Home UVA Basketball Notebook: Even Ron Sanchez can’t explain the result at Pitt
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UVA Basketball Notebook: Even Ron Sanchez can’t explain the result at Pitt

Chris Graham
uva basketball ron sanchez
UVA Basketball coach Ron Sanchez. Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

The UVA Basketball team that dominated Pitt after the opening couple of minutes on Big Monday looked like the team that we’d expected we’d see back in the preseason.

Virginia ran its mover/blocker offense like we saw at the height of the Tony Bennett era, shooting 56.0 percent for the game, and connecting on 10-of-22 from three-point range.

The defense looked like a “Best of the Pack Line” video on YouTube: Pitt scored 19 points in the first half, and only got over 40 percent shooting six of its last nine shots in garbage time.

Interim coach Ron Sanchez was asked to address what happened between Saturday’s 75-74 loss to Virginia Tech and what happened 48 hours later up in PA.


ICYMI


“I wish I could tell you that we’ve done something different,” said Sanchez, detailing that you can’t really do much with a day of travel between games on a Saturday night and a Monday night, other than watch some video and try to keep everybody fresh.

“We guarded our yard better today, we rebounded well, we finished the possessions with the rebound, you know, like you said, you know, we shot the ball well, so when your offense is doing its job, you know, the goal is to put the ball in the basket, and the goal is to end the possession with the rebound, the defensive rebound, I think we did those two things well,” Sanchez said.

Career game for Dai Dai


dai dai ames uva basketball
UVA Basketball guard Dai Dai Ames. Photo: UVA Athletics

It hasn’t been that long since sophomore combo guard Dai Dai Ames was in Sanchez’s doghouse, losing his starting spot and getting single-digit minutes off the bench.

Ames had a nice offensive game in the loss to Tech, going for 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, then exploded on Big Monday, putting up a career-high 27 points, 16 in the first half.

“He got really good looks today, but he finished at the rim well, but he also shared the ball,” Sanchez said.

What I saw, and more importantly, what Sanchez saw as well, was the work that Ames did on the defensive end.

That end of the floor is what earned Ames a spot on the bench beside Sanchez last month.

“What I really want from him is him to guard, and I think he did a good job,” Sanchez said.

Let us now praise Andrew Rohde


uva basketball andrew rohde shooting
UVA Basketball guard Andrew Rohde. Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

The story of Andrew Rohde is well-known among UVA Basketball fans – he averaged 17.1 points and 3.6 assists per game as the Summit League Freshman of the Year at St. Thomas in 2022-2023 before transferring to Virginia, and then struggled mightily as a sophomore in the ACC – 4.3 points, 2.7 assists, 29.3 percent shooting.

The fan base loves to hate Rohde – it’s his turn, now that we don’t have Kihei Clark to hate – but as with the Ki-haters, it’s unwarranted.

Rohde is quietly having a nice junior season – 8.9 points and 4.0 assists per game, shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three.

He gutted another one out on Monday, as he continues to be hampered by a lower-leg injury that he sustained a couple of weeks back – going for nine points and dishing out nine assists vs. no turnovers in 35 minutes.

“Some of it is just understanding, you know, guys get better year to year,” Sanchez said of the improvement we’re seeing in Rohde.

“He competes really hard, you know, and I’m not sure that anybody’s a bigger critic of Rohde than Rohde,” Sanchez said. “His desire to take care of the ball has always been there, you know, we drill it every day, we talk about it, we show film, we study, you know. He spent the time that he needed to and works on it every day in practice. I think, you know, what you seeing is a result of his work.”

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].