Not a great scheduling decision to put them up against the Commanders vs. Eagles game, or NFL football in general. Maybe they figured the Commanders season would be effectively over by now, which in most years would be a good bet. Playing a D2 opponent when the students are not here at the same time as NFL football... Unfortunately, this game could break an attendance record that they would prefer not to break.

GW0509 wrote:

DC Native wrote:

Not a great scheduling decision to put them up against the Commanders vs. Eagles game, or NFL football in general. Maybe they figured the Commanders season would be effectively over by now, which in most years would be a good bet. Playing a D2 opponent when the students are not here at the same time as NFL football... Unfortunately, this game could break an attendance record that they would prefer not to break.

New game: More students in attendance or points scored by SLU against us in 2008?

What is the over/under (GW game attendance vs the score of the NFL game)? I suspect good seats will be available at the door.

UVA-Wise Cavaliers
Date: Sunday December 22nd, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
TV: ESPN+
Ranks: 182nd/303rd in D2 (Masset), 564th/1000th in NCAA Composite (Massey)
2023-24 Record: 10-18, 6-14 (11th in D2 SAC)
2024-25 Projected Record: 11-18, 8-16 (9th in D2 SAC)

Offensive Power: 146th/303rd in D2, 518th/1000th in NCAA Composite (Massey)
Defensive Power: 233rd/303rd in D2, 687th/1000th in NCAA Composite (Massey)

Strengths (D2 ranks - 2023-24 Season):
Assists Per Game: 17.1 APG (16th)
Three Pointers Per Game: 9.8 3PM (24th)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.38 AST/TO (28th)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: 55.4% (28th)
Three Point Attempts Per Game: 26.3 3PA (31st)
Three Point Percentage: 37.3% (45th)
Field Goal Percentage: 47.4% (51st)
Scoring Offense: 80.1 PPG (65th)
Fastbreak Points: 11.7 PPG (85th)
Free Throw Percentage: 73.9% (89th)

Weaknesses (D2 ranks - 2023-24 Season):
Scoring Margin: -2.7 PPG (205th)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 46% (212th)
Free Throw Attempts Per Game: 17.1 FTA (212th)
Winning Percentage: 35.7% (221st)
Rebounds Per Game: 33.1 RPG (232nd)
Scoring Defense: 82.9 PPG (255th)
Rebound Margin: -5.7 RPG (269th)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 7.5 ORPG (271st)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#1 G Bradley Dean (Senior; Gate City, VA) - 7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1 spg; 37% FG, 38% 3-PT, 86% FT per 19.7 mpg/24 GP at Miami (OH) last season
#2 G Zy'Ever Wingfield (Senior; Richmond, VA) - 14.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3 apg, 1.5 spg; 50% FG, 31% 3-PT, 78% FT per 27.3 mpg/21 GP at D2 UVA-Wise last season
#3 G/F Patrick Shelley (Junior; Rome, GA) - 9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.3 spg; 41% FG, 39% 3-PT, 65% FT per 24.7 mpg/17 GP at D2 UVA-Wise last season
#10 F Lav Cvetkovic' (Senior; Novi Sad, Serbia) - 10.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2 apg; 43% FG, 33% 3-PT, 77% FT per 27 mpg/28 GP at D2 UVA-Wise last season
#33 F Evan Ramsey (RS Freshman; Abingdon, VA)

Key Bench Players:
#0 G Calen Lightford (Junior; Huntsville, AL) - 8.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg; 41% FG, 44% 3-PT, 84% FT per 25.4 mpg/24 GP at D2 UVA-Wise last season
#15 G Kolier Pruett (Freshman; Narrows, VA)
#21 F Max Lidman (Freshman; Stockholm, Sweden)

Key Losses:
Zion Fruster (Transferred to Eastern Illinois; Douglasville, GA) - 18 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2 spg; 47% FG, 37% 3-PT, 78% FT per 28.5 mpg/17 GP
Carmelo Pacheco (Transferred to Mount St. Mary's; Harrisonburg, VA) - 12.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg; 47% FG, 44% 3-PT, 78% FT per 31.2 mpg/24 GP
Joe'l Pettiford (Transferred to D2 UNC Pembroke; Greensboro, NC) - 10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg; 63% FG, 36% 3-PT, 58% FT per 27 mpg/28 GP
Ben Bryson (Graduated; Mills River, NC) - 5.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2 apg, 1.3 spg; 50% FG, 24% 3-PT, 86% FT per 23.9 mpg/28 GP
Isaiah McAmis (Graduated; Wise, VA) - 5.1 ppg, 1.3 apg; 39% FG, 38% 3-PT, 90% FT per 16.1 mpg/23 GP
Rron Ukaj (Graduated; Peja, Kosovo) - 5.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg; 53% FG, 43% 3-PT, 57% FT per 14.1 mpg/15 GP

Preview:
Before I start talking about the actual team, I want to point out how unoriginal it is for UVA-Wise's moniker to be the Cavaliers. When the flagship school is already the Cavaliers, why not pick something different? Wise's school colors are slightly different (red and blue) but there's a real lack of originality. The logo is somehow even worse. I know it's a D2 school, but the fact that it's simply a "V" is not only boring, but also somewhat confusing. It's like they took Verizon's logo, italicized it, and filled it in with a solid red. I've said it before, but whoever gets paid to make logo redesigns is fleecing all these schools. You would think there would be some integration of a "W" to indicate where the school is actually located. Schools are moving to block letters to make the logo easily identifiable, but I don't think the logo even succeeded on that front. I'm not saying they have to rip off the Volkswagen logo with the VW or anything, but they could have done something more than what they currently have. Maybe the W can be tweaked to have a saber on either side. I've likely spent too much time thinking about this.

Blake Mellinger is the man in charge of the MBB team, now entering year #12 at his alma mater. As a player, Mellinger began his career for a SAC conference rival in Limestone before spending the second half of his career back in Wise. He got into coaching immediately, serving as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at the school for six years before getting the chance to take over as the top guy following the retirement of Lee Clark due to health reasons.

Mellinger hasn't had too much success in charge, but going back to 2005 UVA-Wise has never won 20 games in a season. In fact, the Cavs have only had two seasons over .500 overall in the last 19 years and three campaigns where they've won 50% or more of their conference games (just one of those was over .500). If I'm calculating things correctly, Mellinger earned his 100th career win Wednesday against Mars Hill. While he's won just 31.5% of his career games, I doubt UVA-Wise is in a rush to make a coaching change.

Since 2005, UVA-Wise has faced 32 D1 opponents and gone 0-32 (note that Savannah State was D1 at the time back in 2009-10). They've come close to winning a couple of times in the early 2010s, but the majority of games have been unsurprisingly not very close. Their average margin of defeat has been 29.2 ppg in these games:

Season          Opponent               Result
2023-24            ETSU                L 105-55
2019-20          Samford              L 102-64
2018-19             VCU                 L 87-41
2016-17          Wofford               L 116-56
2016-17      USC Upstate          L 99-67
2016-17   Eastern Kentucky      L 70-51
2015-16        High Point             L 111-74
2014-15           ETSU                 L 111-66
2014-15      Norfolk State           L 88-49
2012-13    Gardner-Webb          L 77-58
2011-12         Furman                 L 86-66
2011-12         Wofford                 L 69-66
2011-12        Winthrop                L 79-70
2011-12     East Carolina            L 91-56
2011-12      The Citadel              L 91-74
2011-12       Longwood               L 85-74
2010-11           VMI                     L 120-88
2010-11       Longwood               L 104-70
2010-11         Furman                 L 82-55
2009-10    East Carolina             L 77-60
2009-10     The Citadel               L 69-37
2009-10  Savannah State           L 68-57
2009-10      Longwood                L 87-69
2008-09          Elon                      L 92-65
2008-09      Longwood                L 87-44
2008-09   Gardner-Webb            L 74-47
2008-09  Coastal Carolina          L 90-51
2007-08       Longwood               L 89-67
2007-08  Charleston Southern    L 90-60
2007-08        Wofford                  L 83-62
2005-06           VMI                     L 80-50
2005-06        Wofford                  L 91-46

Last year's Cavaliers squad was more offensively-minded. Obviously the first thing that stands out is their ability to share the ball and make "wise" decisions. Last year's squad averaged over 17 assists per game. That was 16th in all of D2, and would also be a top 40 mark in D1 if that translated. The great ball movement often led to good looks and general efficiency. Wise finished top 50 in D2 in both effective field goal percentage and three point percentage, and benefitted further from taking shots before the defense could get set, with nearly 12 ppg coming on the fast break. With that king of production, you'd think the team would fare a bit better from a W-L perspective but any points the Cavaliers scored was usually given right back to the opposition on the other end. Additionally, UVAW was crushed on the boards. I'm a bit surprised by that given the size of this year's roster.

Shot creation should remain a strength with the returns of Zy'Ever Wingfield, Calen Lightford, and boomerang transfer Bradley Dean. Wingfield was sound with the rock while limiting turnovers, ranking 207th nationally in assist/turnover ratio. He was also adept at creating his own shot, finishing 97th in the nation in field goal percentage. That's not to gloss over his defensive impact either. As mentioned above, that was not the strength of the Cavaliers (unlike the flagship) making Wingfield's impact as an on-ball stopper (1.5 spg)/shot contester in general irreplaceable.

Lightford is another key cog who has come off the bench for the Cavs after starting for the squad earlier in the year. He ranked top 250 in total assists two seasons ago. The loss of Carmelo Pacheco to Mount St. Mary's (who by the way knocked off Miami FL today - Pacheco had 16 for the Mount) likely means that UVAW is not quite as prolific from 3, but Lightford knocked down over two triples per game at a near 44% clip himself, making him even more important for this year's squad.

Dean returns to Wise after a fairly successful year at Miami (OH). I'm a bit surprised he didn't stay D1, but UVAW is just 45 minutes north of his hometown of Gate City, VA (same hometown as viral sensation Mac McClung) and he's familiar with the school having previously played there for three seasons. I'm sure his return made Mellinger quite happy given the attention he commanded offensively when he was last at the school. Two seasons ago, Dean ranked 85th nationally in assists and led the SAC in both field goals made and points per game (21.4 ppg).

Lav Cvetkovic' and Patrick Shelley also return after both turned in productive seasons in 2023-24. Cvetkovic', a useful connector piece for the Cavs, is originally from Serbia (specifically Novi Sad, the same hometown as Nemanja Mikic). He is a versatile scorer offensively (leads the team in threes made so far this year) and assists on the boards (again something this team could use more of). Prior to UVAW, he played JUCO ball. Shelley meanwhile plays bigger than his 6'4" height and will likely be tasked with guarding a bigger GW player tomorrow. He can hit the open three (39% last year) and will fight for extra possessions with his quick hands.

A trio of freshmen figure to play key roles this season. Evan Ramsey redshirted last season, and he will likely be a problem for D2 foes with his towering 7 foot body roaming the paint which caught the attention of other D1 schools like Radford early in his recruitment. He averages nearly 8 boards to go with his 12 ppg. Defensively, he has made things tougher for opposing teams to finish at the rim, having swatted 21 shots already - that was previously the responsibility of the now departed Joe'l Pettiford. Ramsey is also 2/4 from 3 - if he can do that with even a bit more regularity he will be a transfer up candidate in the future. Max Lidman is 6'10" himself. The Swede can stretch the floor with his shooting ability, opening up driving lanes for the guards to get to the rim. Kolier Pruett has not had quite the same impact offensively but his positional size alone provides great potential along the perimeter defensively.

Given this is an exhibition game for UVA-Wise, they will likely play more guys than they would in a closely contested conference game. Hensley Ward and Anderson Cummins are a pair of freshmen hailing from Canada. Ward has shot the ball well in limited time. He has good measureables which should allow him to be impactful defensively. Cummins hasn't played since November but began his career with a bang offensively, averaging nearly 12 ppg through four games at a 62% clip.

Jake Hatch, Dante Worley, and Gunner Garrett are three more first years. Hatch is originally from Alabama. The 6'10" stretch forward has taken all of his shots from distance thus far. Worley redshirted last year. In his limited minutes, he's shown promise distributing the ball, getting downhill, and drawing contact which could be useful for a team that doesn't get to the line often. Garrett (who has an awesome name in general) hails from the same town as Dean and has certainly not been shy when it comes to attempting shots in his limited time.

Josh Newland, Filip Brkic', and Zachary Owens round out the players who have appeared in a game this season. Newland attended Osbourn HS in Manassas and has appeared in ten contests across three seasons. Brkic' is a Croatian guard who has rebounded the ball at a decent clip in his second year. Owens is a fifth year who has appeared in 17 career contests. In addition to basketball, he is on the school's cross country and track & field teams. He holds ten separate Virginia state records in running, including the fastest 800m sprint time in state history at 2 minutes and 6 seconds - very impressive. There's no doubting his qualifications as an athlete. Finally, Brad Halvorsen is a senior who began his career at Western Carolina but has not played on the year. Ty Campbell has also remained on the bench but as a freshman he still holds some long term potential.

UVA Wise is improved from last year - they have defeated a couple of nationally ranked D2 squads in North Georgia and Carson Newman, although these squads would likely fall in the bottom 30 or so of D1. I am impressed in general that they have so much height up front for a D2 school. Hopefully this will be a chance to get everyone that's healthy in the game before conference play starts. It would be nice in particular to get Jacoi going after a rough shooting start to begin the year.

Projected Score: GW 91, UVA-Wise 63. 98% chance to win (Massey). ESPN predicts a 99% victory.