UVa's Poindexter in search of bigger opportunity in portal

Maybe it was while he played 14 minutes in a rare win over Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Or it might have been during one of the nights when he was the first guard off the bench for Virginia.

Former walk-on Malachi Poindexter got a taste of playing college basketball at the sport’s highest level during his second season with the Wahoos. At some point this year, he decided he wanted more. That’s why Poindexter put his name in the transfer portal a few days after UVa’s season ended with a loss to St. Bonaventure in the NIT quarterfinals.

“I love all of my teammates. I love the coaching staff. They’ve been very supportive throughout the process,” Poindexter told CavsCorner. “So it was definitely a tough decision but I felt that I really needed to play basketball and I felt like I could have a better chance of doing that somewhere else.”

After playing three total minutes in three games as a freshman, Poindexter appeared in 19 games this past season. At times, particularly early in the year before Tony Bennett shortened his rotation to seven players during conference play, the 6-foot-2 guard was one of the first players off the UVa bench. He drew praise from Bennett for his effort level in practice and ability to contribute on the defensive end.

Poindexter averaged 1.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per game, with seven assists to three turnovers. He shot 62.5 percent from the floor, including 37.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Other schools saw something they liked from Poindexter’s film of that limited playing time: Within about a half hour of entering the transfer portal two Fridays ago, Radford reached out. Other schools followed.

“It took off pretty quickly,” Poindexter admitted. “I didn’t expect schools to come after me that quickly. I kind of expected more of maybe one phone call every few days, but it was definitely more than that.”

Patriot League programs like American, Boston University, Bucknell and Holy Cross checked in—which appealed to Poindexter, who is searching for the right combination of academics and basketball at his next stop. Hampton, Hofstra, Duquesne and Wofford are also among the schools that have shown interest. Poindexter has already visited Radford; he’s got trips to Illinois State and UNC Asheville lined up for after the current recruiting dead period ends later this week.

Most coaches he has heard from have the same message: They saw Poindexter play at UVa last year, and can offer the potential of more minutes and a bigger role.

“A lot of the schools are saying that I’m a pretty good player, they would love to have me. But the schools that stuck out to me were schools that talked about their culture,” Poindexter said. “The schools that seem like they care a lot about me outside of basketball.”

Poindexter is in no rush to make a decision, instead determined to make the most of his second chance at the recruiting experience. After dealing with a knee issue during his junior season, the Louisa County native wasn’t heavily recruited coming out of St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville. Manhattan was the only Division I program to offer a scholarship. Poindexter’s decision ultimately came down to playing at Division III Christopher Newport or accepting an offer to walk on at Virginia.

Two years later, his performance at UVa has convinced Poindexter to bet on himself.

“I want to be able to go somewhere and just actually play,” he said. “I thought I was good enough to play Division I, and now since I have this opportunity, I definitely want to take advantage of it.”

Even if it means leaving the program he grew up rooting for. Poindexter admitted that Bennett was surprised by the guard’s decision but made it clear “he’s always gonna be in my corner.” Teammates have also offered their support, as have UVa fans who also want to see the local kid get a chance to contribute.

“I watched UVa since I was a little kid and I’ve always wanted to be here and play. So I got that experience and that’s what I really wanted,” Poindexter said. “Ultimately, I think it’s time to go a different route. But it’s never goodbye. It’s still my hometown forever.”