The dawn of the 2021-22 college basketball season is nearly upon us, and with it comes Virginia’s season opener against Navy. The Hoos will host the Midshipmen Tuesday night at 9 pm, in a game that looks like the perfect season opener. Navy should be easily beatable, but they are still a competent opponent that will allow us to get an early measure of the Hoos.
Navy comes in ranked third in the Patriot League preseason poll, and returns most of a squad that finished last season ranked 166 on KenPom. Conversely, Virginia enters the season as part of the AP Top 25, and begins at 40 on KenPom. The Hoos should win, but more important is what the game says about how Tony Bennett’s group will fare the rest of the season. With that, here are three things to pay attention to as the season gets underway.
The two transfers
Bennett managed to persuade a pair of talented players to bring their talents to Virginia this offseason. Armaan Franklin transferred in from Indiana, and Jayden Gardner came from East Carolina. Both will be making their UVA debuts against Navy.
After making 42% of his threes last season at Indiana, it should be expected that Franklin matches his output this year. He has a smooth shooting stroke, and is quick enough to get to the rim. He’ll need to make an impact for a Virginia team that is without last year’s three best shooters.
Gardner similarly fills a void. At 6-6 and 246 pounds, he’s built like a truck, and should help out inside the arc. Gardner is something of an unknown quantity, as it’s unclear whether his skills will translate perfectly from AAC to ACC. We might not know for sure until conference play, but his and Franklin’s play against Navy will be an indicator of their effect for the rest of the season.
Defense
The hallmark of Bennett’s system has always been the stout packline defense. Last year was something of an outlier in that respect, as Virginia was often shaky without the ball and finished the season 36th in defensive efficiency per KenPom. There was nothing inherently wrong last season, just a lack of cohesion born out of the abbreviated preseason.
But the Hoos should be better this season. They have a pair of guards in Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman who have experience, and the big men, Francisco Caffaro and Kadin Shedrick, both have redshirt years under their belts and have spent years learning the packline.
Offensive production might be limited at times, but a solid defense forgives a lot of problems. We’ll see if Virginia possesses one by their performance against Navy.
Three-point shooting from the guards
Kihei Clark. Reece Beekman. Two very good basketball players. One big problem.
The title of this section should mean you already know that this problem has to do with their three-point shooting ability—or conspicuous lack of it. The merits of the Kihei-Reece tandem have long been debated, but the fact of the matter is that the pair will be on the floor together come Tuesday night.
And for two guys who combined to make a mere 29 of the 99 threes they attempted (29.3%) last season, things from beyond the arc simply have to be better. This would have been something the coaching staff addressed over the offseason, so ideally we see that reflected in their shooting percentages.
We don’t want to read too much into the first game of any season, but Tuesday night’s events will help us start to see a picture of this Virginia team.
Navy vs Virginia will air Tuesday at 9:00 pm EST on ACCN.
Image – Virginia Athletics