After last season’s magical run to dual ACC Championships, the Virginia men’s basketball team returns to action this week. The season opener at JMU on Friday at 7 p.m. brings the offseason weeks full of predictions, preseason rankings, and the like to an end.

From Tony Bennett to the fans and everywhere in between, the Hoos understandably are excited to be back on the court. Enthusiasm, however, is just one piece of the puzzle. A lot of work and a lot of chemistry went into last season’s success and duplicating isn’t as simple as showing up excited to do it again. In coach-speak terms, the process starts over and the Cavaliers need to embrace that journey.

So steering clear of predictions and possibilities to focus on the broad term successful, it’s time to take a look at 10 key questions facing Bennett’s Hoos this season. In no particular order, these are some of the key questions facing this edition of Virginia basketball.

10. Can the Wahoos benefit from increased offensive rebounding again?

UVa commits to transition defense. It’s a founding principle and a non-negotiable for Coach Bennett. It’s not going to change. That philosophy can lead to a lack of second-chance opportunities as the team focuses on getting back on defense instead of crashing the glass. At least, that had been true early in Bennett’s tenure in Charlottesville, to the point that he even mused about Stan van Gundy’s thought that you can’t be good at both offensive rebounding and transition defense.

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