The Virginia Cavaliers are officially 1-0 in the Ron Sanchez era after taking the Campbell Fighting Camels down 65-56 on Wednesday night. UVA’s young guns impressed while we got our first real look at what Virginia’s rotation will be this season.
In addition to our five takeaways from the victory, we’re evaluating each players’ individual performance by grading them as stock up, stock neutral, or stock down coming out of the season opener.
Stock up
Jacob Cofie
Cofie was the story of the game. The true freshman big notched 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting including going 2-for-3 from three-point range. He finished well around the rim, spaced the floor, and fit seamlessly at both power forward and center on offense.
Defensively, he helped to protect the rim alongside Blake Buchanan as Campbell shot just 6-for-17 (35.3%) around the basket. His ability to bounce back-and-forth between the four and the five on either end of the floor is an enticing development and adds to Virginia’s lineup versatility in the frontcourt.
Of course, as Tony Bennett would’ve reminded us postgame, it’s about consistency and stringing performances like this together. Life isn’t easy as a true freshman big in the Virginia system. Cofie passed his first test with flying colors, and that’s all that matters for now.
Blake Buchanan
Cofie’s underclassman frontcourt counterpart Buchanan also impressed versus Campbell.
UVA is asking Buchanan to do more offensively as a sophomore. As the ‘Hoos have gone away from their sides and inside triangle offenses, they’re spreading the floor with Buchanan roaming around the perimeter setting screens, running dribble hand-offs, and catching the ball off short rolls before looking to find the open guy on the backside.
The Idaho native had a slow start to the game and was pulled at one point after throwing the ball to nobody and turning it over. He rebounded after that, though, finishing with 10 points, five assists, and the lone turnover.
“I think that’s what we want him to do,” Ron Sanchez said postgame. “I think there’s more in him. I’m not sure he’s comfortable yet doing the things we want him to do. We’re going to continue to throw the ball to him, hopefully he can make some decent decisions.”
Sanchez also mentioned that Buchanan needs to finish better around the rim and from the free throw line. Buchanan’s 4-for-9 mark from the free throw line mirrored his 50% shooting from the charity stripe as a freshman.
Defensively, Buchanan anchored the Wahoos. His three blocks indicated how active he was in the paint as he cleaned up some mistakes. He’s fluid guarding ball screens and looks comfortable in the defensive rotations.
“I feel a lot more natural this year,” Buchanan said postgame. “I’m not reactive. I know where to be, I know what to expect. I’ve already done a year of college basketball, so the game is a lot slower than it was last year.”
Ishan Sharma
Virginia hoops sickos weren’t surprised by Ishan Sharma’s six-point college debut. Cofie’s 16-point game overshadowed his fellow freshman, but the Canadian made a tangible impact in his nine minutes with a pair of treys, three rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Sharma’s release is lightning-quick. He hardly caught the ball on his first three, releasing it from the same spot he received it with minimal action. Not to overreact, but it was a Kyle Guy-esque shot.
Sharma is going to have a role this season. How much of one depends on the staff’s confidence in him on defense and how well TJ Power and Taine Murray play. Frankly, he probably should’ve seen more minutes on Wednesday.
Stock neutral
Isaac McKneely
It was a pretty ho-hum 11-point performance from McKneely against Campbell. He was efficient, scoring in double figures on six shots and providing a steady presence in the backcourt across his 35 minutes. Sanchez mentioned postgame that iMac played through a cramp late in the game.
The point of emphasis for McKneely moving forward will be getting him more shots. UVA can’t expect to win many games when he only attempts three three-pointers. He had a few nice plays off the dribble which padded his stat-line despite going 1-for-3 from deep.
McKneely will get going from deep – that’s hardly a concern. It’ll be interesting to see how Virginia generates more looks for him as the season progresses.
Elijah Saunders
Saunders scored 11 points in just 18 minutes in his UVA debut. When he was on the floor, he made offense easy for the ‘Hoos by scoring in the paint. The downside was the foul trouble that limited him to those 18 minutes. He also turned the ball over four times.
The San Diego State transfer will be one of Virginia’s best players this season. He simply got a bit unlucky with a few calls. He registered 3.6 fouls per 40 minutes last season, so he’s not a super foul-happy player and should be trusted to clean that up on Monday versus Coppin State.
Andrew Rohde
Junior Andrew Rohde getting the start at point guard was a bit of a stunner on Wednesday night. Jalen Warley’s transfer out of the program had seemed to indicate Sanchez’s preference for Dai Dai Ames as UVA’s lead guard.
Instead, Rohde played 32 minutes compared to Ames’ 10. He finished with one point, five assists, three rebounds, and four turnovers. He got the ball up the floor, kept it moving in the flow of the offense, and had some nice cross-court passes to generate open looks. He also coughed it far too much as his 47% turnover rate suggests and didn’t create any offense for himself.
Rohde is in the stock neutral column because he’s the staff’s choice as the starting lead guard. He also performed about as well as anyone would expect him to given what he showed last season.
Whether it’s via Rohde, Ames, or Christian Bliss, Virginia is going to need more from the point guard position than it got versus Campbell.
Taine Murray
Murray scored five points, made a pair of nice drives to the paint for scores, and was unproblematic defensively. That’s his role, and he achieved it on Wednesday night.
Christian Bliss
Bliss missed this game since he’s nursing a foot injury, according to Sanchez. Bliss has been unfortunately injury-prone in his basketball career. Hopefully for him and the ‘Hoos, he’s active and makes his Virginia debut soon.
Stock down
Dai Dai Ames
Ames looked like the guy at point guard for UVA. Sanchez said the staff made the decision to go with Rohde in the past few days after a battle between the two for the starting job.
Ames was fine, but uninspiring in his 10 minutes. He knocked down a pair of late free throws for his only points of the game, dished out one assist, and didn’t turn the ball over.
If he can’t push Rohde for minutes at point guard this season, that’d be a disappointment given expectations following Warley’s transfer.
TJ Power
TJ Power was the guy who lost out as a result of Cofie’s impressive debut. The Duke transfer played 19 minutes and was the only Wahoo to have a negative plus-minus at -7. The next closest was Ames at +1.
Power shot 1-for-3 from the field and 1-for-2 from three. He’s a nice piece to have as a floor-spacer, and he made a really nice pass to Blake Buchanan on a back-door cut.
Yet his pedigree as a flamethrower from deep wasn’t necessarily evident in his Virginia debut, and Cofie’s emergence suggests he may lose out on minutes as a result.
If Cofie is owning the frontcourt minutes alongside Saunders and Buchanan, then Power could be pigeonholed into needing to find his way onto the floor at the three where he’s susceptible defensively. It’s hardly time to write off his value for this team. It’s just 40 minutes of basketball, after all. But he’ll be looking to get a higher volume of looks to make his shooting presence felt more moving forward.
Anthony Robinson
Robinson was the lone active scholarship player to not play versus Campbell. The nine guys ahead of him all look set to be in the rotation, while he seems squarely outside of it.
Listing the redshirt freshman as stock down may be a bit harsh given that he didn’t play. But that’s what lands him here as he likely needs another year before being a tangible contributor for the Cavaliers.
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