Virginia guard Taine Murray takes a shot at the John Paul Jones Arena. ~ Photo courtesy Emmy Franklin/Emmy Franklin Photography
The Virginia men’s basketball team announced its non-conference schedule with 11 games added on top of the 20-game ACC slate. UVA will play seven home games, three neutral site games, and one road game as part of the set.
The Cavaliers open the season with Campbell on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at John Paul Jones Arena. Coppin State then comes to town on Monday, Nov. 11. Those are the only two home games before a neutral site contest against Villanova on Friday, Nov. 15 in Baltimore.
UVA follow that up with the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Nov. 21-22 where it will face two of St. John’s, Baylor, or Tennessee. The bracket for that event will be released at a later date.
After those neutral site games, the Hoos return home to face Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 26 and Holy Cross on Friday, Nov. 29. A trip to Florida for the ACC/SEC Challenge is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4.
In a departure from most years, Virginia will play a game during the annual exam break, which is scheduled from Dec. 9-17 at the University. The Cavaliers host Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Dec. 12. They then welcome Memphis to the JPJ on Wednesday, Dec. 18 followed by a home game with American on Sunday, Dec. 22 to wrap up the non-con schedule.
For ACC games, UVA competes in home-and-home matchups with Louisville, SMU, and Virginia Tech. The Hoos host Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Notre Dame, while taking trips to Cal, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Syracuse, and Wake Forest.
In recent schedules, the first ACC game of the season falls on the first weekend in December. That means fans can probably anticipate the opener falling on Saturday, Dec. 7 with one additional league game being played in final week of December. Times and dates for ACC contests will officially be released at a later date.
New Virginia Faces
With the 2024-2025 roster featuring so many new faces, Virginia fans continue to evaluate how the Hoos may look this season. Social media provided some small clues recently.
First, the official UVA men’s basketball account released its most recent video. It includes some brief snippets of recent practices at John Paul Jones Arena. That’s a limited view, of course.
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Later in the week, Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Mike Barber sent out a Tweet. He quoted Jalen Warley, who transferred to Virginia from Florida State, with his opinion on several teammates. That focused on fellow newcomers Dai Dai Ames, Elijah Saunders, and TJ Power. All four players figure to be pushing for significant roles this season.
Asked new #UVA guard Jalen Warley about his fellow transfers. Said Dai Dai Ames is a “tough, crafty playmaker,” & Elijah Saunders is “a Swiss Army knife & matchup nightmare.”
On TJ Power: “He’s in his own class in terms of shooting. He’s one of the top shooters I’ve been around.”— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) July 19, 2024
Hoo-Tube, Summer League Edition
The NBA Summer League continues to roll on this month as players either try to get acclimated as a new draft pick – like UVA’s Ryan Dunn – or try to flash enough ability to catch on with a new contract – like Virginia fan favorite Jay Huff. In the case of Dunn and Huff, both showed off some flashy dunks in recent summer games.
Jay Huff with the reverse one-handed slam!
@OrlandoMagic | #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/DXoTd8w2SJ
— NBA Summer League (@NBASummerLeague) July 18, 2024
Ryan Dunn with the !@Suns | #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/hsqCApTB2A
— NBA Summer League (@NBASummerLeague) July 16, 2024
More Virginia Alum News
A couple of other recent Virginia players received some recognition for their play.
Devon Hall suited up for UVA from 2014-2018. He averaged 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 43.2% from 3-point range as a senior. This past season, Hall competed for Olimpia Milano in Italy where he averaged 8.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 38.5% from 3-point range.
Prior to his college and professional career, however, Hall starred at Cape Henry Collegiate School. There, he averaged more than 15 points 7, rebounds, and 7 assists per game and his team won the VISAA Championship in 2012. Cape Henry inducted Hall into its Hall of Fame this summer.
Kody Stattmann came to Virginia shortly after hall and wore the orange and blue from 2018-2022. He had a bigger role in his sophomore and senior seasons when he averaged 21.5 and 15.8 minutes per game, respectively. For his career, he averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds.
Since finishing at UVA, however, Stattmann has returned to Australia to play professionally and he had a breakout year this season. Playing for the Cairns Marlins in Australia’s NBL1 North League, he averaged 27.5 points (third highest in the nation), 6.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 46.3%. That included a late flurry where he poured in 43, 33, 25, 27, and 27 points across five games.
Stattmann earned Second-Team All-NBL1 honors as a result of his play. He signed as a development player with NBL’s Cairns Taipans for NBL25. Taipans coach Adam Forde said “Kody already has two years’ experience and has a good understanding of the league” and added from an open trial session that “Kody showed his ability to knock down from range and engage in the defensive contest.”
