To start, uva is returning only one player from last season - Elijah Gertrude who was recovering from his second season ending injury while at uva (tore his acl first year, played his second year sparingly, then got in a scooter accident and had to basically rebuild the leg he tore the acl in). Gertrude was an incredibly athletic 2 that could slash, but not much in terms of shooting/complete offensive game. Starters first, backups second/third. Odom played 6 guards at vcu last season at least 10 minutes so it is going to be heavy guard oriented, this also assume UVA will get Thijs de Ridder who has traveled to the US this week but is still waiting clearance from NCAA. 1 - Dallin Hall/Chance Mallory 2 - Malik Thomas/Sam Lewis/Elijah Gertrude 3 - Jacari White/Sam Lewis/Elijah Gertrude 4 - Thijs de Ridder/Devin Tillis/Silas Barksdale (4/5 hybrid likely not to see many minutes, freshman) / Martin Carrere (Stretch 4/ Big 3 that likely won’t see many minutes, pure shooter, think Kody Stattman a few years back at uva) 5 - Johann Grunloh (German 20 year old in top division, can shoot block round)/Ugonna Oyenso/Silas Barksdale To profile, Malik Thomas and Jacari White are microwave guards that score at will. Thomas from San Francisco has done consistently in the WCC so he will translate to the ACC. White did it at NDSU but he is the clear second option. Hall is a complete PG, can finish at the rim at 6’4 but is a facilitator of the pick and roll. Will hit the open 3. Thijs de Ridder is a 6’8 scoring 4. Think Jayden Garden with more athleticism and length, little bit less as a shooter but will dominate anyone smaller than him and is too quick for larger defenders. Just a walking mismatch. Grunloh is a 7’0 footer similar in the mold of Jay Huff, not flashy athleticism but dunks everything and blocks everything. Physicality will be an issue for him. Lewis is a 6’5 wing that will likely be the best defender. Averaged 16 at Toledo but has a very concrete game, shot 40% from 3 and is more a catch and shoot wing versus a creator. Can still get to rim/finish. Gertrude will be a slasher and will likely be the second best wing defender despite injury. If he adds a reliable 3 - he is going to be a 6MOTY type in the ACC. Tillis is interesting, he is an undersized 4 that is pure craft and finesse at the rim. Can hit the 3 at a great clip 35% or so on volume, averaged 14 at UC Irvine. Mallory will be a feisty undersized PG will have flashes like Hammond his first year. Think Kihei with legit offense day one. It is a top 25 team in terms of pure talent out of the gate. Thomas might be the best pure scorer in the ACC. de Ridder is 22 averaging 12 in the Spanish league, and might be the best 4 in the league. Think PJ Hall to a degree in terms of build and ability, but quicker. The combo of Hall, White, and Grunloh might be the best combo of “others” in the acc as well. I know it’s through orange and blue glasses but it is by far the best starting 5 since the national championship team. Against tech, and assuming tech goes 1. Pasha 2. Schutt/Johnson 3. Advalas 4. Lawal 5. Hansberry I’d say Hall over Pasha - Hall produced at BYU in 30 minutes, he’s does it at the top level so. Still think Pasha will be good. At the 2. White over Schutt. Not convinced Schutt is more than just a catch and shoot wing. Same with Johnson, great defender but not convinced the offense will be there. At the 3. Basically even, slight edge to Thomas since he has done at major level. 4, slight edge to Lawal for same reason as Thomas but basically even. 5. Hansberry over Grunloh. Grunloh will be a fine center, but Hansberry game by game impact will be better. As a team overall, in my eyes Virginia is a step above VT. Virginias depth is better and the presence of legit scorers at 3 positions for uva versus tech at just Advalas (if that frankly and wouldnt call Lawal a true scorer as a majority of his game comes through the offense). Virginia is going to run and I think that favors them as well - if tech isn’t hitting 3s where does the scoring come from? For Virginia, when shots aren’t falling, basically 3 guys can just attack through it. The major point to all of this is ON PAPER. Who knows what translate where for each team. But if on paper comes true, I’d expect uva to be a step above VT as a legit T25 team.