Competition Ratchets Up for Hoos in Bahamas

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — First came games against Campbell and Coppin State at John Paul Jones Arena, then a clash with Villanova in Baltimore.

The University of Virginia men’s basketball team has yet to face a ranked opponent this season, but that’s about to change. At the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, UVA (3-0) will meet No. 11 Tennessee (4-0) late Thursday night and then take on No. 13 Baylor or No. 22 St. John’s on Friday night.

These late-November tournaments have become staples of the Wahoos’ non-conference schedules.

“The benefit is you get to play against high-level competition early on in the season,” interim head coach Ron Sanchez said Tuesday at JPJ. “It truly is a great test for your team to gauge where you are. I think our schedule has created that for us. Every single game has gotten a little tougher, and that’s the goal. This is really tough right now, but this is what you want. You want to be in this environment. The best part about it is that we get to do this, but then you also get to spend some quality time with your team in a different country. You do get to build things that impact winning, which is your connection with one another, spending quality time together.”

The Cavaliers’ roster includes six newcomers—four transfers and two freshmen—and the team is still forming its identity. But these November tournaments are useful even for teams that haven’t had much turnover, Sanchez said. “I’m not sure you could ever say we’re too close, or we know enough about one another.”

Junior guard Isaac McKneely is one of Virginia’s veterans. As a freshman in 2022-23, McKneely helped the Cavaliers defeat No. 5 Baylor and No. 19 Illinois at the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas. The Hoos went 1-1 at the Fort Myers Tipoff Classic in Florida last November, losing to Wisconsin and defeating West Virginia. Now comes a chance for Virginia to play outside the United States.

“Obviously, we’re there for the basketball piece of it, but in our free time we just enjoy the Bahamas,” McKneely said. “It’s a good opportunity for us to bond early in the season, and I think it just will lead to success throughout the season as well.”

Such trips mix work and leisure.

“We preach a lot about being where your feet are,” Sanchez said, “and at this tournament when we’re on the basketball court we’re going to be where our feet are. We’re going to focus, we’re going to lock in, we’re going to work hard. When they have the sand under their feet, I want them to be where their feet are. I want them to be on the beach. I want them to enjoy the sand. I want them to enjoy the salt water.”

McKneely said: “Obviously, when we’re playing basketball or watching film, whatever it is, we’re locked in, but we’re in the Bahamas, so we’ve got to be sure to enjoy that, because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Tested by Campbell in the season-opener, Virginia dominated against Coppin State and then posted a convincing 70-60 victory over Villanova in the Hall of Fame Series. The Cavaliers’ late-game execution against the Wildcats, however, was less than perfect.

After a dunk by 6-foot-10 Jacob Cofie made it 66-48 with 1:55 to play, Virginia relaxed and grew careless with the ball, allowing Villanova to cut its deficit to 10 by the final horn. Those final 115 seconds, Sanchez said, provided valuable lessons for his team.

“I actually had a one-on-one meeting with our point guards and talked about their role and responsibility,” Sanchez said. “At that point in the game, it is not a coaching thing. It is literally about execution, organization, and mentality, understanding what we’re trying to accomplish as a team, leading groups, organizing your team, and being able to communicate and articulate that well.”

Villanova is 3-3, with losses to Columbia, Saint Joseph’s and UVA. Virginia figures to encounter much more resistance from Tennessee, which has already faced one ACC team. The Volunteers won 77-55 at Louisville on Nov. 9.

“We know Tennessee is going to be a tough, physical team,” said McKneely, who leads Virginia in scoring (16.0 ppg). “It’s a jump in competition. I think Villanova was a good step. They’re a good, physical team as well and I thought we played really well. So hopefully we can take the energy from that game and we can shoot it like we did. We’re going to have to come out and play on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes if we want to beat Tennessee.”

McKneely’s marksmanship was one of the major storylines in UVA’s win over Villanova. He was 6 for 6 from 3-point range, 8 for 9 overall, and finished with a game-23 points. Overall, the Hoos were 14 for 25 from beyond the arc. Still, McKneely was most impressed with his team’s ball movement and transition defense against the Wildcats.

“I think we held them to zero transition points,” McKneely said, “and they’re a really good transition team. That’s going to be key against Tennessee as well, because they’re one of the best transition teams in the country.”

UVA and Tennessee haven’t met in basketball since Dec. 30, 2013. That game—an 87-52 romp for the Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn.—proved to be a turning point in a breakthrough season for Virginia. Five days later, the Hoos won at Florida State, ending their streak of 17 consecutive losses in the Sunshine State, and they went on to sweep the ACC regular-season and tournament titles and advance to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.

Much has changed in both programs since that 2013 game, but Cavalier fans will recognize at least one name on the Vols’ roster. Tennessee’s forwards include 6-foot-10 senior Igor Miličić Jr., a transfer from Charlotte.

Miličić began his college career at Virginia, where he appeared in 16 games as a freshman in 2021-22. After that season, he transferred to Charlotte to play for Sanchez, then the 49ers’ head coach. In 2022-23, Miličić helped Charlotte win the College Basketball Invitational title in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Sanchez returned to UVA after the 2022-23 to became an associate head coach on Tony Bennett’s staff at Virginia, but he hasn’t lost touch with Miličić, who’s averaging 14.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season.

“Igor and I have actually texted each other,” Sanchez said, smiling. “I’m a big fan of Igor. Igor was fantastic in our championship run at Charlotte. He’s been kind of teasing me that he can’t wait to see me, but in an all-friendly kind of way. I’m looking forward to it.”

On the eve of the season, Jalen Warley, a transfer from Florida State, left the UVA program, hurting the team’s depth at point guard. With Warley gone, sophomore Dai Dai Ames and junior Andrew Rohde have been splitting time at the point.

“I like having both of them, because they bring different things,” McKneely said. “Dai Dai can pick up 94 feet, he’s scrappy, and Rohde really controls the game. He’s a really good passer and sees the floor really well.”

Ames, a transfer from Kansas State, scored eight points against Villanova. Rohde, who missed the Coppin State game with a sore back, hit three treys in his return and scored 13 points, and he also had four assists.

“I’ve been saying all along, Rohde has great feel,” Sanchez said. “He’s a very smart player. He’s not perfect, he has some work to do, but he really has assisted us in getting off to a great start. We missed him the game that he wasn’t in the game. That’s how important he is.”

Another guard who might add depth at point guard, redshirt freshman Christian Bliss, had offseason surgery and has yet to make his UVA debut.

“I don’t think he’s going to play in this tournament,” Sanchez said Tuesday. “We’re hoping that he’ll be healthy enough to play soon because we need another ball-handler out there and he’s the one guy that does have that skill. In the meantime, it’s going to have to be Ish Sharma, who shows flashes of being able to help us in that area.”

Sharma, a 6-foot-5 guard from Ontario, is one of the Cavaliers’ two freshmen. The other is Cofie, who has sparkled in his three games off the bench.

Cofie, who grew up in Seattle, is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and leads the Cavaliers in rebounds (7.7 per game) and steals (2.0 per game). He’s tied with 6-foot-11 sophomore Blake Buchanan for the team lead in blocked shots (five apiece). Moreover, Cofie is shooting 60.9 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from 3-point range and 100 percent (6 for 6) from the line.

“I think that Jacob is complete,” Sanchez said. “He can pass, he can dribble, he can shoot. We’re putting a lot on his shoulders and he has answered the call. We’re going to bring him along at a pace that he can handle. The only way we can figure out what that is, is we have to put more in front of him. So defensively, he’s going to have to guard some big boys. He did a really good job against Villanova and he rebounded really well. We’re going to keep encouraging him to do that and to do it at a higher level.”

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