We've got a Virginia men's basketball roster update for you folks today, and the good news is that there is no attrition to report (well, at least as of the time of writing this post). The ACC has approved the medical hardship waiver request for senior Mike Scott, who as we know, underwent a couple operations on his ankle this past season.
During the 10 games he played in last year, he averaged 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He was the first Cavalier with five straight double-doubles since Ralph Sampson in 1983.
Virginia fans, of course, have been expecting this for some time now, and there hasn't been any reason to suspect that the league would deny the request (which from my understanding, is a rubber-stamp effort so long as you have a doctor's note and haven't exceeded the maximum number of games).
Following the announcement, Mike Scott released a statement, which follows the jump.
Virginia's roster is chock-full of talent for the 2011-12 season. In addition to Mike Scott's return, you have defensive specialist Assane Sene (who turned out to be quite the beast this past season), All-ACC-Freshman-Snub Joe Harris (who, with a little bit of quickness, will be the force to be reckoned with), and Sammy Zeglinski (who plays with more passion on the court than anyone who has ever worn maroon).
Plus, Wahoos fans will get to see freshman James Johnson in action. Johnson was redshirted last season, despite questions from fans wondering why the redshirt wasn't burned when Scott was declared out for the remainder of the season. Johnson was a Top 100 player by both Scout and ESPNU, and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.
I think Virginia has the talent and coaching staff to reach the NCAA Tournament next year and possibly make a little bit of a run. Obviously, there's a lot of basketball between now and then (namely, an entire off-season and season), but until then, I'm chugging the orange kool-aid.