UVa fan checking in…very interested in the matchup Sunday evening.
I’m sure the media talking heads will beat the “slow pace”, and “first team to 50” storyline to death, so I’ll stay away from that one and just break down our team.
It’s been a up and down season for us. A lot of new pieces, but not many fans are thrilled with the NIT 3 years removed from a national title. That said, still an opportunity to get some tournament experience and play some teams we don’t normally see. Season highlights were winning at Duke, beating Providence and sweeping Miami. Lowlights were losing to Navy & JMU, and getting smacked twice by UNC who we usually handle.
We’ve got 7 guys in our regular rotation, and all have the ability to hit double figures on a given night, but rarely is it clicking for everyone on the same night.
Backcourt is a 3 guard starting lineup of Reece Beekman, Kihei Clark (who made “the pass” against Purdue in the Elite Eight) and Armaan Franklin. Beekman is a soph, but likely has an NBA future. He’s quick, doesn’t turn it over, is an elite defender, and a good enough shooter to keep the defense honest…I wish he looked to score more. Clark can look all-world one sequence, and commit a bad TO and take a bad shot the next 3 sequences. He’s a pest of defense, but not Beekman level. Overall his positives tend to outweigh his negatives, but he’s hot-and-cold. Same with Franklin…if he makes his first couple of shots, look out…if he misses them, it could easily end up being a 1-10 night.
Our most consistent frontline player is Jayden Gardner. He’s undersized at 6’6 but is capable of scoring 25+ and is deadly in the midrange…he’s not a threat from 3. We’ve got a couple of bigs in 6’11 Kadin Shedrick and 7’0 Francisco Caffaro. They rarely play at the same time, but usually split the minutes at the 5. Shedrick has higher upside, but is more finesse and the better shot blocker. Caffaro is a bull, but not real polished. Our last reserve is Kody Stattman…6’8 wing but not especially athletic. He can hit the 3 if you leave him open, but won’t be a dagger guy…most fans would prefer Bennett gives his minutes to one of our freshmen (Murray or Milicic), but Bennett has stuck with the senior.
If you have any questions, fire away. Good luck on Sunday!
