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The Virginia men’s basketball team wrapped up its four-game exhibition tour in Italy on Friday with a thrilling double-overtime win over KK Mega Basket in Rapallo. Read on for a quick recap of all four of UVA’s exhibition games this week, as well as quick hits on the latest recruiting news and a note on Virginia’s non-conference schedule for the 2023-2024 season.
Here’s a recap covering all the latest headlines about the UVA men’s basketball program this week:
Virginia started the tournament with a dominant performance against a beaten Stella Azzurra side in Rome, winning 76-24. Almost every player who got minutes in the opener turned in a solid statline. Kadin Shedrick led the way with 13 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Leon Bond III joined in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Ryan Dunn contributed nine points and seven rebounds, Reece Beekman had nine points, five rebounds and seven assists, and Isaac Traudt recorded eight points, four rebounds and three steals.
UVA followed that up with a thirty point win over Orange1 Basket in Florence as Isaac Traudt led the Cavaliers to a 71-41 victory and recorded 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the process. It was a strong game for Virginia’s centers, as Kadin Shedrick had 12 points and seven rebounds and Francisco Caffaro had 12 points and five boards.
Several more Virginia basketball news articles appeared before the team played its final two games in Rapallo.
2023 recruiting target Freddie Dilione (Raleigh, NC), who previously had UVA in his top 10, announced his commitment to Tennessee on Tuesday. Dilione, who is now rated a four-star and one of the top prospects in North Carolina, was offered by Virginia in May when he was still a three-star and took a visit to UVA shortly thereafter. Virginia has offered six remaining targets in the 2023 class.
One of those Class of 2023 prospects, four-star combo guard Elmarko Jackson (South Kent, CT) trimmed his list to 11 schools Wednesday and included Virginia along with Kansas, Maryland, Louisville, Notre Dame, VCU , Texas, UCLA, Villanova. , Miami and Michigan. In addition to Jackson, TJ Power, Taison Chatman, Andrej Stojakovic and Elijah Gertrude have included Virginia on their most recent cut lists.
On Wednesday, Jon Rothstein reported that the 2023 Fort Myers Tip-Off non-conference tournament will feature Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia and SMU, giving us an early look at UVA’s non-conference schedule for the 2023 college basketball season- 2024.
The third game of Virginia’s tour in Italy presented the Hoos with a significant challenge as they faced KK Mega Basket, a professional Serbian basketball team that features several talented players with years of basketball experience. KK Mega Basket’s offensive sets were too much for the UVA defense, which gave up nearly 100 points in a 92-73 loss at Rapallo. A bright spot for the Cavaliers was Kadin Shedrick, who scored in double figures for the third straight game, posting 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
Less than 24 hours later, the Hoos got a chance at redemption as they faced KK Mega Basket again looking to bounce back with a better performance. Virginia led for almost the entirety of regulation, but a one-legged jumper by KK Mega Basket’s Malcolm Cazalon tied things up to send the game into overtime. It took two overtime periods to decide the winner, but Virginia pulled away in the second overtime behind a stellar closing performance by Kihei Clark, who scored 10 of his 23 points in the game’s final five minutes. Reece Beekman had 21 points, five assists and four rebounds, Isaac McKneely added 15 points and Virginia was able to end the Italy tournament on a high note with a 94-87 doubleheader win.
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The exhibition tour in Italy, and in particular the last two games against KK Mega Basket, provided extremely valuable experience for the Cavaliers as they begin to prepare for the upcoming season.
Last week’s UVA basketball news: This Week in Virginia Basketball News – August 12th
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