By SEAN BOCK
There are a lot of perfect duos: Batman and Robin, Jordan and Pippen, Peanut Butter and Jelly. You get the idea.
Those are great and all, but there’s a unique pair of guards playing for Tony Bennett at Virginia. Their names are Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome.
Both sophomores, Jerome and Guy, are best friends off the court, which is fully displayed in their humorous antics during press conferences and entertaining exchanges over Twitter. With all the time the two have spent with each other off the court, they’ve developed tremendous chemistry which translates to their success when the lights are on them.
In their freshmen season, Jerome and Guy played a backseat role to standout guard London Perrantes and were able to learn from him in their first year at the college level.
It’s no easy task replacing a player like Perrantes, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his four years in Charlottesville, Perrantes averaged 8.9 points and 4.1 assists per game while starting in 134 of his 138 career games. Though his numbers weren’t jaw-dropping, Perrantes was the starting point guard for the winningest four-year stretch in Virginia basketball history.
Guy and Jerome weren’t themselves in the 61-49 win over No. 12 North Carolina on Saturday. The duo combined for 15 points and shot 5-of-19 from the field, but they don’t need to score 20 points a night to be great.
Through the first 15 games, Guy is the leading scorer for the Cavaliers averaging 14.9 points per game while shooting 44 percent from distance. Mr. Basketball of Indiana in 2016, Guy came into college as just a scorer but has since developed into a solid all-around player and a reliable defender which comes in handy as the ACC is loaded with great guards.
Guy had the task of guarding preseason All-American Joel Berry in various situations on Saturday. Berry had 17 points but shot 7-of-17 from the field and two turnovers, and struggled to get into a rhythm thanks to the stingy defense of Guy and his teammates.
Jerome, a graduate of Iona Prep (NY), is a classic New York point guard who can do a little bit of everything on the floor. Playing only 13.9 minutes per game last season, Jerome has seen his minutes and role increase (now playing 26.5 minutes per contest) and is the perfect point guard for Bennett’s system.
Jerome isn’t going to wow you with his athletic ability or his talent level but has one of the highest basketball IQs in the nation and can step up when called upon. Against Boston College on Dec. 30, Jerome exploded for a career-high 31 points and was 6-of-9 from 3 in a narrow 59-58 victory over the Eagles.
Before that matchup, Jerome was struggling offensively in his new role as the primary ball handler but was finally able to break out and show the college basketball world he’s one of the top pure point guards in the nation.
“You can’t do it without good teammates,” Jerome said following his performance against Boston College. “That is one thing that I think we have, and that is what makes us special; that is what makes this team a special team on and off the court. There is no jealousy here. Whether it is with Kyle [Guy], if it is [Devon Hall], if it is Nigel [Johnson], if it is myself, Isaiah [Wilkins], down the line, or DeAndre [Hunter], or whoever it is, we are all happy for them. There is no jealousy at all. That is what makes this such a fun team to be a part of.”
Coming into this week, Virginia’s best win was against an E.C. Matthew-less Rhode Island squad and their lone loss came by seven to West Virginia. Now, the Cavaliers have a 26-point blowout of Virginia Tech on the road added to their resume along with an impressive victory over the defending national champions.
What makes this Virginia team special is that there are no headliners and no guys who have to go and drop 20-plus every night to give their them a chance to win. They have guards who can light it up from the perimeter, players who can defend multiple positions, and dynamic athletes who can contribute in a multitude of ways.
In college basketball, guards are arguably the most crucial part of a national title contender. Look at Cassius Winston at Michigan State, Devonte’ Graham at Kansas, and the magnificent Trae Young at Oklahoma. Each of these programs has a chance to make a deep run come March because they have backcourt players who make their team better and take pride in their responsibility of leading the team.
Those players carry a good portion of the load individually, and none of them necessarily have a partner in crime like Jerome and Guy. Not many experts were high on the Cavaliers before the season, but they have plenty of reason now, especially with these sophomores running the show.
Photo: The Roanoke Times
