The redshirt sophomore becomes the first Cavalier to enter his name in the portal this offseason.
The Virginia Cavaliers basketball program has received its first piece of significant news this offseason: sophomore wing Leon Bond III is seemingly entering the transfer portal per his Instagram story.
Bond’s departure leaves a significant lack of athleticism on the current Virginia roster, especially with Ryan Dunn likely headed to the NBA Draft. He was slated to be a key rotational player next season, and potentially slide into Dunn’s previous role as a starter.
Bond’s lack of playing time this past year could be exhibited to his poor shot making and overall selection, as well as being relatively raw on both ends of the court. Of course, it could be argued that, given the offensive woes of several rotational players, it was worth giving Bond more run to allow him to reach his upside more quickly.
The bottom line is that the transfer portal is an inevitable facet of the offseason that virtually every Division-1 basketball coach has to deal with. As much as the portal takes, it can give as well. In Tony Bennett’s case, he has a critical offseason ahead, tasked with adding scoring and defensive versatility, among other things.
Following Bond’s exit, and assuming Dunn does not return, Virginia’s roster currently looks like this with three open scholarship spots:
