Early Season Takeaways From Virginia's 5-1 Start

Three full weeks into a new college basketball season, Tony Bennett’s Virginia Cavaliers carry a 5-1 record against non-conference competition.  I look at some of the promising early season developments, as well as things I’m hopeful to see going forward. 

Promising Developments 

Go Gators

Virginia’s win over Florida will age really well.  Florida has gone on to easily defeat Florida State and Pittsburgh.  Their only other loss so far was against a loaded Baylor team who needed 14 three-pointers to barely escape the Gators.  They’re legitimately good.  Expect Florida to hang around the Top 25 all season, potentially even contend for the SEC title.  It’ll go down as a high quality win for the Hoos, comfortably Quad-1.  

Freshmen Making Their Mark

The Wahoos wouldn’t have their resume win over Florida without an 18-point performance by freshman big man Blake Buchanan.  He’s earned a much bigger role than anybody would have imagined when he signed last year.  There’s been inconsistency as you’d expect from a freshman, but he’s held up well for the most part.  And he’s had to deal with tough matchups in the early going against veteran centers. Those learning experiences should pay dividends as the season goes along.  

Leon Bond has been a real spark plug for UVA off the bench.  He leads the team in offensive rebounds despite only playing 15 minutes per game.  The redshirt-freshman aggressively looks to score too, with the second highest usage percentage on the team.  He just brings great energy, finding ways to impact the game.  Coming off a season high 21 minutes played in the win over West Virginia, I’ll be curious if he gets more time moving forward.  

Room to Grow

UVA has done what they’ve needed to so far.  The win over Florida makes the first six games a success, even if the poor showing last week leaves a bad taste at the moment.  It’s important to step back and look at the full picture.  This is a team with lots of new pieces as well as returners in different roles.  They should continue to gel and make big strides over the course of the season. 

As an easy example, I completely expect increased offensive production from two starting guards in the weeks ahead.  It’s only a matter of time until Andrew Rohde becomes more assertive as he grows comfortable in his new setting.  He’s capable of being the second playmaker UVA desperately needs.  And Isaac McKneely is a weapon that isn’t being fully utilized.  He’s hitting a ridiculous 55% from behind the arc.  They’ll find ways to get him more shots.  

Hopeful to See Going Forward 

Clean Up the Mess

In all three games against power conference opponents, Virginia was dominated on the glass.  Florida, Wisconsin, and West Virginia all grabbed double-digit offensive rebounds.  That must be driving Tony Bennett mad.  Limiting opponents to one shot is a staple of his philosophy.  

A lot of the rebounding problems are a result of being late in defensive rotations. All too often they’re not in a good position when shots go up.  It goes back to working with new players who haven’t yet mastered the system.  That’s the good news, because it’ll get corrected over time. 

There are also legitimate personnel issues that aren’t easily fixable though.  Bennett knows he’s trading rebounds for offense with Jacob Groves.  You’ve got to live with occasional freshman mistakes from Blake Buchanan.  And Ryan Dunn’s aggressive style can lead to giving up offensive boards.  I don’t think it’ll clear up entirely, but the extent of the problem should be greatly reduced as the team defense inevitably tightens.  

Less Blocker Snoozer

UVA so far has heavily relied on Bennett’s patented blocker-mover offense. There have been some adjustments.  Screeners seem to be moved out wider to help open the lane a bit for driving opportunities.  While it’s an improvement, I’m still somewhat disappointed that they’re sticking with blocker-mover as the base offense so far.  In my opinion, it’s not ideally suited for this year’s team.  Particularly to feature Reece Beekman, who operates well using ball-screens and in situations that allow him the freedom to create on his own. 

It’ll be interesting to see if that changes as the season goes along.  I think Bennett views blocker-mover as his safe mode offense.  In his mind, it helps with other aspects of the game. The constant movement and screening action wears down opponents, and it also leaves them in a good position for transition defense.  As Bennett would say, discipline comes before freedom.  We’ll see if the strings get loosened as his trust in this new cast grows.  

Leave Fort Myers Behind

Up until this past week, UVA fans were feeling pretty good.  Then the Hoos had a dreadful showing in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.  They were outclassed by an experienced Wisconsin team that was just far more prepared to compete than they were.   And then, they had to fight until the last possession to hold on against shorthanded West Virginia. 

UVA struggled to score in both games. That’s the most concerning part.   But as anybody who follows college basketball knows, teams can be wildly inconsistent this time of year.  And UVA under Bennett has had head-scratching early season performances in the past, even during seasons in which they went on to do great things.  Let’s hope Vegas rules apply to Fort Myers, and what happened there stays there.  

They will have had a full week to regroup before Texas A&M arrives on Wednesday. Another probable Quad-1 game. The Aggies are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, so a big challenge on the boards.  That’s followed by the ACC opener against Syracuse on Saturday.  Big week of hoops coming up.  We’ll have it covered all season long on Locker Room Access

(Featured Image Credit: Getty)