You see glimpses of him dribbling for like 10 seconds, but there's no video. I get mad every time – no trainer who worked him out. You hear about them, but you never get a video, and I'm always mad about that. Eventually, if I get the opportunity to meet him, I'm going to pick apart his brain. It's going to be annoying for three hours. I'm going to get every answer I need."
Q: Who is your celebrity crush?
WB: I don't know. I have a lot. I'll pass on that.
Q: Do you have any interesting passions or hobbies?
WB: I was always into pictures when I was young. I just never had the money to buy a camera. Pictures really tell the story. I always look at pictures, and I'm like, 'Ah, remember that exact moment and what happened?' It's just pretty cool, and capturing moments is a big thing for me. I take some of my team. If someone wears a nice outfit, I'll take a picture, or if someone is working out, I'll take a picture. I haven't done anything recently. During the season, I don't really take pictures. It's just during the offseason.
Q: What is your favorite thing about being a Virginia Tech athlete?
WB: Probably playing in front of the Cassell fans and the people. Just being able to put on a show for the people and just seeing smiles on their faces.