MVP: London Perrantes. The senior guard ended up being the only player to average in double figures for points at 12.7 per game, and as Perrantes went, the team went. When he struggled, the team often struggled. He had six points and made 1 of 7 3s in a loss to West Virginia. He tallied four points and made just 2 of 11 shots in a loss to Villanova (granted, the team lost by just two on the road against the defending champs). He recorded four points and made just 2 of 15 attempts in a loss to Miami. He had three points and converted 1 of 9 shots in the ACC tournament defeat against Notre Dame. Finally, he ended his career with six points on 2-of-12 shooting (0 for 4 from behind the arc) in the Florida defeat.
In his great games, he often carried the Cavaliers. He had 19 points and made 4 of his 8 3s as Virginia came from behind to edge Ohio State, and I believe all of those 3s came in the second half. He scored 24 points as Virginia broke open a close game against Wake Forest to win by 17. In the next game, he had 25 points
(8 of 15, 4 of 8 on 3-pointers), one off his career high, and Virginia needed every point as it squeaked by Clemson on the road, 77-73. He had 22 and made 5 of 8 3-pointers in UVa's big road win over Notre Dame. He had just 13 points, but made three 3s in the second half of Virginia's victory over North Carolina. On senior day, Perrantes put up 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting (4 of 6 from 3) in UVa's blowout of Pitt. In his final win, over UNC Wilmington, he, along with Marial Shayok and to a lesser degree Darius Thompson (both of whom transferred, ironically), absolutely carried the team. Perrantes finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Perrantes did have his third-worst shooting performance on 3-pointers in his four seasons (37.4 percent; 48.8 last year was his high, and he was at 31.6 his sophomore year and 43.7 his freshman season), but that was to be somewhat expected since he was trying to carry the team at times and was forced into more or worse shots than he wanted. His assists per game also went down from 4.4 to 3.8, but when no other player scores at least 10 ppg, that is also to be expected. He had his second-highest field goal percentage, which shows he attacked the basket more often, and he wasn't great at it but it was necessary, and he had his second-best free throw shooting season at 81.3 percent. It was clear at times he did not like to take command -- he was a better Robin in his career -- but without him, Virginia obviously doesn't get very far this season.
Most improved: This was not an easy award to give this season, and that's not a good thing in this case. No one was overly impressive. I'm going with Jack Salt with Marial Shayok coming in second and with a good argument to be first, but he's transferring, so it would be a little weird to give him the award. Also, Devon Hall would not be a bad choice. The fact that there is no clear-cut winner for this award reflects the season Virginia had in which no player other than Perrantes ended up being a major contributor on offense.
No one player quite distinguished himself outside of the senior point guard. Shayok raised his scoring average to 8.9 points from 4.3 in 2015-16 to be the team's second-leading scorer in 20.6 minutes per game. Hall was a poor man's Malcolm Brogdon in a way, doing a little bit of everything but rarely stringing together several solid games in a row (Brogdon, of course, did the opposite of that last part). Hall upped his scoring average from 4.4 to 8.4 in 27.4 minutes per game and also recorded 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His 3-point shooting jumped to 37.2 percent from 33.3.
Salt was by no means spectacular, but let's look at his contribution in context. Coming into the season, I don't think much was expected of him. Yes, he started right away, but I believe that was because of the issues surrounding Austin Nichols. Nichols was suspended for the first game of the season at UNC Greensboro before seeing time in the team's home opener against St. Francis (New York) before being booted permanently. Salt started both games, but had Nichols stuck around, he was the presumed starter as an all-ACC caliber player going forward. So on the fly, Salt and the coaching staff adjusted, and he ended up being a significant part of the team, especially on defense. Additionally, the season before, Salt was used sparingly in just 6.6 minutes per game, and he averaged 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds. This year, he tallied 3.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His field goal percentage increased from 51.5 to 55.9, and his free throw percentage went from 33.3 to 48.9, showing that he was probably working really hard at the charity stripe. Though that conversion rate is still quite a bit lower than it should be for any player, the fact he improved more than 15 percent shows there is hope he can be even better in coming years at the line. Also, he ended the season with perhaps his best game, getting eight points and 10 boards against Florida.
Salt's defense is where he shined, though, using his big body as an immovable object in the post. He also did a good job of recovering on hedges at the top of the circle in Pack-Line. He became known for his straight-up defense in the post. He took the rule of "verticality" to a new level, often standing straight up with arms and hands straight in the air to show he had not fouled someone. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but you had to admire his technique and doggedness in trying to prove he was playing defense correctly. I saw it pointed out somewhere that perhaps his background as a volleyball player in his native New Zealand helped him with standing straight up, as volleyball players do at the net to block shots. I thought that was a salient point. I don't know if we can expect Salt to become a huge part of the offense, but Tony Bennett's staff has done a good job of developing post players with surprising results in the past -- Jerome Meyinsse, Akil Mitchell, Darion Atkins -- so we will see. If he bumps his points and rebounds next year by 2-3 per game while still playing solid defense, he will be an even bigger key to the team's success.
Most disappointing: The answer is obviously Austin Nichols, but if I'm going with a guy who played consistently, it is probably Darius Thompson. As I mentioned when he said he was going to transfer, he seemed like a "square peg, round hole" type player who never really fit with what Virginia was trying to accomplish. He gave the Wahoos a capable ball handler off the bench -- he did start 15 games -- but only contributed 6.2 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game in 20.8 minutes per contest. He liked to get out on fast breaks and had some nice dunks and finishes in his two seasons, but never consistently, and he didn't seem aggressive enough in the halfcourt, which is where Virginia's offense needs to do well to thrive.
Best freshman: Kyle Guy. The guard from Indiana had his ups and downs, but ended up scoring more than Malcolm Brogdon did his freshman season and right at about the same average as Justin Anderson did in his (but not more than Joe Harris). Guy recorded 7.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He
shot 71.4 percent from the free throw line, 43.9 percent from the field and, most impressively, 49.5 percent from 3-point land, a school record. He was terrific in wins over Cal, N.C. State, North Carolina, and Pitt. In a four-game stretch late in the year when Virginia snapped its losing streak and upset UNC, he made 16 of 25 3s at one point. Hopefully, he can add weight and a driving-to-the-basket aspect to his game next to make himself even more versatile. He showed that at times, as well as some passing ability.
Best win: North Carolina. Just nine days earlier, the Cavaliers had been humiliated, 65-41, by the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. But in Charlottesville, the team gave one of the most stifling defensive performances in the Bennett era in beating the high-powered No. 5 Tar Heels, 53-43. Virginia was coming off a four-game losing streak that had it playing some of its worse ball since the 2012-13 campaign. The Cavs had just beaten a weak N.C. State team on the road to stop the skid, but I don't think fans were still feeling very confident. But you could tell early in the game that the 'Hoos were fired up and had come to play. Guy made 5 of 7 3s and led the team with 17 points, Perrantes added 13, and Hall had 11. Isaiah Wilkins, beginning to labor from his sickness that he picked up late in the year, only had four points but
played great defense and finished with four blocks and nine rebounds. Joel Berry II was the only Tar Heel in double figures with 12 points. UNC coach Roy Williams said at halftime it looked like his guys were "looking for Mama" when they got the ball. It was a sweet win over a big rival. The Heels, though, went on to the win national title, marking the second year in a row that Virginia beat the eventual national champ.
Worst loss: Several of the losses this year came in either excruciating fashion or in a way that exposed Virginia, meaning most of them are good candidates for this "award." At the time, I thought a two-point loss to Villanova on the road was disheartening but also a sign of what the team was capable of in a good way. But looking back, it was a missed opportunity, and the team didn't seem the same after. It also ended up being a sign of what the team was capable of in a bad way since the team blew a 13-point lead and also gave up double-digit leads to Virginia Tech and Syracuse in later games. You also got the sense that the referees jobbed Virginia in that game with a free throw disparity of 24-3. Still, it was a road loss in a close
game where Virginia looked good against the No. 1 team in the country, which was also the defending champ, so it's hard to feel too bad about that one. The Tech loss in double overtime was terrible. Ty Jerome had a chance to ice the game in regulation, I believe, and clanged a free throw. Perrantes had a ball get stuck on top of the rim (not in between the rim and the backboard, but on top of the rim). It was a symbol of the slump Virginia was going through: nothing was going well. The Duke, UNC, and Miami losses, two coming at home, were ugly. The 'Hoos looked bad on offense and gave reason for everyone to call UVa "bad for basketball." But I guess I'll go with the bottoming out against Florida. Virginia mustered just 38 pathetic points in the loss on the big NCAA tournament stage, leaving no doubt of where Virginia was weak this season and what must get fixed, either by players, coaches, the system, or whatever, moving forward. It was a futile way to go out of March, without even a fight.
My guess before the season -- after Nichols was dismissed -- was 20-10 and 10-8 in the ACC. The team went 21-9 and 11-7 in the regular season, so slightly better than my prediction. The team ended up 23-11 overall after going 2-2 in the postseason. It really wasn't a bad year given who the team lost -- Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, and Mike Tobey, if you needed a refresher -- and the fact that someone that was supposed to be a huge part of the team played in only one game. But expectations have been driven up in recent seasons, so it was hard not to be a little disappointed. A Sweet 16 appearance, at the very least, would have been a nice salve on an up-and-down regular season. But it was not to be, as offensive issues prevented Virginia from even making the contest with Florida tight. Indeed, issues on that end of the floor reared its head too many times this season. UVa's pace is not an issue when the offense is still clean and efficient, and even pretty, but it wasn't that as often this season as it had been in more recent years. Some of that could've been the loss of Nichols, who certainly could have opened up things for everyone else on offense. The backup plan of having Perrantes be an alpha dog didn't always work out the way the team would've wanted. With no players other than Perrantes scoring in double figures, and the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer, Shayok, transferring, there will be ample chances for multiple players to step up and make their mark on the offensive end next season. Virginia will need for that to happen for it to make a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament and be a player in the ACC.
Soon, I'll look more to next season, trying to think about how Virginia could improve for the 2017-18 campaign. As I stated in a previous post about transfer Nigel Johnson, UVa could still pick up another player, so it's best to wait a little before writing my next post.
In his great games, he often carried the Cavaliers. He had 19 points and made 4 of his 8 3s as Virginia came from behind to edge Ohio State, and I believe all of those 3s came in the second half. He scored 24 points as Virginia broke open a close game against Wake Forest to win by 17. In the next game, he had 25 points
 |
| Who else could be MVP for this year's team other than the guy who started the most games in Virginia history? |
Perrantes did have his third-worst shooting performance on 3-pointers in his four seasons (37.4 percent; 48.8 last year was his high, and he was at 31.6 his sophomore year and 43.7 his freshman season), but that was to be somewhat expected since he was trying to carry the team at times and was forced into more or worse shots than he wanted. His assists per game also went down from 4.4 to 3.8, but when no other player scores at least 10 ppg, that is also to be expected. He had his second-highest field goal percentage, which shows he attacked the basket more often, and he wasn't great at it but it was necessary, and he had his second-best free throw shooting season at 81.3 percent. It was clear at times he did not like to take command -- he was a better Robin in his career -- but without him, Virginia obviously doesn't get very far this season.
Most improved: This was not an easy award to give this season, and that's not a good thing in this case. No one was overly impressive. I'm going with Jack Salt with Marial Shayok coming in second and with a good argument to be first, but he's transferring, so it would be a little weird to give him the award. Also, Devon Hall would not be a bad choice. The fact that there is no clear-cut winner for this award reflects the season Virginia had in which no player other than Perrantes ended up being a major contributor on offense.
 |
| Despite meek offensive numbers, when you look at where he was in the 2015-16 season and what expectations were coming into this year, Jack Salt isn't a bad choice for "most improved." |
No one player quite distinguished himself outside of the senior point guard. Shayok raised his scoring average to 8.9 points from 4.3 in 2015-16 to be the team's second-leading scorer in 20.6 minutes per game. Hall was a poor man's Malcolm Brogdon in a way, doing a little bit of everything but rarely stringing together several solid games in a row (Brogdon, of course, did the opposite of that last part). Hall upped his scoring average from 4.4 to 8.4 in 27.4 minutes per game and also recorded 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. His 3-point shooting jumped to 37.2 percent from 33.3.
Salt was by no means spectacular, but let's look at his contribution in context. Coming into the season, I don't think much was expected of him. Yes, he started right away, but I believe that was because of the issues surrounding Austin Nichols. Nichols was suspended for the first game of the season at UNC Greensboro before seeing time in the team's home opener against St. Francis (New York) before being booted permanently. Salt started both games, but had Nichols stuck around, he was the presumed starter as an all-ACC caliber player going forward. So on the fly, Salt and the coaching staff adjusted, and he ended up being a significant part of the team, especially on defense. Additionally, the season before, Salt was used sparingly in just 6.6 minutes per game, and he averaged 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds. This year, he tallied 3.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His field goal percentage increased from 51.5 to 55.9, and his free throw percentage went from 33.3 to 48.9, showing that he was probably working really hard at the charity stripe. Though that conversion rate is still quite a bit lower than it should be for any player, the fact he improved more than 15 percent shows there is hope he can be even better in coming years at the line. Also, he ended the season with perhaps his best game, getting eight points and 10 boards against Florida.
Salt's defense is where he shined, though, using his big body as an immovable object in the post. He also did a good job of recovering on hedges at the top of the circle in Pack-Line. He became known for his straight-up defense in the post. He took the rule of "verticality" to a new level, often standing straight up with arms and hands straight in the air to show he had not fouled someone. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but you had to admire his technique and doggedness in trying to prove he was playing defense correctly. I saw it pointed out somewhere that perhaps his background as a volleyball player in his native New Zealand helped him with standing straight up, as volleyball players do at the net to block shots. I thought that was a salient point. I don't know if we can expect Salt to become a huge part of the offense, but Tony Bennett's staff has done a good job of developing post players with surprising results in the past -- Jerome Meyinsse, Akil Mitchell, Darion Atkins -- so we will see. If he bumps his points and rebounds next year by 2-3 per game while still playing solid defense, he will be an even bigger key to the team's success.
Most disappointing: The answer is obviously Austin Nichols, but if I'm going with a guy who played consistently, it is probably Darius Thompson. As I mentioned when he said he was going to transfer, he seemed like a "square peg, round hole" type player who never really fit with what Virginia was trying to accomplish. He gave the Wahoos a capable ball handler off the bench -- he did start 15 games -- but only contributed 6.2 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game in 20.8 minutes per contest. He liked to get out on fast breaks and had some nice dunks and finishes in his two seasons, but never consistently, and he didn't seem aggressive enough in the halfcourt, which is where Virginia's offense needs to do well to thrive.
Best freshman: Kyle Guy. The guard from Indiana had his ups and downs, but ended up scoring more than Malcolm Brogdon did his freshman season and right at about the same average as Justin Anderson did in his (but not more than Joe Harris). Guy recorded 7.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He
 |
| Kyle Guy became both revered and mocked for his man bun, but he showed he can really shoot the ball. He also displayed big-game flash, saving one of his best performances for what ended up being UVa's biggest win of the season against North Carolina. |
Best win: North Carolina. Just nine days earlier, the Cavaliers had been humiliated, 65-41, by the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. But in Charlottesville, the team gave one of the most stifling defensive performances in the Bennett era in beating the high-powered No. 5 Tar Heels, 53-43. Virginia was coming off a four-game losing streak that had it playing some of its worse ball since the 2012-13 campaign. The Cavs had just beaten a weak N.C. State team on the road to stop the skid, but I don't think fans were still feeling very confident. But you could tell early in the game that the 'Hoos were fired up and had come to play. Guy made 5 of 7 3s and led the team with 17 points, Perrantes added 13, and Hall had 11. Isaiah Wilkins, beginning to labor from his sickness that he picked up late in the year, only had four points but
 |
| Isaiah Wilkins' grit and hustle was a big reason why Virginia was able to beat North Carolina at JPJ on Feb. 27. |
Worst loss: Several of the losses this year came in either excruciating fashion or in a way that exposed Virginia, meaning most of them are good candidates for this "award." At the time, I thought a two-point loss to Villanova on the road was disheartening but also a sign of what the team was capable of in a good way. But looking back, it was a missed opportunity, and the team didn't seem the same after. It also ended up being a sign of what the team was capable of in a bad way since the team blew a 13-point lead and also gave up double-digit leads to Virginia Tech and Syracuse in later games. You also got the sense that the referees jobbed Virginia in that game with a free throw disparity of 24-3. Still, it was a road loss in a close
 |
| Our thoughts exactly. |
My guess before the season -- after Nichols was dismissed -- was 20-10 and 10-8 in the ACC. The team went 21-9 and 11-7 in the regular season, so slightly better than my prediction. The team ended up 23-11 overall after going 2-2 in the postseason. It really wasn't a bad year given who the team lost -- Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, and Mike Tobey, if you needed a refresher -- and the fact that someone that was supposed to be a huge part of the team played in only one game. But expectations have been driven up in recent seasons, so it was hard not to be a little disappointed. A Sweet 16 appearance, at the very least, would have been a nice salve on an up-and-down regular season. But it was not to be, as offensive issues prevented Virginia from even making the contest with Florida tight. Indeed, issues on that end of the floor reared its head too many times this season. UVa's pace is not an issue when the offense is still clean and efficient, and even pretty, but it wasn't that as often this season as it had been in more recent years. Some of that could've been the loss of Nichols, who certainly could have opened up things for everyone else on offense. The backup plan of having Perrantes be an alpha dog didn't always work out the way the team would've wanted. With no players other than Perrantes scoring in double figures, and the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer, Shayok, transferring, there will be ample chances for multiple players to step up and make their mark on the offensive end next season. Virginia will need for that to happen for it to make a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament and be a player in the ACC.
Soon, I'll look more to next season, trying to think about how Virginia could improve for the 2017-18 campaign. As I stated in a previous post about transfer Nigel Johnson, UVa could still pick up another player, so it's best to wait a little before writing my next post.
Comments
Post a Comment