Elijah Gertrude didn’t just outlast a coaching change at Virginia. He outlasted the whole mood of the program.
When he committed in September 2022, Tony Bennett was still steering a stable, winning operation and Virginia had just been ranked No. 18 in the Preseason AP Poll. Gertrude had bigger options on the table, including Kansas, but he chose the Cavaliers anyway. He bought into Bennett’s vision, the development, the family atmosphere and the program’s basketball culture.
That decision has taken him through a lot. As a freshman, Gertrude flashed the kind of athletic pop that jumps off the screen - blocks, dunks, the kind of plays that belong on SportsCenter - even though he appeared in only 16 games.
Then came the collapse. Virginia’s season ended with a 67-42 loss to Colorado State in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, and that game turned out to be Bennett’s last on the sideline.
Gertrude logged two minutes of garbage time, finishing with two points and one rebound.
A few months later, Bennett retired at 55 after being with the program since 2009. Gertrude’s own career then hit another wall when he suffered a major knee injury in April. A scooter accident wiped out his entire sophomore season, and while he was rehabbing, Virginia was changing around him.
Bennett’s retirement announcement came in October 2024, just weeks before the season was set to start. Ron Sanchez stepped in as interim head coach, but the Cavaliers finished with their worst record in 15 years by the end of the 2024-25 season. Athletic Director Carla Williams then made another move, bringing in Ryan Odom from VCU.
Odom’s first year changed the picture fast. Virginia won 30 games and climbed back into the center of the college basketball conversation. Through all of that, Gertrude never left.
He could have followed Bennett out. He could have gone elsewhere after Sanchez was let go, like the rest of his rotation teammates did.
He also could have moved on after playing only 17 games as a junior under Odom, almost all of them in non-conference play. Instead, he stayed with the program through every turn.
Now in his fourth season in Charlottesville, Gertrude is finally turning that patience into production. He has become Virginia’s sixth man and is giving the Cavaliers real juice off the bench.
He has played at least 13 minutes in every game this season and is averaging a career-high 8.7 points per game. He has also been one of Virginia’s most important players in meaningful minutes.
The scoring touch was there before the season even tipped. Gertrude had a strong preseason, knocking down threes against high-major opponents like Villanova. That stretch carried into the regular season, where he has been productive for more than a month and looks very much like the player Bennett once saw dominating high school competition years ago.
Odom had his own vision for Gertrude, too. The veteran can help newer teammates understand Virginia basketball, and there is room for him to do more than just provide leadership.
If he keeps giving the Cavaliers microwave scoring off the bench, that changes things for this team. It gives Odom a way to rest Chance Mallory or Sam Lewis without losing punch.
There’s also been some experimentation at point guard. Odom has used Gertrude there in the first two games, and the early signs are encouraging.
He was a crisp passer and a capable defender in the win over No. 12 Arkansas, where Odom used a nine-man rotation and Gertrude logged the second-most minutes among the four main reserves.
That usage suggests Odom may trust him more than presumed No. 2 point guard Van Jide. At this rate, Gertrude could wind up functioning as a pseudo-sixth starter.
When he comes off the bench at John Paul Jones Arena, the crowd greets him like a star. After everything he has been through, that reaction makes sense.
But Gertrude isn’t hanging around for applause. He stayed, and now he’s helping make sure Virginia does too.
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For Virginia, it is another chance to measure itself away from home against a conference foe that knows exactly what the Cavaliers want to do. For Maryland, it is a chance to reset in front of a charged-up crowd and see where it stands against one of the leagues steadier teams, with the coaches and key players on both sides adding another layer to a rivalry that still burns. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia May Be Getting Help Just When It Desperately Needs It
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The return of help on one side of the ball could matter in a game where depth has been tested, but Virginia is still not all the way out of the woods. Linebacker Maddox Marcellus and backup safety Corey Costner remain doubtful, leaving the Cavaliers with a few lingering questions even as the roster begins to stabilize. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Is Rolling Early And Maryland Will Test How Real It Is
Virginias early-season surge kept rolling with a 95-61 win over Bucknell, the kind of complete performance that suggests Tony Bennetts team is settling in quickly. The Cavaliers shot better than 50 percent from the field, put four players in double figures and piled up 30 assists, showing the ball movement and balance that can make them difficult to guard when the offense is clicking.
The defense was just as sharp, with Virginia blocking 11 shots, limiting Bucknell to 35 percent shooting and even winning the battle on the glass in a way that fit the tone of the night. The bigger question now is whether that formula travels when the competition rises, and Maryland will be the next test of how real this start is. [Read more 🡒]