Takeaways from the scrimmage abound as UVa preps for opener

With its annual scrimmage now in the rear view, UVa is moving closer and closer to the start of its 2023-24 season. The Wahoos, of course, have a lot to replace off of last year’s team and expectations are a bit harder to peg than in other years. But there’s little doubt that Tony Bennett has one of his more talented and intriguing teams, even if we’re not sure just yet how it all will come together.

Looking back at Saturday’s Blue-White Scrimmage, we’re breaking down a few takeaways which help to color the long-term outlook for this team and how the Hoos will fare this coming season.

To begin the Blue-White scrimmage, Bennett held a 3-point contest that consisted of four players. Beekman was the first to be announced and I immediately thought to myself that his shot must have improved. At the conclusion of the scrimmage, that statement turned out to be true as he finished with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. Beekman easily looked like the most polished offensive player as you could immediately tell he worked on improving himself on that end of the floor during the offseason. Passing the ball and finishing in transition has never been an issue for him but when this team needs a basket, Beekman seems like the guy most likely to have his name called. That’s going to be a change this season given what we’ve seen the past few years.

Going into the scrimmage there were some questions about how much playing time Bond will get this upcoming year coming off his redshirt year and if Saturday is any indication, he should be seeing close to starter minutes as the season progresses. Bond was extremely efficient on the offensive end, finishing 6-for-8 from the floor. Everyone knew how well Bond could be on the defensive end but if he can be a spark plug on offense, he could play a bigger role on the offensive end than many might have thought.

No real surprise here but Dunn is going to be the next great lockdown defender for Virginia. He was everywhere on D during Saturday’s scrimmage. On a missed shot from the opposing team, it almost seemed like he got his hands on the ball for a defensive rebound every time. He is going to be a matchup nightmare for most teams. Going into the offseason we knew he was going to have to improve on the offensive end and it looks like he took the right steps for that. He looked a lot more comfortable with the ball in his hands and his shot looked significantly better. With his improvement on the offensive end, that will do wonders for both him and this Virginia team.

Reports came in early this fall that the first-year had been looking really good during practice and those reports proved to be accurate after watching him on Saturday. To be completely honest, on the defensive end Buchanan looks older than he is, as he was talking, switching when he needed to, and making life difficult on the other post players. On the offensive end, he shined too. Though he only scored four points, they were both impressive makes that we have not seen from Virginia big in a few years.

I was not really expecting to write about the Oklahoma transfer but there was a lot to like from him, especially his shot which is phenomenal. Groves was one of the four players to participate in the 3-point shooting contest and though he did not win it, his performance was impressive. His shot is a beauty and could really end up being a difference maker for the Wahoos this year. His overall awareness for the ball really stood out, too. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and never really did a bad thing while on the court. His experience and shot making capabilities could become important factors for UVa over the course of the long season.