Category: 2024-2025

Hi, there, remember me? Okay, so maybe it’s only been one game. My intention was not to jump back in – and this is NOT a game recap, nor will it have any clips. I wanted to jump in to discuss that SMU game and, especially, the ending, though. Firstly, absolutely fantastic to see Blake…

This was my fear. Before the season started, I wrote (and said) that the main test would be to see how these guys would play and respond through adversity, of which there would definitely be some this season. I didn’t correctly forecast how much adversity that would be, but we’ve reached that point now and…

The whiplash in the vibes between the past two games has been extreme. There was a pretty strong resurgence of positivity, I gathered, from the fan base after the offense looked better against N.C. State. To the point, where it sounded like people were starting to be hopeful about where the season could end up,…

The last game of 2024 brought with it some interesting and new considerations. It was a tale of two halves but, in reality, it was a 14-minute stretch in the second half where we went from down 14 points to up 12 points. From there, we took the air out of the ball too early,…

This is a really weird season. Ostensibly, we have a coach who is competing for his job… but he isn’t really coaching like that. He’s coaching like someone who is running a long-standing program with a multi-year plan who is guaranteed to retain a large portion of his roster. Yet, we’re aware of the fact…

The debate over moral victories is silly. No one is happy after a loss and how to “feel” emotionally after a loss is a pointless exercise to try to regulate in someone else. All it really means, practically, is to consider how the loss reflects on your team’s ability and chances moving forward. The “a…

There is more that goes into coaching a basketball team in terms of deciding who to play and when than just watching how players do in the games. There’s practice. How hard are guys playing? Who is paying attention and learning and applying that knowledge? Coaches, especially our coaches, like to reward that one because…

Disaster struck on Saturday, at least for one game and hopefully not long after, when Dai Dai Ames landed awkwardly on his ankle and could only play seven minutes of the game. Already thinned by transfer and injury, the PG position was left fully to Andrew Rohde with players like Isaac McKneely and Ishan Sharma…

It’s hard not to watch a game like we had against Florida on Wednesday and not immediately think about Jalen Warley and Elijah Gertrude. Those two were our answers to help combat athletic matchups like these and all roster composition discussions have to take into account their lack of availability due to injury and CTB’s…

On the surface, what’s not to like about a 26-point victory that clears the spread by 11? On a season where none of our victories have been overly convincing; here’s a point margin that was. Some of our guys had really good games, especially at the much-maligned point guard position (Ames and Rohde had our…

Our Wahoos got a much-needed buy game after their drip to the Bahamas, and it was a good thing that they did because it’s clear that we’re still searching for some solutions. In games like these then the quality of opponent drops (Manhattan is outside of the top 300 teams in DI per Kenpom –…

“Which one of these things is not like the others…” Human nature is such that it’s hard to stay as passionate or consistent about something when it’s not as good as it once was or when it’s not what you thought it would be. Personally, I was off my game for this tournament; relying on…

Well, in our first contest away from home, against major competition, we passed with flying colors; beating Villanova 70-60 in a game that didn’t feel as close as 10 points. The Wildcats have quite a bit breaking against them right now, with the loss dropping them to 2-3 with losses against Columbia and St. Joe’s,…

We’re just two games in and this one was against one of the weakest teams in the country (the actual second worst, per Kenpom), but I’ve already got some pretty strong opinions on tightening up the lineup. Is that premature? Perhaps, but there’s a little more going on with it than just in-game performances. I’ll…

Feels odd to have actual game tape to review again… even odder that it’s under a new coaching regime! Nevertheless, and despite the bumpy first game, I’m excited to kick off the season with these – where I tackle the ongoing strengths and concerns of the team through game film break down. Normally, at this…

This is a special treat, certainly for me, and hopefully for those reading as well. I sat down for a little roundtable text chat with both StLouHoo and SeattleHoo! If you’re unfamiliar with either, SeattleHoo started Hoos Place back during the 2015-2016 season as an online video repository for UVa sports. The site expanded to…

Ahh! I’m back sooner than expected. Just couldn’t leave well enough alone. I’ve had quite a few interesting and insightful discussions since my last piece but many of them came with questions. Questions such as, “Why are you down on (insert player)?” or “I didn’t see what you saw regarding (insert player)…?” Or “Aren’t you…

Heyo! I was able to make it down for the scrimmage this year and, rather than having to cobble together poorly angled videos and other accounts of the game to parse out what’s relevant – I got to see everything with my own two eyes. What fun! Seriously, though, it did feel like a treat…

By: StLouHoo @Hoos Place UVA’s non-conference schedule was announced over the summer, and features a number of high-profile opponents that deserve the same level of preseason breakdown that we recently did for the 18 ACC rosters. It’s an intriguing schedule; when adding in the lone early ACC game (12/7 at SMU), the Hoos will go…

Well, well, well…. Our first commitment for the class of 2025 and it’s the homegrown talent! I think UVa Basketball social media broke on Friday afternoon when Chance Mallory announced his commitment. Mallory is the 53rd ranked player in the country in On3’s composite ratings and is the first in-state recruit to land on scholarship…

The other day I had a couple of discussions on social media about the role of the “three” or “Small Forward” in today’s game of basketball and how it applies to our team. I think I confused the discussion a bit by bringing up the talk about “3 and D” types of players vs. positional…

By: StLouHoo @ Hoos Place It’s a tough year to rack-and-stack the ACC, tougher even than usual, and not just because we have three new programs that we know very little about. Don’t get me wrong, figuring out Cal, Stanford, and SMU is plenty difficult, especially since all three are effectively in total rebuild scenarios…

By: StLouHoo @Hoos Place Alright, here’s the third and final installment of the ACC preview! ———————————————————————————– SMU’s administration made a bold decision corresponding with the move to the ACC by deciding to fire incumbent coach Rob Lanier after he led the Mustangs to a successful 20-13 (11-7) record in just his 2nd year in Dallas.…

By: StLouHoo @Hoos Place Heading right back into Part #2 of the ACC Preview. Starting with… ———————————————————————————– The Kenny Payne era has given way to the Pat Kelsey era in Louisville. Kelsey had great runs at Winthrop and the College of Charleston over the last 12 seasons, earning 5 NCAAT bids in the last eight…

By: StLouHoo @Hoos Place I’m excited to be working with Cuts from The Corner this season. Kicking off our collaboration, we’re doing deep dives on every ACC men’s basketball roster’s changes this offseason. As I’ve done in past years at Hoos Place, we’ll track the outbounds, returners, and additions, and give thoughts on each team’s…

In my State of The Program piece, I wrote about a lot of issues facing the program at the moment and many changes that need to be made to move forward in a positive direction. This is the piece where I write about what I’d like to see happen for the new year, both philosophically…

Welcome to Part 4 and the final installment of 2024s Tracking a Transfer. Part 1, 2, and 3, on Jalen Warley, TJ Power, and Elijah Saunders can be found in those links, respectively. This piece will focus on the 6’1″ PG from Kansas St., Sophomore Dai Dai Ames. A former top 100 recruit out of…

Welcome to Part 3 of 2024’s Tracking a Transfer! Part 1, on Jalen Warley, can be found in that first link and Part 2, on TJ Power, can be found in the second link. This piece will focus on Elijah Saunders; the 6’8″ PF from San Diego State, whose utilization, I believe, is the most…

Welcome to Part 2 of 2024’s Tracking a Transfer! Part 1 was a deep-dive into all things Jalen Warley. This section will be on likely our most high-profile addition, both because of the program from which he came, and due his high school recruiting profile; TJ Power. Coming out of high school, Power was a…

Welcome back to Part 1 of 2024’s Tracking a Transfer! If you haven’t seen these in the previous two off seasons, this is where I do deep dives into the previous year’s film of all of our incoming transfers (it will be four this year that I do as I’m making a hard and fast…

I fell in love with the alliteration a bit here, but really this is a discussion about all recruiting during this stretch, although the work in the portal is the most relevant and the most competitive. This cycle was a bit of a roller coaster ride, but before I do my standard deep dives into…

When I think about current UVa athletics, Carla Williams is one of the first names that jumps to mind. Look at those trophies! Our men’s and women’s teams were ranked (and may still be) in every single Spring sport at one point this season! Swimming, Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Soccer, etc., etc. Complete dominance. But when…

After a loss in the Play-In game of the NCAA Tournament that saw us score 42 points in a 25 point defeat, it’s time to take stock of where things stand. There are many varying opinions out there, including those who say that this shouldn’t be a referendum on the program; it’s a simple talent…