What a whirlwind March and first part of April it was. Looking back, it seems like the NCAA tournament went on for so long. And it really did. It lasts about two and a half weeks -- three weeks plus one day if you count Selection Sunday -- and with Virginia getting to the title game, it felt like a marathon for the players and coaches, and I'm sure a lot of fans had the same experience. I know I did. Exhausted during games and after them. Hopeful and fearful (though the players will say they never feared anything, and they may be telling the truth). Shocked perhaps at times. I was beside myself after the Purdue game, dancing, jumping, and flopping around in jubilation, and then stunned and oddly silenced and lacking words after the Auburn victory. Relieved after close wins. Tired but joyful after the final victory.
I remember a reporter asking Ty Jerome how it felt to get to the Sweet 16 since he had never been, and the junior responded by acknowledging the milestone for himself and others but said the team was not even close to its goal. And he was so right. After just two games, I remember thinking, four more games. Can I make it? Whew. And that was before the fireworks of the Purdue game. We were coming off a ho-hum "normal" victory over Oklahoma with no idea of what was to come next.
In this post, as I have each year since 2013, I'll take a step back, try to remember the whole season (some of it seems so long ago), and hand out some awards. I'm giving out more accolades than usual in an effort to commemorate this special team.
MVP: Ty Jerome. Listen folks, don't come at me with pitchforks. We are all celebrating winning the championship. I'm splitting hairs here, and what I say doesn't matter one iota to these guys. Obviously, any of the Big Three are worthy of this award. With De'Andre Hunter destined to be an NBA draft lottery pick, he is the best all-around player, likely capable of doing the most in his professional career, and it seems a bit ludicrous he wouldn't win this award. He was absolutely the MVP in the championship game when he set his career high with 27 points, 22 coming in the second
half and overtime, not to mention hitting the game-tying and game-winning 3-pointers. Jerome, though, filled the box score the best with 16 points, eight assists, and six boards. Meanwhile, Guy leads Virginia in all-time 3-point percentage and went 4 for 9 in the title game from beyond the arc and was second among the Wahoos with 24 points. He was named most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament. When he was on fire, UVa was nearly invincible. But Virginia won games without him shooting well. He couldn't hit anything through the first 3.5 rounds of the NCAA tournament, but Virginia gutted out victories.
Jerome playing poorly and sort of panicking at the end of the Florida State ACC tournament loss sticks out to me. He didn't play well (was possibly sick), and the team didn't either. Another example
is the N.C. State one-point overtime road win. Jerome had six assists, but also four turnovers (which matched his season high with the Gardner-Webb game). But more often than not, when Jerome was himself, Virginia played brilliantly. Hunter has the most versatile game, but wasn't always locked in and lacked a killer instinct at times. Guy was the best shooter. But Jerome, as point guard (unless Kihei Clark was in), stirred the drink for this team. He was the engine; he made everything go. He set up Guy and Hunter and was a damn good offensive player in his own right. Playing off the ball at times with Clark in games boosts his credentials even more. Jerome has a high basketball IQ, knew the offense inside and out, and worked as the proverbial coach on the court. Additionally, he brought his fair share of swagger to the team, which was needed.
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| Ty Jerome is my MVP for the 2018-19 NCAA champion Cavaliers. |
Now for the numbers. Probably the craziest stat is that Jerome led the ACC in assists per game at 5.5. That's pretty wild to think about, knowing that Virginia was the slowest-paced team in the country. Jerome had not one, not two, but three double-doubles in points and assists: home against Virginia Tech (14 and 12), at UNC (15 and 11), and at Syracuse (16 and 14). I struggle to remember other games in which a Virginia player had at least 10 assists since I've been following the team, and he did it four times this year (he also had 10 assists against N.C. State in the ACC tournament but just two points). He flirted with a few other double-doubles, too. And he rarely turned the ball over, finishing fifth in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio.
Jerome increased his averages each season in Charlottesville: points (4.3, 10.6, 13.6), rebounds (1.6, 3.1, 4.2) and assists (1.5, 3.9, 5.5) and finished his career with his best 3-point percentage (39.7, 37.7, 39.9).
Past MVPs: 2013: Joe Harris. 2014: Malcolm Brogdon. 2015: Brogdon. 2016: Brogdon. 2017: London Perrantes. 2018: Devon Hall.
Most improved: Mamadi Diakite. Giving this award to Hunter wouldn't really be wrong either, but his averages went up along with his minutes, from 20 minutes per game to 32.5 per game. Diakite's numbers increased, too, but his minutes only increased a little bit, from 15.6 to 21.8. But also one of the things that puts Diakite over the edge for me is his performance in the NCAA tournament. It looked like to me he was the first player on the team to become locked in against Gardner-Webb, then
Hunter followed. He nearly collected double-doubles against G-W (17 points, nine boards) and Oklahoma (14 and nine), and the redshirt junior also tallied seven points with 11 boards against Oregon. Diakite's averages on the season, with last year's numbers in parentheses: 7.4 ppg (5.4), 4.4
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| Mamadi Diakite earns a most improved nod with his play during March Madness, even though his hair got worse. |
rpg (3.0), 1.7 bpg (0.5). The really interesting thing is looking at Diakite's numbers in the regular season and ACC tournament vs. the NCAA tournament. Before the Big Dance, Diakite averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. In the tourney, he put up 10.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and 2.7 bpg, so he stepped up when needed most.
I do think he could stand to be more consistent and should come back to UVa for his final season. I can't see him being a regular contributor in the NBA with the way he played throughout most of the season. He's athletic, but kind of skinny, doesn't have an outside shot yet, and isn't a physical rebounder. He did increase his rebounding dramatically in the tournament, and he is excellent at timing his blocks and had big ones against Auburn and Texas Tech. The key for him on offense is to not think, and just go. The NCAA tournament version of Diakite -- I could see that version of the Guinea native contributing in the NBA. I think he needs one more college year to refine his skill set. I'll even be OK with him taking more 3s if he actually makes more.
Past most improved: 2013: Akil Mitchell. 2014: Brogdon. 2015: Darion Atkins. 2016: London Perrantes. 2017: Jack Salt. 2018: Hunter.
Most disappointing: Marco Anthony. Unfortunately, Anthony's potential wasn't realized at UVa, and he was surpassed by Kihei Clark on the depth chart. Next season, it would have been likely that incoming recruit Casey Morsell would have played more than him as well. As a result, Anthony said this week he was going to transfer. Anthony averaged 1.2 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks this season. He had his best game against Louisville in the 2017-18 season when Nigel Johnson was suspended. Anthony was in the rotation for that game and played 18 minutes, scoring 10 points while making 2 of 3 3-pointers.
Second place in this category would be Tony Bennett's perplexing usage of Jay Huff. Huff dazzled in most of his appearances, though not all, but certainly, it seemed like he had earned time down the stretch run of the season. But Bennett went tight with his rotation in the NCAA tournament, and Huff was mostly left out. After playing at least 10 minutes in 11 of 18 ACC regular-season games, and in five straight to close out the pre-conference tourney slate, Huff did not see more than nine minutes in any postseason game, and did not play at all against Auburn and Purdue.
But Bennett won a national championship this year, not me, so I can only question him so much. I just hope Huff can truly begin to receive consistent time in 2019-20 and continue to showcase his unique array of talents.
Past most disappointing: 2013: Jontel Evans. 2014: Darion Atkins. 2015: Evan Nolte. 2016: Jarred Reuter. 2017: Darius Thompson. 2018: Huff.
Best freshman: Clark. This kid showed absolutely no fear and acted like a honey badger on the court. He didn't care about opponents, frustrating Virginia Tech senior Justin Robinson so much that he pushed Clark away and received a technical. Clark kept attacking the rim despite getting his shot blocked quite a few times. But he seemed to get better as the year progressed at getting his shots at the rim up around defenders. He ignored critics, many of whom were UVa fans, when he continued to
miss 3s in the middle of the season, and in the FSU loss, when he got bullied a bit on the defensive end because of his small stature. But he kept plugging away and came up huge on multiple occasions
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| Kihei Clark displayed coolness as a freshman that was reminiscent of another Cali 'Hoo: London Perrantes. |
in the Big Dance, most notably vs. Purdue when he was one half of "The Play," one of the most important, and probably the most improbable, play in Virginia basketball history when he whipped a pass down to Diakite from midcourt after retrieving a missed free throw, sending the game to overtime. His steadiness on the play, and the way he ignored Jerome and Guy and showed the vision to find Diakite with seconds remaining, encapsulated the coolness he displayed all season. The Californian also knocked down three triples vs. Oregon.
Clark finished the campaign averaging 4.5 points, 2.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 turnover. He shot 34.1 percent from beyond the arc and 82.5 percent at the line. Before the NCAA tournament, he put up 4.2 ppg, 2.3 apg, and 2.2 rpg, and shot 32.4 percent on 3-pointers. In the tourney-only games, Clark recorded 6.3 ppg, 4 apg, and 3 rpg while shooting 41.1 percent on 3s.
Past best freshmen: 2013: Justin Anderson. 2014: Perrantes. 2015: Marial Shayok. 2016: Devon Hall (lack of contributing freshmen led this award to be called "best surprise" in 2016). 2017: Guy. 2018: Anthony.
Best win: Purdue. Each of the last four victories came by single digits, and there really isn't a wrong answer among the Purdue, Auburn, and Texas Tech wins. The final had the most tension shot after shot and, you know, brought the trophy to Charlottesville, and the Auburn game had the craziest ending in terms of bleakness with the 'Hoos down four with eight seconds left but still pulling it out with the most pressure-packed free throws in program history with the perfect guy taking them. But
my choice is the Purdue game, which had "The Play," or "Dia-kihei," the nuttiest play in Virginia basketball history. The 'Hoos also had to overcome an all-time performance by Carsen Edwards, who
put on his own show. Shot after shot went in for him, leaving nonpartisan fans breathless and locked in on the action, Purdue fans deliriously hopeful and happy, and UVa fans shaking their heads. But in the second half, Guy stepped up and hung with Edwards shot for shot, eventually setting up the end-of-regulation heroics, and the game ended in OT with Hunter taking over down the stretch.
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| Every win was incredible down the stretch, but the victory that sent Virginia to its first Final Four in 35 years stood out the most. |
Past best wins: 2013: Duke at home. 2014: Duke in ACC tournament final. 2015: Notre Dame on the road. 2016: Iowa State in Sweet 16. 2017: UNC at home. 2018: Duke on the road.
Most important win: Gardner-Webb. If you think about the consequences if Virginia does not come back from 14 down, then this is obviously the correct answer. No other loss in the tournament would've had the affect or impact that losing to the Runnin' Bulldogs would've had.
Worst loss: Florida State. There are only three to choose from. Both Duke defeats featured statistical oddities. Virginia went 3 for 17 from beyond the arc in the loss in Durham, but played well otherwise and lost, 72-70. In the Charlottesville contest, Duke couldn't miss a 3, especially in the first half, and Virginia just couldn't keep up, but still played pretty well while falling, 81-71. But the loss to the Seminoles in the ACC semifinals was definitely the one game in which Virginia just didn't look great throughout. However, even though a chance at a second straight ACC tournament crown was sacrificed, the setback seemed to set up the improved play fans saw during the Big Dance.
Past worst losses: 2013: Delaware at home. 2014: VCU at home. 2015: Michigan State in NCAA second round. 2016: Syracuse in Elite Eight. 2017: Florida in NCAA second round. 2018: UMBC in NCAA first round.
Best coaching move: Bennett playing Braxton Key 29 minutes in the championship game. The transfer from Alabama averaged 19.8 minutes on the season but just 10 through the first five NCAA
tournament games. But down the stretch against Texas Tech, and especially in overtime, Key was consistently on the court, providing solid defense and a spectacular rebounding presence that Kihei Clark just couldn't. Key helped Virginia win the battle of the boards with 10 rebounds, and during a final several minutes that featured plenty of huge plays, Key's block of Jarrett Culver's potential game-winning shot at the regulation buzzer ranks as one of the best.
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| Marco Anthony and Grant Kersey had memorable moments this season, too. |
Best air guitar playing: Anthony. I have to send the guy on his way with a positive award. Best of luck at your next school, Marco!
Best pick-setter: Salt. This will forever be the big New Zealander's domain.
Best shooter: Grant Kersey. I said Guy, right? Well, did you guys know this walk-on finished 3 for 3 from the field (2 for 2 from beyond the arc) and 5 for 5 on free throws? Amazing.
Next up, look for more recruiting news and/or a look ahead to the 2019-20 season.
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| You do NOT want to run into a Jack Salt screen. |
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