Checking in on Virginia men’s hoops alumni in the pros

By Harry Farley
JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent

Plenty of former Virginia men’s basketball players excelled on the court this year. From Malcolm Brogdon winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award to Trey Murphy III emerging as a box-office dunker and rising star, it has been a great year for men’s professional basketball players who used to play in John Paul Jones Arena. Below we’ll go through exactly how some notable players fared around professional basketball this year.

Justin Anderson (2012-2015)

Anderson has been up and down between the NBA and G League for a lot of his professional career, and is currently on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers. He has spent the past two years with the Mad Ants. Anderson had another solid year in the G League, averaging 22.9 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, and 5.0 assists per game across the 30-game season. His 22.9 points per game led all players for the Mad Ants in 2022-23, while he also led the team in minutes per game with 37.9. With Anderson’s help, the Mad Ants had a strong regular season and finished 18-14, but fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Capital City Go-Go. Anderson’s highlight of the season came in a double-overtime loss to the Grand Rapids Gold, as he scored 46 points on 12-for-28 shooting, while dishing out 6 assists as well. While Anderson has excelled in the G League in recent years, he still has yet to make it back to the NBA and stay there; with his impressive scoring over the last two years in Fort Wayne, Anderson may be able to sign a two-way contract this upcoming season and get another chance at the NBA.

Malcolm Brogdon (2011-2016)

Brogdon took on a new role in his first year with the Boston Celtics and truly flourished with professionalism. For the first season in his career, Brogdon did not start a single game. After being a central part of the Indiana Pacers’ offense the past three seasons and averaging more than 30 minutes there, he only played 26 minutes per game this season. Yet Brogdon became uber-efficient and a 3-point specialist with Boston — his field-goal percentage (48.4) was better than any year he had with the Pacers while his 3-point shooting percentage was the best of his career at 44.4 percent. In Indiana, Brogdon shot 32.6 percent, 38.8 percent, and 31.2 percent over his three years, which makes his 3-point explosion this year that much more impressive. 

His splits of 14.9 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game were strong enough to earn him the Sixth Man of the Year Award. His play off the bench was pivotal in helping the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA playoffs. Next season, I anticipate Brogdon’s role will likely increase in Boston – especially given the trade rumors surrounding teammate Jaylen Brown.

Anthony Gill (2012-2016)

Becoming a rookie in the NBA doesn’t normally come when you are 28 years old. Yet Gill played several seasons abroad in Moscow, Russia, before debuting in the NBA in 2020. Despite not earning much playing time in the NBA, Gill has been with the Washington Wizards ever since and has become an integral part of the Washington bench. While the Wizards haven’t enjoyed the playoff success or great winning seasons that all teams strive for, Gill has flourished as a glue guy with Washington, keeping his teammates focused, being incredibly selfless, and developing close relationships with team personnel. He got a great opportunity in January when fellow big men Kristaps Porzingis and Daniel Gafford were injured and went on to score a career-high 18 points — off the bench, too. The Washington Post wrote a great article on Gill’s role on the Wizards earlier this year that does a deep dive into how important Gill is in Washington.

Joe Harris (2010-2014)

An ankle injury that required surgery early last season allowed Harris to only play 14 games. While Harris played in 74 games this season, his role diminished as he averaged just 20.6 minutes per game, his lowest since 2015-16. His shooting took a hit as well, as he shot 42.6 percent from 3-point range — his lowest since shooting 41.9 percent in 2017-18 — and averaged just 7.6 points per game. Roster turnover with James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant didn’t do Harris any favors, as the team underwent major changes in personnel needs around those superstars until their eventual departures. Harris will look to bounce back next season and return to his sharpshooting 3-point form, as he will become a free agent after the 2023-24 season. 

Sam Hauser (2019-2021)

The 2022-23 season was a great one for Hauser, as he firmly established himself on the bench of the Boston Celtics and played in 80 of the 82 games after spending his rookie season on a two-way contract in 2021-22. Like his one year at Virginia, Hauser shot it well from deep, posting a 3-point shooting percentage of 41.8; he averaged 6.4 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game. His two best games came at the very end of the regular season, as he capitalized on the opportunity to play big minutes with Boston resting their starters. Hauser scored 26 points against both Toronto and Atlanta, leading the Celtics to two wins. He was lethal from deep, shooting a combined 14 for 26 from beyond the arc in the two games (6 triples against Toronto, 8 against Atlanta) while also grabbing 5 rebounds in both games. Hauser will likely contend for more minutes next season and try to carve out a larger role in his third year in the association.

Jay Huff (2017-2021)

Huff had a great year as he was signed by the Washington Wizards on a two-way contract from the G League, where he played with the South Bay Lakers and the Capital City Go-Go, Washington’s affiliate. In the G League, Huff was a defensive nightmare, as he averaged an insane 2.9 blocks per game this season — the G League record for average blocks was Kury Looby, who averaged 3.3 blocks per game in 2009-2010. He also averaged 15.0 points per game on 64.5-percent shooting — including an impressive 40.4 percent from beyond the arc, especially for a big man of his size. Huff will look to cement himself on an NBA team this year after a monster G League season where he proved without a doubt that he belongs in the NBA — the G League was clearly child’s play for the 7-foot-1 center on both sides of the ball.

De’Andre Hunter (2016-2019)

With every game that passes, Hunter seems to evolve as a player and threat at the power forward position. Despite being regarded as a leaner and smaller power forward at 6-8 and 220 pounds, Hunter averaged 15.4 points per game and continued his strong defensive play this season. He has become an integral part of the Atlanta Hawks over the last four years, as he has started all but 6 games that he has played. With offseason roster changes imminent and a new head coach in Quin Snyder, Hunter will hopefully be able to help lead Atlanta to a deep playoff run next season after losing to the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the playoffs earlier this spring.

At the start of the season, Hunter signed a 4-year, $95-million extension with the Hawks, and proved this year why he is worth that upper-role player kind of money in the NBA — at least for now. By the time he is set to sign his next contract, bet Hunter will be averaging 20 points per game and be a No. 2 or 3 option on whatever team he plays for.

Ty Jerome (2016-2019)

While Jerome unfortunately didn’t have his two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors converted to a standard contract, he proved to every team around the association that he deserves one and can be a valuable addition to plenty of rosters. As the 2023 season ends, Jerome is a restricted free agent and is free to sign with any team, with Golden State retaining the ability to match any offer within 48 hours. After playing 45 games, averaging 18.1 minutes of playing time and scoring 6.9 points per game on 48.8-percent shooting, Jerome will most likely have plenty of suitors looking for bench depth. Jerome showed his value when the Warriors went through injury problems with Stephen Curry. His best game came on January 20 in a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting while dishing out 8 assists — including a 3-pointer dagger with 1:39 remaining to give the Warriors a 7-point lead.

Trey Murphy III (2020-2021)

Murphy has taken a huge leap in his second year in the NBA, increasing his averages in nearly every category and starting nearly every game for the New Orleans Pelicans. His field-goal percentage improvement is arguably the most impressive shift in his game, as he shot 39.3 percent from the field in his rookie season but shot 48.4 percent this season. He averaged 14.5 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and 2.6 3-pointers per game – on 40.6-percent shooting from beyond the arc. Pair his scoring ability with his explosive dunking, and Murphy is well on his way to becoming a household name in the NBA. At the Dunk Contest over All-Star Weekend, Murphy was the runner-up to Mac McClung. 

Next season, be on the lookout for Murphy to accomplish a rare feat in the NBA — the 40-50-90 season, which is achieved when a player averages 40-percent plus from 3-point range, 50 percent or better from the field, and 90-percent from the free-throw line. At 40.6, 48.4 and 90.5 percent in those respective categories this year, Murphy is developing into an extremely strong player already in just his second year in the NBA.

NBA and G League ‘Hoos weren’t the only ones with successful years on the court. Below are a few names that are playing abroad and having professional success in their own right.

Kyle Guy (2016-2019)

Guy is currently playing in Spain in the Liga ACB for the Joventut Badalona, and is having a great year leading one of the premier teams in Liga ACB. After a successful stint at the start of the NBA season with the Miami Heat on two 10-day contracts where he averaged over 40 percent from 3-point range, Guy has been tearing up the Spanish league in the playoff semifinals against Real Madrid.

On the season, Guy is averaging 11.5 points per game, but has turned it up toward the end of the season as he averaged 19.2 points per game in May and has averaged 18.3 points per game so far through June. He also is averaging 2.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game. In the Liga Endesa playoff quarterfinals, Guy poured in performances of 36 points, 22 points, 30 points, 5 points, and 20 points. Joventut Badalona’s season came to an end in Game 4 of the series Monday, as Real Madrid prevailed, 94-73, to advance to the finals.

With the addition of extra two-way contract spots in the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, Guy may be able to make his way back into the NBA in the future as he had spent the past three years there (2019-2021 with Sacramento and 2021-22 with Miami), and his contract with Joventut Badalona is over after the season ends this summer.

London Perrantes (2013-2017)

A 2017 graduate from Virginia, Perrantes has played professionally for the last six years, including in the U.S., France, and Turkey. He has spent the last two seasons in Israel, playing for Gilboa Galil, and has had a solid couple of seasons. In 2022-23, Perrantes averaged 11.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Despite Gilboa Galil’s struggles as a team, Perrantes’ 6.2 assists per game are the second-highest mark of his career (7.8 assists per game in 2017-18 with the G League’s Cleveland Charge). His effective passing has transcended country borders, and seeing Perrantes succeed as a distributor of the ball abroad is reminiscent of his time at Virginia.

Finally, the professional futures of Kihei Clark and Armaan Franklin are just beginning, as both have completed workouts with NBA teams and will look to continue the success they had on the court at Virginia professionally.