At the end of last season, Virginia achieved remarkable upsets against three ranked conference opponents -- Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Wake Forest. In three losses to these teams earlier in the year, the Cavaliers had lost by an average margin of nearly 17 points.
Question: What caused this transformation in Virginia last season, from decisive defeats to three two-point victories?
Answer: The Cavaliers began to run a three-guard lineup featuring T.J. Bannister, J.R. Reynolds and Todd Billet. From then on, Virginia was able to push the ball up the court at a fast-paced tempo led by quick guards.
In 2004-2005, the Cavaliers once again intend to push the cadence of every game using their backcourt. While they may not frequently run the three-guard set because of rebounding difficulty, the team now has speed across the board to drive the break while still hammering the glass.
The key to Virginia's new speed is highly-touted freshman guard Sean Singletary -- the team's first pure point guard since Donald Hand graduated in 2001. During exhibition season, Singletary has shown varying success as a young defender, but has without a doubt driven the offense in an entirely new style.
Sophomore T.J. Bannister returns to compete for the starting point guard position after a 2003-2004 season, which ended in vastly increased minutes running the offense. Against Marymount University in last week's exhibition contest, he accumulated seven assists in just 16 minutes of playing time.
The combination of Bannister and Singletary gives Virginia coach Pete Gillen options at the point, but also the possibility of situations where the two spark plugs could play at the same time.
"We could play both of the point guards together at times," Gillen said. "Each game is different. Sometimes playing two little guys who can get quick helps us, sometimes maybe they might get overpowered because they are not rebounding enough."
At shooting guard the Cavaliers return 6-foot-2-inch sophomore J.R. Reynolds, a three-point threat who may be on the verge of a breakout season after posting a rookie year in which he was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team. Gillen has complimented Reynolds on spending extra time in the gym and shooting on the court, especially following a 23-point performance against Marymount.
To fill out the wings, Virginia once again has options, especially for fresh legs late in each contest.
Sophomore Gary Forbes, standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, brings the dynamic combination of defense and broad spectrum of shooting range. Forbes can play both shooting guard and small forward. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native received the "Mr. Hustle" award last year from his teammates, a testament to the speed and effort he brings to the court.
"I'm going to do whatever the coach says," Forbes said. "Whether I come off the bench or I start, if the coach needs me to score, I can score. If he needs me to rebound or play defense, I can do that. It is whatever coach needs."
Outside of Bannister, Singletary, Reynolds and Forbes, Virginia sports several athletic big men who can keep up with an up-tempo offense set by the backcourt in a smaller lineup.
The key for Gillen in the backcourt is that he now has options -- competition at point guard, versatility off the bench and the speed to run an up-tempo style offense. This year, Gillen will attempt a blast from his own past through a return to the speedy, push-the-break backcourts that defined many of his teams at Xavier and Providence.
"We're going to push it, but we're not going to press for the whole game," Gillen said. "We'll turn it on and turn it off. We'll press more [than last year]. We're quicker than last year."
Virginia fans should no longer have to scream late in games for their coach to "push the ball" and beat the defense before they can set themselves up. In any conference but the 2004-2005 ACC, this game plan and blend of athletes would be a recipe for success.
If the Cavaliers can control the game at their own fast tempo, then fans should be able to save their voices for a different type of cheering late in the game.
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