UVA’s Leon Bond primed for breakout season

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - UVA’s season opener next week against Tarleton State will mark the debut for one of the Cavaliers’ highly-touted recruits.

Fans got a glimpse of Leon Bond III and his massive potential in UVA’s blue-white scrimmage. The Milwaukee native made six-of-eight shots, finishing with a team-high 13 points. They’ve also seen Bond put on dunk shows in pre-game warmups over the past year.

“I’m so excited to get on the court with my guys, to play a game at JPJ. I know the scrimmage is kind of a game, but to play in front of 14,000,” Bond said.

Bond says he has worked diligently on his shooting and ball handling during his redshirt season.

“I’m definitely more secure with the ball. Shooing has been the biggest difference. Coach Bennett helped me a lot during the redshirt season to fix up my shot and just grind at it,” Bond said. “He had me doing a lot of tricks with my hands and my footwork and everything.”

“He’s shown some really good flashes and really good improvement, and sometimes he’s his hardest critic,” Coach Tony Bennett said. “There’s a smoothness to how he moves and slashes. What we’re going to see now is he’s going to get better and better.”

Bond will likely be in Virginia’s starting lineup opening night, with Ryan Dunn and Reece Beekman.

“He’s going to be an X-factor for us, I think. Our size, our athleticism can cover a lot of ground. We can be really tenacious as long as we lock in mentally,” Dunn said.

“Mid-rage game, he gets to that very well. Just makes plays. I’m just excited for him to do it so everybody else can see it, as well,” Beekman said.

The show starts Monday, November 6.

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