William & Mary Game Report
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By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE– A festive holiday crowd at John Paul Jones Arena had much to cheer Saturday afternoon, starting with University of Virginia swingman De’Andre Hunter’s re-emergence offensively after a two-game lull.
Hunter, a 6-7, 225-pound redshirt sophomore, averaged a team-high 16.4 points through Virginia’s first eight games. But in the Cavaliers’ next two outings – wins over VCU and South Carolina – he was a combined 3 for 16 from the floor and scored only 14 points.
Against William & Mary, Hunter returned to form. He led the fifth-ranked Wahoos with 18 points and added four rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 72-40 victory over the Tribe.
“In the past two games, I’ve been kind of passive and kind of letting the game come to me, and I just tried to be more assertive this game,” Hunter said.
Time and again, Hunter drove to the basket Saturday, and he was rewarded with 10 free throws. He made nine of them, a career high, and also drew the fourth and fifth fouls on W&M’s best player, Nathan Knight (game-high 22 points), who departed with 5:56 to play.
“We tried to put him in spots to be aggressive,” UVA head coach Tony Bennett said of Hunter, “and he had the right mindset.”
That was true for the ‘Hoos (11-0) in general. W&M (4-8) came in averaging 77.3 points per game, but made only 16 of 49 shots from the floor (32.7 percent). The Tribe were 2 for 20 from 3-point range against the Cavaliers’ Pack Line defense.
“We have to make shots, and we were atrocious,” W&M head coach Tony Shaver said. “Now, I’ll give them some credit for that, partially, but we missed a lot of open shots too … If you’re going to beat them, you better shoot [well].”
The Tribe came in averaging 17.1 assists per game. They had three Saturday.
“Well, if you don’t make shots, you’re not going to get assists,” Shaver said. “I’m not real smart, but I’ve figured that one out. I’ll give [the Cavaliers] a lot of credit. They’ve proven game after game and year after year that they’re great defensively.”
The ‘Hoos, who led by 11 at the break, were efficient offensively, too. Hunter and junior guard Kyle Guy (16 points) were the only UVA players in double figures, but four of their teammates scored six or more points each.
In 18 minutes off the bench, junior forward Braxton Key contributed nine points and four rebounds. Virginia’s starting post players, redshirt junior Mamadi Diakite and fifth-year senior Jack Salt, had six points apiece, and junior guard Ty Jerome came close to a double-double.
The 6-5 Jerome finished with eight points, a career-best nine rebounds, a game-high four assists and two steals. He wasn’t the only UVA guard to assert himself on the backboards.
The 6-2 Guy matched his career high with seven rebounds, the most memorable of which came midway through the second half. After Jerome missed a floater from the baseline, Guy soared for the rebound, converted the stickback and then, facing the UVA bench, celebrated by flexing his muscles.
“I don’t know if he needed to show us his guns,” Bennett said, smiling, “but we’ve been working hard at that, and that actually showed up in that situation.”
Asked about his display of emotion, Guy smiled. “I was flexing for anybody who wanted to see it. Coach always gives me a hard time because I don’t always get back [on defense] like I’m supposed to, because I like to try and get offensive rebounds. So when I do, it’s a special moment for me.”
On an afternoon when W&M made only 6 of 16 free throws, the Cavaliers were 19 for 21 from the line.
“That’s important, and we always try to shoot a lot of them [in practice],” Bennett said. “In possession games, that stuff matters.”
WARM WELCOME: With 2:56 to play, redshirt freshman Francesco Badocchi checked into the game, to loud applause from the home fans. It was Badocchi’s first appearance as a Cavalier.
A 6-7 forward from Italy, Badocchi redshirted last season and then spent part of the fall semester away from the team after taking a leave of absence for medical reasons.
He missed his only shot Saturday but grabbed two rebounds.
“It was great to see Frankie get out there and get some minutes,” Bennett said.
FITTING TRIBUTE: Knight, a 6-10, 245-pound junior from Syracuse, N.Y., hit 9 of 17 shots from the floor, grabbed a team-high five rebounds and blocked a game-high two shots.
When he fouled out, Virginia fans gave him an extended ovation. Bennett was complimentary as well after the game.
“Nathan Knight really impressed me,” Bennett said. “He made some nice drives and scored from the post. He’s a good player.”
Shaver said: “I think Nate can play anywhere collegiately, I really do believe that, but he’s the only [one] that played for us today. Our other guys didn’t play well.”
THEY SAID IT: After the postgame press conferences for Bennett and Shaver, three UVA players (Guy, Jerome and Hunter) fielded questions from media members. Among the noteworthy comments after the Cavaliers’ penultimate non-conference game:
* Bennett: “I didn’t have much problem with the way we defended. I think we made them work and we contested most of their shots. And then they were a little off, so that has an impact on their offense.”
* Bennett on his team’s play so far: “I told the guys before the game, ‘You should feel good about yourselves. Not too good, but good for what you’ve accomplished, how you’ve played up to this point, what you can be. But know in saying that, you have to recommit to how it is every game, every time.’ ”
* Bennett on 5-9 freshman Kihei Clark, who again played with a cast protecting a surgically repaired fracture in his left wrist: “He’s just a little limited, and I’m hoping he’s going to get more comfortable finishing and shooting, all those kinds of things.”
* Jerome on Virginia’s 42-24 advantage on the boards: “I think everyone did a good job of gang-rebounding. Whoever was guarding [Knight] had their hands full trying to keep him off the glass and trying to keep him in front and banging with him. So it was our job to come back and rebound the ball as a team, and we did a good job of that today.”
* Jerome on the 6-9 Diakite’s impact: “I think it’s just a different look from Kihei. We go a little bigger when Mamadi’s on the floor, [with] a little more interior scoring. And then when Kihei comes back in we get that four-guard look, more pressure on the ball, a little more up-tempo. Being able to go to both looks is going to be big for us down the road.”
WHAT’S NEXT: The Cavaliers will play once more before the calendar flips to 2019. On New Year’s Eve, Virginia (11-0) hosts Marshall (7-5) in a 1 p.m. game at JPJ.
Virginia and Marshall haven’t met since Jan. 19, 1992. The ‘Hoos have won three straight over the Thundering Herd and lead the series 6-2.
Marshall upset Wichita State in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season. Among the players back from that Marshall team is guard Jon Elmore, a 6-3 senior who averages 20.8 points per game.