“Virginia is a basketball school, anyway.”

Wasn’t that the common theme when Virginia struggled in football at times during the George Welsh era, throughout much of the Al Groh era, and especially under the Mike London era?

For a quite some time, UVa fans have desperately needed some relief from underperforming revenue sports. Sure, it’s exciting to see so many of the non-revenue sports at the top of the college sports food chain, with many winning National Championships in recent years. Women’s Soccer is No. 1 currently. Men’s Tennis finally got over the hump by winning the outdoor title in 2013, and they’ve been consistently winning the indoor title – 5 times under coach Brian Boland. Men’s Soccer won the national title in 2009. Women’s Rowing took home the trophy in 2012. Men’s Lacrosse grabbed its fourth title under coach Dom Starsia in 2011. And baseball has been a top-ranked team over the last few years and made it to the College World Series in 2011.

But for revenue sports fans, that’s just not enough.

Well, never fear Cavalier, your relief is here. The WaHoops train has pulled into the station. Ding, ding, ding … ‘All abooooaaard!’ The train pulls out of the station on Friday and once it gets up to speed there may be no stopping it. The Associated Press has ranked the Cavaliers 24th, the first time UVa has been ranked preseason since the 2001-02 season.

There’s been a lot of offseason hype surrounding the program, and deservedly so. Yes point guard Jontel Evans and wing Paul Jesperson have departed from the line-up, but UVa returns its other starters and most of the reserves from a team that won 23 games, went 11-7 in the ACC, and narrowly missed going to its second straight NCAA Tournament. And while the 2012-13 team was relegated to the NIT (where it won two games), there are enough veterans on the team who remember the NCAA Tournament experience from 2011-12 – and that can be beneficial when helping the younger players adjust and adapt to the tournament experience.

But it’s not as much about what the Cavaliers lost or have coming back from last season that makes this season interesting. It’s who they’ve added to the roster for 2013-14. Malcolm Brogdon is back after redshirting last season. The foot has healed, and Brogdon is not only 100 percent healthy, he’s leaner and faster than what we saw two seasons ago. Darion Atkins, who hobbled through much of the season with a stress reaction in his shin, is now healthy too.

And then there’s this guy named Anthony Gill, former high school teammate of Akil Mitchell (Charlotte Christian School). Coaches and players haven’t been shy about praising the South Carolina transfer. From all indications, he’s a beast on the boards and on offense he’s a tough guard, often forcing defenders to foul him just to stop him. All eyes would be on him this year if it wasn’t for two incoming freshmen point guards. London Perrantes and Devon Hall both come into the program highly regarded, but it appears (at least for now) that Perrantes will be the primary guy helping Teven Jones and Malcolm Brogdon at the point. Where he differs from the departed Evans is his ability to shoot the ball from 3-point range. London isn’t a player defenses can ignore, and that’s going to open up opportunities for the rest of the team.

Speaking of ‘rest of the team’, Virginia is simply loaded. There are seniors Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell along with Teven Jones and three other sophomores who could all have break out years. Evan Nolte is a sharpshooter and will begin to play some at the ‘3’ position this year, which should open up his best shot – the 3-pointer. Justin Anderson grew up right before our very eyes last season. He’s a tough, intense defender, but is showing that he’s a scoring threat as well.

There’s one other player, although I can’t seem to remember who he is. The tall guy. What’s his name? … Oh yeah, Mike Tobey. You knew I was going there! Tobey showed signs of being a well-rounded player last season before contracting mono. What’s scary is that Virginia likely has enough talent to make the NCAA Tournament without him. So with him on the team, making a postseason run is a realistic goal for the Cavaliers. Tobey has shown he can shoot around the basket with both hands, and he has the range to step out and hit 3-point shots. That makes him one of the most dangerous 7-footers in the conference. Tobey also had the benefit of playing for the U19 USA Basketball team this past summer, winning the gold medal. That experience, according to both Bennett and Tobey, has helped to improve his confidence and convinced him he can play toe to toe with the best. Watch out, ACC.

So in spite of a frustrating football season, Virginia fans have something to look forward to when it comes to a revenue sports program at UVa. Fans no longer have to guard their expectations for fear of disappointment. And the Cavaliers will certainly be the center of attention in the ACC this year. All aboard, Wahoo Nation. The train is headed to Winning Station. cHoo, cHoooooooo!