Virginia fell hard in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to Florida on Friday and capped off a harsh ending to a once promising season. The Cavaliers were not only led, but completely dictated by the play of Mike Scott. There could be an argument made that no other player in the conference could have led this team to a number four final seed in the conference and a birth in the Big Dance. But it was not all gravy for Virginia, and here's a month by month recap:
November- Grade: B+. Virginia was preseason number four in the conference and came out hot, scorching lowly South Carolina State and Winthrop. Then, they traveled to St. Thomas for the "Paradise Jam" and things got a little iffy. They had one of their worst losses of the year to TCU, but they rebounded by beating a good Drexel team and finishing off Drake in the fourth-place game of the preseason tourney. Virginia returned home and beat coach Tony Bennett's old school, Green Bay, and then got perhaps their most impressive victory of the season by beating Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Record after November: 6-1, Unranked.
December- Grade: A. The Cavaliers were riding high after their win over Michigan. They had realized that the Wolverines were more than likely the best non-conference opponent they were going to face and beating them would go a long ways towards their RPI ranking. In December the Wahoos would go 6-0 with a successful cross country trip to Oregon and Seattle. The win over the Ducks in Eugene was the best win of the month but a 20 point whooping of George Mason at home looked good too. Scott was coming into his own during December until the win over then-winless Towson where he was held to just 7 points. Record after December: 12-1, Ranked 23 in ESPN/21 in AP.
January- Grade: B. This is where things began to become inconsistent for Virginia. They opened the new year with an impressive win over a solid LSU team and an impressive home victory over Miami. They looked good in losing by only three to Duke in Durham, but that's when everyone started talking about how the then-number-seventeen Cavaliers needed someone else besides Scott. The all-conference senior had 23 points and 9 rebounds and while Joe Harris had 14 points two starters did not score. "Basically, he was responsible for 60 percent of their offense in the first half," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "When a man does that in this type of game, he's a hell of a player." The rest of January was up and down with mostly the right results. They crushed lowly Georgia Tech on the road but came back and were surprised by Virginia Tech at home. They blew out Boston College before beating an eventual Sweet Sixteen team in NC State on their home floor. They continued by beating a decent Clemson team in a fashion that did not please Bennett. The Cavaliers, who were still ranked number 17 going into the game with the Hokies, began to look the part of a lower seed after the blemish on their home court and took a big hit from the media after that. The win at NC State was needed to quickly bring back their respectability. Record after January: 18-4, 5-3 ACC. Ranked 18 ESPN/16 AP.
February- Grade: C+. The Cavaliers went 3-4 during February but did not have a bad loss besides one to Clemson, who they had already defeated. It was not a good month in Charlottesville though, and any thoughts of Bennett being named conference (or even national) coach of the year or Scott being named conference player of the year were quickly vanishing. Virginia's other three losses of the month were at Florida State and to North Carolina twice. The matchup with Florida State was one of the most entertaining games of the season, especially from a defensive standpoint but the three point loss was just the beginning of a series of tough luck games for the Wahoos. "We got sped up and rattled in a stretch there where if you want to be successful in a game like this, you can't turn it away," Bennett said after the game, "We've got to clean up some of these turnovers and be more efficient to play against a team like this because baskets aren't easy to come by." The message never seemed to fully get across as the team lost a week later by 18 in Chapel Hill and three days after that by 12 at Clemson. The Cavaliers had a decent week after that by beating rivals Maryland and righting the ship against Virginia Tech but then fell to North Carolina after doing everything right and holding the Tar Heels to a season low 51 points. The Cavaliers were clearly confused after that game as their style of play still just was not winning the games for them. Record after February: 21-7, 8-6 ACC. Ranked 24 in AP.
March- Grade: C. The Cavaliers opened the final month of the season by losing by three to Florida State in the home finale. They left of Florida State's third buzzer beater of the season and Scott, who was clearly hurting after his, guard Sammy Zeglinski, and injured forward Assane Sene's senior night, put it perfectly by saying, "That was our last chance to play one of the top teams in the ACC. That was our last chance to beat one of the best teams. We had it, but we gave it away." Virginia, who now had injuries to both Sene and freshman Malcolm Brogdon, bounced back by beating a charged up Maryland team on their senior night, but had to go to overtime to do it. They finished the season by losing by three to an upstart NC State club in the ACC quarterfinals and getting dominated by Florida in the first round of the Big Dance. Scott scored 15 points in the finale and had his most impressive offensive performance in the Maryland game, scoring a career high 35. But it was not about that for him. Scott teared up after the final defeat because he knew how much farther this team could have gone. Final record: 22-10, 9-7 ACC. Second round, NCAA Tournament.
Next year: Joe Harris (So., 6-6 swingman who played anywhere from shooting guard to power forward. Top returning scorer at 11.3 points per game), Jontel Evans (Jr., one of the quickest players in the country, struggle shooting outside. First team all-defensive, former football player, has ability and strength to guard taller opponents. Led team with 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game), Malcolm Brogdon (Fr., injured his ankle late in the season and put a major dent in Virginia's offense. Top player off the bench averaged 6.7 ppg and 2.8 rpg), Akil Mitchell (So., listed at 6-8 but played bigger opponents all year. Long arms, sure to work with Bennett to improve shot blocking ability and come back as a defensive minded center), Darion Atkins (Fr., came in with similar style and mindset as Mitchell. At 6-8 and only 220 pounds, sure to add on weight and become a two-headed defensive monster on inside with Mitchell), Paul Jesperson (Fr., showed some promise and had to give up redshirt year after all the injuries. Clearly was not ready for college game but gained good experience and should learn under Harris.)
Incoming class: Evan Nolte- 6-7, 190 pound small forward. ESPN grade: 94, Scout.com 4 stars- "Nolte is one of the best shooters in the class. A big wing with length and a quick release, he is excellent in pick and pop situations. He does need to get better laterally on the defensive end, and isn't a super athlete, but his size and shooting ability makes him a nightmare to defend."
Justin Anderson- 6-5, 210 pounds small forward. ESPN grade: 94, Scout.com 4 stars- "At 6-foot-6, Anderson, a wing out of Virginia, is an elite level athlete that has molded himself into a terrific defender. He moves well laterally, has the strength to take contact and is a presence on the defensive end. He also make his mark rebounding the basketball and corralling put backs. He still needs to develop his offense, as well as his outside shot, but he has a lot of raw talent."
Mike Tobey- 6-11, 210 pound center. ESPN grade: 92, Scout.com 4 stars- "Right now Tobey is more about what he will be rather than what he is, but at 7-feet tall, very few players run the floor like him. He is a good shot blocker and someone who can also hit a mid-range jumper. Now Tobey needs to get stronger and have a better feel for how to score on the block, but the upside is there once he gets into a college weight program."
Teven Jones- 6-0, 180 pound point guard. ESPN grade: unranked, Scout.com 3 stars- no biography available.
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