After a flurry of additions and departures via the transfer portal, the Virginia men’s basketball team heads into next season with an overhauled roster that includes only a handful of players who participated in the Cavaliers’ season-ending loss in the NCAA tournament last month.
Most recently, Virginia added Jayden Gardner, a transfer from East Carolina who played three seasons with the Pirates. The 6-foot-7 power forward has two years of eligibility remaining and fills the need for a rugged and consistently productive interior player that the Cavaliers were lacking this past season.
Gardner led East Carolina in scoring (18.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.0) and was one of three players in Division I men’s basketball to average 15 points and eight rebounds in each of the past three seasons, doing the vast majority of his work in the paint.
Other schools in the mix for Gardner were Arkansas, LSU, Miami and North Carolina State.
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“This has been a hard decision for me, but I just want to thank God and my family for helping me to come to a decision,” Gardner posted on Twitter. “It has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to play in the ACC and compete against the best of the best.”
Gardner finished in the top three in rebounding in the American Athletic Conference in each of his seasons at East Carolina. The Cavaliers finished seventh out of 15 teams in the ACC in rebounding this past season and will be without their top two rebounders from last season, Jay Huff and Sam Hauser.
Virginia’s third-leading rebounder, Trey Murphy III, also may not return. The junior transfer from Rice announced via Twitter he would enter the NBA draft but retain his eligibility. Murphy averaged 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds this past season.
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Gardner’s arrival in Charlottesville comes less than a week after Armaan Franklin announced he was transferring to Virginia from Indiana, where the 6-4 sophomore guard was second on the Hoosiers in scoring (11.4) and shot 42.4 percent on three-pointers over 20 starts.
Virginia (18-7, 13-4 ACC), the reigning ACC regular season champion, is graduating three of its top four three-point shooters in Tomas Woldetensae (41.8), Hauser (41.7) and Huff (38.7). Murphy led the Cavaliers in three-point field goal percentage (43.3).
“Excited about the next chapter in my hoops life,” Franklin posted on Twitter with an image of himself in a Virginia uniform. “Still, have to say a big thanks to the IU community, fans and my teammates for all their support.”
Excited about the next chapter in my hoops life. Still, have to say a big thanks to the IU community, fans and my teammates for all their support. Know that I appreciate you all so much! ⚔️🔹🔸⚔️ @UVAMensHoops pic.twitter.com/NErzsdMDXL
— Armaan Franklin (@unkle44artty) April 8, 2021Franklin joins a backcourt rotation featuring starters Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman. Clark, a junior, Beekman, a freshman, and junior forward Francisco Caffaro are the only Cavaliers assured of returning next season who played in the team’s 62-58 loss to Ohio in the first round of the NCAA tournament March 20.
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A handful of contributors from this past season recently announced they would be transferring, including sophomore guard Casey Morsell. The former starter and first-team All-Met from St. John’s College High is heading to North Carolina State.
Morsell struggled offensively during his time with the Cavaliers, averaging 4.2 points, and never became a regular member of the rotation. He was among Virginia’s top defenders, although Beekman, who led the Cavaliers in steals, eventually overtook Morsell for a starting spot.
Beekman further secured his standing as one of Virginia’s most promising players by making a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Syracuse, 72-69, in the ACC tournament quarterfinals at Greensboro Coliseum on March 11.
Morsell shot 26.3 percent from behind the arc last season and started three times.
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His departure for the Wolfpack came one day before Justin McKoy announced he was transferring to North Carolina, where Hubert Davis takes over as coach for the retired Roy Williams. McKoy started four games last season, averaging 3.5 points and 11.2 minutes.
McKoy did not play in the NCAA tournament loss to Ohio after a positive coronavirus test in the Virginia program the night before the ACC tournament semifinals, which forced the Cavaliers to pull out of that event. Virginia wound up being the last team to arrive in Indianapolis, where the entire NCAA tournament was centered.
Virginia also lost Jabri Abdur-Rahim, a freshman who is transferring to Georgia. The top-40 recruit and son of former NBA standout Shareef Abdur-Rahim played in eight games last season, mostly as a backup to Murphy, and shot 20 percent from the field.
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