UVA Basketball Halfway Point Check In
UVA Basketball Halfway Point Check In
Very happy to be back!
There are 13 games remaining in the regular season, plus the conference tournament and Big Dance. Given that the Hoos are 16 games in, I’d say we’re right about at the halfway point.
AKA a perfect time to look back on the season so far and make some observations.
Right now, we’re 13-3 overall and ranked No. 12 in the KenPom rankings. Included in our resume are three Quad 1 wins, plus a Quad 2 home win over North Carolina that could wind up being a Quad 1 win. We played arguably the best team in the nation (Houston) tough at home and our other two losses were both one-score defeats on the road in conference play.
Compared to last year, when we were in the 80’s in KenPom with a whole gaggle of rough defeats, I’d say we’re lightyears ahead.
How did we get here? Well, let’s start with the guys who were on that team last year.
Kihei Clark and Armaan Franklin have both made huge jumps in terms of production. Simply put, they’re better players than they were last season. Across the board, Kihei’s numbers are up, and when the team is at their lowest, it seems Kihei is the only guy who can pull them up by their bootstraps and get things on track. A great example is when they were oddly letting Albany hang around and the crowd was getting restless. He picked the pocket of Albany’s point guard on CONSECUTIVE plays to one, get the crowd involved, and two, give the team some cushion. It’s probably the best individual moment of the season.
Armaan’s biggest jump has come from behind the arc and on the glass. He worked relentlessly in the offseason and it’s paid off. If you’re a Wahoo fan, you’ve certainly heard the Justin Anderson story. Because of his rebounding ability, he’s been able to play the small ball four. Against North Carolina, he got multiple tough boards in traffic, then did a fair share of work in the post against smaller defenders. Since December 28th, his numbers are incredible.
Reece Beekman has also taken his game to the next level, though an injury in mid-December has hampered his numbers. When he’s healthy, however, and you watch him play, the eye-test tells you everything you need to know.
Jayden Gardner was the team’s leading scorer last year and he deserves major credit. Not for any huge jump in production or anything, but because of the team player he’s been. Going from the No. 1 option in Year A to not an option at all some games in Year B is tough, and it usually isn’t so seamless. It’s all part of the Humility pillar; you see the results and you do what you can when you’re called on. Jayden is still a vital player to this team, his skillset is just best against some teams rather than all teams. Last year, Tony didn’t have a ton of options. This year, he’s got a full tool belt of options.
Even so, Jayden has solid numbers (10.3 ppg/4.9 rpg) while shooting a better percentage from the field than last season.
Now if we’re going to talk tool belt, you’ve got to talk about the new guys. The new blood that’s come in has built upon the improvements the returners have made. Of course, the three that have made the biggest impact are transfer Ben Vander Plas and highly-touted recruits Isaac McKneely and Ryan Dunn. First and foremost, they fit. Now, I know they do a great job filtering all that out in the recruitment process but it must be noted.
Vander Plas had a few tough weeks but he’s completely used that rough stretch as fuel. He put the team on his back in the second half against UNC, then in his first ACC start, he dropped 11 points in a four-minute stretch to get them off on the right foot vs. Florida State. You could argue he’s the most valuable piece right now because he gives the team so much versatility. Against North Carolina, they went small in the second half using BVP at small ball five and that was the difference.
When BVP is at the five, that leaves Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro on the bench. That said, Papi is a very specific tool (see tool belt analogy); when they need to get more physical, insert the big guy. When the opposing team is getting to the rim too often, lean on Kadin.
McKneely is gaining more confidence every game. Confidence to let it fly from deep, but also the confidence to put the ball on the deck every now and again. With his shooting ability, that’s so vital. It’s like setting up the play-action in football. It keeps the defense honest if they see you willing to drive baseline. He’s currently shooting 40.6 percent from deep with real volume (four attempts per game).
Dunn has a huge ceiling and he hasn’t scratched the surface yet. He’s not getting a ton of minutes, but when he gets legit time (10+ minutes) he’s always impactful. Look for him to be a staple in the lineup for a long time. He’s long and plays great defense; that will always earn you minutes with Tony.
So that’s a little run down of the roster. Let’s do some superlative-type things then project the rest of the year.
Best Moment: It’s hard to beat that stretch where UVA men’s and women’s teams hadn’t lost a game yet, to be honest. Specific moment, however, has to go to the aforementioned back-to-back steals from Kihei Clark. Also, the buzz for the team after the Monmouth blowout was great too. Seeing I-Mac and Dunn perform so well gave the fan base glimpses of a potential Kyle Guy-DeAndre Hunter combo.
Worst Moment: Second half against Pitt and it’s not even close.
First-Half MVP: Gotta go Kihei Clark. I’ve been on record saying he needed to play like 28 minutes per game this year and I was way wrong. When the pressure is on, there’s no one else I want with the rock. He’s always composed. He’s the steady hand. And, for what it’s worth, there aren’t many reliable ball-handlers up against pressure outside of Kihei and Reece.
Most Improved: I probably spoiled this one early on, but let’s go Armaan. it seemed like he shot the Hoos out of a few games last year (11 games with zero three-balls). On the contrary, he’s gotten very consistent this season. Through 16 games, he only has three games with zero three-balls, and one of them was vs. UNC where he did so many other things to contribute. You have to be so happy for Armaan. Hard work pays off, y’all.
Where will we finish?
Per KenPom, the Hoos are only projected to lose one more ACC game (at UNC on February 25th).
That said, I can see them dropping another game or two. But…I think they win the ACC Tournament this year, then get a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the dance and make a run to at least the Sweet 16. And if that happens, you better believe I’m going to road trip it to wherever that happens to be. Go Hoos baby!