Virginia Basketball: Projected starting lineup for 2020-21 season

A look at the key players for Virginia Basketball this upcoming season.

The “defending” national champions are coming off a season where they were considered to be rebuilding. For Tony Bennett and Virginia Basketball, a rebuilding year saw them win 11 out f their last 12 and finish 23-7, 2nd in the ACC.

They were one of the hottest teams in the country at the time the season was shut down and were looking very solid heading into the tournament. The Cavaliers lost Braxton Key and Mamadi Diakite, but the frontcourt might be even stronger this season.

UVA is receiving a lot of hype this season, mostly due to Marquette transfer and Wooden Award candidate Sam Hauser, but they are still overshadowed by other contenders such as Baylor, Gonzaga, and Villanova.

Backcourt

Virginia’s backcourt is returning all members from last year’s campaign, most notably Kihei Clark. Clark is now a Junior and this will be his 3rd year in the starting lineup, as he was able to crack the starting lineup as a freshman for the national championship run.

Early on, Clark was a liability on offense, but as he gained experience, he has elevated himself to one of the top guards in the ACC. He was named preseason 1st team All-ACC, beating out Chris Lykes from Miami.

At 5’9″, Clark is one of the smaller guards in the country, but that does not stop him from being a force on both sides of the floor. On offense, he averaged 10.8 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 4.2 RPG, more than doubling all of those categories from the season prior. Clark also knocked down 37.5% of his 3 point shots, making him one of the most overlooked shooters in the country.

One of the benefits from last season was that Clark was put in situations where he had to take the last shot. He excelled in this role, hitting multiple game-winners during the season, most notably vs. Virginia Tech and Louisville.

He will continue to be the x-factor for the Hoos this season and they will need him to run the offense. Clark should lead the conference in assists, with Jay Huff and Sam Hauser to feed down low and expect a ton of alley-oops to those two this season.

It is difficult to tell exactly who will start at shooting guard for Virginia at this point, as Bennett has kept the details minimal, but it can be assumed that Casey Morsell will at least begin the season as the starter. Morsell was thrust into the starting role last year as a freshman.

In Tony Bennett’s pack-line defense, not many freshmen get minutes, yet alone start. His youth showed, as the 4-star recruit averaged 4.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, and shot 27.7% from the field. He came out of high school as a highly touted 4 point shooter. He struggled heavily in that area, only connecting on 17.6% from deep.

Despite these struggles, many feel Morsell is poised for a breakout season for UVA. He showed signs of stardom at times, such as the game vs. Arizona State where he exploded for 19 points and hit the game-winner with under a minute left. Morsell has never lacked confidence, but he will need to shoot better if Virginia is going to win a national championship.

Another name to watch in the backcourt is incoming freshman and 4-star recruit Reece Beekman. He is more of a point guard, but could also challenge for the starting spot at the 2. Carson McCorkle, a 3-star sharpshooter, and Junior Kody Stattman will also look to get minutes in the backcourt.

Frontcourt

At this point in time, Virginia might have the most dominant frontcourt in the entire country. The starter at the wing will be Thomas Woldetensae, the senior who was a JUCO transfer from Indian Hills CC. It took Woldetensae a while to find his role for the Cavaliers last season, but he ultimately broke into the starting lineup at the wing and flourished as the season progressed.

He averaged 6.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.1 APG. His main offensive threat is from 3, where he at times was unstoppable. The issue was not his ability from deep, but his consistency. Overall, he shot 36.1% from beyond the arc, which is solid, but he had many games where he would hit 5 or 6 threes with 75% accuracy, and then would not hit another one for two games.

If Woldetensae can be more consistent and improve from last season, he will be one of the most deadly shooters in all of college basketball and will give Virginia a huge boost. He should have plenty of open looks, as the next two frontcourt players will demand a ton of attention.

Coming in at Power Forward is Marquette transfer, Sam Hauser. He had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules but will return this season as a top player in the country. Hauser was named to the Wooden Award watch list and has garnered preseason All-American honors.

At Marquette in 2018-19, he averaged 14.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.4 APG. Hauser is a great rebounder and scorer, but his biggest attribute is shooting. He has shot 40% or better from 3 in his first three seasons at Marquette, and that ablility will make the Virginia offense extremely efficient.

Expect his PPG to fall slightly, as the Cavaliers run a slower tempo offense than Marquette and limit possessions. Hauser will need to carry the rebounding load this season, and the offense will likely run through him. He will have one of the best passing guards in the league feeding him and should have a phenomenal season. He has also had an entire year to learn the pack-line defense, so he should be ready to go off the bat.

Finally, Jay Huff will round out the starting 5 at Center. Huff only earned solid minutes during last season, and he took advantage of his opportunity. He was able to sneak into the starting lineup late in the season, as Bennett now feels confident in his ability to play defense.

Offense has never been an issue for Huff. He averaged 8.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 0.8 APG, shooting 57.1% from the floor. Huff is a great rebounder and shooter, and the big question this season is how he will be able to anchor the defense. His breakout game last season came against Duke, where he almost snagged a triple-double with blocks and absolutely shut down Vernon Carey Jr., who was the 32nd pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Huff is also an elite finisher and look for the Clark-Huff connection on alley-oops all season. Other names to watch out for in the frontcourt are Justin Mckoy, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, and Francisco Caffaro. McKoy should see improved minutes this year and will likely backup Hauser.

Rahim is a 4-star recruit and would start on many teams, but will have to learn the system and play off the bench for Virginia. Finally, Cafarro is entering his Redshirt Sophomore season for Virginia and showed a lot of promise last season as a post scorer and rebounder.

Overall, The 2020-21 Virginia Cavaliers are stacked and experienced. They could easily run a 10 man rotation, which would allow for many different lineup combinations. Their biggest issue last season was shooting, and now they should be one of the best shooting teams in the nation.

Expectations for this Virginia team are high, and anything other than a trip to the Final Four would be a disappointment. Tony Bennett has never had this many coring options, even on the 2018-19 team that won the national championship. The defense should be back and allow somewhere in the range of 50-55 points per game. If there was ever a team built to play in a pandemic, it is the defensive-minded Virginia Cavaliers lead by Tony Bennett.