After winning their first national championship this week, the Virginia Cavaliers could be poised for a repeat performance thanks to a very strong class of returning players.
The monkey is off the back of Tony Bennett and the Virginia Cavaliers after winning the NCAA Tournament this season. Despite a few close calls along the way, Virginia’s blend of experience, excellent defense, and timely three-point shooting proved to be the difference between another disappointment and cutting down the nets in Minneapolis.
A national title usually leads to departures from players who feel they have nothing left to accomplish in college, and that may be the case for Virginia with talented guard De’Andre Hunter. Hunter, who locked down Jarrett Culver and scored 27 points in the title game, is likely off to the NBA this summer as a potential lottery pick.
The Cavaliers do lose one senior off the roster in center Jack Salt, but the intrigue for Virginia surrounds guard Ty Jerome. Jerome had a huge performance in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 16.5 points per game and knocking down a ton of clutch threes, boosting his draft stock to the point where he could be a late first round pick in the draft.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some potential starting lineups for the defending national champions next season.