For the three seniors on Virginia men's basketball team, this season is their last chance to reach the NCAA tournament. Tonight's home exhibition against Lehman College represents the first step toward that goal.
With the departure of Majestic Mapp, no current Cavalier has ever played in the NCAA tournament. Seniors Elton Brown, Jason Clark and Devin Smith are ready for the season to begin and have another shot at the tournament.
"I'm just looking forward to putting that uniform on and going out and playing for the first time," Smith said. "I've been waiting for this since the end of last year. We're going to try to get it started right."
Lehman is coming off its best season in school history with a record of 22-7. Its performance earned the Lighting its first ever birth in the Division III NCAA tournament. With Virginia's penchant for underachieving against weaker teams, the Cavaliers are not taking Lehman lightly.
"We're looking at it as a regular game, not as an exhibition," Smith said.
Last season, the Cavaliers fell short of the NCAA tournament despite a late-season effort during which the team won four of its last six regular season games. Virginia ended last season with a loss to Villanova in the second round of the NIT.
Gone from last year's squad (18-13) are graduated guards Todd Billet and Mapp and forward Derrick Byars, who transferred to Vanderbilt.
The oft injured Mapp rarely saw minutes outside of mop-up duty, but Billet and Byars averaged a combined 53 minutes and 18 points a game for the Cavaliers. In order to replace the lost production, Virginia will have to look to the development of younger players such as sophomores T.J. Bannister, J.R. Reynolds and Gary Forbes.
Much of Virginia's success late last season was attributed to the play of the young guards Reynolds and Bannister. Bannister averaged 4.4 assists a game over the last 10 games, and Reynolds put up double-digit points in 10 of the last 13 games.
The Cavaliers' freshman class also is expected to carry some of the load early, especially highly touted point guard Sean Singletary. Singletary comes to Virginia after being named Philadelphia's High School Player of the Year and joins Adrian Joseph and Tunji Soroye as this year's recruiting class.
Virginia coach Pete Gillen praised Joseph. "He's talented," Gillen said. "He's going to play a lot this year. He has to get stronger, but he's a good player. He could be a starter in the not too distant future."
Even with the class of incoming freshmen, Virginia's biggest offseason addition looks to be the healthy back of Smith.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent, I'd say I'm about 95," Smith said. "The only thing that's bothering me is that I get stiff sometimes. It's not keeping me from doing anything. If I need to play a lot of minutes, then I'll be able to do that."
Smith, who came to Virginia as a Junior College All-American, received off-season back surgery and is finally pain free after being hampered all of last season. Despite the injury, Smith was second on the team in scoring and rebounds last season. He, along with senior big men Brown and Clark, will be looked to for their experience in the tough ACC.
Tip-off versus Lehman is set for 7:30 p.m. A week from tonight, Virginia plays Marymount University in their second exhibition game before starting the regular season against Robert Morris College on Nov. 19.
Read More
Home loss to Notre Dame adds another first to men’s basketball’s worst season in memory
By Thomas Baxter | 2 hours agoVirginia dropped a home game to Notre Dame for the first time ever.
For Leah Hayes, 'Just keep swimming' is what Virginia is all about
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayShe shatters records in the pool and is an inspiration to swimming fans and all those with alopecia.
Virginia comes back from a 20-point gap but falls short versus No. 18 Georgia Tech
By Victoria Blankenship | 2 days agoVirginia loses another ACC bout in heartbreaking fashion.
