Virginia Cavaliers 2012-13 Basketball Preview - SCACCHoops.com

Virginia Cavaliers 2012-13 Basketball Preview

by WebMaster

Posted: 11/5/2012 9:24:34 AM


Our ACC basketball previews continue with the Virginia Cavaliers.  Will Ojanen takes a look at a Virginia team that looks to replace a player so significant he was listed three times in our Players Lost section of the preview.

ACC Season Previews

Boston College |  Miami |  Clemson |  Virginia Tech |  FSU |  Georgia Tech |  Maryland 
UNC | Virginia

Virginia Season Preview

Record Last Season 22 - 10, 9 - 8 ACC
Players Lost Mike Scott, Mike Scott, Mike Scott, Sammy Zeglinski, Assane Sene 
New Players Justin Anderson, Evan Nolte, Mike Tobey, Teven Jones 
Projected Lineup Jontel Evans, Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Anderson, Joe Harris, Akil Mitchell 
Schedule Highlights 11/9 @ George Mason, 11/28 @ Wisconsin, 12/5 vs Tennessee 
Virginia Schedule
Virginia Scouting Report

Projected Statistics (Returning Players Only)

Explanation of Statistic Projections

 

Name Pts Asts Rbds Stls Blks TOs % Correct
 Joe Harris 13.2 2.1 4.4 1.2 0.4 1.7 79
 Malcolm Brogdon 8.6 1.5 3.0 0.8 0.3 1.5 92
 Jontel Evans 8.3 3.6 2.9 1.4 0.2 2.1 78
 Akil Mitchell 6.4 1.2 4.8 0.7 0.6 1.4 82
 Darion Atkins 5.0 0.4 3.6 0.4 0.6 1.0 93
 Paul Jesperson 4.5 0.9 1.8 0.3 0.2 0.9 96
 Doug Browman 0.9 0.3 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.3 98
 Thomas Rogers 0.6 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.1 99

Things to Watch

After making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in five years, the face of the Virginia Cavaliers is changing. Mike Scott, who was a round for quite a long time, is now in the NBA, and now Virginia has to replace his scoring, rebounding, and his leadership. Not one person on the roster will do that. It will have to be done by a combination of players on the roster.

Backcourt

His calling card is defense, but Jontel Evans had a much improved shooting season last year. After two seasons shooting below 40%, Evans shooting percentage rose to 47% last year. He scored a lot more once conference season got going. With him in the backcourt is Joe Harris, who is a very good shooter. His numbers may be a bit deceiving. He was playing a lot better than his stats looked until he broke his hand. But he showed toughness and played the final nine games of the season with it. He could be Virginia’s leading scorer this year. Malcolm Brogdon will also provide some scoring too. He’s been banged up, but once he does return, will be a nice scoring option. In the meantime, Paul Jesperson will get some playing time. He’s got some size for the guard spot, but still needs more time to develop.

Frontcourt

The biggest question mark for the Cavs is here. With Scott and Assane Sene gone, the Cavs will need to replace their two primary frontcourt players. This means more playing time for Akil Mitchell. A primary role player, the junior showed a little promise at the end of the season when he got a double-double in the ACC Tournament. Who starts alongside him is more of a question. Darion Atkins showed some promise as a rebounder last year, but only averaged 10 minutes per game. Aside from that, there’s a trio of freshman who are vying for playing time. The highly touted Justin Anderson has been regarded as the next big thing for the Cavs. He will play plenty early, and will score plenty as well. Evan Nolte is a 6-8 shooter who will cause trouble for defenses because of his size and range. Mike Tobey is a big man who is still undersized in terms of strength, but will still play some.

Schedule

There are a couple of non conference games of note for the Cavs. They will go to Wisconsin for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, as well as host Tennessee in early December. They will also face in state rivals George Mason and Old Dominion. The conference schedule gives them a break in that they only face Duke once, which will be in Charlottesville. The Cavs do face UNC and Florida State twice, however.

Prediction

The Cavs really faded down the stretch last season, and a lot of that was due to injuries. By the end of the season, the Cavs were regularly using walk ons. Barring another rash of injuries, that shouldn’t be an issue this year, although there is a lot of youth on the bench. There are eight freshmen and sophomores on the roster, and for the most part, they will be coming off of the bench. Scoring could be a bit of an issue for the Cavs as well. Joe Harris is the only proven scorer on the roster. Justin Anderson is expected to be a scorer as well, but after that, who knows? One thing we do know is that Virginia will continue to play the same stingy defense they’ve been known for under Tony Bennett. Because of the youth and questions with scoring, they’ll likely finish in the middle of the pack in the ACC this year.

by Will Ojanen @WillsWorldMN

Fantasy Player to Watch

Joe Harris has quietly had two great seasons at Virginia. Last season was interrupted with a broken hand which Harris played through to end the season, but Harris' play and numbers were affected by the injury. Look for Harris to lead Virginia in scoring and fill up the stat sheet for the Cavaliers.

Last Year's Player Statistics

Virginia
Name GP Mins Pts Asts Rbds Stls Blks TOs FG% 3P% FT%
 Mike Scott  32  31.2  18.0  1.2  8.3  0.7  0.5  2.1  56.3  30.0  80.8
 Joe Harris  32  30.3  11.3  1.7  3.9  0.7  0.4  1.4  44.2  38.0  77.2
 Sammy Zeglinski  30  32.3  8.6  2.7  3.4  1.6  0.1  1.7  36.5  33.7  76.9
 Jontel Evans  32  30.8  7.3  3.9  2.0  1.6  0.2  2.4  47.1  35.7  62.1
 Malcolm Brogdon  28  22.4  6.7  1.4  2.8  0.5  0.1  1.6  39.6  32.4  80.0
 Akil Mitchell  32  22.0  4.1  0.8  4.4  0.7  0.3  0.8  50.5  0.0  50.9
 Assane Sene  17  20.9  4.9  0.4  3.7  0.4  0.9  1.1  50.8  0.0  68.6
 Darion Atkins  27  10.2  2.3  0.1  2.3  0.4  0.7  0.2  58.1  0.0  57.9
 KT Harrell  11  18.9  4.7  0.9  1.0  0.5  0.4  1.2  31.5  19.0  70.0
 Paul Jesperson  21  10.5  1.5  0.2  0.8  0.1  0.0  0.4  27.9  22.6  0.0
 Doug Browman  11  3.2  1.1  0.5  0.5  0.3  0.0  0.3  66.7  60.0  50.0
 Thomas Rogers  7  2.7  0.0  0.1  0.4  0.0  0.0  0.1  0.0  0.0  0.0
 Rob Vozenilek  7  2.4  0.1  0.0  0.0  0.1  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  50.0
 James Johnson  6  6.2  1.5  0.3  1.3  0.0  0.0  0.5  0.0  0.0  56.3
 Angus Mitchell  4  1.5  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.3  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0

Team Stats



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