With college basketball transfer decisions cropping up left and right over the past few weeks, it is time to give another comprehensive update on the Virginia men’s basketball team and its involvement in the transfer portal.
As has been well documented, the Cavaliers are potentially down seven of their top contributors from the 2022-2023 season, meaning Tony Bennett and the rest of the coaching staff have a lot of work to do to reset the roster. The good news for UVA fans is that Bennett and Co. reportedly contacted more than 20 players in the portal in an attempt to plug up some of the holes.
Let’s take a look at the biggest developments from the past few weeks.
Hoos in New Places
Since the last comprehensive update, a few former Wahoos have landed at new universities. Kadin Shedrick has decided to join the Texas Longhorns, and Francisco Caffaro recently became a member of the Santa Clara Broncos. Shedrick will be graduating from UVA in May before heading over to Austin, while Caffaro, already a graduate, will be cashing in on the extra season of eligibility granted to him due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More Than A Minor Acquisition
On April 13, former Merrimack forward Jordan Minor announced, via Instagram, his decision to don the blue and orange this fall. Minor was a major contributor for the Warriors a season ago, averaging 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.6 blocks, and 1.4 steals in 33.4 minutes per game. As a result, he was named Northeast Conference Co-Player of the Year and led Merrimack to the NEC Regular Season and Tournament titles.
At 6’ 8” 240 pounds, Minor’s offensive skillset closely resembles that of recent UVA departure Jayden Gardner. Though Minor is slightly undersized for a player who spends most of his time down low, his strength and crafty post moves have seen him get the best of his opponents more often than not.
On the defensive side of the ball, Minor’s 88.8 defensive rating saw him add NEC Defensive Player of the Year to his list of accolades last season. His versatile frame makes it difficult for opponents to get around him on the perimeter and back him down in the post, making him an ideal addition to Coach Bennett’s Pack Line defense at Virginia.
Rohde Joins Virginia Basketball
Five days after Jordan Minor made his decision, former St. Thomas-Minnesota combo guard Andrew Rohde also took to Instagram to announce his commitment to Virginia. At 6’6”, 185 pounds, Rohde adds much needed scoring on the perimeter as he averaged 17.1 points per game en route to Summit League Freshman of the Year honors a season ago. He was the clear go-to option for the Tommies, attempting over 100 shots more than his next closest teammate.
This volume shooting role saw him struggle efficiency-wise at the beginning of the season, shooting just 44.8% from the field and 32.0% from 3-point range. However, in the second half of the season, those percentages rose to 46.6% and 36.1% respectively, and over the final 10 games, they further increased to 48.7% and 41.0%. Now, with a full season under his belt, Rohde seems more comfortable, and UVA fans should be excited to see how his skills transfer to ACC competition.
Rohde’s length at 6’6” also makes him a weapon on the defensive side of the ball. Rohde posted a 105.5 defensive rating in 2022, averaging 1.7 steals per game. As should come as no surprise, Coach Bennett has managed to add another two-way player to join the hefty list of long, tenacious perimeter defenders who have attended Virginia.
Talent In Groves
The final pick-up to make it a transfer portal trio is Jacob Groves, a 6’9” forward out of Oklahoma. Groves started his career at Eastern Washington, where he posted 9.3 points per game on 36.4% 3-point shooting as a sophomore, before transferring to Oklahoma for his junior and senior seasons. Now a graduate student, Groves had decided to bring his talents to Charlottesville.
At 6’9”, Groves will likely play a role similar to that of the departing Ben Vander Plas, a stretch four who can play both inside and outside. Groves averaged 38.1% from 3-point range last season with the Sooners, and given that opponents will have to respect his range, he should give guys like new acquisition Jordan Minor more room to work on the interior.
Like the other additions, Groves’ size and length see him clog up a lot of driving and passing lanes, which should allow him to transition seamlessly into Coach Bennett’s defensive scheme.
What’s Next For Virginia?
After making Groves the newest member of the Cavaliers, UVA only has three scholarship spots left to fill, pending the decision from Reece Beekman to return or stay in the NBA Draft (that decision could carry out through May 31, the deadline to withdraw).
There are still a few notables in the portal that have Virginia on their short list of potential schools. Elijah Hutchins-Everett, a 6’11” center from Austin Peay, and DeMarr Langford Jr., a 6’5” guard out of Boston College, are the two remaining guys that have reportedly been in contact with UVA.
With that said, the Cavaliers may be looking at a different route to fill the next spot. The Hoos have shown interest in some high school recruits to potentially take any remaining spots, most notably Anthony Robinson (6’10”, 225, 3-star rating in Rivals) that decommitted from South Florida, Blue Cain (6’4”, 180, 4-star rating per 247) that decommitted from Georgia Tech, and Jarin Stevenson (6’10”, 200, 5-star rating per 247) that could be considering reclassifying from the class of 2024 into the class of 2023.
Great summary! Thank you!
Would love to beat out the Heels for Stevenson and have him reclass.
It is hard to consider Shedrick to be much of a loss. He redshirted his first year because he was too weak to play in the ACC. His second year he had mono and covid so he did not contribute. He was a starter his third year but his penchant for stupid fouls and tendency to disappear caused him to get benched. The same thing happened his fourth year. Thus, in exchange for a cumulative single year of production he will receive a degree from a school he probably could not get into if he were a real student. Now that he could contribute during a fifth year he decided to transfer displaying the kind of loyalty you would expect from a guy who will not stand for our national anthem. No loss. Minor should be un upgrade.