Dick Vitale is a keen observer of college basketball, and even though there’s chaos in the game in terms of trying to get schedules set, the great one has come out with his preseason Top 40.

Five-star Caleb Houstan, a 6-foot-7, 190-pound small forward from Montverde Academy in Florida, narrowed his final four college choices to Alabama, Duke, Michigan and UVA.

Virginia basketball has never met Florida during the regular season, but that will change on Nov. 27 when the Cavaliers and Gators are scheduled to clash at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun.

Shortly after Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper hoisted the Stanley Cup Trophy, he joined Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter late Monday night, sporting a Virginia basketball national championship hat.

It appears that Virginia’s basketball team will participate in the 2020 Wooden Legacy event in Orlando, although dates have not been announced.

Virginia reached across the Pacific to land its first basketball recruit for the Class of 2021 early Sunday morning when projected 4-star guard Taine Murray announced on his Instagram account that he had committed to Tony Bennett’s program.

Only one day after 4-star power forward Trey Kaufman included Virginia on his top-5 list of schools, the Cavaliers also made the final-3 list for 5-star combo guard Trevor Keels of Fairfax.

After visiting ACC powerhouses Virginia and North Carolina over the weekend, high-profile power forward Trey Kaufman announced a top-5 list of schools on Tuesday night.

Of the eight Wahoos currently playing in the Association, five will be participating in the postseason, which begins today — Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, Mike Scott, Justin Anderson and Devon Hall.

Coach Tony Bennett had a second virtual meeting this week with Dallan “Deebo” Coleman, who holds offers from five other ACC schools including Louisville, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson.

Virginia basketball lost out on one star prospect on Sunday, but made the final-three cut for another prospect in New Zealand shooting guard Taine Murray.

Fans who do not currently receive the ACC Network through their cable or satellite provider can take advantage of a limited-time free trial offer through YouTubeTV to view Saturday’s lineup.

Jay Huff’s announcement that he is returning for his fifth year didn’t catch me by surprise, although he may have caused Wahoo Nation’s collective hearts to flutter a bit in the way he broadcasted the news.

“The Jerry Ratcliffe Show,” which previously had been exclusive to ESPN-Charlottesville, is now also on WINA Radio, the flagship station of UVA athletics. Part of the good news by having a second home for the show is that WINA is streaming live on wina.com, so no matter where you are in the state, nation or around the world, you can listen to our show live.

Tony Bennett and his wife, Laurel, along with 35 other collegiate head coaches, and the John McLendon Minority Scholarship Foundation announced Monday a partnership to help launch the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative.

It will come as no surprise to Virginia fans that Cavaliers’ associate head coach Jason Williford was selected as the No. 1 assistant in the conference.

The 6-foot-3 blue-chipper is champing at the bit to get to Charlottesville and start playing basketball with his new UVA teammates.

Exactly two years ago tonight, we launched JerryRatcliffe.com with cautious optimism. Our goal was to bring you the best coverage possible of Virginia athletics, adding nearly four decades of experience, institutional knowledge, and stories that readers couldn’t find anywhere else.

John Swofford, the longest-tenured commissioner in the 67-year history of the Atlantic Coast Conference, announced Thursday that the 2020-21 athletic year will be the last of his 24 years of service.

On this week’s podcast version of The Jerry Ratcliffe Show, Hootie talks at length with Virginia basketball incoming 4-star freshman Reece Beekman about his fabulous high school career and guiding his team to four straight state championships.