Pregame of Saturday’s Blue-White scrimmage, Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett gave notice that fans may have a tough time recognizing many of the players on the current edition of UVA basketball.
For good reason, the Cavaliers return only five players that were on the roster when the season concluded last March with an NCAA opening-round loss to Furman.
The pregame excitement for the annual scrimmage was the opportunity to see the slew of Cavalier first-year players, a mix of freshman and transfers.
Redshirt year paid dividends for Leon Bond
Sitting and observing last season may have been a huge benefit for Leon Bond. Bond’s most significant contributions this season will be on the defensive end of the floor. At 6’5”, Bond seems capable of guarding bigger players, but his mobility will allow him to extend out to the perimeter as well.
Bond was accurate from the floor most of the afternoon; his midrange jumper looked sweet. His overall athleticism is easy to spot. It might be difficult for Bennett to not go with two forwards in the starting lineup.
Last year, Bond spent his time with the Green Team, Virginia’s practice opponent team, and he constantly received praise from his teammates about his play. Saturday, Bond made a convincing case to be in Virginia’s starting five.
Beekman ready to shine
It’s not as though Reece Beekman hadn’t already established himself as one of the ACC’s top players. Saturday, Beekman showed his final season in Charlottesville should be special.
The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year appears on the verge of taking his game to an elite level. Beekman will certainly have the ball in his hands more this year. His ability to push the ball to the rim was on display for most of the scrimmage.
From my view, this is clearly Beekman’s team, and more importantly, he seems perfectly OK with that responsibility.
Throughout the afternoon, Beekman was vocally encouraging his teammates and serving as an on the floor coach.
The inside game needs time
Merrimack transfer Jordan Minor is Virginia’s only experienced low-post player. At 6’8”, Minor looks capable of holding his own on the defensive side and looks like a strong rebounder. Offensively, Minor needs some work; hopefully getting more comfortable with some of his players will help Minor offensively.
Blake Buchanan, at 6’11”, has the look of a freshman, needing some time under the guidance of strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis.
Minor will be counted upon early to be a productive frontcourt scorer for UVA. Later in the day, he appeared more comfortable in the post.
Today’s scrimmage attendance was likely greater than any game Minor played in at Merrimack.
Where’s the scoring coming from?
The scrimmage wasn’t exactly a shooting exhibition. After starting the afternoon with an impressive three-point shooting contest, the rim had a lid on it during the actual scrimmage. The final game stats had the Cavaliers connecting on just 4-of-20 three-point shot attempts.
Despite a roster that was viewed to be loaded with shooters, the Cavaliers struggled throughout the scrimmage to consistently connect from the floor.
It was just a scrimmage, but it would have been a bit more encouraging to see more shots dropping. The clank of the rim brought back bad memories from last season.
Trust in Bennett
A three-point shooting contest to begin the scrimmage, and loud music blaring during the in-game action? Very un-Tony Bennett like; that had the media row looking a bit confused.
Bennett appeared comfortable with the microphone during the pregame shooting contest. He warned the crowd about the challenge in identifying his current roster, but promised the team would improve week-to-week.
Likely, there were few doubters.
Bennett oversaw an almost complete overhaul of his roster from last March, and he seemed comfortable with the roster makeup.
The frontcourt has the biggest question marks. Beekman and Isaac McKneely seem set as top guards. Ryan Dunn is the wildcard, capable of playing a three to even a small ball five. His pure athleticism is unmistakable.
Given the talent Bennett has, it’s just a matter of time before he pushes the right buttons to put a very capable ACC team on the floor.
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