Virginia Basketball 2023-2024 Roster Preview: Andrew Rohde

Needing to add a scoring punch, the Cavaliers brought in a player Tony Bennett has praised for his "completeness offensively."

Basketball season is upon us. As we march closer to another exciting Virginia men's basketball season, CavaliersNow is previewing UVA's roster player by player in preparation for the 2023-2024 season, which begins on Monday, November 6th against Tarleton State at John Paul Jones Arena.

Today, we analyze sophomore guard Andrew Rohde.

Click on the following links to read our player previews for the rest of the UVA men's basketball roster: Isaac McKneely | Taine Murray | Anthony Robinson | Leon Bond III | Dante Harris | Elijah Gertrude | Blake Buchanan | Jake Groves | Jordan Minor | Ryan Dunn | Reece Beekman

Of all of the newcomers on the Virginia men's basketball roster this season, there is a strong argument to be made that Andrew Rohde is the most exciting. Coming to UVA after a very strong freshman season at St. Thomas, Rohde could be quite impactful this season and there's no doubt he'll be a major factor for the Cavaliers over the next few years. 

First, let's talk about what he did at St. Thomas last season. Rohde started all 31 games as a true freshman and played nearly 33 minutes per contest. He averaged 17.1 points, 3.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, doing a little bit of everything for the Tommies as he ran away with the Summit League Rookie of the Year award. 

Watch some of his highlights from last season in the video below:

Watching the film, you should reach the same conclusion Tony Bennett did when he went into the portal to get Rohde: he's a "complete player." Here's what Bennett said about Rohde at his media day press conference on Monday: 

"In Andrew's case, you looked at his completeness offensively. He sometimes played the point guard for St. Thomas, he moved without the ball, he's a very good passer, just has good feel for the game. We felt like we needed to add that on the perimeter."

Player comparisons are a useful analytical tool to help project how a player will perform in a given situation, but it's important to recognize that such comparisons are in no way a statement of one player being equal to or as good as the player he is being compared to. With that said, it's hard not to see the many similarities in the games of Andrew Rohde and Ty Jerome. While not the most athletic, they both more than make up for it with their playmaking abilities, basketball IQ, and feel for the game. Like Jerome, Rohde uses change of pace on his dribble drives to manipulate the defense and then has the court vision and passing skills to find the open man and make the right play. He's also a big guard at 6'6" and not afraid to take the ball into the paint and absorb contact. Reece Beekman will be the primary point guard and Dante Harris is a very serviceable No. 2 at that position, but having Andrew Rohde on the roster gives the Cavaliers yet another capable playmaking point guard. 

And while Rohde shot a modest 32.0% from three on 5.6 attempts per game last season, the difficulty of his shot selection - lots of contested pull-up threes off the dribble - suggests that he'll benefit greatly from the improved shot quality he should get at Virginia, where he'll move off ball and serve as a spot up shooter more often. What also stands out about the three-pointers Rohde took at St. Thomas last year is that he is not hesitant at all to shoot from well beyond the arc and often makes those deep triples with confidence. 

On the defensive end, Rohde should be able to guard multiple positions on the perimeter given his length and height and he is deceptively agile. His 1.7 steals per game shows that he has quick hands and good instincts to jump passing lanes. If he can get himself acquainted with the Pack Line Defense, there won't be much reason to keep him off the floor given the immense value he provides on the offensive end. 

The only question is how well Rohde's game will translate to this level. Tony Bennett always says good basketball knows no divisions, but there is a difference between the type of basketball played night in and night out in the Summit League and the Atlantic Coast Conference. He certainly won't be averaging anywhere close to 17.1 points per game simply because those kinds of numbers just don't happen at Virginia very often (Malcolm Brogdon averaging 18.2 ppg in 2015-2016 being the very noticeable exception). But given the amount of scoring the Cavaliers lost from last season - four of their five leading scorers - the all-around offensive package that Rohde brings to the table will be absolutely critical for Virginia this season. 

In speaking to Rohde at Monday's media day, it's clear why Bennett liked him so much as he definitely has the right mentality. Here's what Rohde said about his role at Virginia: "I think I bring a little more offensive threat and hopefully some length and agility on defense, but really whatever I can do to help the team win, I'm willing to do."

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