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Oct. 27, 1999
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia men’s basketball teamwas picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference by mediarepresentatives attending the ACC’s 38th annual Operation Basketball heldin Greensboro, N.C. on October 24. Virginia finished ninth in the ACC thelast two seasons.
Several Cavaliers gained recognition at the Operation Basketballevent including sophomore forward Chris Williams (Birmingham, Ala.) who wasnamed to the pre-season All-ACC second team after being named to theAll-ACC third team last year. Williams, the reigning ACC Rookie of theYear, also received a vote for the ACC’s pre-season Player of the Year.
Junior guard Donald Hand (Paterson, N.J.) received honorablemention recognition after falling a few votes short of joining Williams onthe pre-season All-ACC second team.
Virginia’s highly-regarded first-year class also receivedrecognition at the media event. Guards Majestic Mapp (Bronx, N.Y.) andRoger Mason (Silver Spring, Md.), and forward Travis Watson (Brookneal,Va.) each gained votes in the balloting for pre-season ACC Rookie of theYear.
With four returning starters and several newcomers, the Cavalierslook forward to improving on last season’s 14-16 (4-12 in the ACC) record.Virginia begins its 1999-2000 regular season on November 9 with a home gameagainst Elon College.