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From 1990-2010 Virginia only had 1 season with 22+ wins. Coach Tony Bennett has won 22+ games in each of his past 4 seasons, including 30 in each of the past 2 years. With great power comes great “recruitability”, which has helped the Cavaliers get 4 players from the Atlanta metropolitan area including 2014 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year Isaiah Wilkins, the stepson of NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins. Isaiah did not score a ton of points last year but was 3rd on the team in blocks and shot a stupendous 66.7 3P%. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Isaiah about beginning his college career with 19 straight wins and losing 2 of his top-4 scorers from last year.
You play for Coach Tony Bennett: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you ever learned from him? We were brought here to win games, but he is invested in how we act off the court and how we treat people. He helps us grow as men.
You are 1 of 4 guys on the roster who grew up within an hour of Atlanta, GA: how did you all end up in Charlottesville?! Great recruiting! I have known Justice Bartley my entire life and went to high school with Malcolm Brogdon.
You played in 28 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just tried to blow up some ball screens and knock down open shots, doing whatever I could to stay on the floor.
You won your 1st 19 games before losing to Duke last January: how does a team change during such a long winning streak, and what was your reaction like in the locker room after the loss? Our approach was just to stay hungry and never get complacent: we took it 1 game at a time. It was my very 1st loss in college so it was tough but we just put it behind us and learned from it.
In the 2015 NCAA tourney you had a 6-PT loss to Michigan State: what did you learn from that game that you think can help you this year? Most of the Spartans were upperclassmen so it was a great learning experience for me about what to expect going forward.
You shot 66.7 3P% last year: what is your secret for making shots from behind the arc? I remember every single 1 of them. The 1st 1 was with the shot clock running down so I figured that I would just throw it up. The 2nd 1 was special because it was against Georgia Tech. The 3rd 1 should not have counted because my foot was on the line.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Ohio State/West Virgina/Villanova/Cal: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I am unsure: right now we are just focused on our own team. The strength of our schedule will be very good in helping us prepare for ACC play: we have a lot of top-25 teams in there.
You lost 2 of your top-4 scorers from last year (Justin Anderson/Darion Atkins): how are you going to try to replace all of that offense? As guys move on we just have to stay true defensively. I think we have a couple of guys who will have a breakout year, which is something to look forward to.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Coach has a theory of never comparing yourself to the previous year but I think we can make a push for good things. I am invested in our team and have made a big jump since last season so I am excited to see what we can do.