By Jerry Ratcliffe
When Thijs De Ridder arrived at The Greenbrier Resort’s Colonial Ballroom on Saturday afternoon, he was in pure Beast mode for the entire 27 minutes he clocked before fouling out.
Chance Mallory came off the bench like a rocket, playing with a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality that’s as big as the resort’s giant Christmas tree that welcomes guests for the holidays.
It’s a good thing the two Virginia freshmen brought their ‘A’ games, because at times it seemed as if their teammates had hung a Do Not Disturb sign.
Most of them came around at various points of the game, particularly when De Ridder and Mallory were plagued with foul trouble, and helped the Cavaliers stay unbeaten after five games in an 83-78 win over previously undefeated Northwestern in The Greenbrier Tip-Off (for a play-by-play game story, box score and notebook, see related story here.)
You like aggression? De Ridder played like a man possessed, particularly in the first half when he scored 17 of his game-high 26 points, and pulled down 7 rebounds in only 16 minutes of playing time. The big Belgian, known to his teammates as “The Tank,” finished with a 9-for-15 field goal performance (8 for 9 from the free-throw line), 8 rebounds and a blocked shot in only 27 minutes before fouling out with 5:44 to play, the outcome still in jeopardy.
Oh, and defensively, De Ridder shut down Northwestern’s scoring machine, senior Nick Martinelli, who finished with 9 points on a 3-of-12 night over 38 minutes.
Chance, well, he was just Chance. In the ballroom setting, he danced all over the Wildcats’ defense with 16 points (9 of 10 from the free-throw line, drawing 8 fouls with his aggressive penetrations) and two steals before fouling out with 1:40 to play, the game still in jeopardy.
Oh, and did we mention rebounds? Mallory, the smallest dude in the joint at 5-foot-9, had as many rebounds as anyone on the court with 8. Those who watched him dominate at St. Anne’s-Belfield, where he started as an 8th-grader, were not surprised.
Asked about his rebounding prowess and had he always had that nack, Mallory was interrupted by Ryan Odom, who watched the point guard for years.
“Oh yes,” Odom interjected. “Many times.”
Some observers noted it was the home-grown Mallory’s coming out party, but Odom said that while Mallory is good enough to start, he likes the burst the swift guard brings off the bench.
Meanwhile, De Ridder was establishing beachheads on both ends of the court with his physicality.
Someone quizzed if he thought other teams are surprised by his physicality, to which the ‘Tank’ replied, “I don’t know. This might be a better question for them,” drawing laughter in the press room.
Martinelli wasn’t available, but De Ridder explained that he was “locked in” defensively every time he was matched with the Wildcat scorer.
A modest guy, De Ridder said it wasn’t just him, but also his teammates that handcuffed the Northwestern star, plus a thorough scouting report from the coaching staff.
Northwestern’s veteran coach Chris Collins was more expressive about a game that he described as “really high level with two teams throwing punches at each other all night.”
Collins said it was easy to see that De Ridder has played a lot of high-level basketball.
“Very mature, experienced freshman,” Collins said. “I don’t know how you’re a freshman, but he’s a terrific player. Very physical, very skilled, uses his body well, can get to his spots. Fortunately we were able to pick up some fouls on him because we were having a hard time stopping him.”
Collins believed that the ‘Cats might pull it out when De Ridder fouled out.
“I mean, when the best player kind of goes out with five minutes to go and it’s a two-point game (68-66, UVA), you think you have a real opportunity,” Collins said.
That’s when Mallory put it into another gear as he and Malik Thomas made all-out assaults on the paint, drawing fouls, while starting point guard Dallin Hall, who sometimes holds back his offense, made the second of two 3-point daggers down the homestretch.
Hall knocked down a monster 3 with 9:30 to play that capped an 8-0 UVA run. De Ridder, who had blocked a shot on the other end, then spoonfed Hall on the fast break for an open triple and a 63-61 Virginia lead. Hall’s second 3-pointer (the only two field goals he made) gave the Cavaliers a 74-70 advantage to end an 8-1 run with 2:28 to play.
Northwestern got within a point when Mallory fouled out, but no closer.
Odom knew the Wildcats were a step up in competition and talked to his team a lot in its prep work about physicality. De Ridder took it to heart, not that he needs much prodding.
“It was going to be a different level of physicality and I think [De Ridder] matched it and brought his own, certainly in the first half,” the Virginia coach said. “He’s a determined scorer but not a selfish player. He was fired up on the bench, cheering for his team even though he was out of the game. He could have pouted and been upset.”
Odom’s only complaint was that De Ridder needs to shore up his penchant for foul trouble.
“It’s all part of the learning process,” Odom said. “We need him on the court and he understands that. We made a calculated risk to put him back in there that early with like seven minutes to go. That’s a lot of minutes with four fouls, but I was willing to take that risk because he’d been very dominant throughout the game. That’s the risk you take as a coach.”
Meanwhile, Mallory’s game continued to grow.
“He made huge plays for us all night,” Odom said. “He’s really fast, really good with the ball. He’s a warrior.
“He saw how things were going … and sometimes, when you’re sitting on the bench and you kind of watch things and you see some tentativeness from your teammates, well, a guy like him, he’s going to take it upon himself. Hey, let’s get some energy going. That’s how Chance plays.”
As if Mallory needed any more coaxing, the rebounding just stokes his fire.
“Coaches tell me if I can get a rebound, we can go as fast as possible,” the guard said.
Mallory’s preferred speed is Mach One, so if a rebound allows him to go supersonic, watch out.
