Two games into the ACC schedule and two losses closer to missing the NCAA tournament for a third straight year, Virginia is not looking quite as good as people had hoped for before the season began. The reason for this is not quite so simple as it might look to most regular basketball enthusiasts who follow their favorite teams religiously.
Sunday night, Virginia faithful witnessed two scenarios of what Virginia basketball might look like for the rest of the season. Scenario one: Virginia comes out ready to face its opponent (whether it be No. 2 Duke or currently winless Loyola-Maryland) and competes at a high level. Scenario two: the Cavaliers cannot make any of their shots, whether from outside the arc or right under the basket and falls behind to the point where a comeback seems impossible with the crowd halfway out the door.
Virginia does have the talent to compete with any team in the ACC, with experienced players like Devin Smith, Elton Brown and Todd Billet. Talent alone, however, only takes you so far, especially going against the likes of the similarly or more talented Blue Devils, Tar Heels and Demon Deacons -- three teams that have already shown how important chemistry is in college basketball. Each of these conference foes is currently ranked in the top 11 teams in the nation.
Why Virginia is underachieving in its own conference is due in part to its own play and in part to its highly competitive league. Defense is the most obvious area where the Cavaliers need improvement. In the loss to Duke, Virginia surrendered 54 points in the paint and allowed Duke to shoot 52 percent from the floor. In their two losses before Duke, Virginia allowed N.C. State and Providence to shoot 50 and 58 percent from the floor, respectively. The worst news about this is that the ACC schedule has only just begun, and the Cavaliers cannot defend what appear to be tournament-bound teams.
The Cavaliers need the veterans to become prominent on both sides of the court, players like Billet, Brown, or even Derrick Byars need to set an example for the many freshmen on the roster this season. Against Duke, these three players did not do much against the Blue Devils.
"We needed somebody else from our veterans to give us a big boost," coach Gillen said after the game. "Devin [Smith] was great, but we needed an Elton Brown or a Derrick Byars or Todd Billet to give us some real good juice."
One of the main reasons why UNC, Wake Forest and Duke are so good year in and year out is because they have veteran players who take control on the court, teaching the newcomers how to play the college game. For UNC this year, Jawad Williams is leading a young Tar Heel team to the top of the rankings through his leadership and his play on the hardwood.
Offense appears to be where Virginia looks the best so far, averaging around 80 points per game. The main issue that needs to be addressed here is consistency. Due to missed shots and Duke tough defense, Virginia was held scoreless for minutes at a time, especially at the beginning of the second half when Duke pulled away. The Cavaliers look good on offense if they are able to make their shots, especially the short-range jump shots. Three-point shooting for Virginia can be compared to the defensive problems. When they're on, they win and when they're not ... well, you get the idea after Sunday's game.
Against Providence, the Cavaliers shot 6-23 from behind the arc and 3-19 from three-point range against N.C. State. Against Duke, Smith and J.R. Reynolds were the only players to make a three pointer, with Devin hitting five of the team's six. Billet, the team's best sharpshooter, has had to shoulder a lot of the point guard load. In this role, he has charged with running the offense and thus hurting his ability to come off screens for jump shots.
The ACC is the next problem for Virginia simply because, as many critics and analysts believe, it just might be the best conference in college basketball right now. Every team has a winning record, meaning that any team can be beaten whether at home or away. For the prefect example of this, just look back at the UNC-Wake Forest game earlier this year where Wake beat UNC at home in triple overtime. Not many teams can go into a place like Chapel Hill and beat a dominating team like the Tar Heels.
This isn't good news for Virginia, but the season is young. Players are ready with rivalries ready to be renewed. Gillen can coach a team into the NCAA tournament but without veterans like Billet, Byars and Brown leading the way, the NCAA tournament seems to be slowly becoming a dream.
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