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8. Virginia Cavaliers
Likely departures
- Malik Thomas (12.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg)
- Jacari White (9.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg)
- Ugonna Onyenso (6.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg)
- Dallin Hall (5.9 ppg and 4.4 apg)
- Devin Tillis (4.1 ppg and 2.7 rpg)
Likely returnees
- Thijs De Ridder (15.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg)
- Sam Lewis (10.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg)
- Chance Mallory (9.3 ppg and 3.4 apg)
- Johann Grunloh (7.1 ppg and 5.2 rpg)
After winning 30 games in his first year with the Cavaliers, Coach Ryan Odom will lose a number of rotation pieces from the roster. But just one double-digit scorer (Thomas), and now three of the team’s top scorers are back, led by De Ridder. He was already one of the best bigs in the ACC in his first season, and with him returning and not even going through the NBA Draft process, that’s a great starting point for the Cavaliers to retool its roster.Â
Mallory is officially back and will be a consensus sophomore breakout candidate. Grunloh, who flew under the radar in the frontcourt compared to another international player, is also due for a larger role.