It’s finally here. It’s game week for the Virginia men’s basketball season. The Cavaliers tip off the season at home against Navy on Tuesday at 9 p.m. They also welcome Radford to the John Paul Jones Arena on Friday at 7 p.m.

With the season here, it’s time to dive into the annual preseason questions. So here is part 2 of “10 Preseason Questions For Tony Bennett’s Virginia Basketball Team” as Hoo fans get excited for the season ahead. For Part 1, click here.

5. Who Is The ‘X’ Factor This Season?

When I posted Part 1 of this segment, I mentioned that I considered Igor Milicic Jr. for this spot simply because it’s unclear exactly what his role will be this season. That ultimately seemed too vague, though. Trey Murphy III was the pick last year simply because rumors of a waiver started to surface and it seemed like he would suddenly have a significant role. That last part is the key here: who is someone that could have a significant role this season and how could that impact the overall team? Poster Toolie92 pointed out the obvious choice here and Faz d. Hoo said the choice “will be unanimous.” I can’t argue with either. Kadin Shedrick certainly looks like the clear ‘X’ Factor for 2021-2022.

UVA lost long-time post contributor Jay Huff from a year ago. Huff made his NBA debut this weekend with the Lakers so that’s a significant loss and his absence on the floor showed up in a lot of line-up and advanced stats a season ago. Even if some observers want to fixate on holes in his game, the fact remains that Huff filled 25 to 27 minutes on average of post playing time the past two seasons. The Hoos have to replace that and realistically only two players on the roster can play a “center” role against any opponents with oversized front lines in the 6’10” to 7’+ mold. That’s Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro, who both likely have stamina limits in terms of minutes.

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