There was a decent amount of usable talent on last year’s UVA Basketball squad that went 15-17 and got the interim coach not fired, just not retained.
The problem: the talent accumulated wasn’t a good fit into the Tony Bennett system as coached by Ron Sanchez & Co.
Most have long since scattered to the winds.
Some of them landed with programs they helped take to March Madness.
NCAA Tournament-bound
Blake Buchanan, Iowa State (27-7, #2 seed, Midwest)
Buchanan is putting up nice workmanlike numbers for the Cyclones – 8.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 64.5 percent shooting, 24.1 minutes per game.
At Virginia last season, he got 22.0 minutes per game, but only averaged 5.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Bigs in the mover/blocker set screens, is the reason why there.
He wasn’t a fit for Ryan Odom because he can’t shoot the three, but he found a nice spot to do what he does well, for an elite team.
Andrew Rohde, Wisconsin (24-10, #5 seed, West)
Rohde started 33 games for the Badgers, and averaged 26.2 minutes per game, but didn’t do much in the scorebook – 5.7 points and 2.8 assists per game, 36.0 percent shooting from the floor, 31.0 percent from three.
I’m imagining there are corners on Wisconsin message boards devoted to the question, what does Greg Gard see in Andrew Rohde, similar to what we had here for two years with, what does Tony Bennett, what does Ron Sanchez, etc.
Oddly, I could see Rohde as a guy who could have fit with Odom; somebody would have to explain to me the difference between Rohde and Dallin Hall (5.9 ppg, 4.3 assists/g, 41.9% FG, 32.7% 3FG) get me off that particular hill.
I’m not willing to die on that hill, mind you, but I would offer at least a token defense.
Isaac McKneely, Louisville (23-10, #6 seed, South)
McKneely is the guy that the fan base was most upset about when he bolted for Louisville, and he put up good numbers there – 10.6 points per game, 40.7 percent shooting from the floor, 38.1 percent from three.
But seriously, do you see him cracking the Odom rotation heavy with shooting guards – Malik Thomas (12.4 ppg, 41.2% FG, 34.3% 3FG), Sam Lewis (10.8 ppg, 46.2% FG, 40.7% 3FG), Jacari White (8.8 ppg, 45.2% FG, 43.0% 3FG)?
No, you don’t.
Ishan Sharma, Saint Louis (28-5, #9 seed, Midwest)
Sharma, who I had thought was a reach when he landed at UVA in 2024, put up good numbers with the Billikens – 9.1 points per game, 43.7 percent shooting from the floor, 42.8 percent from three.
He wouldn’t have cracked the Odom rotation at off-guard, either.
Even so, good to see the kid doing well for a tourney team.
TJ Power, Penn (18-11, #14 seed, South)
Power is a feel-good story.
The former five-star prep recruit couldn’t get off the bench as a freshman at Duke, transferred to Virginia, started five games, then couldn’t get off the bench, because it seemed his confidence in himself was totally shot.
Power had 44 points in the Ivy League tourney title game, including a game-tying three that sent the game to OT.
Season numbers: 15.8 points and 7.6 assists per game, 44.9 percent shooting from the field, 42.7 percent from three.
On paper, he could have been a fit for Odom, as a big who can shoot from the perimeter, but I’d wonder about his ability to defend in Odom’s system.
NIT-bound
Dai Dai Ames, Cal (21-11)
Ames averaged 17.2 points per game at Cal, shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from three.
I wrote several times during the season that I felt Ames would have been a fit with Odom, as a guy whose game reminds me a bit of the game of Chance Mallory (9.5 ppg, 3.7 rebounds/g, 3.6 assists/g, 42.1% FG, 34.9% 3FG).
The problem being: we already have a Chance Mallory, and our Chance Mallory is a better distributor and defender.
Season over
Christian Bliss, Delaware (10-21)
Good numbers – 16.7 points, 5.9 assists, 5.2 rebounds per game.
Good durability – he averaged 39.8 minutes per game.
Not bad for a guy who hadn’t played for two years.
He’s going to return to the Power 5 in a few weeks.
Already has two years of credits at UVA …
Jacob Cofie, Southern Cal (18-14)
Cofie, a four-star, showed flashes in his freshman season at Virginia, and showed flashes as a sophomore at USC, where he averaged 9.9 points and 6.8 boards a game.
He shot 51.0 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from three.
If he had returned to UVA, he would have fit in the role that Devin Tillis (4.3 ppg, 2.8 rebounds/g, 16.3 minutes/g) filled as the fourth big.
I like Tillis for this year’s group because of his experience.
Elijah Saunders, Maryland (12-21)
The most shocking failure this season for me is Maryland, which wasn’t competitive in Year 1 under Buzz Williams.
I thought Williams was a home-run hire there, because that guy has won everywhere he’s been.
Saunders, after being a double-digit scorer at Virginia in his one season on Grounds, averaged 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 41.1 percent from three.
Another big who could have been a fit because he can shoot from the perimeter, but I don’t see him as a better option than Tillis as the fourth big in the rotation.
Anthony Robinson, Xavier (15-18)
Impressive-looking big kid who barely got on the floor this season at Xavier – 2.3 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, 10.0 minutes per game.
On pure athleticism alone, he should seriously think about a transition to football; imagine a guy at 6’10” with the footwork of a basketball post player being taught to play left tackle.
Alternatively, he could be the world’s tallest tight end, or pass-rushing edge.
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Chris Graham
