Forging the identity of the latest Virginia men’s basketball team has been an ongoing process on the practice courts of John Paul Jones Arena this fall. It’s a process that’s sure to carry into the early part of the season, which tips off next Tuesday at home against Navy.

The Hoos know who they want to be: Defensive-minded. Efficient offensively. Smart with the basketball. That’s what the Wahoos have traditionally looked like under head coach Tony Bennett and his coaching staff.

Getting to that point—with a group that will rely on a pair of transfers new to the program in addition to some returning players who will need to fill bigger roles—has been challenging at times this preseason, says Orlando Vandross. But that challenge is what the fourth-year UVa assistant looks forward to each day at JPJ.

“We’re excited to get in the gym with guys like Jayden Gardner, Armaan Franklin. Also the guys who were already in our program,” Vandross said. “I’m excited to always go in the gym every day to help them improve. It’s been enjoyable for me.”

Virginia has had to navigate similar situations with roster turnover in Vandross’s time at UVa. He first arrived as the Cavaliers’ director of recruiting and player development in 2015, prior to UVa’s run to the 2016 Elite Eight. His first year as an assistant was the Wahoos’ national championship season in 2018-19. The Cavaliers bid farewell to several key players following both seasons.

This year, the Wahoos have to replace three-quarters of the point production from last season’s 18-7 team. Senior Kihei Clark and second-year Reece Beekman are back at guard. Gardner was a three-year starter at East Carolina; Franklin shot 42 percent from beyond the 3-point line last year at Indiana. Those are the known quantities for the coaching staff a week from the season opener.

A focus this fall has been identifying who can step up for for the Hoos around that core foursome. Redshirt sophomore Kadin Shedrick, for one, has been “consistently doing things that I think will translate when we get into game situations,” according to Vandross. Other players have similarly been empowered to take on bigger roles.

“I think it’s just a gradual work of improvement,” Vandross said. “We do a lot more teaching, a lot more stopping in practice to teach. A lot of trial-and-error in terms of who’s gonna be our guys in terms of carrying us a little bit, but we’re working at it every day. Just trying to find ways to improve daily.”

Coming off Virginia’s two recent closed scrimmages against VCU and Georgetown, Vandross went more in-depth on what he has seen from the Wahoos this preseason in a recent 1-on-1 conversation with CavsCorner:


(Previous preseason CoachSpeak 1-on-1 conversations: Jason Williford | Kyle Getter)