Behind Enemy Lines: Talking Virginia Basketball with Will Ojanen of ACC Nation
Boston College takes on the Virginia Cavaliers tonight at Conte Forum. To get a better understanding of the Eagles opponent we talked to Will Ojanen of ACCNation. You can follow Will on Twitter.
AJ Black: The Cavaliers won their first national championship last year, their first in school history. Talk a little about what this means to the program and has changed expectations moving forward.
Will Ojanen: Winning the national championship has already helped both on and off the court. Obviously, the "Virginia's style can't win in March" narrative was put to bed. The championship cemented Tony Benett's legacy as one of the best coaches in the game. It has certainly helped in recruiting, as they have one of the best recruiting classes ever in the class of 2020, lead by Jabri Abdur-Rahim, son of former NBA player Shareef Abdur-Rahim. He was someone who was looking at Virginia, but the national championship was what lead him to commit.
Black: UVA has two losses this year, but still sit in the Top 20. How has the team looked this year, and do you think this team could realistically win the ACC and the National Title again?
Ojanen: With the way this season has played out to this point, I won't rule out Virginia winning the ACC and the national title. But, realistically, they're probably the fourth best team in the ACC right now, behind Duke, Florida State, and Louisville, and maybe a top 20 team overall.
Virginia has struggled to score all season long (their season high is 65 points), and that has prevented them from blowing out a lot of teams.They've also failed to score 50 in four games this season. Of course, losing three players to the NBA will do that to a team. It's taken a while for this team to mesh offensively, and if the win over Virginia Tech is any indication, the offense is getting better.
Black: UVA's defense is again the best in the country. What is about Tony Bennett's defensive scheme that makes it so incredibly difficult to score against?
Ojanen: The principles of the pack line defense make it difficult to get a lot of shots inside. The defense plays around 15 feet from the rim, and sort of the pack the lane to prevent you from getting in the lane, leaving you to shoot a lot of threes. While some teams use it, Tony Bennett teaches it better than anyone else. He always gets these players that develop in to some of the best on ball defenders in the country, from Malcolm Brogdon to De'Andre Hunter, and, by the time he graduates, Casey Morsell will be net in line. It also helps to have to really good shot blockers in the middle in Mamadi Diakite and Jay Huff.
Black: When you look at the Cavs offense you see balance, there is really no one player that is an elite scorer. But they are putting teams away by a wide margin. Talk a little about UVA's offensive weapons and who Boston College should focus on.
Ojanen: The offense tends to run through three people- Diakite, Braxton Key, and Kihei Clark. Diakite is the team's leading scorer, and he does a lot of his work inside. Key is good at driving to the lane, and getting buckets. At 5-8, Clark is a fearless player. He's decent shooting threes (37%), but he's also not afraid to drive to the basket. Off the bench, Jay Huff is a seven footer who has the rare ability to shoot it from anywhere on the court.
Black: The X factor on the Cavs is __________________
Ojanen: The X factor on this team is anyone who can hit threes at a consistent basis. Lately, it's been Tomas Woldetensae. He was a 50% three point shooter at the JUCO level, but came out of the gate very slowly this season, but has started to find his rhythm the past few games. He started the season 3-21, but over the last six games, is 9-18. As a team, Virginia is one of the worst three point shooting teams in the country, shooting 28% from three.
Black: Boston College wins if _______________
Ojanen: Boston College can win this game if they can force Virginia to shoot a bunch of threes. As I mentioned earlier, Virginia is one of the worst shooting teams in the country from three, and if they can prevent Diakite and Huff from getting the ball inside, it could be an issue for Virginia's offense. Also, if BC can get Kihei Clark in foul trouble, that would help. Depth at point guard is an issue for Virginia, and they have been bringing a walk on, Chase Coleman, in to spell Clark from time to time.
Black: Virginia wins if ______________________
Ojanen Virginia can win this game if they can do what they usually do-play tough defense. BC is not a great shooting team, and if Virginia can prevent the Eagles from getting hot from three, they should have no problem winning this game.
