Virginia's Thijs De Ridder Is One Of The Top Freshmen Scorers In The ACC

A prized possession has paid off this season for head coach Ryan Odom in 2025. All the way over in Belgium, this 22-year-old kid was making a difference in the Surne Bilbao Basket, which is a professional team in Spain. What was most impressive was what he did from beyond the arc, shooting the three-ball at 38%. It instantly caught the attention of Coach Odom, who was looking to fill out his frontcourt. With his 6’8 and 216-pound frame, it was the perfect matchup of size in the interior and a player who could torch you from three-point range. So, who am I referring to? I am talking about Thijs De Ridder. De Ridder has helped Virginia become one of the best teams in college basketball (currently ranked No.24 in the AP Poll) and a team to watch for in the ACC. They have an elite front court with De Ridder, Johann Grünloh, Devin Tillis, and Ugonna Onyenso.

De Ridder has established himself as one of the top scorers in the NCAA as a freshman. De Ridder is fifth in the ACC in scoring as a freshman behind Cameron Boozer, Ebuka Okorie, Caleb Wilson, and Mikel Brown Jr. To be in that conversation with a lot of these top freshmen who will likely go into the NBA Draft in June says a lot. He is averaging 16.1 points per game to go along with six rebounds and 1.3 assists.

In the 10 games played this season, De Ridder has crossed the 20-point mark. To make it even better, he has done a lot of it in his past four games. De Ridder hit a career-high in points against Northwestern in an 83-78 victory. Against the Wildcats, he dripped 27 points on 9-15 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. His three-point shooting has been as advertised this season for the Cavaliers, and De Ridder is shooting 42.3% from long range. His best game from the three-point arc came against North Carolina Central, where he hit 3-4 from distance. He is the leading scorer on the team this season and has been a go-to player in the Hoos offense. He has relished that and continued to make defenses pay when he gets the ball. His head coach talked about what he brings to the team and the mismatch that he is every night.

“I mean, Tess is a veteran. He's a tough matchup for other teams, and certainly, his physicality, you know, is evident, you know, whenever you watch him out there playing, you know, he's just a physical guy, whether it's on offense or defense. I think he gives us a calming presence out there. He's been through a lot of basketball and different situations, you know, over the course of his career,” said Odom.

“There are also some differences, you know, between, you know, FIBA basketball and college basketball. So every now and then you'll see some interesting reactions from both him and Johann (Grünloh), which has to give us a little bit of a laugh, you know, from time to time. Really excited that he's here with us and he's enjoying, you know, Charlottesville and the University of Virginia.”

Virginia is off to a 9-1 start and looks like one of the best teams in the country. They have great guard play, elite shooting, and the frontcourt is a force to be reckoned with. With one of the top freshmen in the conference in De Ridder, don’t be surprised if you see the Cavaliers go far this season and shock some people.

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