A Virginia team desperately trying to distance itself from last season's mediocre campaign sported a new look and new style last night with much success. The Cavaliers shot 60.3 percent from the field en route to a 104-80 victory over Big Apple All-Stars at University Hall in their first exhibition game of the season.
Sophomore forward Derrick Byars led Virginia with 25 points, shooting 10-11 from the field. Byars thrived in the run-and-gun system that the Cavaliers played tonight.
"It felt good," Byars said. "It was a different style but I think that's the style that suits a lot of our players' games."
Junior forward Devin Smith and senior guard Todd Billet also found offensive success in the new system, scoring 20 and 21 respectively. Both got plenty of good looks from behind the arc: Billet shot 5-8 from the three point zone and Smith sunk 4-7 from long range.
After playing four big men in their regular rotation last season, Virginia returns only one of the quartet, junior Elton Brown. Brown struggled early on, but finished with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The real story in the paint for the Cavaliers, however, was freshman Donte Minter. The 6'7" newcomer went 7-7 from the field to score 15 points and grab six rebounds in only 15 minutes of play.
Another freshman, guard J.R. Reynolds, joined Virginia's four returning starters to round out the starting lineup and was one of only three Cavaliers to play over 30 minutes.
"J.R. has a good feel for the game," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "He's got good poise. He didn't shoot the ball the way he can, but he played great defense, that's why he got 31 minutes."
Virginia's top freshman recruit, forward Gary Forbes, played only five minutes, missing the only shot he took from the field. Gillen cited Forbes's performance in practice as an explanation for his lack of playing time.
"You earn it in practice," Gillen said. "The other guys earned it a little bit more. Gary's a very fine player. He's going to play a lot. But the other guys earned it more in practice so we go with the guys that earned it."
The point guard position is one of the biggest question marks for the Cavaliers coming into this season. Billet and senior guard Majestic Mapp split time at the position toward the end of last season after starter Keith Jenifer was suspended.
Last night, Billet started at the position, but Mapp and freshman T.J. Banister also saw significant minutes at the point. The trio combined for 16 of Virginia's 25 assists on the night. The Cavaliers averaged only 14.4 assists per game last season.
"If you've got 25 assists, you must like playing with each other." Gillen said. "We had 16 or 17 at half and I can't remember a team of mine that has done that."
Virginia jumped out to an early lead, holding a 30-12 advantage just over 10 minutes into the game. At halftime, the Cavaliers were up 61-35. The second half was a different story, as Big Apple outscored Virginia 45-43.
"Our defense is the key, that's the biggest thing." Gillen said. "If we defend, we'll be a very competitive team this season. The first half was excellent; the second half was not very good. We got tired, and a little lackadaisical."
Virginia has one more chance to get comfortable with their new style in a second exhibition next Tuesday night against Coaches vs. Cancer, beforeopening the season Nov. 23 against Mount St. Mary's.
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