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16 CAVALIER CORNER "We had three Saturday/Monday games [during the regular season]," Bennett said after the national championship game. "We played Duke at home and then we had to go to Carolina. I think I said this on the podium before, but I said, 'This is how it's going to be in the tournament and this is how we're going to prepare on Sunday.' "And we did that every time we had those games, and we did it in the NCAA Tournament, the day in between. They knew what to expect. I said, 'You're built for this, you're pre- pared for this,' because this is what we did. We started that process in January in the Duke/Carolina weekend, and I said, 'Just get after it.' "We worked in between," he added. "… I just know from my experience as a coach in the Pac-10 how important that day is in between. Just prepare well, pre- pare well and get after it. They stepped up in the moment. They faced pressure through the year, through the tournament, and all that stuff played into it." Bennett credited his strength and con- ditioning coach, Mike Curtis, and his staff for making sure the players were as right physically as they could be given the grind of the season. "We were smart at the end of the year with how much rest we gave them, and prepared them," Bennett said. "It's just a balance, and obviously it hit." Guy and Hunter were each named first- team All-ACC, with Hunter also winning the league's Defensive Player of the Year award and Bennett being tabbed as the conference's Coach of the Year for the second straight season, his fourth such honor. In addition, Jerome finished as a second-team All-ACC performer. Hunter was tabbed as a third-team All- American by the United States Basketball Writers Association, and was named the National Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American by the Na- tional Association of Basketball Coaches. Hunter and Jerome were also named to Sports Illustrated's All-America third team. Guy, meanwhile, made the NABC's All-America third team plus earned a spot on the ACC All-Tourna- ment Team. He and Jerome, along with Diakite, made the NCAA's All-South Region Team as well. In addition to Guy being chosen as the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Hunter and Jerome joined him on the Final Four All-Tournament Team. Guy finished the season with 254 ca- reer made three-pointers, which puts him third in school history behind only Curtis Staples (413) and Joe Harris (263). Mean- while, his 120 three-pointers in 2018-19 were the second most in a season behind Staples' 130 in 1998. With his eight assists in the title game, Jerome moved into a tie for third on UVA's single-season assist list with 202 on the year. Though their future stay-or-go pro- fessional decisions remain an unknown for now, there's no doubt that "The Big Three" have etched their names into the history of the UVA program just like their head coach, who helped the university win its 26th national title across all sports. UVA'S ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP Date Opponent Result March 22 vs. Gardner-Webb* W, 71-56 March 24 vs. Oklahoma* W, 63-51 March 28 vs. Oregon! W, 53-49 March 30 vs. Purdue! W, 80-75 (OT) April 6 vs. Auburn$ W, 63-62 April 8 vs. Texas Tech$ W, 85-77 (OT) * NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at Columbia, S.C.; ! NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at Louisville, Ky.; $ NCAA Tournament Final Four and na- tional championship game at Minneapolis 2019-20 AT A GLANCE 2018-19 Record/Finish: 35-3 overall, 16-2 ACC (T-1st)/NCAA champion Who's Gone: C Jack Salt (3.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg) and G Ty Jerome (13.6 ppg and 5.3 apg) Who Could Leave Early: G De'Andre Hunter (15.2 ppg and 5.1 rpg) Who's Coming: C Kadin Shedrick (Ri- vals' No. 62 overall player nationally) and SG Casey Morsell (Rivals' No. 70 overall prospect in the country) Projected Starting Five: G Kihei Clark (4.5 ppg and 2.6 apg), G Kyle Guy (15.4 ppg and 4.5 rpg), G Braxton Key (5.7 ppg and 5.3 rpg), F Mamadi Diakite (7.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg) and F Jay Huff (4.4 ppg and 2.1 rpg) Overview: Jerome declared for the NBA Draft April 15 and announced his intention to hire an agent, while Hunter — projected to be a top-five to top-10 pick — also is expected to head to the NBA early. If Guy comes back as expected, however, UVA should still be very good. Most media outlets project that to be the case and had the Hoos as a consensus top-five team in their initial "way too early" top-25 lists for 2019-20. Key and Huff will both be asked to step up their production. In addition, head coach Tony Bennett landed a pair of Rivals100 recruits in Shedrick and Morsell that could con- tribute from the get-go. Third-year guard Kyle Guy made a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining in Virginia's national semifinal versus Auburn to bring the Cavaliers within one, and then drew a foul on another trey at- tempt with 0.6 seconds to go. He proceeded to make all three free throws to help UVA escape with an improbable 63-62 victory. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA