The Virginia Cavaliers and new head coach Ryan Odom played in front of a home crowd and on a broadcast for the first time on Friday evening, topping the Villanova Wildcats 75-72.
The ‘Hoos led for all but 1:02 of game time and held a 10-point lead with 1:31 left. Villanova’s pressure yielded two Wahoo turnovers in the backcourt and made the game far closer than it should’ve been. But two clutch free throws from true freshman Chance Mallory and a last possession stop sealed the deal on the preseason victory for the Cavaliers.
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Malik Thomas (16 points, 5-for-10 from the field, 3-for-4 from three) and Johann Gruenloh (12 points, 4-for-9, 1-for-3) were Virginia’s two double-digit scorers. Four more players (Thijs de Ridder, Jacari White, Dallin Hall, and Ugonna Onyenso) had seven-plus points, while Gruenloh (eight) and De Ridder (eight) led the way on the boards and Hall dished out a team-high five assists.
With the win, we have five takeaways as the Cavaliers approach their season opener on November 3rd:
Ryan Odom is delivering on his schematic promises
If you were seated at JPJ or tuned in on ACC Network Extra, you watched a much different style of basketball than what Virginia fans have seen for the past 15 years.
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A few stats tell the story:
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67 offensive possessions for UVA
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37.9% offensive rebound rate (offensive rebounds divided by shots missed)
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49% of UVA’s shots came from three
For context, in Virginia’s national championship season in 2019, those average numbers were:
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59.4 possessions per game
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30.4% offensive rebound rate
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39.5% of UVA’s shots came from three
The Cavaliers ran in transition, attacked the offensive glass, were aggressive (and often sloppy) in settled offense and transition scenarios, and fired away from deep. It’s a different scheme on either side of the ball and in the margins.
This is mid-October basketball for a team with zero returning contributions from last season, so some growing pains are expected. Those are, to some extent, at fault for the 18 turnovers and Villanova’s 18 points off turnovers. Defensively, there were some head scratching moments (more on that soon) that were uncharacteristic of UVA squads.
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Like it or not, though, this is a new era of Virginia basketball in about every imaginable way. We saw that on the floor for the first time Friday night.
The rotation – and most common lineup – takes shape
Odom’s promise to play a deep rotation also played out in the scrimmage. While it’s realistic that he could shorten it once real game action starts, he played the 10-deep rotation he’s been saying he would versus the Wildcats. 10 players played more than 10 minutes on Friday with Martin Carrere chipping in a minute as the 11th player in white.
“We want nine, ten guys to be able to go in the game and help us,” Odom said postgame.
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The starting lineup of Hall-Thomas-Sam Lewis-De Ridder-Gruenloh was as expected. Lewis’ usage was not to the level of a starter, however, as he played just 11 minutes, the second fewest after Carrere. In his place, Jacari White (21 minutes) was the go-to guard alongside Hall and Thomas especially late in the game. Mallory (18 minutes) and Elijah Gertrude (15) also got more playing time than Lewis.
Up front, De Ridder (26) and Gruenloh (25) were third and fourth in minutes, respectively, behind Thomas and Hall. Onyenso and Devin Tillis chipped in roughly 15 minutes apiece.
A six-man rotation in the backcourt and a four-man group among the bigs looks to be how the rotation is shaping up. One of Lewis, Gertrude, or maybe Mallory (albeit his role looks set as the backup point guard) could fall out a bit if the other two step up. Yet given Odom’s frantic style of play, having a deep bench looks necessary.
UVA’s European-led frontcourt looks as advertised
Gruenloh and De Ridder looked like studs, while Tillis and Onyenso had their own flashes. Gruenloh was the most consistently productive of the group with his 12 points and eight rebounds (including five on the offensive glass). He’s as-advertised with the length, three-point shooting ability, and hands to be a productive center on either end on day one.
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“It’s beautiful,” Malik Thomas said post-scrimmage. “When a five-man can shoot like how Johann can, it’s just a blessing for guards that like to get downhill like myself.”
De Ridder was a bit more up and down, particularly as a scorer. He got downhill a few times and started to display how his combination of skill with mere brute strength can overwhelm defenders. Getting him more involved, particularly with his back to the basket, should be a point of emphasis as the regular season approaches.
Onyenso flashed all over the court. He hit a three-pointer – something he (still) hasn’t done before in his career. He blocked three shots and had a pair of alley oop dunks – one in transition, one off a ball screen – that ignited the crowd. He looked polished on either end, which wasn’t a guarantee when he committed to come to Charlottesville. Onyenso looks like a really quality backup center.
“I thought Ugo gave us a big lift off the bench,” Odom said. “He’s doing really well right now, been impressed with him.”
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Tillis’ athleticism is clearly a step behind the other three. He was a bit overaggressive with the ball in his hands, resulting in a pair of turnovers. But he still is a solid, high-floor power forward. He nabbed six boards and hit a three.
Ball screen coverage an issue for Virginia defensively
Villanova cooked the ‘Hoos with ball screens on Friday. The Wildcats’ guards punished them by getting into the lane against UVA’s drop coverage and making plays as scorers and feeders.
In a sharp shift away from the hard hedges on ball screens from the Bennett era, Odom has his bigs playing in drop coverage on ball screens above the three-point break line. That puts pressure on the on-ball defender (typically a guard) to navigate the screen by getting over or under it to stick with the ball handler.
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Too often, the Villanova ball handler got sufficient space from the on-ball defender to be able to create while attacking downhill. Playing drop coverage isn’t in and of itself a bad strategy – a few Bennett-era teams were plagued by poor coverage while hedging and blitzing ball screens. But UVA’s guards have to be better at navigating picks if the defense is going to continue to play drop coverage.
Malik Thomas, Jacari White and Elijah Gertrude had good reps getting around picks and putting ball pressure on the Villanova guards. So, it wasn’t all bad. If there’s a point of emphasis to be better defensively, playing picks is it. To be fair, Villanova only scored 1.04 points per possession on Friday. But UVA will play better, more experienced guards this season and will need to be more buttoned up against ball screens.
Young players have ups and downs
Chance Mallory and Martin Carrere are Virginia’s lone two traditional underclassmen, and they both had inconsistent performances against Villanova.
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Carrere only played a minute-plus. On the three possessions he played, he was directly involved with the result of each. He nailed a catch-and-shoot three on offense off a Dallin Hall assist, displaying his lightning-quick, high release. Then, defensively, he got burned twice for two shooting fouls and one and-one basket. He’s likely going to be on the outside of the rotation looking in this season. The shooting is there, the question will be if he develops physically to guard at a Power-4 level.
Mallory put a lot more film on tape in his 18 minutes. He played rushed early, coughing the ball up three times in the first half. The Charlottesville native was better as the scrimmage progressed, showing off some effective on-ball defense for stretches, hitting a nice three-pointer off the dribble after losing his defender by rejecting a ball screen.
“Bangs a three out there, handles the ball, is a tough defender,” Odom said. “He’s everything we want in a guard. It’s fun to hear the crowd react to him when he does something.”
Mallory wasn’t great as a facilitator, registering two assists relative to those three turnovers. He tried to do a bit too much while attacking downhill and is clearly adjusting to the quickness and length of Division I defenders. That’s not a real concern, though. Mallory looked like he belonged in his JPJ debut, even grabbing two offensive rebounds as the 5-foot-10 freshman put his motor and hops on display. He very much looks primed to become the face of this program in the coming years.
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“The prince, that’s what I call Chance … the prince of Charlottesville,” Thomas said postgame. “He did great, he’s a freshman that played beyond his years.”
Stay tuned to STL for more coverage of Wahoo basketball as we get closer and closer to opening night.
