Column: With three weeks left, UVa's preseason is full of intrigue

In addition to thanking fans for attending Saturday’s Blue-White Scrimmage, UVa’s Tony Bennett told the assembled crowd that he thought the Wahoos would get “better and better” as the season went on.

Given the already lofty level of intrigue surrounding this particular team and all of the new faces and pieces, that added bit from the head coach—one not prone to hyperbole—makes for an even more interesting run up to the season opener.

Everyone knows what UVa is getting in Reece Beekman’s return and how huge it is for the team on both ends of the floor. So too is Isaac McKneely a known commodity, and a player that is likely to get better and better as his UVa career continues to move forward as his sophomore season approaches.

And while Ryan Dunn certainly turned plenty of heads in his rookie campaign (including those of NBA talent evaluators), the rest of Virginia’s rotation remains to varying degrees a mystery.

It is, for the hoop heads out there, a great time to be alive.

By the time the Cavaliers host Tarleton State three weeks from today, one hopes Bennett will have a solid feel for what his rotation looks like and what the roles might be. Yet with so many different pieces added to the mix, that might be a tall task that has to sort itself out in the wash.

In transfers Jordan Minor, Andrew Rohde, Jake Groves, and Dante Harris, UVa has added athleticism, size, physicality, and scoring in different combinations and amounts. First-year big man Blake Buchanan figures to be an integral piece in a way that few are at that position for Bennett and Co. Add in former four-star Elijah Gertrude coming off his knee injury last year and the potential of Leon Bond coming off his redshirt, and it’s fair to say that the Hoos have a lot more talent than most would think based solely on what’s retuning.

Gone are the primary engines that carried the team in recent seasons. The way things ended in March notwithstanding, not seeing Kihei Clark on the floor for the Cavaliers will be odd in and of itself but not having his experience will be, too. Beekman, of course, has been around the block a time or twelve himself, and it’s going to be interesting to see what the team looks like when it’s his and his alone.

And make no mistake about it: For UVa to have a successful season, it has to be his team.

The Wahoos also need McKneely to take the next step, for Rohde to make the most of his length on both ends, for Minor to be physical, for Groves to knock down shots, and for Dunn and Bond to play off each other.

In his initial preseason rankings, KenPom has the Wahoos at No. 33 nationally, behind fellow ACC stalwarts Duke (ninth) and North Carolina (17th). That’s also behind teams UVa is scheduled to face this year including Wisconsin (20), Texas A&M (24), and Memphis (32) as well as several spots ahead of Florida (39).

While this isn’t a hard and fast indication of what the strength of schedule will absolutely be, it certainly does underline that the “better and better” is going to come against a slew of quality opponents before league play really gets going.

Though conference play technically starts when Syracuse brings its new look to Charlottesville on December 2, the bulk of ACC competition will begin with UVa’s game at Notre Dame (and its new look) on December 30. In all, the Hoos will start with six league matchups against teams likely to be predicted to finish below them in the standings. In fact, one might argue that the heavy lifting (outside of the two home games against Virginia Tech and Miami) doesn’t start until almost Valentine’s Day.

If ever a situation set up perfectly for “better and better,” this schedule might be the one.

That being said, roles might be more more critical for UVa teams than basically any in the country and this year that is especially accurate. This will go well beyond picking the starting five, of which there are probably only two locks right now. Bennett and his staff have to decide to how to handle the post, both to start and to finish. From there, minutes will likely come down to which scorers can score while also playing defense at the level Bennett requires. And make no mistake: This team needs to defend better than the one last year.

Melding transfers into the mix while also getting more from your returning guys certainly makes for a season that could be a lot of fun. There will undoubtedly be frustrating moments, too. That’s the nature of the beast. The question is how much of both we end up getting once things have settled in.

With less than a month before the journey begins, it’s fair to say that the Hoos haven’t been this intriguing in a while, maybe since that one team. You know which one.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, at least not until we’ve seen what better and better really looks like.