Virginia Basketball 22-23 Roster Preview: Leon Bond III

The athletic wing is bursting with potential, but how much will he give the Cavaliers in year one?

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

The countdown is on for the start of the 2022-2023 college basketball season. Just a couple of days 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 is going through the UVA roster player-by-player in preparation for the season, which begins on Monday, November 7th against NC Central at John Paul Jones Arena.

Today, we analyze first-year guard Leon Bond III. 

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

Armaan Franklin

Kihei Clark

Isaac Traudt

Ben Vander Plas

Taine Murray

Francisco Caffaro

Ryan Dunn

Isaac McKneely

Kadin Shedrick

Jayden Gardner

Reece Beekman

Much like fellow freshman Ryan Dunn, Leon Bond III comes in with sky-high potential, but might have to be patient in order to reach it. Hyper-athletic and a gifted scorer at all three levels, Bond could very well develop into one of Virginia's best players over the course of his career. But that isn't likely to happen this season due to UVA's surplus of depth at every position. Tony Bennett has said that 12 guys on the roster could play, but the real number for UVA's rotation will probably be around eight or nine this season. Although Bond has the potential to be a star, he is probably going to find himself on the wrong side of the cut line in year one. 

That doesn't have to mean Bond will ride the bench for his entire first season, though. Even last season when the Cavaliers ran a tight seven-man rotation (sometimes six), there were still games here and there in which other players like Taine Murray, Malachi Poindexter, and Igor Milicic Jr. earned spot minutes. That is likely to be even more of a trend this season with Bennett admitting that there are up to 12 players on the roster who are deserving of opportunities on the floor. 

Bond's athleticism will likely be the key to him having those opportunities this season, but he must translate that to the defensive end in order to have those chances. In a brief conversation with Bond at UVA's media day this week, he admitted that he was "lacking a little bit" on the defensive end during his high school career. It speaks volumes that a defensive-minded coach like Tony Bennett would still recruit Bond as heavily as he did even though he was a self-professed slacker on defense in high school. Bond certainly has the tools to be a lockdown on-ball defender. At 6'5", he has the size to guard opposing wings at the 2 and 3 positions on the court, but he also has very good lateral quickness to be able to keep up with opposing guards. If he can buy in on the defensive end and get up to speed in the Pack Line, there will certainly be situations this season in which UVA could put him in for a few possessions to give the team a lift on both ends of the floor. 

I say both ends of the floor because Bond's offensive game is impressively polished already for a freshman. We didn't see him shoot the three too much in the Blue-White Scrimmage - he attempted only one-three pointer - but based on his shooting form, Bond should definitely be able to develop into a consistent three-point shooter over the course of his career, à la De'Andre Hunter. The rest of his offensive game is complete and well-rounded and he scored in a variety of ways during the scrimmage, finishing with 10 points on 5/9 shooting.

Watch Bond's highlights from the Blue-White Scrimmage in the video below:

The first play in the video above shows something we certainly didn't expect to see from Bond in his first live action at JPJ. He drives baseline on Ryan Dunn and then spins back towards the paint. Isaac Traudt comes over to double on the low block and Bond expertly shovels a pass in between Dunn and Traudt to Kadin Shedrick in the paint for a wide open dunk. Bond is a great scorer, but if he brings that level of vision and passing ability, he could be truly special. 

In the second play, Bond spots up at the wing as his defender Armaan Franklin creeps down to help on Ben Vander Plas in the post. Vander Plas fires a pass to Bond, who, without hesitating to allow Franklin to recover, drives to the free throw line before stopping and elevating for a very smooth jumper. Once again, we see something from this freshmen class that UVA sorely needed last season: the ability to create and make one's own shot. 

In the third play, we start to see who Bond can develop into as a two-way player. Bond starts the play by sliding his feet well and getting around a Ben Vander Plas screen to stay with his man Taine Murray. That possession ends with an Isaac Traudt turnover and then it's off to the races in the transition game, which is where Leon Bond III eats. Bond took off as soon as the ball came into Reece Beekman's hands. With that reaction time and with his speed, Bond was able to turn that takeaway into a two-on-one breakaway situation. Bond filled the right lane and Beekman threw him a perfect lob which Bond finished with a slam. 

The fourth and final play of the video shows what was perhaps the most electrifying play of the scrimmage. Again, Bond takes off immediately following a turnover and Beekman fires an outlet pass down the floor to him. With only Taine Murray in front of him on the fastbreak, Bond used an incredible move, putting the ball on the floor once and then swinging it over Murray's head before using two long strides to get to the opposite side of the basket and then laying it in with a sweet lefty finish. The ability to execute a move like that while going full speed down the court is remarkable. UVA will never be a run-and-gun team under Tony Bennett as it goes in direct violation of the "embrace the pace" philosophy. But I don't think Bennett would mind seeing a few easy baskets here and there from Beekman sending outlet passes down the floor to Leon Bond III and letting him cook in transition. 

Of course, there is room for improvement from Bond, particularly on the defensive end. He got caught ball-watching during the scrimmage and had his man Ryan Dunn beat him on a backdoor cut for an easy dunk. He also got beat off the dribble by Chase Coleman for a layup. But on the few possessions in which Bond defended smaller guards like Coleman and Kihei Clark, the results were encouraging, as even at 6'5", Bond was able to keep up and stay in front of them for the most part. If he is able to sufficiently guard against 1-3, he might find himself on the floor more than anticipated in year 1. 

Like the rest of the freshmen class, Bond's playing time this season will largely reflect how quickly they adapt to the Pack Line defense as well as the effort they put in during practice. From what we have heard from the UVA coaching staff this offseason, all four of them have been every bit as impressive in practice as we all hoped they would be. As this season progresses, it wouldn't be surprising to see a player like Bond contribute significant minutes for the Cavaliers. 

This will be the final collegiate season for Kihei Clark, Jayden Gardner, and Ben Vander Plas and it could be the final year for Armaan Franklin and Francisco Caffaro as well if they decide not to use their optional fifth year of eligibility. Bond and the UVA freshman will have to exhibit some patience this season, but there is an expectation that there will be big-time opportunities for them starting in year two. And I wouldn't yet count out Leon Bond III having a significant impact in his first season at Virginia. 

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