Hoos Starting to Find Their Way

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In men’s basketball, neither Manhattan nor Holy Cross appears to be a giant-killer this season, and so it was no surprise that Virginia defeated both teams at John Paul Jones Arena this week.

More impressive was the care with which UVA handled the ball. Coming off a poor showing at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in the Bahamas, where the Wahoos lost by 22 points to Tennessee and by 35 to St. John’s, they were averaging 13.8 turnovers per game.

In a 74-65 win over Manhattan on Wednesday night, the Hoos reduced their turnovers to eight, and they improved again in that area Friday. In a matinee against Holy Cross, UVA had only six turnovers, a season low, in its 67-41 victory.

“The one area that we wanted to address after we came back from the Bahamas was taking care of the basketball,” interim head coach Ron Sanchez said. “I think maybe personnel had something to do with that.”

After the Bahamas tournament, Sanchez altered his starting lineup, going with sophomore center Blake Buchanan, junior forward Elijah Saunders and three guards: sophomore Dai Dai Ames and juniors Andrew Rohde and Isaac McKneely.

In addition to taking care of the ball, UVA (5-2) did not give up any fast-break points to Holy Cross (4-4).

“That resonates more of the Virginia way of basketball,” Sanchez said.

The Cavaliers’ scholarship players include two freshmen and three transfers who joined the program this year. Taine Murray is the only senior. With so many newcomers, Rohde said, the coaching staff has emphasized “taking care of the ball and trying to limit those turnovers, because when we play teams that capitalize on those, it can really hurt us. So for us to limit those and keep trying to bring that number down is really good.”

Now come two tougher tests for the Cavaliers, who won’t play at JPJ again until Dec. 12, when they start a five-game homestand by hosting Bethune-Cookman.

In the SEC/ACC Challenge, the Hoos will visit No. 18 Florida (8-0) on Wednesday night, after which they’ll fly from Gainesville to Dallas. In the ACC opener for both teams, UVA will meet SMU (6-2) next Saturday afternoon in Dallas.

Sanchez said he believes the Cavaliers are better prepared to take on high-caliber competition than when they arrived in the Bahamas. From its games against St. John’s and Tennessee, which is ranked No. 7 in the latest Associated Press poll, the Hoos know “the physicality, the athleticism that we’re going to face,” Sanchez said.

Rohde agreed. “I think those two games at the Bahamas helped us a lot. I think we learned a lot as a group, and this past week has been really tough in practice, just getting after it. I think we kind of know what to expect more out of these really good teams that we’re playing.”

In front of a crowd at JPJ that included Tony Bennett, who retired in October after 15 seasons as Virginia’s head coach, his former team took the lead for good when Ames stole the ball and dribbled in for a layup at the 16:30 mark of the first half.

The Cavaliers led by 13 at the break and rarely let up in the second half. They had not been nearly as locked in against Manhattan. The 16-point lead they build midway through the second half of that game steadily evaporated, and the Hoos needed a strong finish to hold off the Jaspers.

“It’s something that we addressed via film,” Sanchez said Friday. “We just talked about isolated efforts individually and understanding that we’re not playing against a scoreboard. It’s all about quality. And I think they did a much better job today. The way that we closed out the game is a perfect example of that. And I’m hoping that that is the lesson that is learned these last two games.”

Ames scored a season-high 16 points to lead Virginia against Holy Cross. That matched his high last season at Kansas State, where he averaged only 5.2 points per game.

At K-State, Ames said, he was more of a pass-first guard. He’s been looking for his shot more this season, with impressive results. Ames is averaging 9.1 points per game and shooting 52.9 percent from 3-point range and 92.9 percent from the line.

“If you watched Dai Dai in high school, he was a really good scorer,” Sanchez said. “He’s got that inner-city Chicago game to him, which is fun. He does some things that are enjoyable to watch, for sure.”

Sanchez smiled. “I’m encouraging him to continue to be that guy. You don’t have to conform to us. You be you, and we’re just going to put you in space to allow you to do that. The areas of improvement for him are his decision-making on the back end. And again today, he did a really good job taking care of the ball. I think if he continues to trend in that direction, not only will he be able to score, but I think he’ll be able to help others score as well. Tonight again we had three guys in double figures, almost a fourth. And the offense kind of creates that, where it’s a passing, sharing the ball, cutting type of spacing.”

Rohde and McKneely scored 13 points apiece, and Saunders added nine. Saunders and Buchanan led the Hoos with six rebounds each. In game in which the Cavaliers made 24 field goals, their unselfishness stood out. Murray and freshman Ishan Sharma had four assists each for UVA, which totaled 20.

For the Cavaliers, the “secret to good offense is passing and catching,” Sanchez said. “So we [don’t] talk about anything else. We just talk about catching and passing. Catch the ball, take care of the ball, set quality screens. Know where your shots are and know what shots you’re capable of making and play to those strengths. I think they’re starting to understand that. I think that guys are starting to screen a little better. We have a pretty high standard here and we’re not going to lower the standard of quality basketball: screening, passing, cutting. And the reason we can’t lower the standard, regardless of their age, is that when you lower your standard, the truth is you don’t really lower the standard. What you do is you create a new standard. And that standard just isn’t good enough to compete at this level. So we’re going to continue to keep the bar high, regardless of the experience that these young guys have and regardless of whether they’re a first-year, second-year transfer or have minimal experience. That’s why it is the Virginia way, and that’s how this program has been successful, and we’re not going to shift from that.”

This was the first-ever game between these programs. Holy Cross’ second-year head coach, Dave Paulsen, previously held that position at George Mason, and he’s familiar with the UVA program.

“Certainly not the result we wanted,” Paulsen said, “but Virginia basketball under Tony Bennett, and I’m really confident Virginia basketball under Ron Sanchez, represents competitiveness and toughness with integrity. And so I couldn’t have more respect for the Virginia basketball program.

“I think when Tony Bennett came here, however many years ago it was, he tried to be different than the mainstream, Division I high-level basketball, and he did it at an unbelievable level. I think Ron Sanchez is starting that process, they’ve kind of modernized their offense and I think great things are in store [for them].”

Sanchez liked much of what he saw from his team Friday, but not everything. With 12:32 to play, he called a timeout after the Crusaders scored six straight points to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 46-32.

Against Manhattan, “we had leads and we gave them up,” Sanchez said, “and the timeout was to reference that game, to reference that experience, and [to stress that] we can’t continue to repeat behaviors. We have to, in the moment, coach them. They responded well.”

During the timeout, Sanchez said, the coaches also emphasized the need for more effort from the players.

“The reason [the Crusaders] scored six points in a row is because they wanted it more than we did,” Sanchez said. “So at that moment, it was a great opportunity for us to kind of hit the reset button, and let’s see if we can continue to grow and understand this is the moment that we’re in. Let’s understand it. Let’s embrace it. Let’s be here and let’s grow and see if we can improve on it.”

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