James Madison at Virginia, 7 p.m. ESPN3.com
Coming sometime before Tuesday's game vs. VCU: this season's schedule with game-by-game predictions and a few more thoughts on the season.
The Cavaliers finished 21-10 in the regular season and 11-7 in the ACC. They got blown out by N.C. State in the first round of the ACC tournament and then won NIT home games over Norfolk State and St. John's before falling to Iowa in the NIT quarterfinals, also played in Charlottesville, 75-64. The Wahoos finished with an overall record of 23-12. Virginia picked up solid early-season wins over Wisconsin and Tennessee but losses to George Mason, Old Dominion, and Delaware put Virginia in a difficult position. The ACC slate was highlighted by victories over UNC, N.C. State, and Duke, a game in which the Wahoos never trailed. Lots of people thought Virginia was headed to the Big Dance after that victory but I knew it wasn't out of the woods yet. I figured the Cavs would need at least two more wins down the stretch over Boston College, Florida State, Maryland, and in the ACC tournament to be safe. Virginia suffered two gut-wrenching losses to BC and FSU by one and two points, respectively, then beat Maryland 61-58 in OT at JPJ after being down by 17 points. It is my belief that Virginia needed just one more win somewhere on its schedule to go dancing. A win over ODU, which ended up with just five wins, would have helped UVa avoid a terrible loss. A win over Delaware in the preseason NIT would have meant Virginia could have gone to New York to play Pittsburgh and Kansas State (and thus get a strength of schedule boost) instead of being relegated to playing Lamar and North Texas in Charlottesville. Virginia narrowly lost to a top 10 Miami team on the road, 54-50. Point is, Virginia had its chances, but just couldn't find one more 'W' on its schedule. The guys are looking to seal the deal on a bid to the Big Dance this season.
The waiting is almost over. The Virginia men's basketball team is set to provide what many Wahoo fans hope is relief after a terrible football season, which still has three games left until it reaches its conclusion. The hype is higher for this group of Cavaliers than it has been in a long time. Fans and media types are all expecting Virginia to have a very good season. The Wahoos are ranked in the preseason top 25 for the first time since the 2001-02 season, a Pete Gillen-led year where the 'Hoos were coming into the season off a loss to Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament the year before. In 2001-02, the Cavs started off strong, jumping out to a 9-0 record but faltered down the stretch, losing nine of 16 ACC games and losing in the first round of the NIT at home to South Carolina. Hopefully, these Wahoos will fare better with high expectations.
Last season
The Cavaliers finished 21-10 in the regular season and 11-7 in the ACC. They got blown out by N.C. State in the first round of the ACC tournament and then won NIT home games over Norfolk State and St. John's before falling to Iowa in the NIT quarterfinals, also played in Charlottesville, 75-64. The Wahoos finished with an overall record of 23-12. Virginia picked up solid early-season wins over Wisconsin and Tennessee but losses to George Mason, Old Dominion, and Delaware put Virginia in a difficult position. The ACC slate was highlighted by victories over UNC, N.C. State, and Duke, a game in which the Wahoos never trailed. Lots of people thought Virginia was headed to the Big Dance after that victory but I knew it wasn't out of the woods yet. I figured the Cavs would need at least two more wins down the stretch over Boston College, Florida State, Maryland, and in the ACC tournament to be safe. Virginia suffered two gut-wrenching losses to BC and FSU by one and two points, respectively, then beat Maryland 61-58 in OT at JPJ after being down by 17 points. It is my belief that Virginia needed just one more win somewhere on its schedule to go dancing. A win over ODU, which ended up with just five wins, would have helped UVa avoid a terrible loss. A win over Delaware in the preseason NIT would have meant Virginia could have gone to New York to play Pittsburgh and Kansas State (and thus get a strength of schedule boost) instead of being relegated to playing Lamar and North Texas in Charlottesville. Virginia narrowly lost to a top 10 Miami team on the road, 54-50. Point is, Virginia had its chances, but just couldn't find one more 'W' on its schedule. The guys are looking to seal the deal on a bid to the Big Dance this season.
Losses
Virginia lost its starting point guard from a year ago, Jontel Evans, to graduation. He was a bulldog on defense and set up coach Tony Bennett's pack-line scheme in addition to being a great senior leader for the team. But let's get real. While he made offensive strides in his four years, he was mainly a liability on that side of the court. Virginia will miss his energy and defense but should get a boost in offense this year from the point guard position.
Virginia also saw two transfers in the offseason. Rising junior forward Paul Jesperson (Northern Iowa) and guard Taylor Barnette (Belmont) left the Cavalier program. Jesperson will have two years left while Barnette will have three after they each sit out this upcoming season. In Jesperson, Virginia loses a "glue guy" -- a smart player who knew Bennett's system well and played solid team defense. However, he was not particularly athletic and never did quite shoot 3-pointers as well as Cavalier fans were expecting. Barnette actually led the team in 3-point shooting percentage last year and seemed to have a bright future in that regard. However, his minutes were limited because he was a liability on the defensive end and was not great at ball handling, which cut into his minutes at the point.
Gains
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| Malcolm Brogdon |
Perhaps the biggest gain is South Carolina transfer Anthony Gill, who sat out last season per NCAA rules. A 6-foot-8, 230-pound sophomore forward, Gill is described as having a Mike Scott-like skillset but is more athletic than the former Wahoo great. If Gill can end up shooting the mid-range jumper as good as Scott and be more athletic, he is going to have a terrific career at UVa. All of last season, people inside the program were saying that the best player on the team sat on the bench (referring to Gill). That is something to be excited about considering Virginia's roster features Joe Harris and Justin Anderson. The Daily Progress has been reporting that Gill will start tonight vs. JMU.
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| Devon Hall |
At the point guard/shooting guard position, Virginia welcomes back Malcolm Brogdon this season. He got hurt at the end of Virginia's 2011-12 season and underwent foot surgery last year that sidelined him for the entire season. Brogdon is 6-foot-5 and can create mismatch problems for opposing point guards with his size. Brogdon is also a capable 3-point shooter. It could be tough for him to keep up with some point guards' quickness, however. The Daily Progress is saying he will start tonight vs. the Dukes. The other starters are more expected -- Joe Harris, Akil Mitchell, and Justin Anderson.
In recruiting, Virginia added two point guards as well. Devon Hall is a 6 foot-5, 210-pounder from Virginia Beach and London Perrantes is a 6-foot-2, 189-pounder from California. Both are supposed to be great at passing while it sounds like Perrantes is a more capable scorer. As is usually the case, the one that can adapt more quickly to Bennett's style of defense will probably get more minutes.
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| London Perrantes |
The mainstays
Virginia brings back a wealth of talent and experience. Guard/forward Joe Harris was a leader last year and Virginia's best player. As a senior, Harris is expected to solidify his all-around game. After a spectacular 36-point, iron man performance against Duke last season, Harris limped to the finish and did not shoot the ball as well. Hopefully, this year, he has built up endurance to finish the season strong. Harris finished with the second most votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year (16), behind only Syracuse's C.J. Fair (17).
Senior forward Akil Mitchell was a shining example last year of how good this coaching staff has been as far as player development goes. Mitchell came to Virginia as a true freshman as a very raw, two- to three-star recruit but has evolved into a top-level ACC forward. He averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds a season ago and was named third-team All-ACC. He had 12 double-doubles, which was more than Mike Scott had during the 2011-12 season. Mitchell, who plays inside the arc, could improve is his shooting within 15 feet.
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| Joe Harris |
Sophomore guard Justin Anderson started out his freshman campaign slow a year ago but came on strong at the end of the season. Anderson was also recruited by Maryland and one of the best games of his freshman year came against the Terrapins at College Park in early February when he put up 17 points and nine rebounds while the Terrapin students really got after him. Anderson's best three-game stretch came at the end of the season in the NIT when he scored 15 points vs. Norfolk State, 18 vs. St. John's, and 24 against Iowa, a game in which he also hit five 3-pointers and blocked five shots, and incredible stat line. Anderson, who has superior athletic ability, needs to improve his consistency and 3-point shooting (hopefully he doesn't miss a beat after the five 3-pointers vs. Iowa).
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| Justin Anderson |
Sophomore center Mike Tobey impressed at times during his freshman campaign but he was also bothered by a bout of mono he endured during early to mid February. His best game came against Wofford when he made nine of 10 shots and scored 19 points. He aslo had a great game against N.C. State at home, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven boards. In the final game of the season vs. Iowa, Tobey put in 15 points. In the offseason, Tobey was a part of the USA under 19 championship basketball team. Coach Bennett was an assistant. Tobey has said that the experience has made him tougher and he also bulked up with 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason to deal with ACC centers and forwards.
Darion Atkins was very good at the beginning of last season. I think people forget how good. The now-junior forward averaged 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game during the Cavaliers' first 11 games of the season. Then his production started dipping until it was revealed his was suffering from stress reactions in his shins. He was shut down for a few games and when he came back, he never regained his former self, never putting up more than four points or four rebounds in any game the rest of the season. A healthy Atkins this season could be a major force off the bench so hopefully fans see more of the Atkins that is capable of double-doubles this season.
Evan Nolte saw his freshman season kind of take the opposite route of Justin Anderson's. Nolte was very good at the beginning of the season, and then he hit the "freshman wall." In the first 18 games of the season, Nolte scored in double figures five times, culminating in an 18-point performance at Virginia Tech in which he made five of nine 3-pointers. After that game, however, he never reached double figures again and scored nine points only twice. Nolte beefed up in the offseason because he admittedly wore down a year ago as he was called upon to guard some of the ACC's beefy forwards. A more consistent Nolte this season should be able to shoot the 3-pointer well and also battle down low better when necessary.
Teven Jones started nine games for Virginia last season at point guard and had moments where it looked like he could be the point guard of the future. He had 13 points and four assists vs. North Texas and, while he didn't full up the stat sheet at Wisconsin, seemed to have a calming influence on the team and guided the Cavs to a big road win over the Badgers. Down the stretch, though, Jones did not always factor into games and found playing time hard to come by. After an early January loss at Wake Forest, Jones never logged more than 15 minutes in any game the rest of the way. Jones will probably find it harder to find playing time this season with Brogdon back and heralded recruits Hall and Perrantes learning the system. He can provide energy, leadership, and defense off the bench.
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