The Virginia Cavaliers are going with a brand-new offense this season and will shift away from their old playstyle, per The Virginian-Pilot’s Mike Barber. They look to speed up the tempo, and put more focus into offense.
For most of head coach Tony Bennett’s career at UVA, the playstyle for the team was defense, defense, defense. The team averaged only 63.6 points per game, which was the second worst in all of D1 basketball, but they only allowed 59 points per game.
However, it seems their team has become more and more focused on defense since the 2019 championship, where they had their best offensive team ever. Their offense crumbled so bad last season they were 254th out of 355 schools in team shooting percentage, with a miserable 43% from the field.
What have they switched up? With the new transfers of Elijah Saunders (San Diego State) and TJ Power (Duke), who can stretch the floor, Isaac McKneely, the team’s best shooter, will be a lot more open.
Last season, McKneely was the only consistent shooter on the team, meaning opposing defenses would just guard him at the perimeter and take away UVA’s deep ball.
They also plan to push in transition, something unheard of in Tony Bennett’s playstyle. They want to be unpredictable, while still being the defensive stalwart that UVA is known for.
The Hoos might be the team to look out for in the ACC, and maybe all of college basketball, as they seem to be ready to come out the door swinging.
