Virginia Basketball 22-23 Roster Preview: Isaac Traudt

What did Traudt show during the Blue-White Scrimmage and what does it mean for his first season at UVA?

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

The countdown is on for the start of the 2022-2023 college basketball season. Just a few short weeks remain until a new season of college hoops tips off. With that in mind, it's time to preview the roster for the 2022-2023 Virginia men's basketball team. CavaliersNow will be going through the UVA roster player-by-player over the next few weeks in preparation for the season, which begins on Monday, November 7th against NC Central at John Paul Jones Arena.

Today, we analyze first-year forward Isaac Traudt. 

Click on the links below to read our player previews for the rest of the UVA men's basketball roster:

Armaan Franklin

Kihei Clark

Ben Vander Plas

Taine Murray

Francisco Caffaro

Ryan Dunn

Isaac McKneely

Kadin Shedrick

Jayden Gardner

Leon Bond III

Reece Beekman

Throughout the first few minutes of the Virginia men's basketball Blue-White Scrimmage last week, one thing I heard repeatedly while watching from the baseline was the continued use of the word "fish" by both associate head coach Jason Williford and several UVA players on the floor and on the bench. Admittedly, it took me a few times hearing it before I made the connection that it was Isaac Traudt that they were referring to. It seems the freshman forward has already earned himself an amusing but fitting nickname in his short time in Charlottesville. 

The nickname "fish" was used with extreme frequency on Saturday with Traudt wasting no time in making a significant impact on both ends of the floor in his first live action at JPJ. The versatility that Traudt brings on offense is the reason he could see significant minutes in his first season, so let's start with his offensive performance during the scrimmage. 

Traudt scored 12 points on a very efficient 4/5 shooting from beyond the arc. He shot without hesitation and most of his three-pointers came out of pick and roll plays with him as the primary screener. We're going to run through each of the four plays that produced his three-pointers as well as a fifth play where he created an open dunk for Ryan Dunn. See those five plays from the scrimmage in the video below:

On the first play, Traudt sets a ball screen for Kihei Clark before popping out to the three-point line. Kadin Shedrick, who is guarding Traudt, leaves him temporarily to hedge the screen and help Reece Beekman recover. Clark quickly passes back to Traudt, who is wide open at the top of the key and splashes the three-pointer with ease before Shedrick arrives with the late contest. 

His second three-pointer was the only one that did not come as a direct result of him setting a screen. Kihei Clark chased down a loose ball and beat Leon Bond III to it in the back court. With Bond now trailing the broken play, Clark took advantage of the 5-on-4 opportunity, pump-faking to his right before swinging the ball to his left to a wide open Isaac Traudt. Kadin Shedrick had instinctively sunk into the lane to protect the rim, but Traudt smartly remained out on the perimeter and then delivered on the easy open three as soon as he got the pass from Clark. 

Traudt's third and fourth three-pointers came from off-ball screens he set as part of the blocker-mover offense UVA likes to run. Both Ben Vander Plas and Traudt set screens for Clark as he curled around from the baseline and received the ball, causing Clark's defender Beekman to lag way behind. Shedrick again was forced to come out and slow Clark down, but Traudt popped free to the wing and flared nearly to the corner to put even more distance between him and Shedrick. Clark found Traudt with the pass and Shedrick's close-out was too late as Traudt splashed another open catch-and-shoot three. 

On Traudt's final three-pointer, he set another off-ball screen, this time for Taine Murray, who curled off screen to receive the ball. Traudt again popped free to the corner and Murray fed him the ball. Shedrick was a little better on the close-out this time and Traudt had to shoot through a tighter window, but he still got the shot off and got some help from a friendly bounce off the rim and backboard before falling in. 

On the last play in the video above, Traudt set a ball-screen for Kihei Clark and then popped to the three-point line. After hedging Clark on the screen, Shedrick respected Traudt's three-point shot this time and followed him to the perimeter. Clark got around Beekman and drove baseline. With Shedrick all the way out at the three-point line and unable to help down low, Clark penetrated and then dished to Ryan Dunn, who cut from the opposite corner at just the right time to get the baseline pass from Clark and finish with a dunk. Dunn recorded the flush and Clark got the assist, but the spacing provided by Isaac Traudt made it all possible. 

In just a few plays during the Blue-White Scrimmage, we got a glimpse of what Isaac Traudt can do for this team on the offensive end and the evidence is very encouraging. One thing we didn't get to see is Traudt putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket as well as working down low in the post, which should be in his repertoire too. Shedrick gave him lots of room on the perimeter, but as opposing bigs learn to respect Traudt's three-point shot this season, expect him to show off his versatility by driving to the rim. 

With Traudt's offensive skillset combined with his college-ready size at 6'10", 229-pounds, we knew it was going to be difficult for Tony Bennett to keep him off the floor even with Bennett's track record of not playing freshmen very much. The only concerns were how quickly he could settle into the UVA defensive scheme and if he would match the physicality of opposing bigs. With Francisco Caffaro missing the scrimmage, it was up to Traudt to defend against Kadin Shedrick down low for most of the possessions. And although Shedrick did lead all scorers with 15 points, none of it came easy. Traudt showed a willingness to get physical in the paint and make Shedrick work hard in the post and on the boards. Even with an edge of three seasons of college basketball experience and strength and conditioning, Shedrick struggled to gain ground on the true freshman in the paint. 

There were certainly some areas to clean up for Traudt on the defensive end. Shedrick beat him a couple of times by slipping a ball screen and diving to the basket for uncontested layups. The more concerning problem was that Traudt was whistled for four or five fouls during the scrimmage. We have seen foul trouble heavily limit playing time for UVA's bigs over the past several seasons and that has continued with Shedrick and Caffaro. 

Traudt's upside and value on the offensive end should give him plenty of opportunities for playing time, but he must prove that he is able to guard without fouling and develop into his role in the Pack Line defense in order to fully take advantage of those opportunities. If he does, this could be a very promising first year for Isaac Traudt at Virginia.

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