Before the season, Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said that starting spots were up for grabs, and he'd wait and see which players stepped up.
As the nonconference portion of the schedule winds down, some of those spots remain undecided.
The Cavaliers have started nine different players this season, and while some of that is due to injuries, Bennett has a good amount of flexibility when filling out his lineup card each night.
Tonight, against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, there may be a brand new pairing - Assane Sene and Mike Scott.
Sene, the team's only true center, missed the first part of the season while suspended, then was held out because of an ankle injury. By the time he returned, Scott was limping through an ankle sprain of his own.
The two have yet to start a game together. This will be Scott's first game in more than a month, so his playing time for tonight is still up in the air.
"We had three prep days for UAB, and he's been involved in all three," Bennett said yesterday. "He's certainly not full strength, but he lasted the majority of practice all three days."
Sene's return has eaten into Jerome Meyinsee's playing time. The senior forward has played 18.4 minutes per game this season.
Bennett said he's been impressed with Meyinsee's work ethic in practices, even after the return of the other two big men.
"The great thing about 'Rome is that, whatever his role is, he embraces it," the coach said. "He's just hungry to help this team get better."
Meyinsee will continue to see action at forward, especially in light of last week's news that Jamil Tucker had been dismissed from the team for academic reasons.
Bennett said that he will talk with Tucker after the holiday break to discuss his long-term options, and try to "come up with a plan most beneficial to him in the future."
At guard, it appears that two of the starting spots have been locked up by Sylven Landesberg and Sammy Zeglinski, at least for the foreseeable future.
The third spot has rotated between Mustapha Farrakhan, Jeff Jones and Calvin Baker, with freshman Jontel Evans also getting some playing time.
Baker has come along slowly since missing most of fall practice for knee surgery. He got the starting nod against NJIT, and is projected to start tonight.
"I like his vocal leadership and experience," Bennett said of Baker. "We'll look at our strengths and what we need, and see how guys are playing at that time."
Regardless of which lineup takes the floor tonight, the Cavs are in for a challenge - the Blazers cracked the AP poll this week at No. 24, a nod to an impressive early-season run that has established the team as one of the best in Conference USA.
Game rescheduled: Virginia announced during the holiday break that the game against UNC Wilmington - previously snowed out - has been rescheduled for Jan. 18. A time has not been announced. The original game was scheduled for television, but Comcast SportsNet has not announced plans for the rescheduled game.
As the nonconference portion of the schedule winds down, some of those spots remain undecided.
The Cavaliers have started nine different players this season, and while some of that is due to injuries, Bennett has a good amount of flexibility when filling out his lineup card each night.
Tonight, against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, there may be a brand new pairing - Assane Sene and Mike Scott.
Sene, the team's only true center, missed the first part of the season while suspended, then was held out because of an ankle injury. By the time he returned, Scott was limping through an ankle sprain of his own.
The two have yet to start a game together. This will be Scott's first game in more than a month, so his playing time for tonight is still up in the air.
"We had three prep days for UAB, and he's been involved in all three," Bennett said yesterday. "He's certainly not full strength, but he lasted the majority of practice all three days."
Sene's return has eaten into Jerome Meyinsee's playing time. The senior forward has played 18.4 minutes per game this season.
Bennett said he's been impressed with Meyinsee's work ethic in practices, even after the return of the other two big men.
"The great thing about 'Rome is that, whatever his role is, he embraces it," the coach said. "He's just hungry to help this team get better."
Meyinsee will continue to see action at forward, especially in light of last week's news that Jamil Tucker had been dismissed from the team for academic reasons.
Bennett said that he will talk with Tucker after the holiday break to discuss his long-term options, and try to "come up with a plan most beneficial to him in the future."
At guard, it appears that two of the starting spots have been locked up by Sylven Landesberg and Sammy Zeglinski, at least for the foreseeable future.
The third spot has rotated between Mustapha Farrakhan, Jeff Jones and Calvin Baker, with freshman Jontel Evans also getting some playing time.
Baker has come along slowly since missing most of fall practice for knee surgery. He got the starting nod against NJIT, and is projected to start tonight.
"I like his vocal leadership and experience," Bennett said of Baker. "We'll look at our strengths and what we need, and see how guys are playing at that time."
Regardless of which lineup takes the floor tonight, the Cavs are in for a challenge - the Blazers cracked the AP poll this week at No. 24, a nod to an impressive early-season run that has established the team as one of the best in Conference USA.
Game rescheduled: Virginia announced during the holiday break that the game against UNC Wilmington - previously snowed out - has been rescheduled for Jan. 18. A time has not been announced. The original game was scheduled for television, but Comcast SportsNet has not announced plans for the rescheduled game.
