Virginia Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Cavaliers

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Tournament MVP Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 71-63 during the championship game of the 2018 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

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Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images /

Projected starters

6-foot-7 forward De’Andre Hunter is a projected NBA lottery pick in some circles in this year’s draft, so it’s hard to imagine he’ll come off the bench after winning the ACC Sixth Man of the Year award last season. In the backcourt, Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy are set to continue starting in the rotation.

3-point shooting should be the Cavaliers’ biggest strength in 2018-19. Virginia was second in the conference last season in 3-point field goal percentage (38.3 percent) Jerome put up 10.6 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game last season. Guy produced a team-high 14.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest on 39.2 percent shooting from 3-point range. Hunter also shot 38.2 percent from behind the arc last year while Jerome shot 37.9 percent from the arc.

Big man Jack Salt should hold down center position, but he’ll have some competition for his spot off the bench. Salt averaged 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds as a full-time starter last year.

The forward position opposite Hunter is likely to be taken by junior Braxton Key. Key was granted immediate eligibility despite transferring from the Alabama Crimson Tide. He played for Alabama during the 2017-18 campaign, recording 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest through 26 appearances. He should emerge as an X-Factor this year in Virginia’s rotation.

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