Note: This preview was written before the result of Virginia's 97-40 victory Friday over Coppin State.
No. 4 Virginia vs. Middle Tennessee in Battle 4 Atlantis
Nassau, Bahamas, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday ESPN2
All right, I'm just now getting around to my season preview after the busy week or so I've had. So far, the 'Hoos are 2-0 with a 73-42 win over Towson and a 76-57 victory over George Washington, a game in which the Colonials actually outscored the Cavaliers in the second half. I don't think that a couple of routs of inferior teams in which UVa looked great at times and just "meh" at other times really changes things too much with this preview, or with my game-by-game predictions, which I do every year. They might actually help and allow me to be more nuanced in my observations. But point blank, barring a surplus number of injuries or suspensions -- knock on the hardwood -- Virginia is going to win a lot of regular-season games. We all know what it comes down to, especially after what happened last season: March and the NCAA tournament.
Virginia came into the season ranked No. 5, its highest preseason ranking since the Ralph Sampson era. So despite the loss to UMBC, the pundits are still pretty high on the 'Hoos. Tony Bennett has recovered about as well as can be expected from the historic defeat, both on the recruiting trail and with the media. He gained even more fans with the humble way he handled the aftermath. Everyone knows that there won't be many teams that win more games in the regular season than Virginia, and a top ranking should be justified. The Big Dance is a different story. It is time for UVa to prove the naysayers wrong there.
Let's take a look at who's gone, who's new, and who's back.
Losses
First up, guard Devon Hall. Last season, Hall averaged 11.7 points (second on the team), 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and shot 43.2 percent on 3-pointers. He turned the ball over about one time per game and had one of the best assist-turnover ratios in the ACC. His defense was solid as well. He was a not-quite-as-good version of Malcolm Brogdon. That's a fair assessment, I believe. He improved on offense and defense each season, and his hard work and leadership will be missed. He went from getting redshirted his freshman season to being one of the pillars of the team. Hall was chosen in the second round of the NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Next is forward Isaiah Wilkins. Oftentimes, when Wilkins was on his game, so were the 'Hoos. Wilkins averaged 6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks last year. He did all the little things right and was one of the best effort guys I've seen during Bennett's time at Virginia. He never hesitated to dive for a loose ball. Two seasons ago, when UVa was blown out by Florida in the NCAA tournament, he was sick, missed the game, and was sorely missed. His stats didn't always shine, but his competitive edge sharpened the 'Hoos. Wilkins was on the Houston Rockets' summer league squad before being in the Charlotte Hornets' training camp. At this time, Wilkins is on the G-League roster of the Greensboro Swarm, who is affiliated with the Hornets.
Finally, transfer guard Nigel Johnson gave a boost at times. He came to Charlottesville via Kansas State and Rutgers and backed up Ty Jerome at point guard. Johnson averaged 4.9 points and 1.6 assists. Early in the season before ACC play, he appeared ready to take over the starting spot from Jerome, though that never came to fruition as Jerome got hot. Against Davidson, Johnson put up 22 points and made 3 of his 4 3s. Overall, he shot 32.7 percent beyond the arc. I don't believe Johnson is playing basketball professionally anywhere, but Tuesday, opening night for UVa, Johnson announced the birth of his son on social media. Congrats to Nigel and the family!
Gains
The additions include a transfer, two true freshmen, and a redshirt freshman.
As I mentioned last week, Alabama transfer Braxton Key, listed as a 6-foot-8, 225-pound guard, was
deemed immediately eligible by the NCAA last month and gives the Wahoos a boost in depth and versatility. He's averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds in the first two games -- starting both, interestingly enough -- and made 1 of 5 3-pointers. I say he's listed as a guard because the game is so fluid these days and positions are so loosely defined, I want to make sure I'm citing the VirginiaSports.com roster, and not just what I see him as. Key is a similar player to De'Andre Hunter, and that's really all I know right now. Let's just see what develops. I don't think his offensive game is as refined, but he's able to guard as many positions and might be a better defender overall. Any way you look at it, he's going to be a valuable piece for Bennett this season.
If there is a very early surprise, it has to be Kihei Clark, the 5-9, 155-pound true freshman guard. I believe he was the first player off the bench in at least one of the first two games. Despite his small stature, Clark is muscular and a pest on defense. There was a social media poll to find a nickname for him, and I thought the campaign for "The Mongoose" was cool. Just watch a video of a mongoose and how small yet fierce they are, then watch highlights of Clark. The Californian averaged 25.5 minutes per game through the first two games, third on the team and more than Hunter, Key, Mamadi Diakite, and Jack Salt. His averages were 3 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks. Overall, he's just been a nice spark of energy. At times, he's played with Ty Jerome and been the point guard, allowing Jerome to play off the ball and find his shot.
Kody Stattmann, a 6-7, 187-pound guard, has played limited minutes so far. He's really thin and needs to gain strength but possesses an intriguing offensive game. There was talk he could redshirt, but that chance went out the window as soon as he entered the first game. Unlike football, college basketball's redshirt rule is still the same: one game played means no redshirt. Through two games, Stattmann had yet to score, had missed two 3s, and had one rebound.
Francesco Badocchi, the 6-7, 205-pound redshirt freshman, has yet to play because of an illness.
Who's back
And now the returners, which includes one senior, three juniors, and three sophomores.
First up is senior center Jack Salt, the 6-10, 250-pound banger from New Zealand. In the first two contests, he averaged 3.5 points and 3 rebounds with a block. He's a key cog in the defense and has added muscle but won't be an offensive force. Hopefully, he can just make some free throws: Salt has never shot higher than 48.9 percent from the line. Last season, Salt averaged 3.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Junior guard Ty Jerome, 6-5 and 195 pounds, was the Wahoos' best player in the first two games, scoring 20 points in each while averaging 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3 steals. He'd made an incredible 10 of his 14 3-pointers, and can pull up from midway between the arc and half court. Last
season, Jerome averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.1 rebounds. He entered both of his first two seasons with nagging injuries and said he worked the hardest he ever has in the offseason to improve
his body and remain healthy. Jerome has a New York City swagger and confidence to his game, and he's now one of the team's leaders, and I'm glad he's in that spot. Jerome is going to step up as a vocal leader, and his fiery attitude could be much needed come tournament time. And he's now an excellent player who can shoot, drive the lane with his long frame, is deceptively strong, and is improving as a defender.
Junior guard Kyle Guy, 6-2, 175 pounds, is coming off a third-team All-America season and averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the first pair of games and was 5 of 13 on 3-point attempts. In 2017-18, the Indiana native led the team in points, tallying 14.1 per game while adding averages of 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, which is solid but about 10 percent worse than his freshman season. He did begin to create offense in other ways, and I'm hopeful his all-around game takes another step up. If he's getting guarded hard on 3s, he should look to pass to other players and increase his assist numbers.
Mamadi Diakite, a 6-9, 222-pound junior forward, averaged 6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1 block in the first two games. Last season, the product of the Blue Ridge School put up 5.4 points and 3 boards per game. I was a little surprised he didn't start over Key, but we are still waiting to see Diakite's full potential -- it's like a broken record saying that about him, and he never looks completely comfortable -- but I think that says more about how good Key is and can be as opposed to saying something negative about Diakite. The big man needs to stay out of foul trouble to give Virginia the lift he's capable of giving it.
De'Andre Hunter, UVa's 6-7, 225-pound redshirt sophomore guard, is starting this season after taking the league by storm in 2017-18 as the ACC sixth man of the year. After the season -- in which he averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 38.5 percent on 3s (a number that dramatically increased during the year) -- he flirted with the NBA draft. He may have left Charlottesville, but he broke his wrist in the ACC tournament, denying him the chance to show his stuff on the big NCAA tournament stage. And obviously, Virginia missed him in a big way. He's a projected lottery pick this coming spring and can do it all for the Cavaliers. His versatility as a scorer and defender, along with Key, gives Bennett the opportunity to really toy with lineups and rotations. For instance, against GW, Hunter came out with two early fouls and Clark, who is much smaller, went in for him. That really changes the look opposing coaches get and could be difficult to contend with. Hunter averaged 11.5 points and 7 rebounds in the two early games.
Forward Jay Huff, like Hunter, is a redshirt sophomore, but he did not have a breakout season. Huff needs to work on his defense, and he's still skinny, though that probably won't change -- he is 7-1 after all. His 3-point shooting ability and length on defense should be assets that Bennett uses this season, but Key could hurt his playing time. Early on, though, Huff averaged 12 minutes after being at 8.8 last season when he posted 3.4 points and 1.9 boards per game. Against Towson and GW, he averaged 5.5 points and 2 rebounds and made 1 of 2 attempts from long range.
Marco Anthony, a 6-4, 212-pound guard, could find it tough to increase his playing time behind Jerome, Guy, Hunter, and Key, and he's less of a point guard than Clark. In 2017-18, Anthony recorded 2 points per game but played very well in place of the suspended Johnson against Louisville, netting 10 points, which was also Virginia's margin of victory in that home game. Through this season's first two games, he averaged 2 points as well. He made a 3 and another field goal against Towson.
Last season's team lost two regular-season games, and this squad could be just as good. Salt, Guy, and Jerome should capably fill the leadership void left by Wilkins and Salt, and Key slides right into Wilkins' spot with a better offensive game while scoring increases from Jerome and Hunter should help make up for Hall's graduation. Plus, this team has to be hungry after what happened last season. Bennett's teams haven't been known for being cocky, but I think that happened going into the NCAA tournament. When you dominate that much, it is human nature to start to feel good about yourself. This team should truly know to never overlook any opponent, and trying to prove the critics wrong should be a driving force.
I'll come back later with a game-by-game prediction, but it's going to be another exciting season in Charlottesville.
No. 4 Virginia vs. Middle Tennessee in Battle 4 Atlantis
Nassau, Bahamas, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday ESPN2
All right, I'm just now getting around to my season preview after the busy week or so I've had. So far, the 'Hoos are 2-0 with a 73-42 win over Towson and a 76-57 victory over George Washington, a game in which the Colonials actually outscored the Cavaliers in the second half. I don't think that a couple of routs of inferior teams in which UVa looked great at times and just "meh" at other times really changes things too much with this preview, or with my game-by-game predictions, which I do every year. They might actually help and allow me to be more nuanced in my observations. But point blank, barring a surplus number of injuries or suspensions -- knock on the hardwood -- Virginia is going to win a lot of regular-season games. We all know what it comes down to, especially after what happened last season: March and the NCAA tournament.
Virginia came into the season ranked No. 5, its highest preseason ranking since the Ralph Sampson era. So despite the loss to UMBC, the pundits are still pretty high on the 'Hoos. Tony Bennett has recovered about as well as can be expected from the historic defeat, both on the recruiting trail and with the media. He gained even more fans with the humble way he handled the aftermath. Everyone knows that there won't be many teams that win more games in the regular season than Virginia, and a top ranking should be justified. The Big Dance is a different story. It is time for UVa to prove the naysayers wrong there.
Let's take a look at who's gone, who's new, and who's back.
Losses
First up, guard Devon Hall. Last season, Hall averaged 11.7 points (second on the team), 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and shot 43.2 percent on 3-pointers. He turned the ball over about one time per game and had one of the best assist-turnover ratios in the ACC. His defense was solid as well. He was a not-quite-as-good version of Malcolm Brogdon. That's a fair assessment, I believe. He improved on offense and defense each season, and his hard work and leadership will be missed. He went from getting redshirted his freshman season to being one of the pillars of the team. Hall was chosen in the second round of the NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Next is forward Isaiah Wilkins. Oftentimes, when Wilkins was on his game, so were the 'Hoos. Wilkins averaged 6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks last year. He did all the little things right and was one of the best effort guys I've seen during Bennett's time at Virginia. He never hesitated to dive for a loose ball. Two seasons ago, when UVa was blown out by Florida in the NCAA tournament, he was sick, missed the game, and was sorely missed. His stats didn't always shine, but his competitive edge sharpened the 'Hoos. Wilkins was on the Houston Rockets' summer league squad before being in the Charlotte Hornets' training camp. At this time, Wilkins is on the G-League roster of the Greensboro Swarm, who is affiliated with the Hornets.
Finally, transfer guard Nigel Johnson gave a boost at times. He came to Charlottesville via Kansas State and Rutgers and backed up Ty Jerome at point guard. Johnson averaged 4.9 points and 1.6 assists. Early in the season before ACC play, he appeared ready to take over the starting spot from Jerome, though that never came to fruition as Jerome got hot. Against Davidson, Johnson put up 22 points and made 3 of his 4 3s. Overall, he shot 32.7 percent beyond the arc. I don't believe Johnson is playing basketball professionally anywhere, but Tuesday, opening night for UVa, Johnson announced the birth of his son on social media. Congrats to Nigel and the family!
Gains
The additions include a transfer, two true freshmen, and a redshirt freshman.
As I mentioned last week, Alabama transfer Braxton Key, listed as a 6-foot-8, 225-pound guard, was
 |
| Ty Jerome and De'Andre Hunter play huge parts in Virginia's success. |
Kody Stattmann, a 6-7, 187-pound guard, has played limited minutes so far. He's really thin and needs to gain strength but possesses an intriguing offensive game. There was talk he could redshirt, but that chance went out the window as soon as he entered the first game. Unlike football, college basketball's redshirt rule is still the same: one game played means no redshirt. Through two games, Stattmann had yet to score, had missed two 3s, and had one rebound.
Francesco Badocchi, the 6-7, 205-pound redshirt freshman, has yet to play because of an illness.
Who's back
And now the returners, which includes one senior, three juniors, and three sophomores.
First up is senior center Jack Salt, the 6-10, 250-pound banger from New Zealand. In the first two contests, he averaged 3.5 points and 3 rebounds with a block. He's a key cog in the defense and has added muscle but won't be an offensive force. Hopefully, he can just make some free throws: Salt has never shot higher than 48.9 percent from the line. Last season, Salt averaged 3.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Junior guard Ty Jerome, 6-5 and 195 pounds, was the Wahoos' best player in the first two games, scoring 20 points in each while averaging 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3 steals. He'd made an incredible 10 of his 14 3-pointers, and can pull up from midway between the arc and half court. Last
season, Jerome averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.1 rebounds. He entered both of his first two seasons with nagging injuries and said he worked the hardest he ever has in the offseason to improve
 |
| Braxton Key's versatility could help Virginia unlock a more potent offense. |
Junior guard Kyle Guy, 6-2, 175 pounds, is coming off a third-team All-America season and averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in the first pair of games and was 5 of 13 on 3-point attempts. In 2017-18, the Indiana native led the team in points, tallying 14.1 per game while adding averages of 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He shot 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, which is solid but about 10 percent worse than his freshman season. He did begin to create offense in other ways, and I'm hopeful his all-around game takes another step up. If he's getting guarded hard on 3s, he should look to pass to other players and increase his assist numbers.
Mamadi Diakite, a 6-9, 222-pound junior forward, averaged 6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1 block in the first two games. Last season, the product of the Blue Ridge School put up 5.4 points and 3 boards per game. I was a little surprised he didn't start over Key, but we are still waiting to see Diakite's full potential -- it's like a broken record saying that about him, and he never looks completely comfortable -- but I think that says more about how good Key is and can be as opposed to saying something negative about Diakite. The big man needs to stay out of foul trouble to give Virginia the lift he's capable of giving it.
De'Andre Hunter, UVa's 6-7, 225-pound redshirt sophomore guard, is starting this season after taking the league by storm in 2017-18 as the ACC sixth man of the year. After the season -- in which he averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 38.5 percent on 3s (a number that dramatically increased during the year) -- he flirted with the NBA draft. He may have left Charlottesville, but he broke his wrist in the ACC tournament, denying him the chance to show his stuff on the big NCAA tournament stage. And obviously, Virginia missed him in a big way. He's a projected lottery pick this coming spring and can do it all for the Cavaliers. His versatility as a scorer and defender, along with Key, gives Bennett the opportunity to really toy with lineups and rotations. For instance, against GW, Hunter came out with two early fouls and Clark, who is much smaller, went in for him. That really changes the look opposing coaches get and could be difficult to contend with. Hunter averaged 11.5 points and 7 rebounds in the two early games.
Forward Jay Huff, like Hunter, is a redshirt sophomore, but he did not have a breakout season. Huff needs to work on his defense, and he's still skinny, though that probably won't change -- he is 7-1 after all. His 3-point shooting ability and length on defense should be assets that Bennett uses this season, but Key could hurt his playing time. Early on, though, Huff averaged 12 minutes after being at 8.8 last season when he posted 3.4 points and 1.9 boards per game. Against Towson and GW, he averaged 5.5 points and 2 rebounds and made 1 of 2 attempts from long range.
Marco Anthony, a 6-4, 212-pound guard, could find it tough to increase his playing time behind Jerome, Guy, Hunter, and Key, and he's less of a point guard than Clark. In 2017-18, Anthony recorded 2 points per game but played very well in place of the suspended Johnson against Louisville, netting 10 points, which was also Virginia's margin of victory in that home game. Through this season's first two games, he averaged 2 points as well. He made a 3 and another field goal against Towson.
Last season's team lost two regular-season games, and this squad could be just as good. Salt, Guy, and Jerome should capably fill the leadership void left by Wilkins and Salt, and Key slides right into Wilkins' spot with a better offensive game while scoring increases from Jerome and Hunter should help make up for Hall's graduation. Plus, this team has to be hungry after what happened last season. Bennett's teams haven't been known for being cocky, but I think that happened going into the NCAA tournament. When you dominate that much, it is human nature to start to feel good about yourself. This team should truly know to never overlook any opponent, and trying to prove the critics wrong should be a driving force.
I'll come back later with a game-by-game prediction, but it's going to be another exciting season in Charlottesville.
Comments
Post a Comment