CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Having ceded the John Paul Jones Arena floor to the women’s team, the Virginia men’s basketball team re-assembles to continue their work on the practice court. Before it starts, an older man with gray hair who’d been watching from a folding chair earlier gathers them together for a quick chat. Dick Bennett has something to say about hard work and effort on both ends of the floor, and his son, Tony, the head coach, willingly lets him share his opinion. The players nod in agreement and resume practice.
Less than an hour later, with Dick’s message still fresh in his players’ ears, Tony imparts his own to the Cavaliers: “Get it done on defense or we’ll run,’’ he says, as he blows the whistle on a five-on-five drill. Five times — three times for the blue team, twice for the white — the Cavaliers don’t get it right. They do not commit unforgivable, gaping blown assignment mistakes. More like middling errors—- a hair late getting out to a shooter, or failing to keep within an arm’s length of their opponent. Five small mistakes. Five times on the line.
Sitting off on the sidelines watching the Cavs sprint yet again, an NBA scout, who’s been up and down and across the country watching college basketball practices, leans back in his…
