It is a new era in Charlottesville, as Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton steps in to replace Tina Thompson as the new head coach for the Virginia women’s basketball program. With her arrival, a breath of fresh air has surrounded the program. Players seem focused. Fans are energized. Hope has returned.
Thompson, a Basketball Hall of Famer, had an undesirable stint for Virginia, compiling a 30-63 record in four seasons. The Cavaliers lost 14 straight games and ended up 5-22 overall and 2-16 in ACC play last season. Agugua-Hamilton served as the head coach for Missouri State the past three seasons where she sustained success for the Lady Bears. She was 74-15 in her tenure, won two Missouri Valley Conference titles, and appeared in the Sweet Sixteen in 2021. This past season, the Lady Bears were one of the best defensive teams, finishing No. 11 in scoring defense, while also posting a +7.5 rebound margin per game, which ranked No. 20.
The hope is that Coach Mox can bring similar success to Charlottesville, but it will be a tall task for the Cavaliers to get back on the right track. Virginia averaged 55.0 points (No. 321) and 65.5 points allowed per game (No. 214). The rebounding and turnover margins were also not promising, ranking No. 229 (-1.6) and No. 260 (-1.7), respectively. Overall, the record showed what Virginia was a year ago, and it was not pretty.
Despite last season’s record, Coach Mox does inherit some talented players and she brought in some reinforcements as well. With a new coach and a retooled roster maybe this could breathe some more life into the Cavaliers.
Virginia – Key Returners
After opting out midseason due to personal reasons, Camryn Taylor returns for Virginia. In her 12 games last fall, she led the Cavaliers in scoring with 12.8 points per game, while also securing 6.1 rebounds. Before arriving to Virginia, Taylor played two seasons for Marquette, and she finished No. 6 in the Big East in rebounding. The 6’2” forward has shown the ability to light up a scoreboard, scoring 14 or more points in five games, with two being 20+.
Mir McLean became a bright spot for an otherwise bleak season in the win-loss column. She joined the Cavaliers midseason after transferring from UConn and being granted immediate eligibility. In 11 games, she averaged 11.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, Despite playing minimally for the Huskies, the junior wing posted two double-doubles and is in line to make more of an impact for the Cavaliers in her first full season.
Virginia returns five of their top six scorers from last season, including Taylor Valladay and McLean. Valladay (9.5) was a reliable playmaker for the Cavaliers, finishing No. 7 in turnover-to-assist ratio (1.16) and No. 8 in assists per game (3.8). She also had a 30-point outing against Pittsburgh on 11-19 shooting. She must become a more efficient scorer if she wants to take the next step, as she shot 37.0% from the field and 25.7% from beyond the arc, but she may thrive in this up-tempo system.
London Clarkson (5.2) and Carole Miller (5.1) round out the returning top scorers. Clarkson is the leading returning shot blocker (15 in 2021-22 )too and second in steals (24) behind only Valladay’s 37. Guards Kaydan Lawson (4.3) and McKenna Dale (2.9) are the remaining returners on the roster. Despite being listed as a guard, Lawson averaged 4.4 rebounds per game, including 14 against North Carolina.
UVA’s Incoming Transfers
In shaping her first Virginia roster, Coach Mox landed some major players via the transfer portal. One of these is Sam Brunelle, a transfer from Notre Dame who was at one time the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2019. The nearby Ruckersville native returns home after playing three seasons for the Fighting Irish and making the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. Last season, she averaged 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
For Brunelle, she is hoping to go back to her elite form that she found as a freshman. She was named to the 2020 All-ACC Freshman team after posting 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. However, after the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Muffet McGraw, Brunelle saw her production dip. While in South Bend, she was also hampered by knee issues and underwent shoulder surgery during the summer, although she is expected to play in the season opener. With the injuries hopefully behind her, Brunelle has an opportunity to excel for her hometown team.
Another former five-star recruit was also brought in via the transfer portal. Alexia Smith, who comes to Charlottesville from Minnesota, played two seasons for the Golden Gophers, putting up 3.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season. When she introduced Smith, Agugua-Hamilton mentioned Smith’s “lockdown defense”. In her junior season in high school, the 5’8” guard averaged four steals and three blocks, so there is definitely some potential for Smith on a Virginia squad that was not ranked high in defensive stats.
Virginia Freshmen
Yonta Vaughn started all four years at nationally ranked-Bishop McNamara High School and was ranked as the No. 72 recruit and No. 15 point guard for 2022, according to ESPN HoopGurlz. Vaughn reopened her recruiting process after Mike Carey retired from West Virginia. Agugua-Hamilton called Vaughn a “high-IQ facilitating point guard who can score at all three levels,” while also praising her abilities to play on defense.
Coach Mox also signed another point guard in Cady Pauley. A Missouri native, Pauley originally committed to play for Missouri State, but she followed Agugua-Hamilton to Charlottesville. She ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring after putting up 33 points per game. She also averaged 9.7 rebounds and 3.5 steals per. Her 3,074 career points is No. 8 all-time in Missouri girls’ basketball history. She has found ways to score since her freshman year, scoring 57 points in a game.
Both of these players were McDonald’s All-American nominees and can help create a future for Agugua-Hamilton and Virginia. Bringing in highly-touted freshmen like this will only raise the ceiling for the Cavaliers now and in the future.
Final Word
There may not be a lot of people picking Virginia to finish at the top of the conference. However, during the ACC Tip Off event, Coach Mox said she believes the players will buy in to the culture change, along with the roster boost from the help of Taylor and Brunelle.
“I’m not going to come out here and be like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna win a National Championship,’” Agugua-Hamilton said. “Like I tell [the players], progress is the process. We say that almost every day. So I just want to continue to take steps forward. … If we just keep our focus on the little, small victories, I think we’ll be alright.”
Agugua-Hamilton had success for Missouri State, and she has brought along some of her assistants from the Lady Bears, including Alysiah Bond, Tori Jankoska, and C.J. Jones. Despite not going up against the ACC on a regular basis, Missouri State knocked off then-No. 24 Virginia Tech during the regular season and Florida State in the NCAA Tournament last year so there is some reason to think the program mold can be carried over to UVA.
Agugua-Hamilton called the Virginia opening “a no-brainer.” The Virginia native has proven to be one of the top young coaches in the country, and she now looks to bring her success to Charlottesville.
Virginia will open its new era at the John Paul Jones Arena on Monday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. The Hoos will play host to George Washington (13-18 in 2021-22), who they knocked off, 62-53, a season ago.
