CBB Expert Labels Virginia Basketball A Top 25 Team and Gives New Starting Five Projection

Jackson Caudell | Jun 8, 2025

Mar 20, 2025; Denver, CO, USA; VCU Rams head coach Ryan Odom reacts during the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Virginia Basketball is hoping that the 2024-2025 season was just a blip on the radar. The Cavaliers had to deal with pretty extraordinary circumstances last season, with legendary head coach Tony Bennett retiring right before the season and it felt like a throw away year from the start. Now, former VCU coach Ryan Odom is running the show in Charlottesville and the Cavaliers have been getting some of the best talent in the transfer portal. Is that going to result in a much improved team, perhaps one that can finish in the upper tier of the ACC? That is the hope.

CBS Sports analyst Isaac Trotter put every ACC team into tiers, with the tiers looking like this:

• Tier 1 - Title contenders: Pretty cut and dry. I think these teams have the upside to win the title. Not just make the second weekend. Not just win three in a row because of a nice draw. Six straight, do-or-die wins.
• Tier 2 - Top 25 caliber club: These teams have accrued plenty of talent and should be safely in the NCAA Tournament field today, but they have a few flaws that could keep them out of the top tier.
• Tier 3 - Bubblicious: A Big Dance appearance is in the range of potential outcomes, but the NIT, the Crown (or worse) looms if things fizzle.
• Tier 4 - The basement: These teams have a slim chance of making the Big Dance unless something drastically clicks or they make a late splash in recruiting.

Where did he put UVA? They went into Tier 2 alongside North Carolina and NC State. Louisville and Duke were the only teams in Tier 1. Here is what he had to say about Odom's team, along with a starting five projection:

Feb 13, 2025; Spokane, Washington, USA; San Francisco Dons guard Malik Thomas (1) shoots against Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Emmanuel Innocenti (5) in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs won 88-77. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
G Dallin Hall (BYU transfer)
G Jacari White (North Dakota State transfer)
G Malik Thomas (San Francisco transfer)
F Devin Tillis (UC Irvine transfer)
C Johann Grunloh (International signee)

Top bench options: G Sam Lewis, G Chance Mallory, C Ugonna Onyenso, F Silas Barksdale

The scoop: "Virginia hired a winning coach in Ryan Odom, handed him resources and the roster looks primed and ready to go. Would you look at that?

This roster should be able to trot out some serious five-shooter lineups thanks to the addition of Grunloh, a 6-foot-11 German center who can splash pick-and-pop 3-pointers and protect the rim at a high level, but Thomas is the true game-changer. The San Francisco transfer can go. He's one of the elite guards in this portal cycle who will drop a 30-piece on someone this season.

Hall, White, Lewis, and Tillis are upperclassmen who are proven shot-makers, and the addition of Onyenso should give Virginia 40 minutes of rim protection. Keeping Mallory in the fold, even after the coaching change, is a pretty big deal. The 5-9 freshman point guard is loads of fun.

Virginia is not the most athletic team in this league, but a game-changing lead guard like Thomas surrounded by this much shooting and plenty of shot-blocking gives Odom more than enough to build a tournament team. Like Louisville last year, Virginia is immediately primed to skyrocket up the ACC pecking order."

This would be a good step for the program in Odom's first season and a Louisville like turnaround is not out of the question. Virginia is of course in a better spot than Louisville was after the Kenny Payne era, but UVA is aiming to be in the mix for a double bye in the ACC Tournament and a strong seed in the big dance. If the transfers mesh well, this could be a strong first step for Odom in Charlottesville.

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