Two Underrated Retentions For Virginia Basketball This Offseason

The offseason in college basketball has ground to a halt and the majority of the top players in the transfer portal have made their decisions about where they are going to play next season.

While they have not ignored the portal completely, this offseason was all about retention for Virginia Basketball. After losing Dallin Hall, Malik Thomas, Jacari White, Devin Tillis, and Ugonna Onyenso, Ryan Odom and his staff prioritized bringing back the rest of the roster that helped UVA win 30 games and get back to the NCAA Tournament.

First-team All-ACC forward Thijs de Ridder is returning, along with fellow starters Sam Lewis and Johann Grunloh, and bench players such as Chance Mallory, who was one of the top freshmen guards in the ACC last season.

But there are two underrated returners who are not getting enough attention and I think will play a big role on this year’s Virginia team.

Breakout Seasons

Given that Virginia only made three pickups in the transfer portal and signed one high school recruit, they are going to need to rely on the players that they brought back and in addition to the players I have already highlighted above, I think that Silas Barksdale and Elijah Gertrude are two players that are going to be vital for the Hoos this season.

Both players are former top 100 recruits, but for various reasons, they have not been able to find their way onto the court just yet.

Across two seasons, Gertrude has played in 33 games and averaged 2.5 PPG in seven minutes per game. After missing the 2024-2025 season due to an injury, Gertrude did play last season, but was not a significant member of the rotation.

Mallory, Lewis, and one of the transfers (Christian Harmon or Jurian Dixon) will be in the starting lineup, but Gertrude is going to be arguably the top bench option among the guards. The 6’4 175 LBS guard was one of the top combo guards in the country coming out of high school and likely had other options if he wanted this offseason. While he is still relatively unproven, he has upside and getting him back in Charlottesville was an underrated move for Odom.

Barksdale is seen a terrific rebounder and I think that he could be one of the more important bench players on the team. Combined with Saint Louis transfer Kalu Anya, who was one of the top rebounders in the A10 two seasons ago, the Cavaliers should remain among the nation’s best when it comes to the glass. Not only that, but his passing ability was impressive at the high school level and I could see him being an important part of the offense from that aspect. Barksdale did not log any playing time for UVA this past season.

Neither player gets talked about as much as de Ridder, Mallory, Lewis, or Grunloh, but seeing how the roster has shaken out and the projected depth looks, Barksdale and Gertrude may play large roles in helping what is projected as a potential top ten team next season.