Virginia Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Cavaliers
By Jay George
Tony Bennet and his Virginia Basketball team are gearing up for another season with a new look potential to have a great bounce-back campaign.
Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the ACC. The 2022-23 Virginia Basketball team showed a lot of promise following a couple of lack luster seasons prior to their exciting rebound last season.
Having a hot start to the season, and remaining in the win column 25 times, both quickly became an afterthought as their season came to a rather abrupt end against Furman in the first round of March Madness. Following a poor shooting performance, an uncharacteristic turnover gave Furman an open three that hit with only a few seconds left. Time quickly expired to end the game and their season.
Despite that, a lot of promise to build off was shown throughout the season from promising performances by then freshmen Ryan Dunn and Isaac McKneely to Reece Beekman taking a huge step offensively. Beyond the arc, Virginia showed some improvement following an abysmal 2021-2022 season while still maintaining an interior presence. The methodical and slow-paced offense also saw a slight increase in tempo utilizing flare screens and off-ball movement which helped Virginia find a flow. This benefitted the team in being able to get back in transition quickly – a key aspect to a Virginia pack line defense.
Veteran guard Reece Beekman leads the way returning about a breakout season offensively last year joined by other notable returners in sophomore guards Isaac McKneely and Ryan Dunn and forward Leon Bond III as well as junior guard Taine Murray.
Having lost some key pieces especially down low, Virginia hit the portal to stay afloat essentially revamping the squad. With some notable incoming freshman plus pickups in guards Dante Harris and Andrew Rhode, as well as forwards Jordan Minor and Jake Groves, the Cavaliers look toward a promising 2023-2024 campaign.
This year, they look to put last year behind them with what some might argue, is their best or most promising lineup Bennett has put forth since their 2018-2019 national championship run.