Virginia Basketball 2023-2024 Roster Preview: Blake Buchanan

Is the Idaho big man poised to become the first Cavalier center in a decade to play a significant role in as a true freshman?

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 freshman forward Blake Buchanan. 

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 | Jake Groves | Andrew Rohde | Jordan Minor | Ryan Dunn | Reece Beekman

In the Tony Bennett era of Virginia basketball, big men (and specifically centers) don't typically get much playing time as freshmen. In fact, you'd have to go back 11 years to find the last time a true center played significant minutes as a true freshman with Mike Tobey (30 games, 13.9 minutes per game) being that exception in the 2012-2013 season. But this year, Blake Buchanan has a chance to break that pattern and become the first freshman center in a decade to see substantial playing time at Virginia. 

There's two key reasons for that line of thinking. First is UVA's personnel situation this season. From last year's roster, Virginia lost Kadin Shedrick, Francisco Caffaro, Isaac Traudt, and Ben Vander Plas, leaving the Cavaliers quite suddenly with an empty shelf at the center position. UVA went into the transfer portal and added Jordan Minor from Merrimack and it appears he is poised to step into the starting center spot for the Cavaliers. But Virginia will need a backup to play the reserve minutes whenever Minor is off the floor and to step up if Minor encounters problems, be it foul trouble, injury, or struggles with performance. If any of those end up being legitimate concerns for Minor, Buchanan will be the next man up. 

Reason No. 2 for optimism that Buchanan could play a significant role this season is that he could very well be ready for it right away. Most importantly, Buchanan appears to be physically well-suited to play at this level. At 6'11", 225 pounds, Buchanan is big enough and strong enough to bang in the paint, boxing out and fighting for rebounds. He has the body to compete with other bigs and he knows how to use it, something he proved when he played against and with some of the best basketball prospects in the world last spring, suiting up for Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit. Buchanan recorded eight points and eight rebounds in that game and was also one of just 35 players invited to the 2023 USA U19 Men's National Team Training Camp this summer. 

That eventful summer came on the heels of an excellent senior season for Buchanan, who averaged 15.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.9 steals to lead Lake City to an undefeated season and the state championship, posting 26 points and 11 rebounds in the title game. Unquestionably the best basketball player in Idaho last season, Buchanan swept the annual awards as Idaho's Mr. Basketball, Gatorade Player of the Year, and MaxPreps Player of the Year. 

And so Buchanan arrived on Grounds in June, ready to take the next big step in his basketball career. While many UVA big men in the past have had to bide their time waiting for a chance, Buchanan won't have to wait very long to see real minutes on the floor, mostly out of necessity. That's something Reece Beekman acknowledged at the ACC Tipoff event last week in Charlotte. "We're going to need him this year," Beekman said of Buchanan. "We don't have too many guys at that position, so I feel like he's going to step into that role early and be able to be a contributor for us." 

"𝙃𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 ... 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤!" - @reece_beekman

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/Mo04ShqYFE

— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) October 25, 2023

We've already mentioned that Buchanan can and should be physically up to the task, but he also possesses a good all-around basketball skillset that should allow him to bring a great deal of value to the floor even early on. Buchanan is well-coordinated for a near seven-footer, able to put the ball on floor without being clumsy with it. He is very mobile, but physical, and not at all afraid of contact. His big and strong frame is ideal for setting hard screens on offense and dealing with opposing centers on defense and his mobility will allow him to hedge and recover on defense and run the floor in transition. 

In the Blue-White Scrimmage, Buchanan more than held his own in head-to-head battles down low with Jordan Minor, a guy who has an advantage of four years of college basketball experience. He made two out of his three field goal attempts, including a nice fadeaway jumper over Minor. Buchanan didn't look lost, mostly playing his part both offense and defense without getting caught out of position. That's a strong start and a great sign that he's on his way to earning Tony Bennett's trust. 

Still, we won't really know how ready Buchanan is to play at this level until he's actually thrown into a game. But given Virginia's roster constraints, Buchanan shouldn't have to worry about not getting enough chances to prove himself and we should find out very soon what his role will be and if he's ready to fulfill it. 

The challenge awaiting Buchanan is to execute his role in the Pack Line Defense without getting caught out of position and without fouling. His role on offense will be minimal - set screens (mostly off ball) and sit on the low block waiting for a pass and finish with dunks and layups if the ball comes to him. It's a low bar because he won't be a focal point of the offense this season at least. But if Buchanan can do these few things well, Bennett's trust in him will only grow and we could see him start to push Minor for minutes as Buchanan offers a more advantageous center option for Virginia given his height and athleticism. 

There will be growing pains, as there are with any freshmen playing at the collegiate level for the first time. But the experience Buchanan will get this season will be extremely valuable for him for the rest of his career. And for this season, Blake Buchanan has the tools - and should have the opportunities - to provide real and meaningful contributions to the Cavaliers, even as a true freshman. 

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