The 2017-18 Virginia basketball season was one of unprecedented highs (school-record 31 wins, ACC regular-season and tournament titles, the third and second, respectively, in the past five years) and an unprecedented low (the NCAA tournament's first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed). Let's break it down and hand out some awards.
MVP: Devon Hall. So right here with the first award, I can already see this might be more difficult than last season, when the MVP was London Perrantes. You could argue this award could go to any one of Hall, Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, or De'Andre Hunter. And even though his offense wasn't up to par, Isaiah Wilkins was the heart and soul of the team and played outstanding defense, and when he went off the floor at the end of the 2016-17 season with an illness, the team suffered significantly.
Guy led the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) but shot below 40 percent on 3-pointers (39.2) after shooting
49.5 percent last season. Ty Jerome was probably the most clutch, coming up with 31 points in a one-point win over Boston College, and hitting a huge 3-pointer to put some space between the Cavaliers and Duke in that big road victory. But he was third on the team in scoring and wasn't known as a great defender. He made a lot of things go, though, as the point guard, and it is also worth noting that there were whispers from fans to bench him in favor of Nigel Johnson right before he took off when conference play started. So he got off to a slow start. Hunter also got off to a slow start, but absolutely took off during the ACC slate, scoring in double figures in 13 of the 21 games (18 regular-season contests plus three in the ACC tournament). He hurt his wrist in the ACC semifinals and didn't play in the loss to UMBC. The Wahoos didn't look good against the Retrievers at all, but it's easy to imagine a scenario in which, with Virginia up 16-10 with 6:32 left in the first half, Hunter scores six points to give Virginia a cushion at the half instead of just being tied at 19.
But it is time to give some love to Hall, who has often operated in the shadows of Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Anderson, Perrantes, Guy, and others. Perhaps this is more of a career achievement award. It is so easy to root for this guy, who grinded it out from having to redshirt to being a minor contributor to becoming a starter and then arguably the team's MVP. Each year, Hall took significant steps up in his game, from points (1.8, 4.4, 8.4, 11.7), to shooting percentage (40, 37.5, 40.8, 45.4), to 3-point shooting (33.3 percent, 33.3, 37.2, 43.2), to free throw shooting (45.5 percent, 76.5, 77.6, 89.4), to assists (0.8, 2.0, 1.9, 3.1) and was known as the team's best perimeter defender, not as good as Brogdon, but good enough to draw comparisons. He was also a solid ballhandler behind Jerome. He seemed like an afterthought as a pro prospect just a year ago, but now is being touted as a possible second-round draft pick based on his outside shooting and defense.
This is probably the closest MVP race since I've done these awards. Hall's all-around game, consistency, leadership, smarts, and effort in rising to great player from barely playing give him the nod over Hunter and Jerome, who are probably second, and Guy, who is just behind them.
Most improved: Hunter. An argument can also be made for Hall, but Hunter redshirted as a true freshman and then burst onto the scene this year, and at the end of the season, there was speculation he was maybe going to declare for the NBA draft. Had he not hurt his wrist and played in the NCAA tournament, helping fuel a long UVa run, he might very well have bolted. He ended the speculation
this past week by confirming he was returning to Charlottesville. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds and shot 38.2 percent beyond the arc (after a very slow start before ACC play when he was near 20 percent) and 75.5 percent from the line. Also, Hunter is 6-foot-7 with a 7-2 wingspan and is known as a great defender. He's versatile on both ends of the court, and it won't surprise anyone if he ends up being the MVP next season. He's expected to be a first-round draft pick in 2019 with the potential to be a lottery pick (a top-14 selection). To go from not even playing last season as he developed his game and body to being in the conversation as team MVP this past season is very impressive.
Most disappointing: Jay Huff. On the other side of the redshirting coin is Huff. He sat out his first year like Hunter, but there was more hype for Huff going into the season than Hunter. Huff barely played while Hunter became a breakout star. Huff averaged just 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 points in 8.8 minutes per game. He saw time in only four ACC games, and the only one he scored in was at Pittsburgh when he played eight minutes and had four points. His best game was in the second contest of the year against Austin Peay when he played 24 minutes and scored 16 points, making 7 of his 8 shots, including going 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. That certainly whetted the appetite of fans to see what he could do as the season progressed, but nothing materialized. Though he appears to have offensive skills that could help the team, he's a step slow on defense, and we know that doesn't fly with Tony Bennett. He's also still pretty thin, though he has put on weight, so hopefully he can
continue to add muscle. At 7-1, that isn't always easy. He also tore his labrum in an offseason workout but should be good to go by the fall. Hopefully, he becomes a bigger factor in 2018-19.
Best freshman: The answer is Hunter, but if we go with a true freshman, then it has to be Marco Anthony, and he arguably showed more than Huff did. Huff scored more points, but Anthony got more significant time in ACC games. He stepped in admirably as a backup guard when Nigel Johnson was suspended in the middle of the season, scoring 10 points in 18 minutes at home against Louisville, sinking 4 of his 6 shots (2 of 3 on 3s). He looked very poised for a true freshman in a big conference contest. Anthony also played 14 minutes at Pitt and scored three points. With Hall graduating, he should see more time next season, though a graduate transfer could cut down on his minutes. He seems to have the means to be a bigger contributor for the team.
Best win: Duke. It is of course enticing to say the ACC tournament championship victory over North Carolina, but Bennett has, frankly, owned UNC since UVa reached the upper echelon of the ACC, and he had already collected a tournament title in 2013-14 over Duke. But Bennett's Cavaliers had never won at Duke, and Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils are the one team in the conference the Wahoos haven't had much success against, even at John Paul Jones Arena. Winning at Duke always
turns heads, even more so maybe than winning a conference tournament title. Virginia hadn't won in Cameron since 1995, and it represents another wall knocked down by Bennett. Among several other data points since the 2013-14 season, it showed there's a new sheriff in town and it appears as if Virginia, as long as Bennett is around, has staying power at the top of the conference.
Worst loss: UMBC. Need I say more?
MVP: Devon Hall. So right here with the first award, I can already see this might be more difficult than last season, when the MVP was London Perrantes. You could argue this award could go to any one of Hall, Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, or De'Andre Hunter. And even though his offense wasn't up to par, Isaiah Wilkins was the heart and soul of the team and played outstanding defense, and when he went off the floor at the end of the 2016-17 season with an illness, the team suffered significantly.
Guy led the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) but shot below 40 percent on 3-pointers (39.2) after shooting
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| Devon Hall redshirted as a true freshman as another true freshman, London Perrantes, took the reins of the team. Hall worked his way up from not playing to being a minor contributor before blossoming into a great all-around player. |
But it is time to give some love to Hall, who has often operated in the shadows of Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Anderson, Perrantes, Guy, and others. Perhaps this is more of a career achievement award. It is so easy to root for this guy, who grinded it out from having to redshirt to being a minor contributor to becoming a starter and then arguably the team's MVP. Each year, Hall took significant steps up in his game, from points (1.8, 4.4, 8.4, 11.7), to shooting percentage (40, 37.5, 40.8, 45.4), to 3-point shooting (33.3 percent, 33.3, 37.2, 43.2), to free throw shooting (45.5 percent, 76.5, 77.6, 89.4), to assists (0.8, 2.0, 1.9, 3.1) and was known as the team's best perimeter defender, not as good as Brogdon, but good enough to draw comparisons. He was also a solid ballhandler behind Jerome. He seemed like an afterthought as a pro prospect just a year ago, but now is being touted as a possible second-round draft pick based on his outside shooting and defense.
This is probably the closest MVP race since I've done these awards. Hall's all-around game, consistency, leadership, smarts, and effort in rising to great player from barely playing give him the nod over Hunter and Jerome, who are probably second, and Guy, who is just behind them.
Most improved: Hunter. An argument can also be made for Hall, but Hunter redshirted as a true freshman and then burst onto the scene this year, and at the end of the season, there was speculation he was maybe going to declare for the NBA draft. Had he not hurt his wrist and played in the NCAA tournament, helping fuel a long UVa run, he might very well have bolted. He ended the speculation
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| De'Andre Hunter announced his arrival on the national stage with this dunk on Joel Berry in the first UNC game. |
Most disappointing: Jay Huff. On the other side of the redshirting coin is Huff. He sat out his first year like Hunter, but there was more hype for Huff going into the season than Hunter. Huff barely played while Hunter became a breakout star. Huff averaged just 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 points in 8.8 minutes per game. He saw time in only four ACC games, and the only one he scored in was at Pittsburgh when he played eight minutes and had four points. His best game was in the second contest of the year against Austin Peay when he played 24 minutes and scored 16 points, making 7 of his 8 shots, including going 2 for 2 from beyond the arc. That certainly whetted the appetite of fans to see what he could do as the season progressed, but nothing materialized. Though he appears to have offensive skills that could help the team, he's a step slow on defense, and we know that doesn't fly with Tony Bennett. He's also still pretty thin, though he has put on weight, so hopefully he can
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| Marco Anthony didn't play much, but his success in a major role against Louisville showed he might have what it takes to be a key player in future seasons. |
Best freshman: The answer is Hunter, but if we go with a true freshman, then it has to be Marco Anthony, and he arguably showed more than Huff did. Huff scored more points, but Anthony got more significant time in ACC games. He stepped in admirably as a backup guard when Nigel Johnson was suspended in the middle of the season, scoring 10 points in 18 minutes at home against Louisville, sinking 4 of his 6 shots (2 of 3 on 3s). He looked very poised for a true freshman in a big conference contest. Anthony also played 14 minutes at Pitt and scored three points. With Hall graduating, he should see more time next season, though a graduate transfer could cut down on his minutes. He seems to have the means to be a bigger contributor for the team.
Best win: Duke. It is of course enticing to say the ACC tournament championship victory over North Carolina, but Bennett has, frankly, owned UNC since UVa reached the upper echelon of the ACC, and he had already collected a tournament title in 2013-14 over Duke. But Bennett's Cavaliers had never won at Duke, and Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils are the one team in the conference the Wahoos haven't had much success against, even at John Paul Jones Arena. Winning at Duke always
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| No one is going to forget Ty Jerome's cold-blooded 3-pointer at the end of the Duke game anytime soon. |
Worst loss: UMBC. Need I say more?
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