The Virginia basketball team opens a new season on Tuesday when Towson comes to the John Paul Jones Arena. Before the Hoos tipped off for the first game, however, they held their annual Media Day to talk about the season ahead.

There’s certainly plenty of intrigue for the Cavaliers, who reached No. 1 in the nation last year but lost two long-time contributors in Devon Hall and Isaiah Wilkins. Returning starters Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and Jack Salt are back along with De’Andre Hunter and Mamadi Diakite as the expected nucleus for this year’s club, but minutes are up for grabs to establish more depth.

Among the players competing for those minutes is sophomore Marco Anthony, who stepped in against Louisville in late January to score 10 points in a home win. Overall, he played in 13 games as a true freshman for a total of 103 minutes with averages of 2 points and 1 rebound in that limited action. Finding a bigger role this season will be challenging on the perimeter with Jerome, Guy, Hunter, and Alabama transfer Braxton Key all in the mix with a lot more previous playing time to their advantage. Still, Anthony brings a strong work ethic and a potentially physical style to the table.

I caught up with Anthony for a few minutes of one-on-one questions at Media Day to see what he worked on in the offseason to prepare for his second season.

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