Cole Anthony is the #2 recruit in the country. Tre Jones was the point guard on the most celebrated non-championship team in history. Incoming UVA JUCO transfer Tomas Woldetensae is, in the eyes of NCAA.com analyst Andy Katz, right there with them, among the five most important players in the ACC heading into the 2018-2019 season.
“This could come as a surprise but the Cavaliers desperately needed to replace the shooting of Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy. The hope is that the Ottumwa (Iowa) Indian Hills Community College transfer will deliver. He can shoot it in rhythm, handle the ball and get to the basket,” Katz wrote of Woldetensae, a 6’5” shooting guard who committed to Virginia last month.
Woldetensae averaged 17.3 points per game as a sophomore, and shot 47.6 percent from three-point range.
The scoring and the shooting from deep could be key for a Virginia program losing its top three offensive contributors – Kyle Guy (15.4 ppg, 44.9% FG, 42.6% 3FG), De’Andre Hunter (15.2 ppg, 52% FG, 43.8% 3FG) and Ty Jerome (13.6 ppg, 43.5% FG, 39.9% 3FG) to the NBA Draft.
Katz notes the returning contributors in the backcourt for coach Tony Bennett – Braxton Key (5.7 ppg, 43.3% FG, 30.5% 3FG) and Kihei Clark (4.5 ppg, 35% FG, 34.1% 3FG) – and incoming four-star guard Casey Morsell.
“But if Woldetensae is a scorer in the teens and a top defender, then he could be a reason the Cavs are in the thick of the ACC championship,” Katz writes.
Story by Chris Graham
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