Virginia Basketball: What are the chances Cavaliers repeat for 2019-20 season?
Virginia Basketball won their first national title in school history last season. After losing key players from that historic team, what are the expectations for the Cavaliers in 2019-20?
Despite losing their top players from last season, Virginia Basketball has a subtle recruiting class coming in to lead the way. The Cavaliers were able to get two 4-star recruits in Kadin Shedrick and Casey Morsell. Virginia also locked in two 3-star recruits in Justin McKoy and Tomas Woldetensae so they have talent coming in through the pipeline.
Out of their entire roster, I expect a lot coming from Casey Morsell in his freshman season. Virginia doesn’t really have a one-and-done type of system and most players have to work their way up, but Casey Morsell might be an exception to that rule. He is a 6-2 guard that plays years ahead of his age. He can finish at the rim with ease wiggling through defenders and has a steady jumper from deep.
I also have high expectations for the 6-9 forward Mamadi Diakite. He played behind De’Andre Hunter last year and had several double-digit games where he proved he could score and rebound. He was very impressive defensively as a shot-blocker last season in the rotation and I assume his role could be a lot bigger going into this season unless one of the forward recruits are granted the position.
Tony Bennett, up until winning the NCAA Title, was a good coach that didn’t get a lot of credit over his 10-year span. Ever since implementing his system, the Cavaliers have had a winning average near .750 and a tournament-winning average near .700 which is tough to pull off in a loaded ACC.
Let’s also recall that Virginia won the ACC Regular Season Championship in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019 and also won the ACC Tournament Championship in 2014 and 2018. Over the past two seasons, overall Virginia has gone 66-6.
Next. Top returning ACC players from each team for 2019-20. dark
Tony Bennett is a mastermind when it comes to recruiting so I have no doubts about the quality of team they will have this season. Four of Virginia’s five 30-win season’s have been under Tony Bennett (1982, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) So it’s safe to say, “Bennett Ball” works. Repeating is more than possible with this squad.
Yes, I know it’s still pretty early, but the talent is there.