No. 8 Virginia at North Carolina Greensboro, 7 p.m. today ESPN3.com
It's that time of year. I've had a hard time moving on from the Elite Eight loss to Syracuse from March, but now it is time for new games, new players, and fresh storylines. So that will make it easier. As will another subpar UVa football season.
Soon, I'll do my annual game-by-game predictions.
Let's take a look at who's gone, who's new, and who's back.
Losses
This section is bigger than normal and is a big reason why it feels like one era of UVa basketball has ended and another is beginning.
First up, Malcolm Brogdon. Whatever I say here about the five-year player won't do him justice. He's going to go down as one of the best Cavaliers in history. Last season, he led the team scoring 18.2 points per game and also averaged 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and about one steal. And of course, his defense and leadership are legendary. His graduation leaves a gaping chasm for multiple players to step up and fill in a variety of ways, including 3-point shooting, which he steadily improved each year, ending at a tick over 39 percent for his senior year and 36.5 percent for his career. Brogdon was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and has been effective in the first few games of the season as one of the first players off the bench.
Next, Anthony Gill. It is tough to recall that Gill spent just three years at Virginia, starting at South Carolina, and was eligible for UVa beginning with the 2013-14 season. He definitely enjoyed his time in Charlottesville and learned the culture and became a part of it. He ended up a true Wahoo and went from a role player to one of the team's most important players his final season, averaging 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds. He improved his free throw percentage each season and finished by shooting with his feet diagonally positioned to the line. It was odd but worked. Gill's humor and floppy hair will be missed. Gill appears to be playing with a pro team in Germany.
The mercurial Mike Tobey was rarely a spectacular player but was usually solid. He averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds his final season, with highlights being a 15-point, 20-rebound performance on senior night against Louisville and 18 points and seven boards against Iowa State in the NCAA tournament. He impressed in the preseason with the Charlotte Hornets, who signed him as a free agent. He is playing on their NBDL team, the Greensboro Swarm.
Ah, Evan Nolte. We loved you for your mugshot in your Hawaiian shirt, but you never quite panned out here as a great player or lived up to some of the glimpses from your freshman season, when you averaged a career-high 5.7 points and shot 38.9 percent from 3. Nolte's 3-point percentage did rebound a little bit for his senior year to 30.8 percent (from his junior year-low of 27.6 percent), but his 1.9 ppg was the lowest of his career.
Gains
The additions to this season's team include a transfer who is now eligible, a redshirt freshman from last season, and one of the best UVa freshman classes in years, which was ranked eighth by ESPN.
Austin Nichols, a transfer from Memphis, is now eligible after sitting out last season. The 6-foot-9 234-pounder averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks for Memphis two seasons ago, and in his
freshman year, he averaged 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. He has two years of eligibility remaining. He provides UVa with a great interior shot-blocking presence it hasn't had in awhile. Darion Atkins, Akil Mitchell, Justin Anderson (though he was mostly on the perimeter), and Isaiah Wilkins all had or have had moments here and there, but they were not shot-blockers per se. So this is a very exciting development for Tony Bennett's Pack-Line defense. Scoring-wise, he should fill in much of the 13.8 ppg that were lost from Gill. He could be a little above that or below that, but he should be close to filling that scoring gap. He will miss the UNC Greensboro game because of a violation of team rules.
Mamadi Diakite, 6-9, 214 pounds, is now eligible as a redshirt freshman, though he will miss the opener against UNC Greensboro because of an eligibility issue dating back to his time living in Africa. I don't understand all of it, so if you want to, you'll have find another article (haha). His weight is up from 195 from when I wrote my preview last season. He brings a long frame and athleticism to the frontcourt and the ability to score down low and shoot a little bit, too. He should also help out Nichols with interior defense.
The rest of the newcomers are true freshmen.
Guard Kyle Guy is the first high school All-American to come to Virginia since Sylven Landesberg in 2008. After seeing what Bennett has done with guys like Brogdon, Gill, London Perrantes, Joe Harris, etc., it is extremely exciting for a player the caliber of Guy to join the program. He can shoot the 3 and drive to the rack. He seems a little undersized at 6-3, 165, but the potential is there for him to be a terrific player for Virginia for years. I'm sure we will learn more about him in the early-season games. He was a very active contributor to the highlight reel for the Blue and White Scrimmage, which was Oct. 24.
DeAndre Hunter, 6-7, 212 pounds, is a solid, all-around wing type player that we have come to love in Bennett's system in the mold of Brogdon, Harris, and Anderson. He is expected to do a little bit of everything on the floor, and I'm interested to see what skills he develops.
Ty Jerome, a 6-5, 192-pound point guard is the heir apparent to Perrantes, but will probably also battle for time this year handling the ball with Devon Hall and Darius Thompson. Jerome is known for his ability to pass, run a smooth offense, and has a sneaky-good offensive game.
Jay Huff, a 6-11, 215-pound forward, is up 25 pounds from last year when he committed. The long-held belief was that he would be a top redshirt candiate should this class use one. But word is he has developed enough to where a) he might not need it and b) UVa could use his skill set, which includes the ability to shoot 3s. A 6-11 bomber is a matchup nightmare for teams and UVa hasn't (ever?) had one. I can't wait to see what he brings to the table in 2016-17 and his overall career potential.
They're back
London Perrantes, the lone Cavalier senior, is the team's undisputed leader. He started midway through his freshman year at point guard and hasn't looked back. His scoring took a big jump last season to 11 ppg from 6.4. He was a great 3-point shooter his freshman year, dipped his sophomore year, but was great again in 2015-16, leading the ACC at 48.8 percent. A regression from there is likely, but if he can stay above 40 percent, I'd take that. He's averaged between 4 and 4.5 assists the past two seasons, and I don't think that will go up too much given the pace Virginia plays at. It'll also depend on how the other weapons develop and if Perrantes decides to take on more of the scoring onus, less, or about the same as last year. If he leads the team in scoring, Virginia will probably be good, but I think we have a better chance of being very good if he is playing second fiddle in scoring to Nichols. He shot 80 percent from the free throw line last season, not quite as good as Brogdon, but still a reliable guy to have at the line late in games.
Junior forward Isaiah Wilkins made a nice jump up from his freshman season last year, starting 21 games and scoring 4.6 ppg and averaging 4.1 rebounds. He also had 31 blocks, which I'm assuming led the team without looking it up (Compare to Nichols, who recorded 93 his sophomore season.) UVa is looking to him to step up and be even more of a contributor on the offensive end. Any kind of shot he develops from 15 feet and beyond would be a bonus.
Redshirt junior guard Devon Hall started 20 games last season after not really playing a lot two years ago and averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds. He shot 33 percent from the 3-point line, the same percentage he shot two years ago. He also started to play strong one-on-one defense. Like Wilkins, any kind of extra scoring punch he gives will help immensely. I really hope he begins to increase his 3-point percentage. He has a pretty shooting stroke; he just needs to be more consistent. He also needs to settle down more when driving to the hoop as he can appear out of control at times.
Junior guard Marial Shayok started eight games last season and averaged 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. Of the returning players not named Perrantes, he shows the most promise from beyond the arc, shooting 43.6 percent last year and 40.4 percent for his career. In other facets of his game, he looks great at times and not-so-great other times. He made a slight improvement over his freshman season numbers, but not a lot. For some reason, Bennett seemed to like Hall more than Shayok, and I have to imagine it had to do with defense, as Shayok scored more in fewer minutes than Hall. But like the beginning of last year, I am eagerly and hopefully awaiting several consistent breakout games in a row from Shayok. I'm bullish on his potential and really hope he can give the 'Hoos a spark on offense.
Redshirt junior guard Darius Thompson averaged 4.3 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 rebounds in his first eligible season for Virginia after transferring from Tennessee. His style seems to more represent a fast-paced team, but he is a valuable commodity and brings a different pace to the floor for the Cavaliers. He also collected 27 steals, fourth on the team, no small feat in limited minutes. He shot 39 percent from 3-point range, a nice jump from his only Volunteers season. He finished the year making all three of his 3s against Syracuse, so hopefully that was a sign of things to come.
Redshirt sophomore Jack Salt and true sophomore Jarred Reuter provide depth down low. Salt started nine games early in 2015-16 and averaged 1.6 points 1.1 rebounds. Reuter put up 1.5 points and 1 rebound per game. It'll be interesting to see where they fall in the pecking order for forwards. Certainly, their potential does not seem as high as Diakite and Huff's. But they've been in the system longer, and I've been surprised before with what Bennett and his staff has done with big men in his tenure (just look at the development of Akil Mitchell, and even before that, Jerome Meyinsse). Early on, they could be counted on more until the younger players develop. Though, like I said, I would be fine as well if one or both of them surprise me and take a leap.
It's that time of year. I've had a hard time moving on from the Elite Eight loss to Syracuse from March, but now it is time for new games, new players, and fresh storylines. So that will make it easier. As will another subpar UVa football season.
Soon, I'll do my annual game-by-game predictions.
Let's take a look at who's gone, who's new, and who's back.
Losses
This section is bigger than normal and is a big reason why it feels like one era of UVa basketball has ended and another is beginning.
First up, Malcolm Brogdon. Whatever I say here about the five-year player won't do him justice. He's going to go down as one of the best Cavaliers in history. Last season, he led the team scoring 18.2 points per game and also averaged 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and about one steal. And of course, his defense and leadership are legendary. His graduation leaves a gaping chasm for multiple players to step up and fill in a variety of ways, including 3-point shooting, which he steadily improved each year, ending at a tick over 39 percent for his senior year and 36.5 percent for his career. Brogdon was selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and has been effective in the first few games of the season as one of the first players off the bench.
Next, Anthony Gill. It is tough to recall that Gill spent just three years at Virginia, starting at South Carolina, and was eligible for UVa beginning with the 2013-14 season. He definitely enjoyed his time in Charlottesville and learned the culture and became a part of it. He ended up a true Wahoo and went from a role player to one of the team's most important players his final season, averaging 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds. He improved his free throw percentage each season and finished by shooting with his feet diagonally positioned to the line. It was odd but worked. Gill's humor and floppy hair will be missed. Gill appears to be playing with a pro team in Germany.
The mercurial Mike Tobey was rarely a spectacular player but was usually solid. He averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds his final season, with highlights being a 15-point, 20-rebound performance on senior night against Louisville and 18 points and seven boards against Iowa State in the NCAA tournament. He impressed in the preseason with the Charlotte Hornets, who signed him as a free agent. He is playing on their NBDL team, the Greensboro Swarm.
Ah, Evan Nolte. We loved you for your mugshot in your Hawaiian shirt, but you never quite panned out here as a great player or lived up to some of the glimpses from your freshman season, when you averaged a career-high 5.7 points and shot 38.9 percent from 3. Nolte's 3-point percentage did rebound a little bit for his senior year to 30.8 percent (from his junior year-low of 27.6 percent), but his 1.9 ppg was the lowest of his career.
Gains
The additions to this season's team include a transfer who is now eligible, a redshirt freshman from last season, and one of the best UVa freshman classes in years, which was ranked eighth by ESPN.
Austin Nichols, a transfer from Memphis, is now eligible after sitting out last season. The 6-foot-9 234-pounder averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks for Memphis two seasons ago, and in his
Mamadi Diakite, 6-9, 214 pounds, is now eligible as a redshirt freshman, though he will miss the opener against UNC Greensboro because of an eligibility issue dating back to his time living in Africa. I don't understand all of it, so if you want to, you'll have find another article (haha). His weight is up from 195 from when I wrote my preview last season. He brings a long frame and athleticism to the frontcourt and the ability to score down low and shoot a little bit, too. He should also help out Nichols with interior defense.
The rest of the newcomers are true freshmen.
Guard Kyle Guy is the first high school All-American to come to Virginia since Sylven Landesberg in 2008. After seeing what Bennett has done with guys like Brogdon, Gill, London Perrantes, Joe Harris, etc., it is extremely exciting for a player the caliber of Guy to join the program. He can shoot the 3 and drive to the rack. He seems a little undersized at 6-3, 165, but the potential is there for him to be a terrific player for Virginia for years. I'm sure we will learn more about him in the early-season games. He was a very active contributor to the highlight reel for the Blue and White Scrimmage, which was Oct. 24.
DeAndre Hunter, 6-7, 212 pounds, is a solid, all-around wing type player that we have come to love in Bennett's system in the mold of Brogdon, Harris, and Anderson. He is expected to do a little bit of everything on the floor, and I'm interested to see what skills he develops.
Ty Jerome, a 6-5, 192-pound point guard is the heir apparent to Perrantes, but will probably also battle for time this year handling the ball with Devon Hall and Darius Thompson. Jerome is known for his ability to pass, run a smooth offense, and has a sneaky-good offensive game.
Jay Huff, a 6-11, 215-pound forward, is up 25 pounds from last year when he committed. The long-held belief was that he would be a top redshirt candiate should this class use one. But word is he has developed enough to where a) he might not need it and b) UVa could use his skill set, which includes the ability to shoot 3s. A 6-11 bomber is a matchup nightmare for teams and UVa hasn't (ever?) had one. I can't wait to see what he brings to the table in 2016-17 and his overall career potential.
They're back
London Perrantes, the lone Cavalier senior, is the team's undisputed leader. He started midway through his freshman year at point guard and hasn't looked back. His scoring took a big jump last season to 11 ppg from 6.4. He was a great 3-point shooter his freshman year, dipped his sophomore year, but was great again in 2015-16, leading the ACC at 48.8 percent. A regression from there is likely, but if he can stay above 40 percent, I'd take that. He's averaged between 4 and 4.5 assists the past two seasons, and I don't think that will go up too much given the pace Virginia plays at. It'll also depend on how the other weapons develop and if Perrantes decides to take on more of the scoring onus, less, or about the same as last year. If he leads the team in scoring, Virginia will probably be good, but I think we have a better chance of being very good if he is playing second fiddle in scoring to Nichols. He shot 80 percent from the free throw line last season, not quite as good as Brogdon, but still a reliable guy to have at the line late in games.
Junior forward Isaiah Wilkins made a nice jump up from his freshman season last year, starting 21 games and scoring 4.6 ppg and averaging 4.1 rebounds. He also had 31 blocks, which I'm assuming led the team without looking it up (Compare to Nichols, who recorded 93 his sophomore season.) UVa is looking to him to step up and be even more of a contributor on the offensive end. Any kind of shot he develops from 15 feet and beyond would be a bonus.
Redshirt junior guard Devon Hall started 20 games last season after not really playing a lot two years ago and averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds. He shot 33 percent from the 3-point line, the same percentage he shot two years ago. He also started to play strong one-on-one defense. Like Wilkins, any kind of extra scoring punch he gives will help immensely. I really hope he begins to increase his 3-point percentage. He has a pretty shooting stroke; he just needs to be more consistent. He also needs to settle down more when driving to the hoop as he can appear out of control at times.
Junior guard Marial Shayok started eight games last season and averaged 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. Of the returning players not named Perrantes, he shows the most promise from beyond the arc, shooting 43.6 percent last year and 40.4 percent for his career. In other facets of his game, he looks great at times and not-so-great other times. He made a slight improvement over his freshman season numbers, but not a lot. For some reason, Bennett seemed to like Hall more than Shayok, and I have to imagine it had to do with defense, as Shayok scored more in fewer minutes than Hall. But like the beginning of last year, I am eagerly and hopefully awaiting several consistent breakout games in a row from Shayok. I'm bullish on his potential and really hope he can give the 'Hoos a spark on offense.
Redshirt junior guard Darius Thompson averaged 4.3 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 rebounds in his first eligible season for Virginia after transferring from Tennessee. His style seems to more represent a fast-paced team, but he is a valuable commodity and brings a different pace to the floor for the Cavaliers. He also collected 27 steals, fourth on the team, no small feat in limited minutes. He shot 39 percent from 3-point range, a nice jump from his only Volunteers season. He finished the year making all three of his 3s against Syracuse, so hopefully that was a sign of things to come.
Redshirt sophomore Jack Salt and true sophomore Jarred Reuter provide depth down low. Salt started nine games early in 2015-16 and averaged 1.6 points 1.1 rebounds. Reuter put up 1.5 points and 1 rebound per game. It'll be interesting to see where they fall in the pecking order for forwards. Certainly, their potential does not seem as high as Diakite and Huff's. But they've been in the system longer, and I've been surprised before with what Bennett and his staff has done with big men in his tenure (just look at the development of Akil Mitchell, and even before that, Jerome Meyinsse). Early on, they could be counted on more until the younger players develop. Though, like I said, I would be fine as well if one or both of them surprise me and take a leap.
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