Roster attrition is part of the game in college basketball, even at a program like Virginia that prides itself on developing players long-term within the program. So restocking the stat sheet after an off-season of departures is nothing new.

The 2015-16 had a veteran roster that lost five seniors, led by ACC player of the year Malcolm Brogdon. The following season, the Hoos had to replace 58 percent of the scoring from that Elite Eight team.

Three years later, the Wahoos were coming off a national championship run led by a Big Three of Kyle Guy, DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome. Those three juniors were the title team’s top three scorers—then all departed en masse for the NBA Draft. Led by that trio, the 2019-20 team lost 67.6 percent of the scoring output from the previous year.

But now, even just two years later, thanks to the transfer portal and the one-time transfer rule, the doors are open for players to move even more freely around the country. At UVa, Casey Morsell (NC State), Justin McKoy (North Carolina) and Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Georgia) all capitalized on the opportunity to move on following last season.

The Wahoos also lost their top three scorers from a year ago—seniors Sam Howell and Jay Huff and early departure Trey Murphy—to the NBA. Tomas Woldetensae also chose not to return. In total, Virginia lost a whopping 75.1 percent of its point production from a season ago, the biggest scoring void entering a new season since Tony Bennett and his staff took over in 2009.

Jason Williford has been part of that coaching staff since Bennett’s arrival, including the last three seasons as associate head coach. He says the Hoos are counting on a pair of incoming transfers—forward Jayden Gardner from East Carolina and guard Armaan Franklin from Indiana—to help replace some of that lost scoring, and impact this year’s team in other ways.

Williford talked about those newcomers and much more in a recent 1-on-1 conversation with CavsCorner: