Last Season: 15-15, 7-9 ACC
Key Losses: TJ Bannister
Backcourt: Sean Singletary returns as the Virginia point guard, and arguably the top point guard in the ACC. Pairing with Singletary in the backcourt is senior JR Reynolds who had his best season last year averaging 17 ppg. The two combined for around half of the Virginia offense last season, and will have to figure out ways to get others involved. Helping out in the scoring column is Adrian Joseph who averaged 9.4 ppg last year. Joseph is relatively one dimensional, and sticks to his strengths of shooting behind the arc, for the most part. Sophomore, Mamade Diane, will help in the backcourt, and hope to have a more consistent season than last. Diane started off quickly in his freshman campaign, but struggled mightily toward the end of the season. Two freshmen should help in the backcourt, Will Harris, a recruit Virginia stole from UCONN, and Soloman Tat, a Nigerian who recently solved some visa problems, to enroll at UVA. Tat has received a strange comparison to former 49er safety Ronnie Lott, due to his bullish nature.
Frontcourt: In the frontcourt, Jason Cain and Laurynas Mikalauskas return for the Cavaliers. Jason Cain emerged as a presence on the boards for Virginia averaging 7.6 rpg in just 26.4 mpg, to go along with 7.4 ppg. One player that UVA fans should be excited about is freshman sharpshooter, Jamil Tucker (ranked #67 among incoming freshmen). Tucker is said to be a small forward, but at 6’9” 230 lbs he will likely see more time at the power forward position where he will make for a tough matchup for most teams. Raw center, Tunji Soroye, will provide insurance for Virginia down low, but shouldn’t bring much, except a few fouls each game.
Intangibles: Jason Cain is a force on offensive boards, where he averaged 2.9 offensive rebounds per game.
Potential Breakout Player: Call it a hunch, but Jamil Tucker could just be the impact player Dave Leitao will remember for years.
Summary: Dave Leitao returns possibly the top backcourt in the conference, and brought in a recruiting class that ranks in the top half of the league, so expectations should be high. Couple that with the fact that Virginia will be opening the new John Paul Jones Arena, and Leitao will be under a magnifying glass in Charlottesville. If all goes right, UVA can be a NCAA tourney team, but Leitao needs to find some offensive balance, particularly a scoring option in the frontcourt. If the freshmen aren’t as advertised and Singletary and Reynolds try to carry the team on their shoulders, Leitao and the Virginia Cavaliers could be relegated to a bottom 3 finish.
Top Returning Fantasy Player: Sean Singletary averaged 17.4 ppg, 4.1 apg, 4.0 rpg in conference play last year.
Up Next: #7 Maryland Terrapins
