Cavaliers Now

Jacob Cofie Shines in Debut, Leads UVA Basketball to Season Opening Win

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletics
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It was a yearly exercise under Tony Bennett to wonder at the start of each season which freshman, or freshmen, would redshirt their first seasons at Virginia. And while interim head coach Ron Sanchez isn't necessarily discontinuing the practice of redshirting altogether, as Vanderbilt transfer Carter Lang is apparently going to redshirt this season, Sanchez made it clear in the days leading up to the start of the season that it was going to be all hands on deck for the Cavaliers, who were, in Sanchez's words, "going to need everyone."

It took less than one half of basketball to prove how true that statement was.

As the visiting Fighting Camels from Campbell rained down threes at an impressive clip in the first half, it was a pair of true freshmen who provided the answer for the Cavaliers. Jacob Cofie and Ishan Sharma both hit two three-pointers and were a combined 6/6 from the floor in the first half. The first years accounted for 16 of UVA's 35 first-half points and four of Virginia's six three-pointers in the game.

While Sharma did not play in the second half, Cofie went on to deliver a memorable debut and was undoubtedly the player of the game for the Cavaliers, finishing with a game-high 16 points on 7/8 shooting to go along with six rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. His 16 points were the most in a Virginia debut since Jayden Gardner scored 18 points in his first game after transferring from East Carolina in November of 2021.

Behind Cofie's excellent performance, Virginia (1-0) held off Campbell (1-1) for a 65-56 win to give Ron Sanchez a victory in his first game as UVA's interim head coach on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

"He played well, had couple of defensive breakdowns. That just comes from him being a young player, understanding the moment," Sanchez said of Cofie's debut. "But I'm hoping that this is just the beginning for him and he can springboard into better performances than this one. I think he's definitely capable of doing it."

The Plus/Minus: Virginia Basketball Takes Down Campbell 65-56

Powered by the sharp perimeter shooting by Cofie and Sharma in the first half, Virginia converted 46.2% (6/13) on three-point attempts, an encouraging sign in the first game and perhaps a signal that the Cavaliers need to shoot more from beyond the arc moving forward. Cofie was impressive in preseason play and in the scrimmages, but his display of outside shooting was a welcome surprise for UVA.

"I've been working on my shot a lot with Kyle Guy and Chase [Coleman]. I've been practicing every day trying to improve that," Cofie said. "I know it's a part of my game I can improve on. I feel like I did that today."

Cofie also threw down a few dunks, including one in transition after a steal and a couple more when Blake Buchanan found him with good positioning in the paint in high-low action.

"We worked on it in practice, but I feel like it was just a flow thing," Cofie said of his connection with Buchanan. "Blake did a good job looking for me, he did a really good job. I feel like we'll add that more to our game."

It wasn't the type of blowout victory many UVA fans would hope to see against an opponent like Campbell and there are still many questions left unanswered about this team moving forward. But given the uncertainty on this roster and around this program following Tony Bennett's retirement, it was absolutely pivotal that the Cavaliers win their first game with Ron Sanchez at the helm, no matter the score.

"It's very emotional," Sanchez said after the game. "The first thing I thought about was I only need 363 more to catch up to Tony."

Up next, Virginia hosts Coppin State on Monday, November 11th at 7pm at John Paul Jones Arena.

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.