When I think about the Virginia men's basketball season, I can only think of one way to describe my overall feelings toward the 2010-11 campaign: torn.
All year long, we supporters of the Cavaliers have been torn.
We're torn between wanting to see the positives and dismayed as a result of the negatives that you simply can't ignore - like setting record lows in points scored on multiple occasions.
We're torn between hoping that coach Tony Bennett is the right guy for the job and wondering if a slow-it-up, run-a-half-court-set offense really ever will work in the ACC.
We're torn between understanding that the development of freshman players takes time and wanting to throw the remote, your cell phone, or anything else you can easily get your hands on when one of them makes a mistake.
We're torn between understanding that we've lost a lot of players to injury and wondering if the team really just isn't that good.
It always has seemed like just when we fix one thing - be it offensive shooting, offensive consistency or just plain defense - everything else breaks down. Bennett essentially has been a master of Jenga, trying to hold all the pieces together and fix them as to prevent the entire thing from tumbling down.
It's not like there haven't been high points this season, including the two wins against Virginia Tech and the heroic senior night performance of Will Sherrill.
But despite these glimpses of glory, we still are left with the basic question: Is Virginia a good team?
The truth of the matter is: no. But they will be, and perhaps sooner than one might think.
As the players have more time to adapt to Bennett's system - certainly a big departure from that of former coach Dave Leitao - the offensive woes will diminish. The Cavaliers still are making the transition from trying to score in an up-tempo style to trying to produce in a half-court offense, which require two completely different skill sets. This explains why Sherrill never received much playing time under Leitao but has played a key role for Bennett. Additionally, the more recruiting classes Bennett brings in on his own, the more the team will be adapted to his overall vision.
Starting multiple freshmen has been both a blessing and a curse this season. Joe Harris has been excellent at times and disappeared at others. Surely, that's no surprise, especially in a historically talented conference like the ACC. But the experience both he and KT Harrell gained this year should prove to be invaluable. By the time those two are seniors, we might actually have a decent team.
The return of Mike Scott, who successfully earned a medical redshirt for this season, also will help the team as it continues to rebound and rebuild.
But what is the most convincing reason for why the team will be better in the future, you may ask? Well, the ACC is really not good anymore. Just take a look around the conference this year. Only three teams, in my opinion, honestly deserve a bid to the NCAA tournament: Duke, North Carolina and Florida State. Depending on how the ACC Tournament plays out next week, Virginia Tech, Clemson or Maryland might sneak into the bracket. But even if the ACC manages to earn four bids, it will still be the weakest member of all the "major" conferences. The Cavaliers can be good in the near future because it's really not all that long of a way up to the top.
Finally, Virginia can be good for a simple reason: this year, with all our ups-and-downs, with all the injuries, the squad has earned the most ACC wins in the last five years of the program. Now, that's a pretty impressive place from which to move forward.
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