All five University of Virginia men’s basketball starters are back, and coach Tony Bennett landed one of the nation’s top recruiting classes to join them.
At least one rival coach, Georgia Tech’s Josh Pastner, told media members Wednesday at the annual ACC Tip-Off event, that the Cavaliers should be ranked No. 1 in the conference’s preseason poll.
It sounds like life couldn’t get much better in Charlottesville, right?
“Well, you’ve still got to win the games,” Bennett said. “But yes, this team has experience.”
After what Cavaliers starting point guard Kihei Clark calls “a disappointing season,” Virginia seems primed for a big comeback in 2022-23.
The Cavaliers finished 21-14 a year ago, including 12-8 in the ACC for sixth place. They reached the ACC Tournament quarterfinals and the third round of the NIT.
But it was the first time in nine seasons that Virginia missed the NCAA Tournament, and it came just five years after Bennett’s team won the national championship.
“Last year might not have been up to our standards,” Bennett said.
Late in the regular season, Virginia had a 17-16 record and seemed to be struggling to find itself. Bennett said he saw improvement, though.
“We had played some big games, and we were making progress,” he said.
The Cavaliers won eight of their last 12 games, then got in extra practices and game experience by traveling to Italy for two weeks during the summer.
“That Italy trip was a good bonding experience,” Clark said. “It felt like we really jelled.”
The returning starters are Clark (10 points, 4.4 assists a game), power forward Jayden Gardner (15.3 points, 6.4 rebounds), shooting guard Reece Beekman (8.2 points, 5.2 assists), forward Armaan Franklin (11.1 points) and center Kadin Shadrick (6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds).
Five players are gone from last year’s roster. They totaled an average of 7.7 points a contest.
Then you add in the freshmen recruits:
Isaac McNeely, a 6-4 guard, was player of the year in West Virginia and had offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana and Louisville.
Ryan Dunn, a 6-8 freshman wing, shot 44% from 3-point range and had offers from more than a half-dozen Power 5 schools.
Isaac Traudt, a 6-10 forward, averaged 25 points a game while being named Nebraska’s player of the year. North Carolina and Gonzaga also pursued him.
Leon Bond III, a 6-5 wing, was the No. 2-ranked player in Wisconsin and had offers from Marquette, Cincinnati and Texas A&M.
Bennett said he is excited about the freshmen.
“You see flashes of ‘Wow, what they can become!’ ” he said. “As they get consistent, they’ll have great careers. They’ll have some first-year struggles, but the older players are doing a good job of helping them.”
Bennett said he expects his team to be strong again defensively, but he also expects more offensive output than last season, when the Cavaliers sometimes seemed to be looking for leaders on that end of the floor.
“This might be the oldest team I’ve had,” Bennett said. “Actually, I think there are a lot of teams with experience in the ACC. That should make for a good season.”
What might be the best news for Cavaliers fans is what Bennett said about his coaching style and experienced players. He talked about some of his best teams at his coaching stops — as an assistant at Wisconsin and as head coach at Washington State and Virginia — and said experience usually equals success for those squads.
“That has always been the formula,” he said of coaching success.
A special newcomer: There’s one other newcomer on the Virginia roster, and that player means something special to Tony Bennett.
Ben Vander Plas, a 6-8 forward, is a graduate student who played four years at Ohio. He averaged more than 14 points a game and was a third-team all-Mid American Conference selection.
But Vander Plas’ father, Dean, played collegiately with Tony Bennett at Green Bay. That team was coached by Bennett’s father, Ben.
“He (Vander Plas) was named for my father,” Tony Bennett said. “Our families are good friends. What kind of recruiter would I be if I couldn’t land a guy who was named for my dad?”
Virginia schedule
Nov. 7: N.C. Central, 9; Nov. 11: Monmouth, 9; Nov. 14: Northern Iowa, 8; Nov. 18, 20: Continental Tire Main Event, in Las Vegas (vs. Baylor, 7 p.m., on Nov. 18; Nov. 20 TBD); Nov. 25: Md-Eastern Shore, 6; Nov. 29: at Michigan, 9:30.
Dec. 3: Florida State, 2; Dec. 6: James Madison, 6; Dec. 17: Houston, 2; Dec. 20: at Miami, 8:30; Dec. 28: Albany, 6; Dec. 31: at Georgia Tech.
Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh, 9; Jan. 7: Syracuse, 5; Jan. 10: North Carolina, 9; Jan. 14: at Florida State, 4; Jan. 18: Virginia Tech, 7; Jan. 21: at Wake Forest, 2; Jan. 28: Boston College, noon; Jan. 30: at Syracuse, 7.
Feb. 4: at Virginia Tech, noon; Feb. 7: N.C. State, 9; Feb. 11: Duke, 4; Feb. 15: at Louisville, 7; Feb. 18: Notre Dame, noon; Feb. 22: at Boston College, 7; Feb. 25: at North Carolina, 6 or 8; Feb. 28: Clemson, 7.
March 4: Louisville, TBA.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
