Twelve months after Tony Bennett’s surprising retirement, Virginia has been almost completely overhauled.
The Cavaliers open the season with new head coach Ryan Odom and 12 newcomers on Monday against Rider in Charlottesville, Va.
The only players returning from a team that finished 15-17 under interim coach Ron Sanchez are Desmond Roberts, Elijah Gertrude and Carter Lang. Gertrude (injury) and Lang (redshirt) never saw the court and Roberts finished with four points in seven minutes across five games.
Odom was hired in March after going 52-21 in two seasons at VCU. He is 201-117 overall with Charlotte (2014-15), UMBC (2016-21), Utah State (2021-23) and VCU, with three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The reconstructed roster includes seven transfers, three freshmen and two European imports. In addition to all the personnel changes, these Cavaliers are planning to play much faster than Bennett’s teams and regularly apply full-court pressure.
“We want to play as many as we can,” Odom said. “When you’re pressuring up the court, it takes a certain level of fitness to do that. It’s really tough to play 30-plus minutes playing that hard, and so you definitely want eight, nine, 10 (players) in there.”
Players to watch for Virginia include San Francisco transfer Malik Thomas (19.9 points per game last season), BYU transfer Dallin Hall (6.8 points, 4.2 assists), North Dakota State transfer Jacari White (17.1 points) and 7-footer Johann Grunloh of Germany. Freshman Chance Mallory, a hometown four-star recruit, was ranked as the No. 6 point guard in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports.
Virginia was picked fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll.
Visiting Rider will tip off its 14th season under head coach Kevin Baggett, who is 206-202 following a 14-19 finish last season.
The four returning Broncs include Zion Cruz, named a preseason All-MAAC third-team pick after averaging 10.1 points last season, and backcourt partner Flash Burton. The 10 newcomers include 7-footer Mohamad Diallo and Cal State Fullerton transfer Davis Bynum.
“One night, it might be Flash and Zion, another night, it might be (Diallo) and Davis Bynum,” Baggett told The Rider News. “I’m excited about that because the more you can get guys to contribute, the better it is for what we call a team.”
The teams have met once before, with Virginia winning 79-46 at home on Nov. 20, 2009.
