Editor’s Note: Our series looking back at UVa’s season and breaking down the ins and outs of each player’s performances through the year as a whole finishes today as we break down the numbers, discuss their successes and some issues, and then give a breakdown for what’s ahead.

Check out the initial features on second-year PG Kihei Clark , junior college transfer wing Tomas Woldetensae , and rookie guard Casey Morsell , 7-footer Jay Huff, and second-year wing Kody Stattmann.

Francisco Caffaro and Justin McKoy each played sparingly in 2019-2020 but saw the floor in a decent number of contests.

Caffaro, who sat out the previous season while redshirting, played in 20 games in his debut season, serving as a backup to Jay Huff*. He played 10 minutes or more four times, including both games against UNC, and also against Stony Brook and NC State. Caffaro averaged 7.5 minutes per game, scoring 1.4 points per game while scoring in six contests.

McKoy, meanwhile, didn’t redshirt in his freshman year but his playing time certainly dropped off in the back half of the season. In his rookie season the North Carolina native played 7.4 minutes per game and got double-digit minutes six times, including a stretch of three straight games in late November into early December. McKoy scored 16 points in 16 games and scored in just three games.

Oddly enough, Caffaro and McKoy peaked in the same game despite both of them having limited roles. The two freshmen had their best games against North Carolina in the first meeting between the two programs back in early December.

McKoy played a career-high 17 minutes, scoring four points and grabbing five boards in the 56-47 victory. UNC was a good matchup for Caffaro as well, who played 21 minutes against Heels in that first meeting and then 18 minutes in the rematch in February. In that first game, he scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win. He wasn’t able to repeat that throughout the season but Caffaro’s performance for UVa, coming off of a blowout loss at Purdue, helped spur the Hoos to victory.

Considering how little we saw of both Caffaro and McKoy, both players clearly have plenty to work on if they are going to break into the rotation in a serious way next year.

Caffaro is a physical presence who has the potential to develop into a very solid defender with a some upside on offense, not unlike how Jack Salt developed over his five-year career in Charlottesville. The Argentinian product probably needs to continue to work on his rim protection and avoid fouling, as he had at least one foul in all but four of his 20 games this year. His offensive game will come along as well, but if he can develop into a defensive stopper, that’s probably an easier niche for him to fill next year.

For McKoy, competition for minutes at the wing will be fierce. And like every other player in the program, he will need to continue to improve his feel on the defensive end in the pack-line to earn significant playing time. The true first-year has a somewhat diverse offensive game, with a physical presence to go along with an ability to knock down jumpers. McKoy didn’t take a single 3 this season, so it would be nice to see him develop an outside shot or at least a decent mid-range game, to compliment the players that will be on the court around him in his sophomore season.

Both Caffaro and McKoy will see increased competition for minutes next season. For Caffaro, class of 2019 signee Kadin Shedrick should see playing time after redshirting, and Huff is expected tor return for his fifth season. And McKoy will have to earn playing time with competition on the wing from Sam Hauser, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, and others.

In uncertain times with these two players off Grounds and away from the coaches, it’s hard to say how much they will improve from one year to the next but teammates have had plenty of glowing comments about them from they’ve shown in practice.

Both McKoy and Caffaro appear to have a great work ethic, which should pay off in a very blue-collar program. If they continue to put in that work and show improvement on both ends of the floor, they could see increased roles in 2021.

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