Elijah Gertrude Burns Redshirt, Makes Debut in Virginia's Win Over Texas A&M

In a decision that Tony Bennett said was discussed even before the injury to Dante Harris, freshman Elijah Gertrude burned his redshirt and made his UVA debut

In a decision that Tony Bennett said was discussed even before the injury to Dante Harris, true freshman guard Elijah Gertrude officially burned his redshirt and made his collegiate debut in Virginia's 59-47 win over No. 14 Texas A&M on Wednesday night. 

A 6'4" freshman guard and former four-star recruit from Jersey City, New Jersey, Gertrude was originally planning to redshirt his first season at UVA along with fellow first years Anthony Robinson and Christian Bliss. Gertrude had suffered an ACL injury last year that caused him to miss his entire senior season in high school. He was cleared to play by the time he arrived on Grounds in June, but Bennett said that Gertrude missing his senior season had "set him back a little bit" when discussing the decision to have Gertrude redshirt. Bennett has said that the decision to redshirt is always ultimately left up to the players and he also said that none of the redshirting decisions were final, as personnel circumstances could change over the course of the season. 

It appears that those circumstances have indeed changed less than a month into this 2023-2024 UVA men's basketball season. Redshirt junior Dante Harris, a transfer from Georgetown and Virginia's backup point guard, went down with an ankle injury in practice this week. Harris did not play in Wednesday's game against Texas A&M and was seen on the bench with crutches and a boot on his right foot. 

"Dante rolled his ankle and just was not able to go today - it swelled up pretty good," Bennett said, but did not indicate how long Harris is expected to be out. And according to Bennett, there had been discussions about Gertrude burning his redshirt to give Virginia more depth at guard even before the injury to Harris. 

"Even before that, we were just talking about the depth and all that stuff and where we're at," Bennett said after the game. "And Elijah's leg is getting stronger and better. I mean, you saw him jump up and grab a rebound, block a shot. So, it was just one of those situations where even before Dante got hurt, we were talking about it and then it made sense. And of course, it was discussed thoroughly with Elijah and his parents. I mean, he was like, 'heck yeah'. But he's moving better, feeling better. And that was the decision. Valuable experience and quite a way to burn your redshirt - get thrown into that game in that situation."

As the Cavaliers relied almost exclusively on their starting five, who each played more than 30 minutes and accounted for every one of UVA's 59 points in the game - Gertrude didn't play too much in his debut. But he was impactful in his eight minutes on the floor, skying for a defensive rebound on one of his first possessions and showing off his athleticism on a block from behind. Gertrude nearly had another block as he rotated from the weakside to reject a dunk attempt with another impressive leap, but he was whistled for a foul. 

Gertrude's athleticism has been the stuff of legend and from what he's shown so far, the legends are true. On a team that already features some incredible athletes like Reece Beekman, Ryan Dunn, and Leon Bond III, Gertrude could be the most athletic of the bunch and will further strengthen this team's case as the most athletic roster Tony Bennett has had at Virginia. 

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