It would be unfair to diminish coach Tony Bennett’s success the past two seasons. How far the Virginia basketball program has come since that fateful 87-52 loss against Tennessee Dec. 30, 2013 is truly remarkable.
Still, it’s not a stretch to say that each of past two seasons left more to be desired.
Sure, the 2014 thrill of the program’s first ACC Tournament championship since 1976 sparked visions of postseason glory. The NCAA tournament No. 1 seed felt righteous. But the Sweet 16 loss to Michigan State left all of that as a faint memory.
Then, to be candid, the following year might have provided the most worthless 30-win season a program can have. You absolutely cannot take away from the regular season success; for a two-week stretch there in early January, Virginia fans had every reason to believe their team could take down then-undefeated Kentucky. But that team did not even make it to the ACC championship game, much less win it. And the round-of-32 loss against Michigan State left fans dreaming of what could have been.
The national pundits, the locals in Charlottesville and heck, even Bennett, knew Virginia was on the rise. But the team had not arrived just yet.
All of this discussion is prior to Sunday’s 6:09 p.m. tipoff against Syracuse. If the Cavaliers advance to the program’s third ever Final Four – and first since 1983 – then Virginia is deserving to be mentioned among the country’s elite.
And barring some epic collapse, that should happen. Bennett is 3-0 against the Orange, including a 73-65 win earlier this season.
However, it’s not as if this year’s team was unique in its ability to make a run this deep in the postseason. I’d argue that both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 squads had the right combination of talent and discipline to go deep into March.
Certainly, this year’s team is different for many reasons, offensive firepower among them. One reason, however, seems to stand above the rest – the team is finally reaching its potential, and Bennett knows it.
“I said it in the press conference the other day, we were 2-3 in the ACC, and I said whatever that line is, I want them to get to it where they can reach their full potential, and where that takes us, it takes us,” Bennett said. “I'll hold it with open hands, but we've got to get to that line and maximize what we have. That's what I love about them on the floor is they're touching it. They're getting close to it.”
Think about it. Is the 2015-16 Virginia squad truly more talented than the 2014-15 team, which boasted Justin Anderson and Darion Atkins? Is the 2015-16 Virginia squad truly more balanced than the 2013-14 team that had Joe Harris on the perimeter and Akil Mitchell in the post?
I don’t think so. In early January, the Cavaliers had dropped three of four games against ACC bottom-dwellers. The offense had little rhythm, and the defense was a shell of its old self.
Nothing magical happened over the past three months. Malcolm Brogdon has always been a good player, London Perrantes has always been a great shooter and the Virginia front court has always dominated the paint.
Rather, this time around, it’s been about team development. The Cavaliers know when to push the tempo and when to slow the action. Neither Devon Hall, Marial Shayok or Isaiah Wilkins are superstars, but Bennett knows how to use them effectively. Additionally, he has the luxury to defer to Brogdon, one of four finalists for the Naismith trophy.
“We've gotten this far because we play as a team, because I defer when other people are playing really well, because other guys defer when I'm playing well, and we just play well together,” Brogdon said. “We embrace our pillar of unity.”
That unity has continued to evolve. It’s how Virginia assisted on 26 of its 32 field goals against Iowa State, and how the Cavaliers beat the Cyclones by 13 even though Brogdon scored just 12 points. That sounds like a pretty good formula to beat Syracuse, or really any team in the country, doesn’t it?
KenPom has Virginia as its best team in the nation and one of two teams with a top-10 offense and defense. Who knows how the 2015-16 team’s ceiling compares to Virginia squads of old, but make no mistake about it, the Cavaliers are finally reaching their full potential. And despite what Bennett will say, that is propelling Virginia to make even more history.
“Our program is still establishing itself. We're not where Carolina and Duke and some [others] are,” Bennett said. “We're scratching and clawing and thankful for everything that comes our way, and you just show up and you keep knocking.”
Fine. Just for now, maybe so. But with a trip to the Final Four, Virginia won’t have to scratch and knock anymore. The door will be open.
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