The first of my follower requested previews, from my mom, my personal favorite team, the Virginia Cavaliers! The Tony Bennett led Cavaliers haven’t quite reached the same heights since there 2019 national championship, and in the new age of the transfer portal, it is yet to be seen whether the program can have success. After some key NIL commitments, Bennett committed until 2030, and the Hoos are bringing in a large variety of newcomers to try and get revenge for the embarrassing First Four exit last season.

Returners:

This years Virginia team has much less experience than it has in the past, but there are still some important upperclassmen leaders returning. The sole senior is small forward Taine Murray, who only averaged 3.3 points per game last season, but came on late in the season, with a 12 point and 11 point game, which doesn’t sound a lot but on a Cavalier team that only scored 40-50 points per game, those were significant performances. The most significant returner, however, is Isaac McKneely, a flamethrower who averaged 12.3 points per game on 45% from three, shooting around 50% for a large portion of the season. He should be a top level scorer once again, especially if he can develop some more off the dribble scoring. He had multiple 20 point games, including a 29 point performance versus Florida State.

There are three other returning guards, with interesting storylines as well. First is redshirt freshman point guard Christian Bliss. Bliss reclassed to redshirt last season and learn the complicated Virginia system, and there is a lot of hype coming out of summer practice for him, but with the large number of guards, it will be interesting to see what role he plays. Joining him is the polarizing Andrew Rohde. Rohde averaged 17 points per game at St. Thomas two years ago, but was not good at all for the Cavaliers. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 assists on 29% shooting from the field. While there is a learning curve in the system, this is very concerning and it will be interesting to see whether he can be effective this season or if he just can’t adapt to the high major level. The final guard returning is senior point guard Dante Harris. The former Georgetown stud as a freshman transferred to Virginia midway through his sophomore year, and started playing last year, being quite underwhelming in comparison to his Georgetown days, with 2.5 points per game. He then entered the transfer portal, but didn’t seem to get the interest he had hoped for, leading for him to return to Charlottesville. The one problem, the Hoos had no scholarships remaining! Harris, with no other options, decided to come back as a walk on, and it will be interesting if he, similarly to Rohde, can finally adapt and be effective this season.

The final returners for the Cavaliers are the two second year bigs, Blake Buchanan and Anthony Robinson. Robinson redshirted last season, as he is much more of a developmental athlete, but don’t be surprised if ends up in a large role this year. Buchanan got to play a good bit as a freshman, coming on strong with 18 points and 7 rebounds in a win over Florida, but lost some of that role as the season went on, eventually ending the year averaging 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Reports are saying that he bulked up during the offseason, and could be a difference maker for a team lacking interior presence. One more returner I need to mention is sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude. He is going to redshirt the season due to an injury, but is an elite athlete, who could be a name to watch in 2025-26.

Transfers:

Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers seem to have done well in the portal, landing 5 high major transfers. They have three incoming forwards, led by rising sophomore TJ Power from Duke. Power didn’t play a huge role last year for the blue devils, but was a 5 star out of high school, and still has lots of potential to be an elite stretch forward. Alongside Power, junior from San Diego State Elijah Saunders will also be needed to play a large role for the Cavaliers. Saunders averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds last season, and is a great defensive presence who should fit well into the UVA system. Those two will likely be fighting for a spot in the starting lineup, and both will need to take improve from last year under Tony Bennett. The third forward is Charlottesville native Carter Lang who is transferring as a sophomore walk on from Vanderbilt. Lang should serve mainly as a depth piece for the cavaliers behind the two returning sophomore big men. He averaged just about 2 points per game last year.

Joining the three forwards are guards Dai Dai Ames and Jalen Warley. Dai Dai, a rising sophomore, is a dynamic lefty point guard from Kansas State who averaged 5.2 points and 2 assists per game last season. He is unlike the usual Virginia player under Tony Bennett, and it will be very interesting to see how he fits. However, his ability to get to the rim and create his own shot should help cure the offensive woes of last year. Warley is a rising senior from Florida State who averaged 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists last season. He is a dynamic interior scorer who can play the 1-4, and will likely play a nice variety of all of those, depending on the lineup in the game.

Recruits:

The Cavaliers only have two incoming freshman, 104th ranked forward Jacob Cofie, and top 300 sharpshooter Ishaan Sharma. Cofie is a pro ready forward who has a strong offensive game and a nice defensive frame. He likely won’t play a ton this year, but don’t be surprised if he finds himself in a larger role, depending on how quickly he picks up the system. Sharma is an intriguing prospect from Canada, who Virginia fans have been hyping up all offseason. I would be pretty surprised if he plays a ton this season, but if he doesn’t redshirt, his shooting ability could be very valuable in some games.

Season Outlook

I’ll try my very best to be unbiased here.. The Cavaliers have a very unorthodox roster for a Tony Bennett team, with only 4 returners who have actually suited up for the team before. In the new landscape of college basketball, this is becoming more and more common, however it is unknown how well players can adapt to the complicated system in such a short amount of time. All this to be said, Virginia has some of the most talent I’ve ever seen, and if it can be put together, I can see them surprising people. I think a lot relies on the sophomore bigs to take big steps, as well as a few of these mostly unknown guards and forwards to breakout. I believe it’s possible. As a fan, I think the offense is going to be much stronger this year, and the rumors of change to a faster pace give me a lot of hope. I predict this team will be right above the bubble and make it into the tournament, coming on strong near the end of the year. The floor for this team is high, but the big question that still remain is will the ‘Hoos be able to surpass expectations, or fall short once again?

(P.C. Streaking The Lawn)