Justin Anderson Plans on Entering NBA Draft, You Can Drop Virginia Out of the Top 5

Justin Anderson, Virginia’s best offensive player and a tremendous defender, is leaving school early and plans to enter the 2015 NBA draft according to Woj.

Anderson, who suffered a hand injury in the middle of the season that slowed the Cavaliers, has not signed with an agent and could return for his senior season. But he’s probably a late 1st round pick after his best season in school.

If he were to return, the Cavs were a Top 5 team heading into the 2015-2016 season. Seven of their top eight players return, and Virginia would be the 2nd best team in the ACC behind North Carolina (our preseason No. 1, for now). Without Anderson, the Cavaliers are still a Top 25 team, probably somewhere in the 10-15 range.

Leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon (14.0 ppg) is back, and so is point guard London Perrantes (4.6 apg). But they’ll sorely miss Anderson’s 3-point shooting (45 percent) and perimeter defense.