Virginia Basketball Program Raises National Championship Banner at JPJ

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va — It was a who’s who of Virginia Cavaliers basketball on Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena as the school unveiled the banner for their 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. Among the guests were Ralph Sampson, arguably the best UVA basketball player ever, current head coach Tony Bennett, current NBA player Justin Anderson, and the trio of stars that led the way in their actual championship run — Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and De’Andre Hunter.

In addition to raising the banner, the 2018-19 Virginia Cavaliers basketball team also received their championship rings, which you can see in the video above.

Bennett gave an inspiring speech to those in attendance, telling stories from their time at the Final Four and the many hurdles they had to overcome to make it there. Others who gave speeches were University of Virginia President James E. Ryan and Carla Williams, the school’s AD.

Having Guy, Jerome, and Hunter together again was a treat; the three have all left school already, having been drafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. Jack Salt, the other key player from the title team that won’t be with the team in 2019-20, wasn’t there but sent along a video message for fans and former teammates.

As for the upcoming season, there are four key contributors from the title team who are returning for the upcoming season — Braxton Key, Jay Huff, Mamadi Diakite, and Kihei Clark. All four were in attendance, along with the rest of the team, and received their rings while the banner was raised behind them.

Virginia will open their season on November 6th, 2019 against ACC rival Syracuse on the road. The Cavaliers are currently ranked No. 16 going into the 2019-20 season.

A cool aside: Justin Anderson was behind a merch table selling shirts and shorts that he (along with Ty Jerome) personally designed.