https://virginiasports.com/news/2019/3/12/jeff-white-mens-basketball-notebook.aspx
Jeff White’s basketball report. A few of the quotes...
[Hunter]
In De'Andre Hunter, the Cavaliers have their latest shutdown defender. A 6-7, 225-pound redshirt sophomore from Philadelphia, Hunter was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year this week, and he's one of the reasons second-ranked UVA (28-2) is allowing only 54.6 points per game, the fewest of any Division I team.
"I feel like that's big for me, because I really take pride on the defensive end," Hunter said Tuesday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, "and I was really happy I won that award."
The Cavaliers' coaching staff has "preached defense since the first day I walked on Grounds," said Hunter, who also was named to the All-ACC first team. "So having a player on this team that wins that award, I think that just shows the value of defense in this program."
In the past five seasons, three other UVA players have been so honored: Isaiah Wilkins (2017-18), Malcolm Brogdon (2014-15 and 2015-16) and Darion Atkins (2014-15).
Hunter doesn't rank among the Cavaliers' leaders in steals or blocked shots, but with his athleticism and 7-foot-2 wingspan, he's capable of guarding anyone from point guards to power forwards. It's no wonder NBA teams are so high on him.
"The game's about being a two-way player," Bennett said. "I don't care what anybody says. If you can't stop people, you can't play at a high level. You have to be able to stop people. Doesn't take away anything from your offense. You develop that."
Bennett recalled a conversation he had with Hunter at a Charlottesville restaurant early in Hunter's career at UVA.
"I challenged him," Bennett told reporters Tuesday. "I said, 'You know, you have something that people would die for from a basketball standpoint with your length and all that.' "
Hunter and Bennett talked again Monday at the same restaurant.
"I told him how thankful I was and proud of him I was that he's embracing that," Bennett said.
[Jerome]
In All-ACC balloting, two Cavaliers made the first team – Hunter and junior shooting guard Kyle Guy – and another, junior point guard Ty Jerome, was named to the second team.
Guy said Tuesday that Jerome, who leads the ACC in assists, deserved better.
"He is what makes this team go," Guy said. "Obviously, it's a biased opinion, but I think a lot of people would agree with that. If someone should have been on first-team All-ACC, it should have been him, even if that meant me not [being] on there … He gets me probably 60 percent of my shots."
[Salt]
His career at UVA has been a roller-coaster ride, said Salt, who redshirted as a freshman in 2014-15. "When I came here, I didn't think I was going to play," he said.
In 2015-16, he averaged 6.6 minutes per game. "I have no idea why I was playing, but Coach put me out there, and then I got more of a role," Salt said.
Over the past three seasons, he's started 94 games.
"It's been wild, but I've loved it here," Salt said. "Even right now. I'm not playing too much, but I'm just ready to give my all for this team and finish off as strong as I can."
[Diakite]
In ACC play, Mamadi Diakite averaged 2.1 blocked shots per game. Among his counterparts in the league, only Clemson's Elijah Thomas and Georgia Tech's James Banks had more blocks.
UVA nominated Diakite, a 6-9 redshirt junior, for the ACC's all-defensive team, but he wasn't among the top five vote-getters. That didn't bother him, Diakite said Tuesday.
"I don't care if they recognize me or they don't," he said. "What matters to me is to push this team as far as it can get."
Diakite has improved markedly on defense since he arrived at UVA in the summer of 2015, and "it has gotten better from the beginning of the season to now," he said. "Everything is slowing down for me, and I'm able to see everything clearly."
[Fab Four]
The recruiting class that enrolled at UVA in June 2016 ranks among the best in program history. It consisted of Guy, Jerome, Hunter and 7-1 Jay Huff, who broke into the rotation as a redshirt sophomore this season.
"All four of us doing this, this is what everyone thought we were going to do when we first got here," Jerome said. "So to see us finally all coming together now, especially with Jay being a big part of it, it's awesome to watch unfold."
Jeff White’s basketball report. A few of the quotes...
[Hunter]
In De'Andre Hunter, the Cavaliers have their latest shutdown defender. A 6-7, 225-pound redshirt sophomore from Philadelphia, Hunter was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year this week, and he's one of the reasons second-ranked UVA (28-2) is allowing only 54.6 points per game, the fewest of any Division I team.
"I feel like that's big for me, because I really take pride on the defensive end," Hunter said Tuesday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, "and I was really happy I won that award."
The Cavaliers' coaching staff has "preached defense since the first day I walked on Grounds," said Hunter, who also was named to the All-ACC first team. "So having a player on this team that wins that award, I think that just shows the value of defense in this program."
In the past five seasons, three other UVA players have been so honored: Isaiah Wilkins (2017-18), Malcolm Brogdon (2014-15 and 2015-16) and Darion Atkins (2014-15).
Hunter doesn't rank among the Cavaliers' leaders in steals or blocked shots, but with his athleticism and 7-foot-2 wingspan, he's capable of guarding anyone from point guards to power forwards. It's no wonder NBA teams are so high on him.
"The game's about being a two-way player," Bennett said. "I don't care what anybody says. If you can't stop people, you can't play at a high level. You have to be able to stop people. Doesn't take away anything from your offense. You develop that."
Bennett recalled a conversation he had with Hunter at a Charlottesville restaurant early in Hunter's career at UVA.
"I challenged him," Bennett told reporters Tuesday. "I said, 'You know, you have something that people would die for from a basketball standpoint with your length and all that.' "
Hunter and Bennett talked again Monday at the same restaurant.
"I told him how thankful I was and proud of him I was that he's embracing that," Bennett said.
[Jerome]
In All-ACC balloting, two Cavaliers made the first team – Hunter and junior shooting guard Kyle Guy – and another, junior point guard Ty Jerome, was named to the second team.
Guy said Tuesday that Jerome, who leads the ACC in assists, deserved better.
"He is what makes this team go," Guy said. "Obviously, it's a biased opinion, but I think a lot of people would agree with that. If someone should have been on first-team All-ACC, it should have been him, even if that meant me not [being] on there … He gets me probably 60 percent of my shots."
[Salt]
His career at UVA has been a roller-coaster ride, said Salt, who redshirted as a freshman in 2014-15. "When I came here, I didn't think I was going to play," he said.
In 2015-16, he averaged 6.6 minutes per game. "I have no idea why I was playing, but Coach put me out there, and then I got more of a role," Salt said.
Over the past three seasons, he's started 94 games.
"It's been wild, but I've loved it here," Salt said. "Even right now. I'm not playing too much, but I'm just ready to give my all for this team and finish off as strong as I can."
[Diakite]
In ACC play, Mamadi Diakite averaged 2.1 blocked shots per game. Among his counterparts in the league, only Clemson's Elijah Thomas and Georgia Tech's James Banks had more blocks.
UVA nominated Diakite, a 6-9 redshirt junior, for the ACC's all-defensive team, but he wasn't among the top five vote-getters. That didn't bother him, Diakite said Tuesday.
"I don't care if they recognize me or they don't," he said. "What matters to me is to push this team as far as it can get."
Diakite has improved markedly on defense since he arrived at UVA in the summer of 2015, and "it has gotten better from the beginning of the season to now," he said. "Everything is slowing down for me, and I'm able to see everything clearly."
[Fab Four]
The recruiting class that enrolled at UVA in June 2016 ranks among the best in program history. It consisted of Guy, Jerome, Hunter and 7-1 Jay Huff, who broke into the rotation as a redshirt sophomore this season.
"All four of us doing this, this is what everyone thought we were going to do when we first got here," Jerome said. "So to see us finally all coming together now, especially with Jay being a big part of it, it's awesome to watch unfold."
