Virginia freshman Blake Buchanan unquestionably made an impact on the Hoos’ 73-70 win against Florida. He also made an impression.

Bucnahan’s counting stats provide an easy way to see how he helped the Cavaliers get past the Gators. He poured in a team-high 18 points on 4-7 shooting from the field and 10-16 shooting from the free throw line. He also grabbed 7 rebounds with 5 O-Boards in the mix. Peformances like that draw attention and capture the imagination of fans. See Ty Jerome with 15 points against Villanova in January 2017. Kyle Guy’s 17 at California that same season or Malcom Brogdon’s 16 against Michigan way back in 2011 are other examples of the type of company Buchanan jumped in with last Friday.

True freshmen. Big basketball conference opponents. Delivery. You get the idea.

On a team with limited frontcourt depth, it was easy to predict that Buchanan would have a role on this team. Out of necessity, he would need to soak up some minutes in a center spot. How many minutes from a preseason standpoint focused on his stamina as a freshman – how much could he play night after night over the course of multiple months – and on his grasp of the defense.

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