I'm probably a couple days late writing a recap on this season, but maybe I just didn't want the incredible run to end. But I think now I am ready to put a bow on the season and move on. Of course, there is plenty of time to look ahead, and I will do that here, too.
Virginia's season started out normal enough. The Cavaliers had pretty much no problem in opening up with a 61-41 win at home over James Madison. The Dukes ended up being pretty bad, though, and what lurked beneath the surface for the Cavaliers was a struggling offense and maybe some egos.
In the next game vs. VCU, which I attended, UVa suffered what was one of the most painful defeats for me, ever. Ram fans took over JPJ with probably 2,000-3,000 in attendance and from where I sat among them in the upper deck, sounded very loud. The game was intense and tight throughout. Neither team led by more than seven points in either half. It came down to the very end and Treveon Graham made a dagger 3-pointer with three seconds left to give VCU the 59-56 win. While VCU's "Havoc" full court press defense did cause some problems, the Rams' half court defense was not always the best and the Wahoos should have done a better job against it. Virginia struggled at the free throw line and made only one 3 in the contest.
The next few games went as planned and even contained a pleasant surprise. Virginia picked up a nice neutral-court victory over Davidson following its loss to VCU and then had little trouble in defeating
Navy, Liberty, and Hampton. UVa then played in the Corpus Christi Challenge and beat SMU in a shootout by Tony Bennett standards, 76-73. In a turnaround from other seasons, UVa finished the deal and won the tournament by trouncing Missouri State, 83-63, in the next game of the challenge. At this point, things were going well and it seemed like UVa had its offense figured out. Despite the success that would come later in the year, that game against MSU was actually the only game all year that Virginia topped the 80-point mark.
Problems then struck in the month of December. The issues began with a 48-38 loss to Wisconsin at home. The Badgers ended up being a fantastic Final Four team, but 38 points was embarrassing and also confusing coming off an 83-point performance. UVa's defense was the next thing to falter in a 75-72 road loss to Green Bay. UVa got wins at home after that over Northern Iowa and Norfolk State, but looked sluggish and uninspired. The proverbial stuff hit the fan in the next game, a road contest at Tennessee. The Volunteers absolutely destroyed Virginia,
87-52. I was home from work for dinner and had the game on and could barely watch three minutes before I had to turn it off. It was a perfect storm. Tennessee was hitting every shot and Virginia could do nothing right. While it was a terrible loss, it actually ended up being the best medicine for the season.
What followed ended up starting the Twitter hashtag #TennesseeTurnaround. The night after the Tennessee game was New Year's Eve, and reportedly, Joe Harris was looking for Bennett around JPJ to talk to him about the disappointing season so far and how it could be turned around. The story goes Bennett wasn't there and was at home, so Harris called him and asked if he could come over. Harris and Bennett must have come up with some ideas because Harris then discussed some things with Akil Mitchell, the team's only other main senior (Thomas Rogers was a senior, too, but started as a walk-on) and they in turn got the team together and led it from there, setting a new tone for the season.
The Wahoos recommitted themselves on the defensive end, simplified the offense, and set their egos aside to go get to where they wanted to go. Surprisingly, UVa followed up its huge loss at
Tennessee by winning at Florida State for the first time since 2001. Virginia kept the good vibes flowing with an easy home win over Wake Forest and then played probably its best game of the year in crushing N.C. State in Raleigh, 76-45. Just 12 days after losing a game by 35, the Cavaliers had beaten a different team by 31 (the Wolfpack, by the way, had beaten Tennessee earlier in the year, go figure).
Next up was a big game at Duke. The Blue Devils had hit a rough patch, losers of two of three games to Clemson and Notre Dame and now they had to face the suddenly revitalized Wahoos. Duke was back at home, though, and eeked out a 69-65 win over the Cavs, which included a lucky 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left from Rasheed Sulaimon when the Devils were down one. This was a moment where it was like, "Dang, this team might end up being something special."
UVa then went on an historic run. Virginia rattled off wins over Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech (twice), Notre Dame (twice), Pittsburgh, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Clemson, and
Miami. UVa was on a 12-game winning streak headed into a March 1 showdown with Syracuse at John Paul Jones Arena. A UVa win meant an ACC regular-season championship for the Cavs, while a Syracuse victory made things more cloudy. UVa left no doubt, though, blowing out the Orange in the second half for a 75-56 win. Rogers even hit a 3 near the end of the game, creating a storybook ending for the little-used senior.
It was Virginia's first outright ACC title since 1981. UVa dropped its final regular-season game at Maryland in a shadily called affair, ending the 'Hoos' winning streak at 13. They were able to keep it going in the ACC tournament, topping FSU for a third time in the season in the quarterfinals. That win put Virginia in the semifinals for the first time since 1995. In the semifinals, it faced Pitt, which it had beaten, 48-45 at Pitt on Super Bowl Sunday. A similar game unfolded in Greensboro and the Cavaliers won, 51-48. Duke was next and Virginia played a fine game, highlighted by Akil Mitchell's staunch defense on Blue Devils star Jabari Parker. UVa
won, 72-63, its first ACC tournament championship since 1976.
In the NCAA tournament, Virginia fell behind, 31-21, against No. 16 seed Coastal Carolina and it appeared the Cavs were maybe going to be the brunt of jokes for years to come. It didn't happen, however, as Virginia regrouped at the end of the first and into the second half in winning, 70-59. Virginia torched Memphis in the next round, 78-60, before bowing out in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State, 61-59.
Evaluation
This will go down as one of the best Virginia basketball seasons ever. Every year I have been making game-by-game schedule predictions at the beginning of the season, Virginia has exceeded those expectations and they did it again, even though I made the goal quite lofty -- 23-8 overall, 13-5 in the ACC. Virginia finished 25-6 in the regular season with a 16-2 ACC record. And it was quite close to being undefeated in the ACC -- really. A lucky bounce in the Duke game and an oddly refereed Maryland game in which it still took overtime to vanquish Virginia were the Wahoos' only conference losses. Virginia had its longest winning streak since 1981 and won most of those games by double digits. The year was full of the team overcoming hurdles that have usually held Virginia
back in the last decade to decade-and-a-half. Road wins, playing down to the competition, beating Duke (now two years in a row), winning a pre-ACC season tournament, getting to the semifinals of the ACC tournament -- all achievements of these Cavaliers. After playing so well for so long and winning both ACC titles, yeah, it would have been nice for the Cavs to win more than two games in the Big Dance, but Michigan State was a very difficult draw and the 'Hoos played their hearts out. I really couldn't have asked for more. After the game was over, I was mad about the no-call on Teven Jones (however, on further review, I decided it wasn't THAT bad of a call -- the MSU players' arms went more up than out anyway) but quickly settled down and was more sad that such a great season had come to an end. I had a satisfied feeling, though and it was definitely a year where Virginia fans can now hold their heads high.
MVP: Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon came back from a season off because of foot surgery and end up being better than expected. He led the team in scoring and played two positions -- shooting guard and backup point guard. He was smart, led the ACC in free throw percentage, could rebound, was big, physical, drove to the rim, and also improved his mid-range and 3-point game.
Most improved player: Brogdon. He scored more than six points per game more than he did two years ago as a freshman and grew from a role player to full-time starter and team leader. If I were to look at improvement throughout the season, I think this award would go to Anthony Gill. The transfer came in highly thought of and scored 13 points in the JMU opener. He was up and down for awhile after that before really becoming a force at the end of the season. He scored in double figures in 10 of his final 15 games and it can be argued that if he hadn't turned his ankle in the game against Michigan State, UVa might have beaten the Spartans. There were moments when Gill was the best player on the floor this season, especially near the end. His combo of moves, balance, and strength from the high post to the low post was a sometimes
amazing thing to watch.
Most disappointing player: Darion Atkins. Atkins still has yet to truly look like the Darion Atkins that we saw begin to have a breakout season at the beginning of the 2012-13 campaign. He got shin splints during that season and hasn't ever realized his potential since then. His comments about playing time before the game against Memphis were also poorly timed. Evan Nolte has also struggled ever since the first half of his freshman campaign a season ago, but had a pretty solid ending to this year, making key second-half 3-pointers to help rescue the Cavaliers from the brink of upset against Coastal Carolina.
Best freshman: London Perrantes. No-brainer here (he was also the only freshman to play significant minutes). His development pretty much paralleled the rise of Virginia this season. He started out as a role player off the bench and everyone saw he had a few skills. From there, he became a floor general and by the end of the year, was also a key offensive threat and even led the team in 3-point shooting at 44 percent.
Best win: There are certainly plenty of candidates: Beating Maryland in the final game against the Terrapins for awhile in Charlottesville, beating Syracuse for the ACC regular-season title, beating FSU to reach the ACC tournament semifinals, beating Pitt in the semifinals, topping Duke for the championship, and either NCAA tournament win. I think I have to go with the win over Duke. It had been THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS since Virginia's previous conference tournament championship, it was over Duke, it was not a fluke, UVa led almost the whole way, and it was in the heart of N.C. and Duke country. Doesn't get much better than that. Also signaled that Virginia was for real and legitimized its regular-season title.
Worst loss: Only seven to pick from. Michigan State was obviously bad, as was the second Maryland game, it being the final game vs. the Terrapins for awhile. Of course, Tennessee was terrible, but really, I'm not sure this season happens without that devastating a loss, thus kind of making it a win. Personally for me, as I've already discussed, it was VCU.
Best dance moves: Teven Jones, of course. His enthusiasm on the sidelines will be missed, as he announced a few days ago that he will be transferring out of UVa.
Next year
Get excited again for next season. The fact that I didn't mention Joe Harris much here in the final few sections but can still be excited for 2014-15 bodes well. Harris was the heart, soul, and leader of the team and he will be missed, as will the defense and rebounding of Akil Mitchell. But UVa will be deep again and should be able to compete in the upper third of the ACC and should also make the Big Dance. I'm not expecting a season like this one, but it should be pretty good. Perrantes, Brogdon, and Gill are all back. Hopefully Atkins can become a suitable backup and be a poor man's Mitchell. Justin Anderson might slide into a more permanent role as a starter so hopefully he can learn to bring his energy right from the tip (and improve his jumper). Mike Tobey once again showed flashes of brilliance but was inconsistent. He was on the U19 U.S. team last summer but this summer, he can just concentrate on getting better and getting stronger. Evan Nolte will take on a bigger role and needs to relocate his touch from beyond the arc. Redshirted point/shooting guard Devon Hall is expected to make an impact. Jones said Hall will be a "monster" before this season ended. Incoming recruits are shooting guard/swingman B.J. Stith (son of UVa legend Bryant Stith), forward Isaiah Wilkins (stepson of Dominique Wilkins), and 6-foot-10 New Zealand center Jack Salt. Stith and Wilkins could play next year, but Salt is thought to be a project that will be redshirted. Virginia is already being shown in the top 15 of most way-too-early preseason polls for next season so the expectations will be there nationally and the Cavs won't be flying under the radar.
Virginia's season started out normal enough. The Cavaliers had pretty much no problem in opening up with a 61-41 win at home over James Madison. The Dukes ended up being pretty bad, though, and what lurked beneath the surface for the Cavaliers was a struggling offense and maybe some egos.
In the next game vs. VCU, which I attended, UVa suffered what was one of the most painful defeats for me, ever. Ram fans took over JPJ with probably 2,000-3,000 in attendance and from where I sat among them in the upper deck, sounded very loud. The game was intense and tight throughout. Neither team led by more than seven points in either half. It came down to the very end and Treveon Graham made a dagger 3-pointer with three seconds left to give VCU the 59-56 win. While VCU's "Havoc" full court press defense did cause some problems, the Rams' half court defense was not always the best and the Wahoos should have done a better job against it. Virginia struggled at the free throw line and made only one 3 in the contest.
The next few games went as planned and even contained a pleasant surprise. Virginia picked up a nice neutral-court victory over Davidson following its loss to VCU and then had little trouble in defeating
 |
| Joe Harris had another good season, but was not the Cavs' MVP. |
Problems then struck in the month of December. The issues began with a 48-38 loss to Wisconsin at home. The Badgers ended up being a fantastic Final Four team, but 38 points was embarrassing and also confusing coming off an 83-point performance. UVa's defense was the next thing to falter in a 75-72 road loss to Green Bay. UVa got wins at home after that over Northern Iowa and Norfolk State, but looked sluggish and uninspired. The proverbial stuff hit the fan in the next game, a road contest at Tennessee. The Volunteers absolutely destroyed Virginia,
 |
| Virginia will miss Akil Michell's defense and rebounding next year. |
What followed ended up starting the Twitter hashtag #TennesseeTurnaround. The night after the Tennessee game was New Year's Eve, and reportedly, Joe Harris was looking for Bennett around JPJ to talk to him about the disappointing season so far and how it could be turned around. The story goes Bennett wasn't there and was at home, so Harris called him and asked if he could come over. Harris and Bennett must have come up with some ideas because Harris then discussed some things with Akil Mitchell, the team's only other main senior (Thomas Rogers was a senior, too, but started as a walk-on) and they in turn got the team together and led it from there, setting a new tone for the season.
The Wahoos recommitted themselves on the defensive end, simplified the offense, and set their egos aside to go get to where they wanted to go. Surprisingly, UVa followed up its huge loss at
 |
| Malcolm Brogdon, my MVP for this season. |
Next up was a big game at Duke. The Blue Devils had hit a rough patch, losers of two of three games to Clemson and Notre Dame and now they had to face the suddenly revitalized Wahoos. Duke was back at home, though, and eeked out a 69-65 win over the Cavs, which included a lucky 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left from Rasheed Sulaimon when the Devils were down one. This was a moment where it was like, "Dang, this team might end up being something special."
UVa then went on an historic run. Virginia rattled off wins over Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech (twice), Notre Dame (twice), Pittsburgh, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Clemson, and
 |
| Anthony Gill really came into his own. |
It was Virginia's first outright ACC title since 1981. UVa dropped its final regular-season game at Maryland in a shadily called affair, ending the 'Hoos' winning streak at 13. They were able to keep it going in the ACC tournament, topping FSU for a third time in the season in the quarterfinals. That win put Virginia in the semifinals for the first time since 1995. In the semifinals, it faced Pitt, which it had beaten, 48-45 at Pitt on Super Bowl Sunday. A similar game unfolded in Greensboro and the Cavaliers won, 51-48. Duke was next and Virginia played a fine game, highlighted by Akil Mitchell's staunch defense on Blue Devils star Jabari Parker. UVa
won, 72-63, its first ACC tournament championship since 1976.
 |
| Fans rush the court at JPJ after the Syracuse win. |
In the NCAA tournament, Virginia fell behind, 31-21, against No. 16 seed Coastal Carolina and it appeared the Cavs were maybe going to be the brunt of jokes for years to come. It didn't happen, however, as Virginia regrouped at the end of the first and into the second half in winning, 70-59. Virginia torched Memphis in the next round, 78-60, before bowing out in the Sweet 16 to Michigan State, 61-59.
Evaluation
This will go down as one of the best Virginia basketball seasons ever. Every year I have been making game-by-game schedule predictions at the beginning of the season, Virginia has exceeded those expectations and they did it again, even though I made the goal quite lofty -- 23-8 overall, 13-5 in the ACC. Virginia finished 25-6 in the regular season with a 16-2 ACC record. And it was quite close to being undefeated in the ACC -- really. A lucky bounce in the Duke game and an oddly refereed Maryland game in which it still took overtime to vanquish Virginia were the Wahoos' only conference losses. Virginia had its longest winning streak since 1981 and won most of those games by double digits. The year was full of the team overcoming hurdles that have usually held Virginia
 |
| Hopefully Darion Atkins can have a solid senior season in 2014-15. |
MVP: Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon came back from a season off because of foot surgery and end up being better than expected. He led the team in scoring and played two positions -- shooting guard and backup point guard. He was smart, led the ACC in free throw percentage, could rebound, was big, physical, drove to the rim, and also improved his mid-range and 3-point game.
Most improved player: Brogdon. He scored more than six points per game more than he did two years ago as a freshman and grew from a role player to full-time starter and team leader. If I were to look at improvement throughout the season, I think this award would go to Anthony Gill. The transfer came in highly thought of and scored 13 points in the JMU opener. He was up and down for awhile after that before really becoming a force at the end of the season. He scored in double figures in 10 of his final 15 games and it can be argued that if he hadn't turned his ankle in the game against Michigan State, UVa might have beaten the Spartans. There were moments when Gill was the best player on the floor this season, especially near the end. His combo of moves, balance, and strength from the high post to the low post was a sometimes
amazing thing to watch.
 |
| Teven Jones was a unique sideline attraction and will be missed. |
Best freshman: London Perrantes. No-brainer here (he was also the only freshman to play significant minutes). His development pretty much paralleled the rise of Virginia this season. He started out as a role player off the bench and everyone saw he had a few skills. From there, he became a floor general and by the end of the year, was also a key offensive threat and even led the team in 3-point shooting at 44 percent.
Best win: There are certainly plenty of candidates: Beating Maryland in the final game against the Terrapins for awhile in Charlottesville, beating Syracuse for the ACC regular-season title, beating FSU to reach the ACC tournament semifinals, beating Pitt in the semifinals, topping Duke for the championship, and either NCAA tournament win. I think I have to go with the win over Duke. It had been THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS since Virginia's previous conference tournament championship, it was over Duke, it was not a fluke, UVa led almost the whole way, and it was in the heart of N.C. and Duke country. Doesn't get much better than that. Also signaled that Virginia was for real and legitimized its regular-season title.
Worst loss: Only seven to pick from. Michigan State was obviously bad, as was the second Maryland game, it being the final game vs. the Terrapins for awhile. Of course, Tennessee was terrible, but really, I'm not sure this season happens without that devastating a loss, thus kind of making it a win. Personally for me, as I've already discussed, it was VCU.
Best dance moves: Teven Jones, of course. His enthusiasm on the sidelines will be missed, as he announced a few days ago that he will be transferring out of UVa.
Next year
Get excited again for next season. The fact that I didn't mention Joe Harris much here in the final few sections but can still be excited for 2014-15 bodes well. Harris was the heart, soul, and leader of the team and he will be missed, as will the defense and rebounding of Akil Mitchell. But UVa will be deep again and should be able to compete in the upper third of the ACC and should also make the Big Dance. I'm not expecting a season like this one, but it should be pretty good. Perrantes, Brogdon, and Gill are all back. Hopefully Atkins can become a suitable backup and be a poor man's Mitchell. Justin Anderson might slide into a more permanent role as a starter so hopefully he can learn to bring his energy right from the tip (and improve his jumper). Mike Tobey once again showed flashes of brilliance but was inconsistent. He was on the U19 U.S. team last summer but this summer, he can just concentrate on getting better and getting stronger. Evan Nolte will take on a bigger role and needs to relocate his touch from beyond the arc. Redshirted point/shooting guard Devon Hall is expected to make an impact. Jones said Hall will be a "monster" before this season ended. Incoming recruits are shooting guard/swingman B.J. Stith (son of UVa legend Bryant Stith), forward Isaiah Wilkins (stepson of Dominique Wilkins), and 6-foot-10 New Zealand center Jack Salt. Stith and Wilkins could play next year, but Salt is thought to be a project that will be redshirted. Virginia is already being shown in the top 15 of most way-too-early preseason polls for next season so the expectations will be there nationally and the Cavs won't be flying under the radar.
Comments
Post a Comment