The NCAA announced some significant rule changes today aimed at cleaning up college basketball, and they include such things as allowing a player to return to his college team if they’re not chosen in the NBA draft, and even the ability to sign with an agent if designated an “elite” player. The NCAA on its website listed these five rules changes that also include more official campus visits, a certification program for agents and the requirement that if a player leaves to play professionally but later returns to finish his or her degree, the schools must pay all costs. Here […]

In Washington, D.C.’s hotbed of high school basketball talent – where there are plenty of players to choose from – Virginia chose Casey Morsell. Better yet, Morsell chose Virginia back. Casey Morsell The 6-foot-2, 195-pound combo guard from St. John’s College H.S. continued to separate himself from the crowd over the summer for one reason — he’s addicted to the grind. “I really want to be the best, and I’ll do whatever it takes to be the best,” Morsell said in an interview this week. “Part of it is being addicted to the grind, so all I really do is […]

No surprises on Virginia’s men’s nonconference basketball schedule announced Wednesday afternoon, but there will be a renewal of games against old friends. Maryland and South Carolina, the only two schools to ever leave the ACC, are on tap (the Terps at College Park in the Big 10 Challenge), and a game in Columbia against the Gamecocks, the first battle with USC since an NIT matchup against Dave Odom’s team in the NIT in 2002. The Maryland game is set for Nov. 28, five days following the conclusion of UVa’s regular season football schedule at Virginia Tech. Virginia visits South Carolina […]

A new version of Jack Salt has returned to Charlottesville and is champing at the bit for Virginia’s basketball season to begin. Let’s name this version “The Auckland Wall, 2.0.” UVa’s big center returned to his native New Zealand this summer and made his country’s national team, the “Tall Blacks,” which defeated Hong Kong and China in qualifying games in basketball’s World Cup. When he arrived in New Zealand, friends and family might have been a bit surprised in his appearance. Salt, at 7-feet, 250 pounds, had drastically changed his physique to a lean machine, all muscle, little body fat. […]

Everyone in Wahoo Nation has a special place in their heart for Joe Harris. When news leaked out Saturday that “Joey Buckets,” a nickname Harris picked up for his ability to score while at Virginia, had agreed to a two-year,$16 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets, there was as much joy among UVa fans as Brooklyn’s. While Harris has been gone from Charlottesville since the end of the 2013-14 season, he left behind an everlasting legacy. Yes, he was a prolific scorer. Yes, he was a team leader. Yes, his All-American good looks made women swoon. What he might be […]