In a buy-game special, the Virginia Cavaliers overwhelmed the Coppin State Eagles in pretty much every facet of the game. This game gave Virginia the chance to try out a new point guard and give more run to Jacob Cofie, who looks like he’s going to be Virginia’s most-impactful newcomer. Better competition awaits, but for now we’ll just review this game.
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A win is a win is a win. Coppin State is not the team that Campbell was, and the disparity in talent made for uninspiring viewing if you weren’t a Cavalier fan. Virginia’s non-conference slate has gotten less inspiring in recent years, but for interim head coach Ron Sanchez, you can only play the teams that are in front of you. Four Wahoos – Dai Dai Ames, Isaac McKneely, Elijah Saunders and Jacob Cofie – all reached double figures.
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Andrew Rohde was the announced starter at point guard, and he came out and warmed up, but he was a gametime scratch. Christian Bliss didn’t dress out for the second straight game. (Jalen Warley is long gone.) Virginia had exactly one healthy lead guard, but fortunately Dai Dai Ames was up to the task. He did not impress in his 10-minute stint against Campbell, but he looked a like a completely different player this go round. He scored Virginia’s opening basket on the night, an and-one, was 2/3 from deep, and had three assists against zero turnovers. It could take Rohde three games to match Ames’ 13 points in this game. Now, he doesn’t look like he’s going to push the pace much – Virginia had 61 possessions this game versus 55 against Campbell and it took seven possessions in two minutes late in the 2nd half to get there – but Ames showed he could get into the paint, showcasing the best point guard touch in the lane since Ty Jerome. Sure, it was against substandard competition, but Ames certainly deserves a longer look as the team’s point guard.
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With 3:20 remaining the first half, Coppin State was still hanging around and Virginia’s lead was just 23-14. Isaac McKneely poured in three threes in less than two minutes to break open the game and give Virginia a 32-16 lead. McKneely went 4/8 from beyond the arc and helped Virginia go 9/27 from deep. Now, that’s just 33% and that’s not great, but seeing Virginia attempt that many threes is a good sign.
📂 ACC └📂 Virginia players └📂 iMac └📂 Not letting it fly └ ⚠️File Not Found
Ames went 2/3 from beyond the arc and Elijah Saunders was 1/2, but TJ Power, Ishan Sharma and Taine Murray went 1/13. Again, 27 attempts is a better reflection of the modern game, but McKneely is going to need more help.
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After blitzing Campbell in the first half, Jacob Cofie was largely silent in the first against Coppin State. He came out blazing in the second half, scoring all 11 of his points – a perfect 4/4 from the line and 1/1 from deep – enroute to an 11-rebound double-double. Cofie played the Ryan Dunn role to perfection, adding three blocks, four steals and a pair of assists. He’s had a magical two games. Even when he loses the ball on a steal and fast break, he’s able to convert:
Conversely, it’s been a rough start for TJ Power, who went 1/6 from deep and is looking like the guy who got dropped to mop-up minutes for Duke last year. With the emergence of Cofie, he’s going to struggle for minutes, but maybe Power can fill the role of glue guy for the team. His +22 plus/minus was the second-highest (only behind Ames) on the team.
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Elijah Saunders looks like he’s going to be able to give Virginia a post-up game. He flashed a sweet hook turnaround against Campbell, and he had two nice post-ups on this night. He was 1/2 from three and a perfect 4/4 from the line.
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More: Matt’s Five Takeaways
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Speaking of which, the team shot 11/12 from the charity stripe with the only miss coming from the normally reliable McKneely. Given the adventures this team has had from the pinstripe the past couple of years, the contributions made by Cofie, Saunders and Ames are most welcome.
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Taine Murray had a night to forget. Twice he stepped on the line driving to the bucket, just two of a whopping six turnovers on the night. He airballed a three, and most egregiously, he had a poor closeout and subsequently fouled on a made three, giving Coppin State a 4-point play. He got 18 minutes, which might be the earliest indicator of the difference between the coaching of Tony Bennett and Ron Sanchez. I suspect Bennett would never have given Murray this kind of burn with the night he was having.
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Anthony Robinson made his long-awaited debut and had a beautiful little finish for his first points as a Cavalier. It was widely presumed that Robinson would bring defensive energy to the floor, but this is a sweet touch.
☺️ Things you love to see: His first career points!
Next Up: Virginia travels to Baltimore on Friday to take on Villanova in the Hall of Fame Series. Game time is 5:00pm and will be shown on TNT. I’ll be at the game, so hit me up on Twitter (X) @JerzyWalker.
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Virginia Basketball Beats Coppin State 62-45 | Key Takeaways
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
