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By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE– For the fourth-ranked University of Virginia men’s basketball team, roles and rotations are becoming more defined.
Six players are averaging at least 20 minutes per game, led by junior guard Kyle Guy (32.8). Following Guy are junior guard Ty Jerome (29.9), redshirt sophomore forward De’Andre Hunter (28.4), freshman guard Kihei Clark (27.6), junior forward Braxton Key (21.9) and fifth-year senior center Jack Salt (20.4).
In the next group are redshirt junior forward Mamadi Diakite (15.2), redshirt sophomore forward Jay Huff (11.2) and sophomore guard Marco Anthony (11.2). The only other scholarship player to take the court for the Cavaliers this season, freshman guard Kody Stattmann, is averaging 6.4 minutes per game.
“I think we’re going to need ’em all at different times,” head coach Tony Bennett said Monday night after UVA defeated Morgan State 83-45 at John Paul Jones Arena.
All 10 played against the Bears (2-5), as did walk-ons Grant Kersey, Austin Katstra and Jayden Nixon. Katstra delighted the crowd with a fast-break dunk off an assist from his former Albemarle High teammate Kersey, who later contributed two free throws and a three-point play.
“It was good to see a lot of guys get opportunities to play,” Bennett said.
The Cavaliers (8-0) hit their first seven shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers, and never trailed Monday. They led 47-23 at the half.
“Obviously, we started out shooting the ball well,” Bennett said. “Guys played hard and a lot of guys got experience, so I thought it was a positive night in that regard.”
An 11thscholarship player, redshirt freshman forward Francesco Badocchi, was in uniform for the first time this season. Badocchi, who took a leave of absence for medical reasons during preseason, recently returned to practice.
He didn’t play against Morgan State, but Badocchi might give the Cavaliers another frontcourt option as ACC play approaches.
“It’s great to have him back,” Bennett said.
Nobody played more than 28 minutes against Morgan State, whose head coach, Todd Bozeman, is the father-in-law of former UVA standout Darion Atkins. (Bozeman’s daughter also graduated from the University.)
“Virginia is good, and we knew they were good,” Bozeman said. “You see their scores and how they’ve been playing against people. I wanted my team to come in here and just do what we do and [see] if we could run our offense against a team that’s known to be the best defensive team in the country. You look for the small victories.”
The Bears won few battles Monday night. They turned the ball over 17 times – Jerome had a career-high five steals for Virginia – and shot only 25.9 percent from the floor.
“They went on a little bit of a run to start the first half,” Guy said, “but other than that I think we were in the gaps and we played really good defense.”
Guy and Hunter scored 15 points each to lead the Wahoos, who improved to 21-0 against opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Stattmann (nine) and Anthony (eight) recorded season highs in points, and the 6-8 Key grabbed nine rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
The 7-1 Huff blocked a game-high three shots.
“He had two good days of practice,” Bennett said. “We’re going to need everybody, and I always am looking for matchups for Jay out there, and I thought he did a good job and was alert. You could see his length. Even if a guy beats him or beat someone else, he has the ability and the timing, with being 7-feet and being fairly quick off the floor, to bother a shot. So rim protection is important, and he took a step in the right direction.”
The ‘Hoos were coming off a win over previously unbeaten Maryland. The Terrapins shot 61.9 percent in the second half of that ACC/Big Ten Challenge game in College Park, Md.
Against Morgan State, Bennett said, “I thought our defense was tight in the gaps, and we didn’t give ’em too many open looks. I thought we were a little better defensively to start the second half, which has not been the case in the last few games.”
MAKING HIS CASE: The 6-4 Anthony, who was solid off the bench against Maryland in a hostile environment, played well again Monday night.
“I’m very comfortable,” he said. “I’m confident in myself and the hard work I’ve put in.”
Guy lauded Anthony’s work ethic.
“Even when he came in as a first-year he was always staying after [practice], shooting and working on different techniques with Coach on his shot,” Guy said, “because he had a little bit of a hitch and he’s trying to work on that. I think he’s really bought himself a lot of minutes these past few games. He’s steady and he rebounds and he’s playing physical.”
Anthony said: “I’m not playing hesitant anymore. I’m just being assertive and letting everything take care of itself.”
THEY SAID IT: Bennett, Bozeman and four UVA players – Guy, Salt, Anthony and Stattmann – fielded questions from reporters after the game. Among the noteworthy comments:
* Bennett on his team: “I think offensively they’re a smart group. They know how to play. Every now and then we’ll shoot a couple of questionable shots, but they understand how to play, how to move the ball. Defensively, we’re still trying to come [together], because teams are going to really attack us.”
* Bennett on his players’ decision-making: “We really want them to be aggressive with wisdom offensively, and we really want them to be patient with wisdom. I think you can go too far on either end of that spectrum, and I think those guys understand that. Because you can’t play hesitant. You’ve got to be assertive. But once you step over that line against a good defense, it’ll be buckets [for the opponent] at the other end.”
* Guy on the challenge of maintaining intensity with a big lead: “It’s very easy, considering how last season ended.” (Top-seeded UVA lost to No. 16 seed UMBC in the first round of the NCAA tournament.)
* Salt: “That was a rough way to end the season, and it was a long offseason for a lot us thinking about that game and how we ended the tournament [after] such a great season. So it keeps us motivated at practice and in games. It keeps us ready at all times. We play against ourselves and not against the opponent if the score isn’t close.”
* Guy, smiling, on the behind-the-back dribble the 6-10, 250-pound Salt attempted in transition Monday night: “I would like to say that [the MSU defender] did not fall for that at all.”
* Stattmann, who’s from Australia, on his transition to UVA: “At the start it was really tough. The schoolwork and everything was really different from back home. But all the guys helped me through it, and they’re really good guys, so it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It’s been really fun.”
* Bozeman, whose coaching staff includes former UVA assistant Brian Ellerbe, on the experience his players gained at JPJ: “We’re trying to get ourselves better. Sometimes you schedule these games just because you want to keep your guys in check so they don’t think that they’re world-beaters and [show] that this is how a high-level program competes. This is how they defend, this is the discipline they have, things like that.”
WHAT’S NEXT: In their final game before the break for final exams, the Cavaliers (8-0) host VCU at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. A limited number of tickets are available, and they can be purchased here.
The Rams (6-2) play Wednesday night at Texas (5-2). The Longhorns’ head coach, Shaka Smart, previously held that position at VCU.
UVA has won 10 of its 12 games with VCU. When the teams met last season at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Guy scored a career-high 29 points in the Cavaliers’ 76-67 victory.
“Great respect for that program,” Bennett said of VCU, which is in its second season under head coach Mike Rhoades. “They’re a quality opponent, and they play an athletic, aggressive style. Coach Rhoades is an excellent coach.
“It’ll be a hard-fought game, of course, and I hope it’ll be a great atmosphere.”