The perfect public address announcer in University Hall this season should be the voice of an NHL franchise.
He’d get plenty of practice screaming, “Score!”
Because the University of Virginia is going to do a lot of that. The team can put the ball in the basket.
In Pete Gillen’s second season, the Cavaliers threw it through the hoop at a pace of 81.4 points per game, the highest since 1989. It helped Virginia to a 19-12 overall record and a third place finish (9-7) in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“And a lot of our scoring is back,” said Gillen during the recent Operation Basketball.
While having a lot of the same people returning may be good for offense, it’s a different story when those shooters try to defend.
If Virginia is going to make the NCAATournament as expected, it is going to have to stop somebody.
“Ask our guys what defense is, and they think it’s a new underarm spray,” said Gillen, the resident comedian of the league.
“They ask if it’s a town in Bolivia.”
While the Cavaliers were second in the league in scoring, they were dead last in points given up (75). But Gillen says there have been improvements.
“Last year, we were spelling it, d-e-f-e-n-c-e,” he said. “We can spell it better now.
“But can we do it? Time will tell.”
Gillen has a team that can run an opponent out of the gym, mainly because he has recruited well in his time in Charlottesville. Last year, he had four players averaging in double figures and nine averaging double figure minutes.
Donald Hand and Chris Williams will again lead the team. Both were second-team All-ACC selections last year.
Hand, a 5-11 senior, scored at a 15-point pace, while dishing out 4.3 assists. He was also second in the league in free throws (331-429).
But although losing his touch late in the season, he kept putting them up. And he regrets it.
“Iwent into a shooting slump and it hurt,” Hand said. “We could’ve won a lot more games if I had hit a shot here or there.”
“We’d like for Donald to shoot a little better,” said Gillen, “but we want him to distribute the ball. We have other guys who can score.”
Guys like Williams, a 6-8 junior, and sophomore Travis Watson, Gillen’s surprise 6-8 center of a year ago.
Williams, like Hand, averaged 15 points per game. He needs just 16 to become the Cavs’ 34th player to reach 1,000.
Watson averaged 11 points and made the ACC’s All-Freshman squad.
“Chris’ three-point shooting is good,” Gillen said. “We need him to rebound a little more. Watson, I think, is one of the best power forwards in the country.”
Gillen is also looking for good years out of Roger Mason and Adam Hall. Mason came on late, averaging 7.6 points in 21 minutes. Hall can play in the backcourt with Hand and believe it or not, the junior was named honorable mention All-Defense.
“Hall is one of the best athletes in the ACC,” he said. “Mason has a chance to score more. A lot of people don’t know much about him but he is a very good player.”
Also playing in the backcourt are seniors Keith Friel, Josh Hare and Greg Lyons, along with junior Jason Dowling and freshman Maurice Young. Mason can also bring the ball upcourt in Gillen’s up-tempo style.
Friel, with Hand and Williams, is a tri-captain. The Notre Dame transfer was Virginia’s leading three-point shooter last year (45-109). North Carolina fans certainly remember him. He scored 11 points in a three-minute span that helped the Cavs win at Chapel Hill.
One glaring omission is Majestic Mapp. The sophomore was injured playing pickup ball in his home of New York and the anterior cruciate ligament damage might keep him out all season.
Gillen thinks Stephane Dondon at 6-9 and Jason Rogers at 6-10 will have to improve inside and give Watson some help.
He also likes his freshman J.C. Mathis, out of Brooklyn.
“He’s fundamentally sound and that’s hurting our chemistry,” joked Gillen.
“Our strength is balance,” said Gillen, who reminded everyone that defense will be what wins for Virginia. And he keeps preaching that to his seniors.
“This is their last time around the block,” said Gillen. “It’s the last time you get free buffets. They’re putting rolls in their pockets and butter in their socks.”
And hopefully, a hand in the face of the the player they’re guarding.
“It will be a challenge,” said Hand of the new defensive intensity.
“To get to the next level, we have to play defense,” Gillen said.
Williams thinks there are challenges that have already been met. What’s another one?
“Our program has gone from a F to an A-plus,” Williams said. “We want to be up there with the Dukes and the Marylands.”
Want to get up there, Chris? Then play some defense.
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