Ben Vander Plas becomes UVA’s ‘best cheerleader’ after accident in practice

ORLANDO, Fla. (WVIR) - Virginia grad student Ben Vander Plas has unexpectedly been relegated to cheering on his teammates in the UVA men’s basketball team from the sidelines.

Vander Plas started in 14 straight games for Virginia before he broke his hand in practice the day before the ACC tournament started.

“World’s best cheerleader is how I look at it. Using my basketball knowledge to help these guys, cheering them on from the bench, staying positive and contributing to this team. We got a ton of good players who can go out there an perform so it’s going to be exciting to watch these guys play and see where I fit in talking to them in timeouts and cheering them on from the bench,” Vander Plas said.

Virginia is a five and a half point favorite.

Tip-off is at 12:40 p.m. The game airs on TruTv.

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