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FEBRUARY 2020 17 try on my team. So going against him in practice every day definitely helped me a lot. He knew things — little things on of- fense and on defense — that I needed to know and that he could help me out with. "Yeah, we're the reigning national cham- pions but the players that left, they carried the load last year," he added. "This year, it's an opportunity for guys like Braxton [Key] and Mamadi, me, Jay [Huff] to kind of step into the spotlight and just show what we can do. "It's not that we don't think of the na- tional championship run, but we know what it took to get there. [We're] trying to lead the young guys so that we can make a run again." "He gets after it," Bennett said of Clark following UVA's 63-55 overtime loss to Syracuse Jan. 11. "This is a whole different role for him and he's trying desperately, as everyone is, to win and I don't ever question his heart. "I think he's got a lot on his plate trying to make plays, take shots, score. You can point at a couple of his turnovers there, he isn't going to play a perfect game, as no one will. He feels it and he knows it. He wants it bad and I think at times he is doing some really good things. And at times, sure, he's making some second-year mistakes, but there is a lot of attention on him and we need him on the floor." This was the kind of spot a contemplative Clark envisioned the night in September when Virginia hung its national title banner. That evening, with "The Big Three" (Hunter, Jerome and Guy) back in town as the players all received their championship rings, Clark was doing his best to look forward. "Nah," he said simply when asked if it was hard to remain hungry. "I was a first- year last year playing along with three NBA guys and then Mamadi and Jack [Salt]. "I was the young buck and I'm not even going to say I'm the vet this year, but I've had one year under my belt so I'm a little bit more experienced than those guys. I'm still a second-year, still learning as much as they are. I'm still motivated and I can't wait to get back on the court." In between games on the road in the ACC this season, his mentality hasn't changed. "It's a new team, a new year," Clark said in January. "So you don't think about it too often. I'm kind of trying to live in the mo- ment right now and worry about this team and what we can accomplish with these guys. "… I wouldn't say it was tough to turn the page, but I knew the responsibility that I was stepping into. So I would say I was more excited and eager to learn, just taking one step at a time." GROWING PAINS After snapping a three-game ACC losing streak with a 63-58 win at Georgia Tech Jan. 18, UVA had steadied the ship a bit heading into the back portion of its regular- season schedule. The Hoos tipped off the season in Syracuse with a win and then tacked on six more victories in a row before falling 69-40 at Purdue in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup Dec. 4. Following a 56-47 win over North Carolina four days later — their second league victory of the young season — and then a win over Stony Brook, the Hoos fell 70-59 at home to South Carolina. It was the program's first non-conference home loss since December 2017. UVA bounced back against Navy before crushing Virginia Tech 65-39 to start 2020 on the right foot. But a pair of road losses to Boston College and then-No. 9 Florida State sandwiched a 63-55 overtime loss to Syracuse at home. The Cavaliers were unable to maintain their momentum from the win over Georgia Tech and were edged 53-51 by NC State at home Jan. 20 to fall to 12-6 overall and 4-4 in the league. UVA fell out of the national rankings and found themselves in a three-way tie for seventh place in the ACC, one game behind three teams that were tied for fourth. Virginia, of course, lost three future NBA players in De'Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy. If that wasn't hard enough, they lost fourth-year guard Braxton Key for three full games during the holidays due to a broken left wrist that required surgery. He played sparingly in a home win over Stony Brook Dec. 18 before returning in full in the loss to South Carolina. After the loss to NC State, the Wahoos ranked second nationally in adjusted defen- sive efficiency, allowing an NCAA-low 49.7 points per game. They also were second nationally in both fewest field goals allowed (324) and field goal percentage (35.8). Through 18 games, the Cavaliers were led in scoring by redshirt fourth-year for- ward Mamadi Diakite, who was putting up 13.6 points per game to go with 6.7 rebounds per night. Despite missing time, Key was second on the team in scoring with 9.8 points per game to go with a team-high 7.2 rebounds per outing. At 9.6 points per game, second-year point guard Kihei Clark was third in scoring while also dishing out 5.9 assists per game, which was fourth best in the ACC. In ad- dition, redshirt third-year forward Jay Huff was averaging 8.9 points, 6.0 boards and 1.6 blocks, which was sixth most in the league just ahead of Diakite's 1.3 (eighth). The schedule going forward looked tough, with four matchups against the top three teams in the league standings. UVA has a home-and-home against first-place Louisville, and home games versus second-place Florida State and third-place Duke. — Brad Franklin Despite missing three games due to a wrist injury, guard Braxton Key ranked second on the team in scoring (9.8 points per game) and was the team's leading rebounder (7.2 boards per contest). PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA