Dai Dai Ames played Monday night like the guy who we thought was going to be the starter for this UVA Basketball team this season.
Don’t get too excited. Whatever mind meld the underwhelming Andrew Rohde has had on the coaching staff that past couple of years still seems to be holding.
Ames started, played 30 minutes, had a +27 plus/minus, 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 2-of-3 from three, three assists, no turnovers, two blocks, but interim coach Ron Sanchez indicated to reporters after the 62-45 win over a bad Coppin State team that Ames wouldn’t have started if Rohde was healthy.
“We found out at tip time that that Andrew was not going to play today, and I think that Dai Dai did a really good job of getting us started correctly, especially offensively,” Sanchez said after the game.
I’m with you; I don’t get it.
Rohde had a single point, five assists and four turnovers in the 65-56 win over another bad team, Campbell, in last week’s season opener.
This, after Rohde averaged an anemic 4.3 points per game last season, shooting less than 30 percent from the field, despite getting more rope than anybody on a UVA Basketball roster maybe ever.
Ames is everything that Rohde isn’t – athletic, willing and able to drive into the lane to create for himself and teammates, a guy who can take and knock down an open jumper, a plus defender.
And it sounds like Rohde will be back in the starting lineup on Friday when Virginia tips off against Villanova in Baltimore, assuming he’s healthy.
I’m scratching my head, too.
There’s talent on this UVA team – freshman Jacob Cofie looked like the NBA rookie version of Ryan Dunn, with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting, 11 rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and four steals; Elijah Saunders had a team-high 15 points, with a three and a couple of nice post baskets; Isaac McKneely had 14 points, with four threes, three in a two-minute stretch at the end of the first half.
Ames is a motor guy at point who can create and finish, and complement the talent around him.
I don’t know what Rohde is. He may not even be the best option as the backup at point guard, once redshirt freshman Christian Bliss gets back on the court, and freshman Ishan Sharma gets comfortable.
Sharma got 18 minutes off the bench, and missed all six of his shots, five from three, but he had three assists and one turnover in his time running the point, and he’s going to draw more attention on the perimeter due to his ability to knock down threes.
I particularly like Sharma being paired in the backcourt with McKneely, which gives UVA two guys in the backcourt who can stretch the defense, with Cofie, Saunders and TJ Power all able to hit from the perimeter in the frontcourt.
Rohde does none of this.
What is it about Rohde that Sanchez, and Tony Bennett before him, that none of the rest of us can see?
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Chris Graham
