I’m gonna get out in front of this with a thread of its own. Media day is tomorrow. I don’t know exactly what that entails this year but there’s bound to be lots of content and possibly some revelations.
As an appetizer, Coach Bennett will be live on social media tonight at 6pm as part of the virtual Meet the Team event.
That tie color tho…
Nothing earth shattering. Media day tomorrow at 1. We’ll get our Murphy and new coach answers then.
He did say Kadins been out w Mono
Excited how this team can space the floor
D needs work, young guys really need to understand how much heart it takes
Seems high on Reece. Says fits mold of previous pg and that he and Kihei can play together…
I’m a little worried about our rebounding and interior defense. Hopefully it will work out. Something else I noticed and this may not mean anything. He called Kadin a first year after his redshirt year. He also called Trey a first year which was interesting to me. Probably nothing but I always listen to how people word things. Sometimes you find out things that way. Probably nothing but maybe not.
The other guy said he thought the NBA draft was in October… so… ha
I watched the second half of it after @HoozGotNext found it for me. Thought was good candid discussion by them
He really emphasized that point too. haha
Other thing I found interesting was him saying that this year’s team is a little quiet compared to previous teams. Said Ty and Mamadi were non-stop talkers, and their absence is notable. I wouldn’t really read too much at all into that off-hand comment, but it does relate to one question I am curious to see answered: Who will be the vocal leaders on the floor for this team?
With zero inside info, my guess is that Kihei will end up being the guy. Sam will be the most senior player on the team, but I imagine it’s somewhat difficult to transfer in and just immediately take a leadership role with the full roster, even if you’ve been redshirting for a year (but I also know nothing about what he was like at Marquette). Jay has never seemed to really be a guy who is telling other players what to do or where to be, but maybe he grows into that roll in his last year. But if I had to place a bet, I’d probably bet on both of them playing somewhat reserved roles while Kihei runs things and tells the other guys what they need to be doing. Don’t know that he’ll ever be exactly like Ty out there, but he did get a chance to learn from Ty and will be in his third year.
All that said, I also have no idea what I’m talking about.
Did he say anything about the sophomore class?
We definitely need a strong leader to step up, that’s for sure
He mentioned that Kadin had mono and that that had set him back, but unless I missed it, I don’t remember him saying anything significant about Casey or Justin. But he was only really explicitly asked about Sam and the first years. I also don’t really remember him saying anything about Francisco, Kody, or Tomas. But I was walking in and out of the room, so possible I didn’t hear a question.
the leadership thing is interesting right? You bring up a very good point
We talked about that on a podcast earlier and the belief is Kihei is assuming the leadership role now how vocal is he I dont know. Ty was special at doing that London as wel. Miamadi was a talker cause he was confident but I would not say he was a leader with his words on the floor.
I think once Reece gets his footing down he can be that guy as well when hes on the floor. A la Perrantes 1st year vs Notre Dame. Also not a leader per say, but I do remember last year people talking about how extremely energetic Justin McKoy is.
I agree, @Hoosthechamp, I too am [quote=“Hoosthechamp, post:5, topic:3107”]
a little worried about our rebounding and interior defense.
[/quote]. Professor Bennett did mention that UVA may not have the dogs on the boards that it had the past few years. That’s an important part of defense!
Leadership point is def valid, but I think what Tony was talking about is that every practice, Ty and Mamadi were always trash-talking everybody and being loud that way. I don’t think he was saying no one is leading on this team, just that no one is loud and out there like those 2 guys.
is kinda the difference between setting the tone and leadership which I think has really changed over the years as it naturally will
I had the impression that Tony’s comment about the quietness of the team was more about noise, rather than leadership. I think Ty’s constant talking was actually the exception for a team leader on a CTB team. My impression is that past team leaders, like Perrantes, Wilkins, Brogdon and Harris, were great team leaders but did not necessarily talk a lot in practice or during warm ups or time outs. Clark can definitely provide that kind of leadership. It remains to be seen who might grow to fill the role of Justin Anderson and Diakite as the emotional team leader on this team and future ones.
My other thoughts about the discussion with Tony last night are that I was encouraged about his positivity regarding 3 point shooting and spreading the floor. He specifically mentioned Hauser and Huff, but I got the impression that other players on the team were shooting well in preseason too.
As several noted, Tony seemed highest on Beekman among the 1st years, and I’m optimistic he can provide the same positive contribution as Kihei did his 1st year. Tony seemed to be intentionally taking expectations pressure off McCorkle and JAR by pointing out how much time they lost to injuries their senior years.
Agree with others that rebounding and interior defense are the biggest concerns, and Kadin’s setback with mono only adds to them. Also agree that I was hoping for more from Tony about Casey and Justin, as well as Stattmann and Waldo. Also no discussion of a Murphy waiver, but Tony did not refer to him as a redshirt, so maybe we can read way too much into that oversight?