With its loss Saturday night to Ohio, UVa finished what was arguably its most unique and challenging season ever. In so doing, the Cavaliers also immediately crossed over into what is certainly going to be the wildest offseason ever, too.

Never has there been the level of uncertainty from one year to the next than there is this spring for Tony Bennett and Co, which frankly have as much to do with the college basketball landscape as anything else. A host of decisions, thanks in large part to the NCAA’s leniency on transfer rules, will dictate just what the Hoos look like when they eventually open the 2021-2022 season in late fall.

To be clear, this isn’t just about an expected number of transfers in Charlottesville. The sport is positively exploding with them right now and more are certain to be coming soon, as this morning's news of Walker Kessler's decision to leave Carolina implies.

The Wahoos will be shopping this spring. How much room is left in the cupboard, so to speak, remains to be seen.

Here are the main storylines and the situation at hand as the roster begins to evolve.

We should begin this table-setting feature by acknowledging that seniors too can take the NCAA up on its offer of an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic in addition to the “free” transfer. But as of now, it’s probably most likely that Virginia’s three seniors—Sam Hauser, Jay Huff, and Tomas Woldetensae—all move on. Could one of them or all of them return? Sure. But as of right now, it seems most unlikely.

In Hauser’s case, he signaled as much on Saturday night during his final media availability when asked about next year’s team. He didn’t leave the door open the way guys like Jose Alvarado at Georgia Tech have done. Huff, meanwhile, tested the NBA waters last offseason and given his time in the program and where he is in his life, it’s also understandable if he’s ready for what’s next.

Perhaps Woldentensae decides to play another year at the college level before beginning his own professional pursuits but as of right now that feels like one that won’t work out in such a way.

For now, and until any of them say otherwise, we’re going to work on the assumption that they all have played their final games in Virginia uniforms.

We’re going to use that same standard—waiting until the player says so—on transfers. But already, with those three spots free, that leaves UVa with a projected roster as of this writing that includes 10 returning players and incoming 2021 signee Taine Murray. That means the Hoos have the room to be buyers on the market this spring.

With a good deal of space left to use—even considering the addition of Issac McKneely in 2022—it is likely to be a busy and unpredictable couple of months. And that would be the case even if the chance for outgoing transfers weren’t already as high as it’s ever been.

Simply put, the chance that UVa works its way through the next couple of months without any attrition seems slim to none, exceeded only by the chance that Virginia adds transfers to its roster.

It does no one any good to speculate on decisions to come but there are likely to be some changes. That’s just the nature of college basketball right now. It doesn't necessarily "mean" anything directly.

We’ll have a better sense of what those potential decisions might mean for the Hoos once they are made but for now it’s best if everyone assumes at least some of them are likely to come.

It’s impossible to know with any sort of precision what UVa’s needs will be once the roster settles but we can already glean a great deal, both given what we saw this season and what we would expect the current group to look like absent the aforementioned seniors.

With Kadin Shedrick battling through illness for much of the season before eventually not seeing the floor again after the FSU loss (he played a total of 15 minutes across the 18 games in calendar 2021), it’s safe to say the Hoos have a very clear need inside in the post-Huff era. Having just faced an Ohio team that was one of the nation’s worst in terms of two-point defense, UVa was unable to make any real hay inside the arc. It was a concern all season long and it will be a concern going forward. With Hauser gone, it’s even more imperative for there to be some sort of inside or mid-range element of the offense especially as shooters that helped space defenses out move on.

Given the roster flexibility in 2021-2022 that UVa already has even without any attrition, adding a forward (or two) seems like the right and necessary call.

We would expect this to be UVa’s top priority. The Wahoos need a bouncy big who can cover some ground and bring a much-needed bit of toughness to the group. The roster is so heavy on guards that adding a big is a no brainer. And if we had our druthers, we would put athleticism and size above all else.

Depending on how things shake out, the Cavaliers could also look to add a wing with length who can shoot but getting another big with some scoring prowess would be especially beneficial.

While defense was certainly an issue throughout the season, toughness was as big a problem for UVa as it's ever been. It’s impossible, of course, to know how much of that came because of the myriad ways the pandemic impacted practices. Whether it's through roster additions, increased S&C opportunities, or both, that will need to be a focal point this offseason both from the returning group and in terms of any additions made to the team.

The Cavaliers have to be a tougher, more physical team.

Lastly, scoring will be a reason of concern as well even if Trey Murphy III returns for his second season in the program. But there’s a very real chance that the Durham native gets pulled to the next level.

While his numbers might not seem consistent enough, the NBA is a “potential” league and Murphy oozes it. He might have had some ups and down but he’s a 6-foot-9 wing who was a 43.3 percent 3-point shooter while being top 30 nationally in offensive rating, effective field-goal percentage, and true shooting percentage. Scouts tend to like that.

The intent here isn’t to alarm but rather to prepare. The chance right now of Murphy going pro seems small but also not insignificant. If it happens, UVa’s going to be in an even tougher spot.

The best case scenario for the Hoos is that he not only returns but that he uses the offseason to add weight and strength to his skillset. If so, he could be the type of two-way wing that Virginia has used to great success in recent years.

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