Jay Huff Finally Makes First Career Start For Virginia

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Junior Jay Huff made his first start as a Virginia Cavalier on Tuesday at home against Vermont. Prior to Tuesday, Huff had appeared in 49 games but never as a starter.

Huff was firmly in Tony Bennett‘s rotation last year when the Virginia Cavaliers won the 2019 national championship. He played 10-plus minutes in the Hoos’ final five ACC games and played meaningful minutes in four of their NCAA Tournament games. Overall, he played in 34 of Virginia’s 38 games, scoring in double figures four times and averaging 9.4 minutes per game.

With their core from a year ago in the pros, Huff figured to be a bigger piece of Bennett’s puzzle in Charlottesville. In Virginia’s first three games this season, all wins, Huff averaged 24.7 minutes per game and scored in double figures each game. All three games saw him come off the bench as the Hoos’ sixth man.

The junior, who was the fourth piece and fourth four-star recruit from Virginia’s now-infamous 2016 recruiting class, finally heard his name with the starters on Tuesday, much to the delight of the hometown fans.

The game turned out to be much closer than the 15-point spread as Vermont had the Hoos on the ropes deep in the second half. Huff turned it on late, though, and helped boost Virginia over the Catamounts 61-55. He scored seven points in the final nine minutes and assisted on the bucket that gave Virginia a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with 5:12 to play.

In total, the 7-foot-1 stretch-five finished with nine points and seven rebounds (three offensive).

Virginia improved to 4-0 with the win and will play UMass on Saturday, November 23rd in Connecticut as part of the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off.

Kody Stattmann, who started two of UVA’s first three games, was out vs. Vermont with an illness.