Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Biggest storylines for 2019 off-season

By Neil Adler

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Virginia Cavaliers celebrate their teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Virginia Cavaliers celebrate their teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 11: Ty Jerome #11 and Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts during the closing seconds of their win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 11: Ty Jerome #11 and Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts during the closing seconds of their win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

1. Talent exodus in Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers embarked on a magical march through the 2019 NCAA Tournament, erasing the pain of the prior year, as well as other recent early exits in the Big Dance under their fantastic head coach, Tony Bennett. Odds-makers in Las Vegas view Virginia as possessing a strong opportunity to claim the national championship for a second consecutive campaign.

That possibility, though, may hinge on what ultimately transpires surrounding this June’s NBA Draft. Redshirt sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter, the hero of UVA’s title-affair victory versus Texas Tech, and junior point guard Ty Jerome plan to remain in the draft, according to Cavaliers’ coaches. Redshirt junior forward Mamadi Diakite and junior guard Kyle Guy also have declared for the NBA Draft, but Bennett has said that Diakite and Guy have left the door open to return to Charlottesville, Va., for another year.

Diakite jumped into the spotlight following his breath-taking, buzzer-beating shot that enabled Virginia to force overtime against Purdue in the Elite Eight. Guy, on the 2019 All-ACC first crew, is a tremendous 3-point specialist. Yes, the Cavaliers have three commits in their 2019 recruiting class, including two four-star guys. Rumors are flying around that Marquette forwards Joey Hauser and Sam Hauser, who is transferring from the Golden Eagles, could dock at UVA. However, for my money, the critical facets for Virginia in 2019-20 boil down to the futures of Guy and Diakite in a Cavaliers uniform.