When UVA’s first national championship in men’s basketball led to an unprecedented talent drain, Tony Bennett was left with gaping holes to fill, and he turned to an unprecedented source to fill one: junior college transfer. UVA had brought in JUCOs before, but Tony had not done so. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so when Johnny Juzang ditched him for John Calipari, Tony turned to Tomas Woldetensae, one of the best shooters in the junior college ranks. Fortunately for Tony, Tomas wanted to learn defense.

Woldetensae, who came to the United States from Bologna, Italy, was a Kyle Guy-type gunner in two years at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, hitting almost 50% on high volume shooting. His transition to the ACC, always difficult in the best of circumstances, was complicated by a broken wrist suffered late in his season. The wrist prevented him from getting full workouts over the summer and hampered him into the early part of the season. He ended up playing 27.1 minutes per game, starting 22 games, and averaging 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

What He Brings

Tomas is a true gunslinger. Every shot is going to go in. The last shot is forgotten. If he likes the look, he will let it fly, which on an off night can produce an 0-6 or 1-8 stat line, but can also splash 7-10 and 27 points. For a team that was losing 60% of its scoring, that mentality was needed – as was the 47% accuracy from junior college. For accuracy, Tomas was up-and-down during the season, hitting just 32% of his threes through the first 17 games (20-62); then having a 7-game stretch where he converted 47% and had games of 27 points, 21 points and 18 including a game-winner at UNC; then ending the season 4-22 when ACC defenses started giving him the Guy Treatment. At the end of it all, he was second on the team in 3FG% behind Kihei Clark with a decent 36.1% on 144 attempts.

When he signed with Virginia, Tomas said that a big reason he did was because he wanted to learn defense. He proved himself by learning defense and becoming a good defender. He took to the defense so well that by the time the Notre Dame game came along, Coach Bennett was leaving him on the floor in end game defensive situations, even where his shooting was irrelevant. According to the [admittedly flawed] Synergy defensive statistics, Tomas was one of the best in the country at defending the Pick & Roll Ball Handler (0.407 PPP for 95% rank) and in Isolation (0.077 PPP for 100%). His defense will be an advantage for him in the competition for roles coming into this season.

In addition to shooting and unsuspected defense, Woldetensae is a surprisingly good ball winner. He has a good nose for the ball in scramble situations, and he has very good hands – quick and strong. He’s probably the best on the team at snatching and grasping the ball. He’s a good rebounding guard as Bennett wants them to be. These other skills will also help him in competition with the freshmen for time.

What I Would Like to See More

The one thing that I want to see from Tomas is an ability to get and hit shots when hounded by quality ACC defenders. Adjusting to the ACC game can have multiple levels. The first level is getting comfortable on the floor in the ACC as just another player. Tomas did that, and when he was comfortable and the wrist was right, he showed the flash from his JUCO days, raining threes down on several different teams. But when ACC coaches started game-planning for him, pulling their Kyle Guy game plan out of moth balls and telling their best, longest perimeter defender to cling to Tomas like a remora, his production plummeted. After getting up almost 9 three-point attempts per game during his 7-game hot stretch, his attempts dropped to 4.4 per game over the last five, despite continuing to play starter minutes. His conversion rate nosedived from 47% to 18% in that same stretch.

What I Would Like to See Less

I can’t really think of anything in Tomas’s game last season that I did not like. He hustled well, he learned, he played defense, he did his job. His main issue most of the season was just not hitting shots, and if he’s not hitting shots, other players might offer more. The only thing I can think of that I want to see less is the obverse of what I want to see more: less of him missing threes and being shut down by good defenders.

Expected Role

This section was easy for Jay Huff. Not so easy for Tomas, because Tony Bennett brought in a lot of competition. How big a role Tomas has will depend on his development, the continued development of returning wings Casey Morsell and Kody Stattmann, and the development of the new players. If he improves his ability to get shots against A-defenders, Tomas will be difficult to dislodge from the lineup, because he will be a deadly shooter and will have the edge over his competitors in mastery of the defensive and offensive sets. If he simply lacks the athletic edge to escape top defenders and continues to struggle the way he did the last five games, then the initiative will go to a Casey Morsell, Jabri Abdur-Rahim or even a Kody Stattmann or Carson McCorkle.

Most likely, Tomas will be in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season and maintain a rotation position throughout. Huff, Clark and Sam Hauser can be written into your lineup card in pen. Woldetensae and Morsell have the early advantage for the two wing positions, but Stattmann and all three of the freshmen will make strong challenges. I expect Tomas to play around the same minutes he did last season, but to increase his scoring average and efficiency.

Final Analysis

It was probably no coincidence that the Cavaliers went on an 8-game winning streak and the offense operated more efficiently immediately after Tomas scorched Louisville for 27 points on 7-10 three-point shooting. The threat of his shooting loosened defenses and opened the floor for everybody. Though he struggled down the stretch, the attention paid to him made things easier for other players, allowing Jay Huff and Kody Stattmann among others to be more efficient. In that way, Tomas, like Kyle Guy before him, helps the offense even when he is not scoring. With Sam Hauser in the lineup, Tomas is likely to find things a little easier than he did at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Tomas did a good job adjusting to ACC ball and becoming a good defender. The attention he commands on offense, his defense and rebounding, and his good instincts for getting to loose balls should give him a leg up in the free-for-all for wing minutes. As a senior competing with freshmen, he should be able to rely on his broad shoulders to eclipse the younger players.