Home Defending ACC champ Virginia at #25 in preseason AP Top 25 hoops poll
Sports News

Defending ACC champ Virginia at #25 in preseason AP Top 25 hoops poll

Chris Graham
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett. Photo courtesy Atlantic Coast Conference.

Virginia, off another ACC regular-season title, is back in the preseason AP Top 25, but barely, at #25.

The ‘Hoos (18-7 in 2020-2021) have to account for the losses of Trey Murphy III, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff, who were responsible for 59.1 percent of the team’s scoring a year ago, along with the transfers of Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Justin McKoy and Casey Morsell.

Coach Tony Bennett still brings back a stacked rotation, led by returning starting guards Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman, and transfers Jayden Gardner and Armaan Franklin.

Duke, with a mix of incoming freshmen and veterans Joey Baker and Wendell Moore, was ranked ninth in the preseason Top 25. North Carolina, with Hubert Baker in his first season as head coach, was ranked 19, and Florida State, reloading under coach Leonard Hamilton, was slotted at #20.

Gonzaga was the runaway #1, with UCLA, which pushed the Bulldogs in the Final Four, at #2, and Kansas, Villanova and Texas rounding out the top five.

Houston, which UVA will face on the road in November, came in at 15.

Story by Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].