There is no joy in Hoo-ville; mighty Courtney has left town.
Courtney Alexander, the University of Virginia's highest scorer last year during the Cavaliers' 18-12 campaign, transferred from UVa to Fresno State this past summer. The Durham native, who averaged 15.1 points per game for the Cavaliers last year, was suspended during the offseason for allegedly abusing his girlfriend of several years.
Instead of trying for reinstatement to the Virginia team, he decided to start a new life. Off to the West Coast, Alexander will now play for coach Jerry Tarkanian's Bulldogs.
As if this weren't enough despair for the UVa faithful, their entire ball handling corps, one of the keys to their success last season, needs to be replaced-point guard Harold Deane graduated. The leader of last year's squad, Deane averaged 12.9 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Deane's backup, Jamal Robinson, who averaged 5.6 points per game, is also gone. This leaves UVa with several huge holes to fill.
The one hole it do not need to fill is at shooting guard. UVa returns one of the premier shooters in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Curtis Staples. Staples, who averaged 14.2 points as a junior last year, is a big threat from downtown, as he looks to improve on his 40 percent connection rate from downtown. He will have to play a huge role if this team is to succeed.
One role he can't play, however, is that of point guard. In order to alleviate the situation created by the departure of Deane, Anderson, and Alexander, Virginia coach Jeff Jones will turn to one of two freshman point guards this year to run the point.
Either Chezley Watson, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Gainesville, Ga., or 5-foot-11 Donald Hand out of Paterson, N.J. will be counted upon to run the show, with the likely nod going to Hand, due to his quickness and versatility.
The freshmen will need help handling the ball, however, in order to avoid the freshman mistakes made by inexperienced players, especially when they have the pressure of playing point guard for a major college program placed upon them before they even step on the court. This leads Coach Jones to an important member of this year's team, Willie Dersch.
"Willie's a kind of player," Jones said. "He's a basketball player. He's not a point guard, not a shooting guard, not a small forward. He does a lot of things out on the court that help you win basketball games.
"We don't want to lump all of those ball handling duties onto one person. Last year, with Harold Deane, that was fine, but this year we want to spread that out a little bit, and Willie certainly can help handle the ball and initiate offense."
Dersch, who only averaged 2.8 points in 13.2 minutes of work per game last year, will be expected to play a much larger role on this year's squad, and perhaps even earn a starting spot to help out the new-look backcourt.
While the backcourt will have a different look to it, the frontcourt for the Cavaliers is very similar to last year. The key will be senior forward Norman Nolan. Nolan started 25 of UVa's 30 games last year, was fourth on the team in scoring, with 11.4 points per game, and first on the team in rebounds with 7.5 a contest. He needs to keep up that pace in order for Virginia to be successful.
"I think Norman has improved in some areas," Jones said. "He's more fit, he seems to be more mature, and certainly more willing to accept a leadership role."
Virginia will need Nolan's leadership, as his likely frontcourt mates will be somewhat lacking in experience. Sophomore Colin Ducharme garnered a starting role midseason last year, but only averaged 20 minutes, and 5.5 points per game for the Cavaliers.
His experience at the end of the season will help him, but he is still relatively young and will need tutelage from Nolan in order to be an important contributor.
In addition to Ducharme, and the sophomore Dersch, several other youngsters are likely to play prominent roles in UVa's frontcourt, including 6-foot-10 sophomore Craig McAndrew, who almost garnered a starting position on last year's team as a freshman, might intrude into this year's first five.
"Last year, I think Craig lost confidence," Jones said. "He entered the season playing well and actually earned a starting position prior to the Maui Invitational. Craig played well in the tournament when you consider they were his first games at the college level.
"Then he missed the seven games, came back and was injured, and missed three more. After that, he never seemed to get back on track and I know it bothered him."
With newfound confidence, McAndrew might be a player to watch in Virginia. So might 6-foot-10 sophomore Kris Hunter.
"Kris is doing more, but there's still a lot more to do," Jones said. "A young man as laid back as Kris is, it's difficult for him and for the coaches to pull out of him the aggressiveness that you have to have. He's made some strides, but we're trying to push him hard to make more."
In addition, if 7-foot-4 center Chase Metheney can play up to his billing and height, he should make a serious impact on UVa's defense and rebounding.
The Virginia Cavaliers are a team in turmoil. Their starting lineup is not yet set, and they need several relatively inexperienced players to step up in place of lost stars. Don't look for UVa to contend for the conference crown, but Charlottesville is a tough place for any visiting team to play, and the new-look Cavaliers could definitely pull off some upsets and earn some respect in the tough ACC this year.
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