Virginia adds St. Thomas transfer Andrew Rohde, addressing important roster need

Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett has addressed another important roster need, landing a commitment from St. Thomas transfer guard Andrew Rohde on Tuesday.

Rohde, a 6’6” guard, averaged 17.1 points and 3.6 assists per game in 2022-2023, and was the Summit League freshman of the year.

The former three-star prep recruit shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from three for St. Thomas, which finished with a 19-14 record.

Rohde, a Wisconsin native, had narrowed his transfer choices down to UVA and Creighton, which had, earlier in the portal season, been the landing spot for Virginia freshman big Isaac Traudt.

This one is probably one of those pick-ups due resulting from the Bennetts being basketball royalty in Wisconsin, which we might as well consider a second home state for Virginia hoops, from a recruiting perspective.

Wisconsin natives on the current roster include junior point guard Reece Beekman and redshirt freshman guard Leon Bond III.

Sam Hauser, now in the NBA with Boston, is another Wisconsin native who was in the program for two years, from 2019-2021.

Rohde will fit in nicely in the roster spot vacated by Armaan Franklin, who declared for the NBA Draft last month.

Franklin, a 6’4” guard, was the leading scorer for Virginia in 2022-2023, averaging 12.4 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting from the field and 37.3 percent shooting from three.

Rohde was a big-time scorer in his one season at St. Thomas, going for 20 or more points in 12 games, including his last five games, in which he averaged 24.6 points per game, on 46.4 percent shooting from the floor and 42.9 percent shooting from three.

He was also a high-volume shooter – averaging 13.6 shots per game last season.

Franklin led Virginia in attempts last season at 10.2 per game.

The last time a UVA player put the ball up as much as Rohde did last season was back in 2015-2016, when Malcolm Brogdon, also now in the NBA with Boston, averaged 13.6 shots per game for that UVA team, which finished its season in the Elite Eight.