In a sign of how much things have changed in college athletics, the Virginia basketball team opened preseason play in a public exhibition game at an outdoor tennis stadium in South Carolina all before the leaves have changed colors back home. The unique setting for the noon tipoff split the court into a shaded end and a sunny end. Sunday's LinkU Invitational in Charleston, S.C., gave UVA and Vanderbilt an early round of feedback in a game won 82-73 by the Commodores.
"Of course, any time you're playing a game this early there's going to be some rust for both teams" Virginia coach Ryan Odom said. "Vanderbilt's going to be an excellent squad. I think we're going to be pretty good too. Just looking forward to having our guys learn from this, what we can get from it, and moving on to practice."
As expected from two programs that made the NCAA Tournament and advanced a round last season, it was a competitive game where the teams traded runs throughout.
Virginia led early before Vanderbilt surged later in the first half. There were 4 ties and 7 lead changes before intermission with the Commodores leading 38-34 at the break. A similar pattern unfolded in the second half with UVA making a run in the earlier minutes, but Vandy getting it going through the middle portion and eventually winning the half. There were 3 ties and 4 lead changes in the second half.
In the end, the exhibition unfolded much like last year's matchup between the teams in Nashville. Vanderbilt left lineups together a little longer within its rotations, shot a little bit better, and won some 50-50 situations with rebounding. Virginia rotated players through short stints for much of the game, did not shoot as well, and had inconsistency with rebounding. Both teams struggled with turnovers and free throws. Vandy had a lot more success in transition, though it also seemed more focused on leak-outs in the first half to get some of the game's deciding points.
"It's strange right now playing a college basketball game in September, but it's something we wanted, something we were looking forward to - like Coach talked about, it's a special opportunity," UVA guard Elijah Gertrude said. "Been playing against each other all summer leading up to this. Having a chance to just go out there and play against somebody else for one time and see where we're at, see what we have to work on, what we have to learn and grow and improve on."
The Cavaliers shot 38.3% for the game (23-60) while making 10 of 33 3-pointers (30.3%). They converted 17 of 27 free throws (63.0%) as well. The Commodores shot 49.3% (33-67) whlie making 6 of 18 3-pointers (33.3%). They converted 10 of 27 free throws (37.0%). Vandy won points in the paint 46-22 and transition points 20-5, easily accounting for the winning margin on the board.
Gertrude led UVA with 10 points in the released statistics to go with 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grünloh, and Jan Vide all chipped in 8 points. De Ridder had 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Vide had 3 assists and 1 steal. Sam Lewis and Silas Barksdale each added 7 points and 1 assist. Martin Carrere and Nolan Adekunle chipped in 5 points apiece.
Vanderbilt placed Tyler Tanner (13 points, 2 assists) and Ace Glass (10 points) in double figures. Ant Brown Jr. and Gabe Nesmith added 9 points each. Bangot Dak scored 7 points with 8 rebounds, while Berke Buyuktuncel had 6 points and 4 rebounds.
Notably, both coaches' sons hit 3's in the final minute with Owen Odom coming through for the Hoos and Chase Byington hitting one from the corner in front of his bench.
"Any time you can play a quality team like Vanderbilt this early, neither of us has been practicing a ton, at this stage in the season, you always learn from others," Odom said. "They tell you what you need to get better at and we try to do the same thing when we're playing another opponent in this exhibition season. Certainly there were some good things, there were some bad things throughout that game but now both of us will be able to go back, chop the film up, and show guys. But more importantly, [things] to work on when we get back into practices. Certainly, we have plenty of evidence now when you play somebody else of things we need to improve upon."
Lots Of Lineups
As expected in this early exhibition setting, Virginia shuffled a variety of players in and out of the game. Odom forecasted as much in a Jeff White article on VirginiaSports.com. Plus, the Hoos kept Chance Mallory and Christian Harmon, two expected rotation players, out of the exhibition (Odom said Mallory twisted an ankle several weeks ago and is just now back in non-contact practice situations) so there was even more fluidity from the start. Sam Lewis, Thijs De Ridder, and Johann Grünloh played less then they might in a regular season game as well.
That all led to experimenting and running different lineups together to see different possibilities with a Power-4 opponent on the other side of the court.
"It was an opportunity for both teams to have everybody play," Odom said. "Lot of minutes for different guys, younger guys that hadn't see the court. Some performed really well and others need to get back to work. That's just part of it when you're on a basketball team."
Here are a few concepts that looked intriguing, particularly given some of the preseason questions - mainly who will be the bookend backups at point guard and center - for the Cavaliers.
Thijs De Ridder at small forward/wing. While small ball is often something that gets a lot of conversation in basketball circles in recent years, this is something that goes the opposite way. At 6'9" and 235 pounds, De Ridder fits the mold of a traditional power forward. With some shooting ability and experience, however, putting him in with other bigs offers the possibility to create some mismatches. One example against Vandy saw De Ridder on the floor with 6'9", 223-pound Silas Barksdale and 7-footer Grünloh. Functionally, this could work with 6'8" Kalu Anya and 7'1" Favour Ibe as well. This doesn't feel like it would be in regular use, but stay tuned.
2 point guards together as subs? If any question has come up frequently this offseason, the 'who is the backup point guard' one probably leads the pack. That's because Virginia had the one-two combination of Dallin Hall and Chance Mallory last season. Now that Mallory is penciled in as the starting point guard, figuring out the second part is a legitimate focus because it impacts everything from Mallory's minutes load to wing rotations.
One shuffle in this game caught my attention, though. Jan Vide, who started in this exhibition in Mallory's place, and Martin Carrere both got solo time at point guard against Vandy, but there was at least one segment that had the duo on the court together. Both showed a sense for an extra pass or floor reads with their minutes in this matchup. An approach of putting them both out there at once would remove the burden from either having to be the primary point guard on every possession and would put two potential passing playmakers out there to feed other options.
It's an interesting thought in that could lead to a real jumbo lineup if desired with Vide (6'6"), Carrere (6'9"), Sam Lewis (6'7"), De Ridder (6'9"), and Grünloh (7'0") as one example.
"They both had their moments, there's no question about it," Odom said.
Favour Ibe and Silas Barksdale. Both Ibe and Barksdale came in after other players, but their minutes together and separately flashed a lot of potential. There was a lot of activity from both trying to defend and rebound. They ran the floor. They moved on offense. Bottom line, there was some energy and wing span that came to the floor when they entered.
Statistically, there isn't anything to grab you. Ibe had 2 points (offensive rebound), 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Barksdale had 7 points (offensive rebound, a 3), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 fouls. It's hard to project exactly how either player might do over the course of this long season, but if the duo can give that type of energy whenever those opportunities come, that's a good thing for team. Both will only improve with film from the exhibition and more chances ahead.
Nolan Adekunle with Sam Lewis. The game started with Adekunle and Lewis on the floor together. That's a pair of matching 6'7" wings that can potentially defend all types of players on opposing rosters. Odom said he has not decided on a fifth starter so this doesn't guarantee you'll see that combo the rest of the way, but it definitely deserved a first exhibition mention.
Sam Lewis Looks Ready
In the final stats, Sam Lewis finished with 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist while shooting 2-7 from the field. He missed all 4 3-point attempts, but converted 3 of 4 free throws. That type of boxscore can be misleading.
Lewis looked confident and under control on offense. He certainly wasn't forcing the issue at any time in the exhibition setting. At one point, the TV announcers noted he was essentially an automatic paint touch with the ball because of how smoothly he was getting there when he wanted to attack.
Just as important were some little things. He handled the ball up the court in a point guard like role at least once and got a little extra run without last year's other starters. The camera spotted him giving feedback with good body language during one stop in play as well. Odom has noted that replacing last year's leadership will be important so that moment can be considered a big positive from this game. Defensively, he also looked the best of anyone at containing his defender. He was whistled for just 1 foul.
Bottom line: Lewis looked ready to take a step this season in some important ways regardless of what the stat line says.
Drive Defense
Odom has said that summer and offseason workouts focus on offense, pace, and playmaking with less of a lens on defense, schemes, and transition stops. Plus, official preseason practices just started this week so there should not have been expectations of a pristine machine on the defensive end of the floor. Still, UVA's defense against drives both in halfcourt settings and in transition will certainly be getting a heavier dose of practice time in the coming weeks.
Throughout the exhibition, the Cavaliers had some problems keeping dribblers in front or containing with proper angles. Vanderbilt players found creases and lanes to the rim that led to easy baskets. Those issues sometimes worsened if a ball screen was involved with Odom noting some things they've practiced weren't recognized and executed in some of those situations - "I expected our guys to be a little bit further along with our pick-and-roll coverages," he said. Sam Lewis, who is expected to be a defensive stopper, appeared to have the least trouble on first viewing.
Keep in mind, this game was played without Chance Mallory. First, this is an area he immediately boosts. Second, it shuffles matchups that maybe don't exist in a regular season setting.
Picking up the dribble and getting that player out of attack mode was also a problem in transition, particularly in the first half. Virginia didn't slow down the ball enough or rotate back quickly at times. That led to a lot of full-speed attempts at the rim.
An auxiliary effect from the struggles with drive defense: fouls. The Cavaliers committed 10+ fouls in both halves. Odom said the Hoos gave up too many layups, fouled too much, and didn't rebound well enough.
What about Elijah?
Gertrude led his team in scoring with 10 points on 3-6 shooting and 3-4 free throw shooting. He displayed some of the burst both with and without the ball that makes him a threat when he has space to attack. He also had a couple of careless plays that led to turnovers, one attempting to pass the ball ahead and one trying to throw a pocket pass when his teammate didn't roll off a screen.
It's that blend of good moments and bad moments that makes Gertrude a hard player to project as the season continues especially with competition for minutes everywhere. On one hand, he's stuck with the program, played in Odom's system longer now, showed a different quick-twitch athleticism than others, and has a great team-first attitude. On the other hand, he sometimes forces plays that lead to mistakes and has some trouble defensively (he wasn't alone in that this time as noted above).
Gertrude's second rotation was better than his first in the exhibition with Vanderbilt. One of his turnovers came in his first round of minutes and he had at least one other shaky play during that time, but he knocked down a mid-range jumper. When he came back out for this second turn, though, he had a nice assist and took a charge defensively. Then as the game moved along, he started to look more and more comfortable (minus the one pocket pass turnover mentioned above). Some of that in the second half may have been a byproduct of a more free-flowing game as he was out in space and semi-transition more often. But he did hit 2 3's in the second half (only 1 credited in the stats) too.
Gertrude said after the game his goal is to try to stay consistent on the court and available off the court. He also said the team goal is to compete for an ACC Championship.
"Specifically for me, just staying consistent," Gertrude said. "Being there for guys when they need help, they need support. Continue to put the work in. Coach talked about the details a lot. Focus on the little details. You know, I don't have as many games under my belt, but I feel like the experience and being able to watch and grow, I've been in the program for years now, having that experience and knowing the game now, just going out there being able to implement that on the floor it's going to help a lot."
More Likes & Don't Likes
Like: I really liked Jan Vide's reads out of middle ball screens. He played those situations under control, put the help defender in a difficult tag spot, and then waited to play off of that tag decision effectively. That's something that should blend well over the course of this season with Odom's style. Odom noted afterward that Vide's been one of the "more consistent players" so far leading into this season and that the team is comfortable with and confident in his play on the floor because he understands the game.
Don't Like: The transition defense was not good. Some of that was shot selection and some of that was Vanderbilt willingly leaking out to go get those easy uncontested baskets. Odom, rightfully, was not concerned because that is something that is easily fixable once practice time picks up steam. He did want to see a better effort on the offensive glass to make that leak-out strategy harder to execute, though.
Like: Johann Grünloh went 2-2 shooting on 3-pointers. This was a weapon to some degree last season when he shot 21-60 (35.0%) from 3-point range, but it felt like something that he never found fully last season when it was a strength coming in. It could be a huge way to space the floor if it stays as confident and in rhythm as these 2 3's were.
Don't Like: Thijs De Ridder can obviously play and he's going to be highly productive again this season. For an exhibition setting, it looked like he got caught up a little too much around calls/non-calls from officials, though. He got tagged with 3 fouls, most out in the open when bumping a dribbler with his lower body. The non-calls generally came with him trying to dribble into a post move with some traffic around the rim in the second half.
Like: Elijah Gertrude's day generally. As noted above, some good and some bad, but the body language and approach was mostly good at this stage of the season. If he can hit some 3's and clean up some decision making, it will make a path to the floor easier to obtain.
Don't Like: For an exhibition game this early, some things like sloppy possessions are baked in and some turnovers are a given. Still, there was some poor decision making on shots and attacks into the paint or missed opportunities to move the ball. Those decisions, particularly some drives into contested shots, influenced the rough shooting day around the rim.
Like: Jurian Dixon settling in as the game progressed. With a First-Team All-Big West season a year ago and a defensive mindset, Dixon feels like he can provide this team with perimeter minutes. As he got more court time in this game, you could see some of his smooth athletic ability come to the forefront.
Don't Like: It felt like Virginia had a lot of slow reactions for defensive rebounding in this game. A little late jumping. A little late making contact. Later in the game, there were some better rebounds but it felt like it took a while to get there. Vanderbilt won the rebounding category 43-36 and secured 14 offensive rebounds. That was an up-and-down category at times for the Hoos last year too.
Like: The Owen Odom and Chase Byington 3's. Both teams really enjoyed those shots.
Don't Like: Replay reviews, especially in exhibition games.
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