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WINTER 2024-25 17 left Charlotte to make his return to the UVA basketball program is because he wanted to continue building something that he had been a part of from the start. "I was here at the beginning, and we made the tournament for a while. The program was in a great space before I de- parted," Sanchez said. "My desire to come back was to continue to build on that, and I'd be foolish to reinvent something that has been so good for so long." A program is nothing without its players, and in the opening days of Sanchez's ten- ure, he and the staff went out of their way to overcommunicate with the players that in the grand scheme of things not a lot will change. "We want to make sure our players are doing well, so we have invested a lot of time and energy into communication with our players and their parents and their inner circles," Sanchez said. "We want our players to know that they are loved and appreci- ated. We want our players to know that while the leadership has changed, the program and the culture here has not." Sanchez also thought it was important to remind his players that everything that they came to Charlottesville to do is still in front of them for the taking and to embrace the journey that they are on. "The reason why they selected to at- tend this university is because it is an elite school for so many different reasons and that institution is still here," Sanchez said. "We know that Tony is a phenomenal human being and an unbelievable person. There is no way that I can replace that person, but as they give me the opportunity to be who I am in front of them, I think that they'll enjoy the journey that we embark on." With only about two and a half weeks between Sanchez taking the reins and the season opener against Campbell, the Cavalier coaching staff did not plan to make any paradigm-shifting philosophical adjust- ments but instead chose to return to basics with an emphasis on defense. "We're not going to make many changes," Sanchez said. "What we are going to do is work backward and touch the things that we 2024-25 UVA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 6 Campbell W, 65-56 Nov. 11 Coppin State W, 62-45 Nov. 15 vs. Villanova# W, 70-60 Nov. 21 vs. Tennessee^ L, 64-42 Nov. 22 vs. St. John's^ L, 80-55 Nov. 26 Manhattan W, 74-65 Nov. 29 Holy Cross W, 67-41 Dec. 4 at Florida% (ESPN2) 7:15 p.m. Dec. 7 at SMU* (The CW) 2:15 p.m. Dec. 12 Bethune-Cookman (ACCN) 7 p.m. Dec. 18 Memphis (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Dec. 22 American (ACCN) 2 p.m. Dec. 31 NC State* (ESPN2) 12 p.m. Jan. 4 Louisville* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Jan. 8 at California* (ESPN2/U) 11 p.m. Jan. 11 at Stanford* (ESPN/2/U) 4 p.m. Jan. 15 SMU* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Jan. 18 at Louisville* (ESPN2/U) 12 p.m. Jan. 21 Boston College* (ACCN) 7 p.m. Jan. 25 Notre Dame* (ESPN/2) 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at Miami* (ESPN2/U) 7 p.m. Feb. 1 Virginia Tech* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 3 at Pittsburgh* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 8 Georgia Tech* (The CW) 5:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at Virginia Tech* (The CW) 2 p.m. Feb. 17 Duke* (ESPN) 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at North Carolina* (ESPN) 4 p.m. Feb. 26 at Wake Forest* (ESPN2/U) 9 p.m. Mar. 1 Clemson* (ESPN/2) 12 p.m. Mar. 4 Florida State* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Mar. 8 at Syracuse* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Mar. 11-15 ACC Tournament$ TBD # Hall of Fame Series at Baltimore; ^ Baha Mar Hoops Championship at Nassau, Baha- mas; % SEC/ACC Challenge; * ACC game; $ at Charlotte, N.C. Third-year guard Isaac McKneely is the top returning scorer (12.3 points per game in 2023-24) on a UVA team that includes six newcomers. (Photo courtesy UVA)