Locker Room Access - Virginia

By Josh Burton

College basketball is finally back in full swing and the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team is set to open the season as they host Campbell Wednesday night. This one will tip at 7 PM EST and is set to stream on the ESPN app as both an ACC Extra and with ESPN+.

Coach Sanchez

The Hoos will be led by Ron Sanchez in his first game as head coach. Ron was named the interim for the season after Tony Bennett’s abrupt retirement on October 18th. Ron has previous head coaching experience at UNC-Charlotte, coaching five seasons before ultimately returning back to be an assistant under Tony, a place he had been since their days at Washington State before coming to UVA. For more on Ron’s resume and what to expect, check out my season preview.

Hoo Starts?

With so much intrigue surrounding this year's Wahoos, it comes as no surprise that there isn’t a very clear starting lineup. Going off some chatter and my own gut feeling, I believe the Hoos first five will be:

G - #7 Dai Dai Ames (6’1” Sophomore, Kansas State transfer)

G - #11 Isaac McKneely (6’4” Junior)

F - #23 TJ Power (6’9” Sophomore, Duke transfer)

F - #2 Elijah Saunders (6’8” Junior, San Diego State transfer)

C - #0 Blake Buchanan (6’11” Sophomore)

McKneely and Buchanan feel like lineup locks here, with Isaac being the team leader. Saunders is the next most likely starter, following a strong offseason.  It's been rumored that Dai Dai is currently the preferred point guard option, so I’m penciling him in. The last starting spot is the one that seems most up in the air, with Power, Taine Murray and Andrew Rohde all potential candidates for the spot. I’m going with Power because I believe he has the most upside of the three with his size, passing ability and shooting ability. But either Murray or Rohde getting the start wouldn’t be at all surprising, and I really wouldn’t be surprised if it takes a few weeks (or longer) to settle on a starting lineup.

Beyond the lineup, the Cavaliers “new look” offense will be the main thing to watch. It has been heavily discussed that they will be looking to push the pace when they have transition opportunities and will try to get into their offensive sets faster whenever possible. After the offensive inefficiencies the Hoos dealt with last year, being a bit more aggressive in transition would be a welcome sight. 

About Campbell

The Campbell Camels of the CAA are led by head coach Kevin McGeehan, now in his 12th season. McGeehan has a 169-182 record while at Campbell, with the Camels going 14-18 last season. The Camels opened their season Monday night with a 96-49 victory over Division III Pfeiffer. Campbell started with the following lineup.  

G - #13 Jasin Sinani (6’3” Senior)

G - #7 Cam Gregory (6’5” Junior, St. Francis transfer)

G - #21 Nolan Dorsey (6’5” Graduate, Holy Cross transfer)

F - #14 Caleb Zurliene (6’8” Graduate, McKendree transfer)

F - #23 Eric Van Der Heijden (6’9” Senior, UNC-Wilmington transfer)

Sinani is the headliner of the group, a preseason CAA Honorable Mention and the team's leading returning scorer. With four of the five presumed starters being new to the program, it's safe to say Campbell will be learning on the fly much like the new look Cavaliers. 

Next Up

This will be the only game of the week for the Hoos, with their next contest coming Monday (11/11) when they host Coppin State. Be sure to follow all of the action on Locker Room Access!

(Featured Image Credit: Keara Bruno/CBS 19) 

By Josh Burton

After what has been a very long and consequential offseason for the Hoos, we are finally ready to begin the 2024-2025 season. From new players to a new offensive approach to even a new head coach, we’ve got plenty to discuss to get you caught up before the Cavaliers open the season on Wednesday.

End of an Era

By now you’ve probably heard, Tony Bennett officially retired from coaching on Friday, October 17th. After his retirement press conference it was announced that Ron Sanchez would be the interim head coach for the Hoos for the upcoming season. Ron comes from the Bennett tree of coaching, having joined as an assistant at Washington State under Tony’s father, Dick Bennett, where he and Tony began working together in 2003. Ron followed Tony to UVA in 2009 and stuck with Tony up until Sanchez took his first head coaching job with UNC-Charlotte in 2018. Ron coached there for 5 seasons, then rejoined the Hoos in 2023.

As the Charlotte head coach, Ron accumulated a 72-78 record and led his team to the CBI Championship to finish his final season. Their 22 wins that year was the program's highest total in over 20 years. Ron originally inherited a team that was 6-23 the year before and had not seen a winning season since 2013-2014. 

All things considered, I believe Ron's time there to be considered a success, although obviously not enough to fully secure him the job as the next UVA head coach, something he’ll have to prove he can be this upcoming season. The rest of the coaching staff has remained intact under Sanchez and there is no plan to fill the vacancy created by him moving up.

New Faces

This was a very busy offseason for the Hoos in terms of roster turnover. Reece Beekman (2-way contract) and Ryan Dunn are both now in the NBA, Jordan Minor is playing in the NBA G-League, Jake Groves is playing professionally overseas, and Leon Bond and Dante Harris have both opted to transfer. Leon is currently enrolled and will play for Northern Iowa this upcoming season, while Dante is still enrolled at UVA and will look to transfer either after the winter semester or next spring.

With so many moving pieces, the coaching staff had to work diligently with regular recruiting and in the transfer portal. In the portal, the Wahoos added Dai Dai Ames (Sophomore 6’1” guard, Kansas State), Elijah Saunders (Junior 6’8” forward, San Diego State), TJ Power (Sophomore 6’9” forward, Duke), and an experienced walk on player in Carter Lang (Sophomore 6’9” forward) who played on scholarship at Vanderbilt last season. 

From the high school ranks, the Hoos bring in Ishan Sharma (6’5” guard) and Jacob Cofie (6’10” forward).  Both players appear to have very promising futures as Jacob was a Top 100 recruit who plays as a modern forward, with the ability to play either forward position, and Ishan was regarded as one of the best three-point shooters in the entire class. 

While not entirely new faces, fans will get to see Christian Bliss (6’4” guard) and Anthony Robinson (6’10” Forward) in action after they sat out last season as redshirts. Both could figure into the back end of the rotation but should be provided plenty of opportunity to work their way up.

Returning senior Taine Murray and junior Isaac McKneely represented the Hoos at ACC Media Day and will presumably be the team captains. Junior Andrew Rohde and sophomore Blake Buchanan also both return and will look to build on their first seasons with the Cavaliers. 

The Hoos dealt with two other losses for the upcoming season. Sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude will be using a redshirt year while recovering from knee surgery. Eli should be back for the following season. Lastly, Jalen Warley (Florida State) transferred into UVA this spring but has decided to sit out and transfer again following Tony Bennett’s retirement.

New Style

For essentially the entire offseason, there have been mentions of the Hoos looking to revamp the offense. Talk of better spacing, different sets, and faster pace have had fans excited to see what the Hoos will be able to accomplish on that end of the floor. Expect this year's team to play a little faster than previous seasons, looking to capitalize on transition opportunities and taking good looks a little quicker in half court sets. That said, don’t expect them to be a running team as that simply isn’t the mold the staff has found previous success with. The hope is that with more offensively gifted players easier looks will become available more quickly.

Schedule

The season will open Wednesday (11/6) as the Hoos take on Campbell. The non-conference slate is filled with early challenges as the Hoos head to Baltimore to take on Villanova (11/15), the Bahamas for Baha Mar Hoops where they will face Tennessee (11/21) and then either Baylor or St. Johns. UVA will head to Florida (12/4) for the SEC/ACC Challenge, and then will host Memphis (12/18) in a marquee matchup.

Conference play will begin on the road as the Hoos head to ACC newcomer SMU in December (12/7) before opening ACC play in full when they host NC State on New Year's Eve. Senior night will be on Tuesday, March 4th against Florida State. You can view the entire schedule here. 

Anticipation is high for the season to get underway. With so many new faces on the team and a new head coach, this may be one of the most unpredictable seasons in years. How do you think the Hoos will do? Have thoughts on Tony’s retirement or interim head coach Ron Sanchez? Join all the discussions over on the Locker Room Access forum!

(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics) 

Virginia has lost their lone 2025 recruit.  Local product Chance Mallory announced on Tuesday that he has reopened his recruitment.  The St. Anne’s Belfield (VA) point guard previously committed to his hometown Wahoos in September, following an official visit.  Mallory is ranked as the 52nd overall player in his class.  

BREAKING: 4⭐️ Chance Mallory, a top-50 recruit in the 2025 class, has decommitted from Virginia, he tells @On3Recruits.

The 5-9 Point Guard and Charlottesville native has reopened his recruitment after Tony Bennett’s decision to retire, but says he will still consider Virginia.… pic.twitter.com/gKuMU0GhRM

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) October 29, 2024

Mallory originally chose Virginia from a group of finalists that also included Clemson, VA Tech, Miami, Villanova, and Tennessee.  He visited Virginia Tech in September, along with his official visit to UVA.  Planned visits to the other finalists were canceled following his commitment announcement.  

He committed to play for former Head Coach Tony Bennett, who recently announced his retirement.  It’s very common for recruits to reopen their recruitment whenever there’s a coaching change.  He still intends to consider Virginia once there’s clarity about who the head coach will be going forward.  UVA is entering this season under the interim leadership of longtime Bennett assistant Ron Sanchez.  

It’s likely at this point that Chance will wait until the late signing period to make a decision.  There will still be an opportunity for him to choose to stay home at UVA.  I’d expect the Hoos to remain a serious contender. By reopening his recruitment instead of making it official during next month’s early signing period, it allows him to be recruited by other schools and consider his options.  There may be different schools involved by then.   

This is the second piece of bad news for the UVA men’s basketball program today.  Following the earlier announcement that senior point guard Jalen Warley will transfer.  The Wahoos begin the 2024-25 season in just eight days when they’ll host Campbell at John Paul Jones Arena.