Roughly a month ago, I found myself wandering through the doors of a desolate Observatory Hill Dining Hall around seven in the morning. Groggily, I grabbed my tray and perused my morning meal options. Like many of you, this is not my favorite time of day -- my earliest class is 12:30 for a reason. Much to my shock though, I was not alone that morning. Several imposing figures from the men's basketball team towered over me as we each made our breakfast selections.
Their presence confused me. Never in the Gillen era would I ever have fathomed seeing basketball players awake that early, especially in the off-season. I thought it had to be a fluke. However, the next morning around the same time, there were more basketball players who appeared to be accompanied by coaches.
This proved one thing to me: There is a new era in Virginia basketball. While Gillen had a reputation for going easy on his players and, consequently, losing control of his team, new head coach Dave Leitao stepped in and immediately grabbed hold of the team by working the players harder than they had ever been worked before. Not only will this cause the players to focus more on basketball, it also will lead to a result that Wahoo fans have been dying to see for the past several years: individual improvement.
While Leitao has not yet had the opportunity to bring in any of his own players, he returns much of the lineup from last year. If every player improves individually, there is no reason why the team shouldn't improve. This progress could be enough to bump Virginia into the NIT or even the NCAA Tournament.
Before you call me crazy and a dreamer for thinking we have a shot at the Tourney, hear me out. Last year's team, while inconsistent, proved it could beat some quality opponents, as evidenced by its home victory against then-No. 11 Arizona and a win on the road against No. 22 N.C. State. If this team, with practically the same players, can improve and become more consistent, it has shown it has enough talent to win some games in this league.
Furthermore, the ACC has much less talent than it did last year. North Carolina will be a completely different team as it lost its starting five, sixth man and top two reserves. Maryland lost its top scorer in John Gilchrist. Wake Forest lost its floor general and best player in Chris Paul. Georgia Tech lost Jarrett Jack, Luke Schenscher, Will Bynum and B.J. Elder. Even Clemson and Florida State lost their top scorers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say Virginia will be one of the elite teams in the ACC. Duke is still loaded, and the addition of Boston College only makes matters worse for the Wahoos. However, Virginia does not play Duke and BC every week.
Virginia has a relatively easy out-of-conference schedule, with the exceptions being away games at Arizona and Gonzaga. If you go through the schedule and mark those difficult games as losses, you will find a lot of contests left that the Cavaliers can win. There is a possibility that Virginia can put together a 15- to 16- win season and even close to a .500 finish in the ACC. That would put the Wahoos right on the brink of making the NCAA Tournament.
Having a chance of sneaking into the Tournament is not why I claim a new era of Virginia basketball, though. I make this claim because of what Leitao has done with the players he has and what he has done to get quality players for the future. Leitao has signed three players thus far, including a high-school junior from Pennsylvania. Of the players who will be lacing them up for Virginia next year, one is 6-foot-9, 215-pound Jamil Tucker from Gary, Ind., and the other is Leitao's most recent commitment, 6-foot-5, 220-pound Soloman Tat from Stockbridge, Ga., who is ranked as the No. 96 player in his class by Rivals.com. Tat averaged 24 points, six rebounds and five assists as a point guard for his high school team and was called, "the Ronnie Lott of basketball" by his high school coach because of his intimidating presence.
Leitao has put forth the effort to recruit players from all over the country (three different states and three different geographical areas so far) and receive early commitments. Combine this with the work ethic he demands of his players and there is no reason why Virginia shouldn't rise to the elite of college basketball again. Perhaps now it is only a matter of when.
Read More
Wrestling gets blown out 34-9 on long road trip to Stanford
By Ryan Weiner | 23 hours agoSolid performances from its most reliable trio were not enough for Virginia.
Freshman excellence powers No. 5 men’s tennis past Boise State, No. 19 Alabama
By Thomas Baxter | YesterdayVirginia, unlike many other regional hosts, held serve as its quartet's top seed.
No. 1 women’s swimming and diving destroys No. 2 Texas
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayOnce again, Virginia has proven to be head and shoulders above other top programs.
