After a quiet start to the offseason, the Virginia men's basketball team saw its first transfer portal entry on Saturday. Leon Bond III, a redshirt freshman, appeared to have entered his name after two seasons in the program. The Wisconsin native has three years of eligibility remaining.
Bond posted on Instagram "Thank you Virginia" and "You will have my heart forever," but has made no official announcement.
Bond came to Virginia as a 4-star recruit that 247 Sports ranked No. 60 nationally in the Class of 2022. He averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals as a senior in 2021-22 for Wauwatosa East High School in Wisconsin. He was named Wisconsin Division 1 All-State First Team and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.
He had offers from Texas A&M, Marquette, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee among others. His VirginiaSports.com bio says he chose UVA "because head coach Tony Bennett and the entire coaching staff was the most genuine about his skill level and the five pillars – humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness align with his personal beliefs."
While with the Cavaliers, Bond supported his teammates and the school so he won over fans thanks to that outgoing personality. Still, the forward received limited playing time this season after the initial redshirt. He appeared in 24 games this season for the Hoos. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while reaching double figures in four games (Tarleton State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Morgan State). Bond also added 15 assists and 13 steals. He shot 45.8% from the field (44-96), but attempted just 2 3-pointers (1-2) on the season.
That last part may be a key factor in his decision to enter the portal. At 6'5" and 200 pounds, Bond carries the build of a wing at the ACC level but he played a lot of post at Wauwatosa. Without a 3-point shot in his arsenal, it creates challenges to find his most natural position at Virginia. While it remains to be seen where he chooses as a new destination, a different conference or program could offer the opportunity to play more of an undersized forward role than what appeared to be on the table at UVA.
Virginia has reportedly been in contact with numerous point guards and forwards in the transfer portal since the end of the season. Bond's decision opens up a potential scholarship spot for the Hoos. They previously have been projected with one definitive opening as Reece Beekman is not expected to use his bonus pandemic eligibility year. A third scholarship slot could open if Ryan Dunn declares for and stays in the NBA Draft. Most mock projections include Dunn on those lists, but he has some time before an official decision must be made. The NBA Draft early entry deadline is on April 27 and the NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline is May 29.
The UVA roster appears to need reshuffling after this past season. The Hoos did qualify for the NCAA Tournament and finished third in the ACC, but lost 8 games this season while scoring fewer than 55 points. That included the NCAA Tournament First Four game against Colorado State, a 67-42 loss that quickly ended the Cavaliers' stay in March Madness. Plus, Beekman led Virginia in both scoring (14.3 points per game) and assists (ACC-leading 6.2 assists per game) so that offense would be losing its most consistent piece from the past season.
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