Now it's time for the hard part. The Virginia men's basketball team surprised most people with its 20-9 record and fourth-place finish in the ACC last season.
But that won't happen this year. Virginia may possess the talent worthy of a spot alongside Duke and Maryland as ACC elites, but before everyone piles onto the Cavalier bandwagon, a few questions will be asked:
Will the players respond to higher expectations?
A repeat of last season clearly won't be good enough. With their talent, the Cavaliers should be dancing for a long time in March. Will Virginia become last year's Seton Hall or Tennessee - teams blessed with top-10 talent that ended up falling flat on their faces? Will the Cavaliers freeze under the bright lights that hang over center stage? Or will they use such expectations as motivation? The whole college hoops-loving world will be watching.
How Majestic will Mapp be?
If there's one topic that's been talked about most by the faithful followers of Hooville sports, it's the return of point guard Majestic Mapp. Mapp, a redshirt sophomore out of Harlem, will replace Donald Hand as Virginia's point man. A torn ACL forced him to play cheerleader on the bench last season.
Although Mapp is considered to be more of a true point guard and distributor than Hand, he has yet to exhibit the leadership that Hand brought as the only starting senior last season.
Can Mason's star continue to rise?
In Roger Mason Jr., the Cavaliers have a bona fide superstar in the making and a go-to player. In a lineup that had all five starters average double figures in points, the junior guard separated himself at the end of last year as a potential game-breaker.
He was the team's high scorer in six of its last eight games last season. In Virginia's 86-85 loss against Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Mason led all scorers with 30 points.
Mason has continued his success even during the summer. He was one of 16 finalists for 12 roster spots on the 2001 USA Basketball
If Mason can shoulder the load and take over a game when needed, the Cavaliers will have the player they require in order to advance far into March.
How will Virginia fare on the road?
Last season, the Cavaliers were a different team away from University Hall. Virginia suffered embarrassing losses at Wake Forest, Maryland and Duke.
Within the ACC, the Cavaliers only beat conference cellar-dwellers Clemson and Florida State on the road. As a young group filled with mostly underclassmen, Virginia often seemed intimidated and rattled standing on unfriendly hardwood.
After last year's baptism by fire, maybe the newfound experience and confidence will result in better performances away from Charlottesville.
Can the Cavaliers win the must-wins?
Last year Virginia had three games that could be considered must-wins: the last regular season game at Maryland to finish third in the ACC, the first-round ACC tournament game against Georgia Tech and the first-round NCAA game against Gonzaga.
The Cavaliers lost all three.
Only time will tell if Virginia will follow the path blazed by the Georgia football program. Every year is "Georgia's year," and every year the Bulldogs can't win a big game.
The hardest step in making the transition from a good team to a great team is learning how to win the most important games. Instead of just being happy to be there, the Cavaliers need to have that winning swagger and, most importantly, the game to back it up.
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