Midterm elections won't be the only headline on Tuesday night. Virginia's ninth-ranked men's basketball team opens a season of high expectations at home against Drexel.

Friday marked the Cavaliers' annual media day, their final chance to meet with reporters before the season tips off. Here are some highlights from the session:

Experience shows

It's well known that the Cavaliers return three starters (Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grunloh, and Sam Lewis) from a team that went 30-6 a year ago. Also back is sophomore point guard Chance Mallory, who came off the bench but played more minutes than Grunloh and was almost always on the court at the end of games.

That familiarity, along with individual improvement from each player, should bode well as Virginia shoots for even more this season. The nucleus didn't return for another second-round NCAA tournament exit.

"We see that as an advantage for the beginning of the season," Grunloh said. "Just knowing what everybody else likes, what everybody else can do. Having this team chemistry already will help us getting new guys into the group. It's easier than last year, when everybody was new."

Roles are still up for grabs

Four-fifths of the Cavaliers' starting lineup is set. The fifth spot, on the wing, may come down to transfers Christian Harmon and Jurian Dixon, and German import Nolan Adekunle.

Even after three exhibition games, coach Ryan Odom is still experimenting with substitution patterns and roles off the bench. Those could be crucial, given Virginia's challenging noncoference schedule that includes games with Arkansas, Maryland, Kentucky and UConn.

"Last year, we were very fortunate to have Ugo [Onyenso], Jacari [White], Chance [Mallory], Devin [Tillis] . You could have argued that any of those guys could have been starters on last year's team. ... Key for the guys off the bench is fitting in. How are they going to impact winning. What is their individual way to do it?"

Gertrude gets love

One of those subs is guard Elijah Gertrude, the last link to the Tony Bennett era. He sat out a full season with an ACL tear and saw limited action in Odom's first year, but has impressed in practice and in an exhibition win over Villanova, when he hit 5 of 6 3-point shots and had five steals.

"When he got in there [last season], he performed well," Odom said. He just didn't get many opportunities. I think he's eager to impact this team and impact winning. He's a great guy. Everybody on the team loves him and wants him to succeed."

Gertrude admitted that he briefly considered transferring, but felt at home in Charlottesville, despite having no guarantee of a starting job (or even a consistent role off the bench).

"For me, it was sticking with what I know, where I'm comfortable, great people around me," Gertrude said."It only felt right for me to stay and keep trusting the process."

Speed is improved

Odom said the biggest difference between this year's squad and last year's -- at least in practice -- is "speed."

"I think we can be faster this year, and that excites me," Odom said " ... I like our switchability. I think the defense can be really tough, the disruption. Certainly, we can be better at that this year. Active athletes than can put pressure on the ball and deflect."

Wild kingdom

One of Virginia's offseason team-building activities was an African safari. Adunleke used it to get to know his teammates -- and a non-roster individual.

"Usually you drive around with the car, but this one day we walked, and we faced a buffalo," he said. "It was kind of like a near-death experience, one I will never forget.