Thijs De Ridder had already made the shot Virginia needed. His three-pointer put the Cavaliers ahead of Tennessee 71-70 with two minutes left in their NCAA tournament game. Virginia scored one more point.
That ending belongs in the conversation about a team bringing back four important players. It gives the discussion somewhere specific to go. De Ridder, Chance Mallory, Sam Lewis and Johann Grünloh return to Virginia with a season together behind them. Their next challenge includes making the next possession work after the big shot has gone in.
Virginia's March 22 account records the 79-72 loss and the end of a 30-win season. It also identifies Dallin Hall as a reason the Cavaliers had recovered. Hall scored on consecutive drives, then found Grünloh for a dunk during the comeback. He helped turn a deficit into a game De Ridder could briefly lead.
Hall is among the rotation players Virginia lost. Returning a productive group still leaves work to redistribute.
Odom has already named the next responsibility
In Jeff White's July report for Virginia, Ryan Odom said he wanted De Ridder to become the team's closer. The description included finishing, drawing a foul and passing when a teammate had a cleaner opportunity. Odom also wanted Lewis to do more handling and passing, while Mallory prepared for the starting point-guard job.
Those requests make the continuity case more persuasive. The coach has identified additional decisions for players who already know one another. He can ask them to expand their responsibilities instead of hoping that another year together automatically fixes the difficult stretches.
De Ridder's task is particularly interesting. A closer who always shoots becomes easier to prepare for. A closer who keeps passing up a favorable matchup creates a different problem for his own team. The job requires a judgment while the defender is still moving, with enough time left for the next player to act.
Sam Whitlock's account of Curry's last pass against Kansas takes that judgment seriously. A defense can force the ball away from the scorer it fears. Virginia needs De Ridder to recognize the opening and needs the teammate receiving his pass to be prepared for it. A late transfer of responsibility is much harder to use than an early one.
Mallory already played substantial minutes last season. His promotion would change which minutes and decisions belong to him. Starting the offense, getting De Ridder the ball where he can act and remaining available when it comes back are connected jobs. Calling him the point guard settles none of the details.
There will be two chances against Duke
Virginia's September 9 conference announcement gives the Cavaliers home and away games against Duke. The current dates are February 6 in Charlottesville and March 1 in Durham. Virginia also visits Miami and North Carolina in January.
That is a useful setting for the question raised by Nate Calloway's Duke guard preview. Both teams have returning players to trust when the initial action goes nowhere. By March, Virginia should have a much clearer sense of which player starts its late-game offense and where the next pass belongs.
One tournament finish cannot diagnose an entire offense. Tennessee made the plays that won that game, and Virginia's 30 victories deserve their own weight. The closing sequence is useful because it reveals how quickly the job changes. Hall created openings. De Ridder made the go-ahead shot. The next trip still required someone to create another one.
Odom can give De Ridder more authority this season. I would judge that change by how often Virginia reaches a good second option when his first one disappears. Mallory and Lewis will have a share of that answer, even on nights when De Ridder takes the final shot.
