Tony Bennett has UVA ready to win another ACC regular season championship. Let’s observe the Cavaliers for a preview of their 2024-25 season. Bennett is second among active ACC coaches in career wins with 364, and only trails Leonard Hamilton who has 443. However, Bennett has only 15 years in the conference whereas Hamilton has 22. At just 55 years of age, Bennett is far from done, and may soon solidify himself on the Mount Rushmore of ACC coaches. So just how good are the Cavaliers going to be this upcoming season?
Virginia Basketball Preview: Bennett Has Built ACC Juggernaut
Roller Coaster 2023-24 Season
Virginia had an up-and-down 2023-24 season. Beating Texas A&M was a good momentum boost early on, but the Cavaliers sputtered as their in-conference schedule began. Specifically, their first ACC matchup resulted in a 22-point loss to a mediocre Notre Dame squad. UVA then followed that up by losing to NC State and Wake Forest. Clearly, Bennett used these tough losses to fuel his guys as they rattled off an eight-game win streak. Unfortunately, the team was exposed in a 34-point loss to Virginia Tech. After that, it seemed as though they threw in the towel on the season. Virginia got bounced by red-hot NC State in the ACC Tournament, and suffered an embarrassing loss in the first four against Colorado State. With Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn now in the NBA, Bennett needs to figure out who his leaders will be.
Bennett’s Solid 2024 Transfer Class
TJ Power, Dai Dai Ames, Elijah Saunders, Carter Lang, and Jalen Warley are all members of Virginia’s 2024 transfer class. Power is considered one of the top transfers in the ACC. The sharpshooter received limited playing time in his freshman year at Duke, but he should see more minutes in Charlottesville. Ames has transferred to UVA after one season at Kansas State. The Chicago native led KSU in scoring in the Wildcats’ season finale against Iowa, scoring 16 points and dishing out five assists. Transferring in from SDSU, Saunders’s minutes fluctuated during the Aztecs’ 2023-24 season, and he’ll look to have a more consistent role under Bennett. Lang, a Charlottesville native, is transferring from Vanderbilt and will be a walk-on for the Cavaliers. Warley will join Virginia after three seasons at FSU. In Warley’s junior year, the former Seminole was 10th in the ACC in steal percentage at 2.9%.
Virginia Basketball 2024 Freshmen
Jacob Cofie and Ishan Sharma are the only two incoming freshmen for Virginia. Cofie is ranked 104th nationally and first in the state of Washington. At 6-foot-9 and 225 lbs. his size and frame will help him acclimate to the college level quickly. Originally from Seattle, Cofie was named the 2023-24 Washington MaxPreps High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Sharma is ranked 232nd nationally and fourth in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Milton, ON native was named the 2024 Canadian National Player of the Year, and his great shooting was likely a factor in Bennett’s recruitment.
6'5 Virginia commit Ishan Sharma highlights from Duel in the Desert 👀 @Ishan_sharma0 @FortErieMBB @thegrindsession pic.twitter.com/WXdzL8CAk4
— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) February 12, 2024
Cavaliers 2024-25 Schedule
The Cavs will begin their season at home hosting Campbell and Coppin State. Then, the team will travel to Baltimore to take on Villanova in a Hall of Fame series showdown. Bennett and Co. will take a vacation to Nassau to participate in the 2024 Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, where they could face Baylor, St. John’s, or Tennessee. The remainder of their non-conference schedule will feature matchups against Manhattan, Bethune-Cookman, Holy Cross, Memphis, and American. Finally, they’ll take on Florida in the SEC-ACC Challenge. The team has yet to release their ACC schedule, but with Bennett at the helm, they’ll be a front runner in the conference as per usual.
