The Virginia men's basketball team will tip off its regular season Sunday against Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m. at University Hall.
After a surprisingly narrow victory over the Coaches vs. Cancer Team Dasani in Tuesday's exhibition game, the Cavaliers hope to start their season on a positive note and maintain coach Pete Gillen's undefeated record of season openers at Virginia.
The game will be Mount St. Mary's fourth regular season contest. The Mount lost to New Hampshire and Mississippi Valley State in their first two games and will face Delaware tonight at home. They ended their 2002-2003 season 11-16.
Virginia also hopes to improve upon last season's unimpressive 16-16 record, sporting a younger roster this year. The Virginia lineup has five freshman and only two seniors. The freshman earned significant playing time in the preseason.
"Coach is giving the guys some looks and getting them experience," senior guard Todd Billet said. "That's only going to help them once we get into the season."
Among these notable freshman is forward Donte Minter, who scored a combined 33 points in two exhibition games. Minter's preseason performance helped him emerge as a strong inside threat for the Cavaliers coming into the season.
Junior forward "Elton [Brown] and Donte: I'll take those two guys against a lot of guys in the country," Gillen said.
Gary Forbes, Virginia's top recruit, played only 35 minutes of the preseason going 0-1 in the first game and 5-11 in the second. Gillen said that Forbes can expect more playing time in upcoming games.
Freshman guard J.R. Reynolds played 31 minutes in both of the exhibition games, but did not live up to his expectations as a key shooter for the Cavaliers.
"He's been pressuring himself a little bit, trying too hard," Gillen said. "He's a great shooter, but he is a freshman. He hasn't shot the ball the way he can, but I have confidence that he will."
Sophomore forward Derrick Byars had a very impressive preseason, going 10-11 in the first game and 9-12 in the second.
Although it is clear that the Cavalier offense is not lacking, much of the team's success in the upcoming season depends on defensive play.
"There are a lot of people who can flat-out score," Brown said. "Our main thing is working on our defense."
Virginia gave up 170 points in the two exhibition games and the narrow win over Team Dasani especially highlighted the weaknesses of the Cavalier defense.
"That made us realize we're not as good as we think we are," Minter said. "We need to work harder on our team defense. The coaches won't let that go down anymore."
The Cavaliers are still struggling to solidify their point guard position. Billet started both games at point guard, but senior Majestic Mapp and freshman T.J. Banister also put in a significant amount of time.
Junior forward Devin Smith was unable to start in the Tuesday's game because of a sore back, but Gillen was optimistic that he would be able to play again soon. It has not been announced if he will return in Sunday's season opener.
Virginia has never faced Mount St. Mary's in men's basketball but hopes to begin the uphill climb of the 2003-2004 season with a victory over the Mount.
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