With the countdown clocks in single digits, the mood at the John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday was clear for the Virginia basketball teams. Both the men’s and women’s team said they couldn’t wait for the season to get officially started on Monday.
Coach Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton and the women’s team lead off Monday with a 5 p.m. game against George Washington on ACC Network Extra. Tony Bennett and the men’s team follow at 9 p.m. against North Carolina Central on ACC Regional Sports Networks. Both contests are at the John Paul Jones Arena, giving fans a chance for a double dip on the season’s opening day.
“It’s November, so we’re excited,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I don’t really have much to say besides I really like where we are. … As long as we stay healthy, I’m really optimistic about the season.”
While there is expected excitement at the start of the season, it likely takes on two different forms for Hoo fans. For the men’s team, the program is stable and looking for a return to the NCAA Tournament after a rare absence last season. Bennett even joked about the change in reporter recording devices on the table compared to his start 14 seasons ago. In other words, UVA fans know what to watch and what the team might look like due to the foundation in place.
On the women’s side, any excitement comes from the opposite end of the spectrum. Agugua-Hamilton is in her first season at Virginia and trying to revive a program once part of the nation’s best. Cavalier fans don’t really know what her teams will play like, the key areas of focus, or other indicators for the team. In a lot of ways, many UVA fans need to get reacquainted with the program altogether and there’s certainly much to learn about how things will run with the new coaches.
One thing those two coaches are looking for at the start of the season is the same regardless of their program’s place with continuity. Bennett and Agugua-Hamilton each indicated during their respective press conferences a desire for better defense.
“You hope just guys that are in our program have a little more know-how and hopefully the depth you have helps you play a little harder, but still a work in progress as it always is,” Bennett said. “We’re playing hard and I like that. We’ll find out soon enough for sure.”
“I like what we’re doing on the offensive side of the ball, I think for us playing with the same kind of urgency on the defensive side of the ball is what I’m looking for,” Coach Mox said.
Neither Virginia team has much time to smooth out the wrinkles before the schedule presents big challenges. The women’s team has an ACC game with Wake Forest (Sunday, Nov. 13) and another home game with Minnesota (Saturday, Nov. 26) plus trips to American (Sunday, Nov. 20) and Penn State (Wednesday, Nov. 30) in the first month.
The men’s team, meanwhile, has an even tougher schedule during the early part of the season. The Hoos will play Baylor (Friday, Nov. 18) and either UCLA or Illinois (Sunday, Nov. 20) in Las Vegas. They travel to Michigan on Tuesday, Nov. 29 before opening ACC play at home against Florida State on Saturday, Dec. 3. There’s also a home game with Houston on Saturday, Dec. 17. Those types of teams represent a blend of national title hopefuls, top 25 caliber teams, and a conference nemesis all before the New Year.
Coach Bennett acknowledged that the Cavaliers have a good schedule with a lot of good teams, but he wasn’t interested in looking too far forward of course. He said North Carolina Central to open the season will present its own test and reminded listeners that Navy not only challenged the Hoos but delivered a loss in last season’s opener.
“Any coach that starts talking beyond your opening game is making a mistake,” Bennett said. “Of course, the schedule is really good and I think players want to play against good competition. I think they’re just excited to play this year and get after starting Monday. It’s hard to believe that it’s here, but it’s a good schedule starting Monday. … We learned a lot in some of the hard ones we had playing against some of the bigger name teams, but Navy was pretty good last year too. I remember that one awfully well. So we’ll just worry about Monday night and get as ready as we can.”
It is time to give up on football and concentrate on basketball.