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Mapp's comeback takes detour on trip
"In practice, he's still trying to get healthy [and] get in sync," Pete Gillen says of his decision not to play Majestic Mapp.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

CLEMSON, S.C. - For the third time in a week, Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen was in the position Saturday of fielding questions about inactive point guard Majestic Mapp.
Mapp did not play in either of Virginia's past two games after playing two minutes against North Carolina on Jan.11 in his first appearance since March2000.

Sophomore Keith Jenifer, who had shown improvement in recent games, did not score from the field and battled foul problems Saturday in a 78-77 loss at Clemson.

On those occasions when Gillen subbed for Jenifer, he moved shooting guard Todd Billet to the point and inserted Jermaine Harper.

Gillen said in a teleconference Friday that he had spoken to Mapp after a 104-93 loss Wednesday at Duke, when Mapp also did not play, and that Mapp was not upset. Gillen indicated Saturday that he did not give serious thought to playing Mapp against Clemson.

"Not really," Gillen said. "He's not in our mind-set a lot right now. In practice, he's still trying to get healthy [and] get in sync. Maybe we should think of him. Right now, he's just trying to get more consistent in practice."

Two of Virginia's starters, Jenifer and Devin Smith, did not score from the field. Smith, a junior-college transfer, has been sharing time with freshman Derrick Byars at small forward and both have been unproductive in recent games.

Smith, best known for his 3-point shooting, has scored in double figures once in the past five games and has 15 turnovers over that span.

Byars is 0-for-9 from 3-point range in the last four games and has a total of five field goals in UVa's five road games, not counting three neutral-site games in the Maui Invitational.

"Devin and Derick [are] good players," Gillen said. "They just didn't have their best games tonight. The 'three' spot and the 'one' spot weren't as effective as [Gillen would like]. We had some real good efforts by some guys. We just needed some more."

Nobody played better Saturday than Billet, who had a season-high seven 3-point field goals and has gone 15-of-26 on 3-pointers over the past three games. Billet has improved his 3-point percentage from 33.3 to 39.3 over the span of eight days and also matched a season high Saturday with four assists.

Sophomore Elton Brown also played well in UVa's two road losses, going 13-of-20 from the field and scoring 35 points in 41 minutes. It has meant reduced playing time for fellow sophomore Jason Clark, who played a season-low four minutes at Clemson.

NOTES: Jenifer had made at least one 3-pointer in eight straight games before going 0-for-2 at Clemson, including a game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer. ... Center Travis Watson is 45-for-72 (62.5 percent) from the field in the past six games despite eight misses on eight 3-point attempts. ... Watson's eight rebounds moved him past Junior Burrough into second place on UVa's all-time rebounding list with 936. Ralph Sampson is first with 1,511. ... Clemson's one-point victory was its first in almost 11 years. The Tigers had lost nine consecutive one-point games since beating Florida State 68-67 in 1992. Clemson was 3-15 against Virginia over the past 30 years in games decided by five points or fewer. ... Nick Vander Laan, starting for the first time in four games, scored in double figures (10) for the first time since Dec.19.

 

 

'Lack of concentration' costs UVa vs. Clemson
 By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
Jan 19, 2003
 
Virginia junior guard Todd Billet called it a "lack of concentration" while UVa coach Pete Gillen claimed it was a myriad of things.

They were discussing the Cavaliers inability to sustain its defense throughout a possession. It was a frequent occurrence during Clemson's 78-77 victory over Virginia on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Virginia would play quality defense for the first half of a Tiger possession but then would breakdown in the latter in the final seconds and allow a Clemson player, usually Chey Christie, to drive the lane for an easy basket.

"Each possession is 35 seconds and you can play great 'D' for the first 30 of those seconds but if there is a breakdown in the final five seconds then it's sort of a waste. If you've tired yourself out or whatever, it's still the same result. They have a basket," Billet said. "You have to dig down and play the whole possession. If we do that it will be a big difference with the team."

When Gillen was asked specifically about whether the defensive breakdowns were the result of execution or effort, Gillen gave a split answer.

"I think we have effort but we have to have a little more effort. We have execution but we have to have a little more execution. It's a little bit of everything. We're working but we have to work a little harder," Gillen said.

Added Billet: "I don't think it's effort because the effort is there for most of the clock. I think it's more concentration and being aware of what's going on. That's knowing that when there are seven seconds left on the shot clock you have to tighten up, not loosen up."

Led by many of Christie's drives to the basket, 12 of Clemson's 13 second-half baskets came from five feet or closer as the Tigers shot 55.4 percent from the field for the game.

"You have to make defensive stops and we didn't. You can't let teams shoot those kind of percentages and expect to win," Gillen said.

Interestingly enough, Virginia shot 59.2 percent from the floor, which marked the second-straight ACC road game (Virginia shot 50.8 percent at Duke on Wednesday) that the Cavaliers shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Both games, however, were losses, as shooting well on the road - a normal worry for any coach - was not a detriment for the Cavaliers. Yet, it ultimately it did not yield positive results.

Gillen was unable to muster any real reason for the statistical oddity.

"I don't know. I don't know. They just made big plays. We just didn't get the defensive stops. … We made a lot of big plays but just couldn't make the big defensive plays when we needed them," Gillen said.

The loss was Virginia's eighth straight in ACC road games and drops it to 1-4 in road games this season. In the two games this past week, the Cavaliers did not play horribly and obviously shot well, but have nothing but two losses to show for their effort.

"That's what we should get out of this week is that we have nothing to show for it. It's like with the defense. You play for the first 30 seconds and let them score at the end. You want to finish the job," Billet said. "The defense is sort of an indicator of not finishing out the games at the end. We have to be tougher and a little sharper at the end of the game."

 

 

Barber has team singing his praises

Cornerback shows Pro Bowl voters what Bucs coaches, players already know in one of the best games of his career.

By ROGER MILLS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 20, 2003

PHILADELPHIA -- At the start of the season, Ronde Barber was playing so well that coach Jon Gruden routinely pointed it out to the rest of the Bucs players and challenged them to play like his starting cornerback.

But no one in the NFL noticed. No one, at least, who had a hand in deciding who goes to the Pro Bowl.

In setting an NFC Championship Game record with a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown Sunday and playing, arguably, the greatest game of his career, the sixth-year player set the record straight.

"I was feeling it all day," Barber said. "I came out with a lot of energy. I had my good eye on the Super Bowl and my bad eye right here trying to deal with this."

Free safety Dexter Jackson said: "He's a Pro Bowl player in our minds. They had all the Pro Bowl players didn't they? Who would you choose right now? I don't know how many of their guys made big plays today. I don't know. But I know he did."

Like he has so many times this season, one in which he had 95 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and 21 passes defensed, Barber made several critical plays. He tapped away balls on third down, stepped up to the line of scrimmage and stopped the runner, had a sack and a forced fumble. He even gained extra yards on a penalty while fielding a punt.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a defensive back, or one single player for that matter, make as many plays as he did today," defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "Some times I have to watch the film to see what a player did, but it was so obvious with him. He was right there, every single time he puts his hands on the ball, knocks it down and doesn't get a pass interference call."

General manager Rich McKay said Barber's play, including the interception that silenced the Vet, helped cap a season that was almost as special as the one Derrick Brooks had. Brooks was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

"He is the right guy to make that play," McKay said. "With the season he's had, he played so well at the start of the season. Had he just kept his hands on a couple of balls that slipped away, he would have been looking at a magical season as it is. He didn't get the credit he deserved. I'm happy for him."

No one was more happy than twin brother Tiki. The Giants running back was on hand Jan. 12 to see his brother's interception against the 49ers called back. Sunday they shared in the victory.

"If I can't be (in the Super Bowl), I want him to be," Tiki Barber said. "I feel for him. I live vicariously through him."

A number of Barber's teammates did as well.

"He's a winner," Jackson said. "He's the ultimate player who loves to win and leaves everything on the field. I love him. Before the game started, I looked at him and I said, "I love you man! I love you like a brother!' I guess he had a lot of brothers out there."

With the Bucs ahead 20-10, the Eagles began a furious rally. With first and goal at the Bucs 10, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb tried to hit receiver Antonio Freeman on a slant. Barber read it perfectly, stepped in front for the interception and ran 92 yards into playoff history.

"It's been a great year," Barber said. "Everyone will point to my numbers and say I didn't have the picks. I didn't have the numbers and that's why it didn't seem like a great year (to Pro Bowl voters), but as a total player and doing what I was supposed to be doing, and executing what I was supposed to execute, this was the best year I ever had."

 

 

 

Barber all over the field for Bucs
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

PHILADELPHIA -- Sometimes, as Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber demonstrated here Sunday during a 27-10 victory in the NFC championship game, the numbers do lie.
Just a year after he snagged 10 interceptions to top the NFL in that category, Barber recorded only two thefts in 2002, and there were some loud whispers that the six-year veteran was hardly the same player in coverage. It mattered little that Barber enjoyed another outstanding all-around season, because the casual observers scrutinized only his interception total, and that was down by a whopping 80 percent.
 
But in the dominant victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, the other Barber twin answered back at the critics, playing superbly in the secondary all day and punctuating a brilliant performance with a 92-yard touchdown return on a late-game interception.

In addition to the pickoff, Barber had 3 other passes defensed, to go with 3 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

"I know people look at the interceptions, but I like to think I'm a complete (cornerback), a guy who can do a lot of things," said Barber, pausing during an emotional discussion with younger brother (by seven minutes) Tiki, the New York Giants star tailback. "So my 'picks' were down this year. I felt like I covered every bit as well as last year, maybe better, but interceptions just didn't come. I didn't think anything of it."

In a secondary where strong safety John Lynch is viewed as the high-profile playmaker, and where fellow cornerback Brian Kelly had 8 interceptions this season, Barber is too often overlooked. One network analyst Saturday night here identified the four stars of the Tampa Bay defense -- end Simeon Rice, tackle Warren Sapp, weak-side linebacker Derrick Brooks and Lynch -- and completely ignored Barber.

But as a veteran who has worked hard to make himself a better player, who fits well into the Tampa Bay "Cover 2" scheme and the Bucs philosophy, Barber has become a stalwart performer.

There was a time, not too long ago, when Tampa Bay coordinator Monte Kiffin used the mostly-zone coverages to hide Barber's deficiencies. That is not the case anymore, as Barber has emerged as a strong "Cover 1" player, and Kiffin has expanded the man-to-man package to take full advantage of his burgeoning abilities.

“ I know people look at the interceptions, but I like to think I'm a complete (cornerback), a guy who can do a lot of things. So my 'picks' were down this year. I felt like I covered every bit as well as last year, maybe better, but interceptions just didn't come. I didn't think anything of it. ”
— Bucs CB Ronde Barber

Notable is that, even as Barber has worked hard on coverage techniques, he has not dropped off in other areas. Barber remains a terrific performer in run support, and has averaged 89.3 tackles since becoming a full-time starter in 1999, including 90-plus tackles in each of the last three years. Over the last five seasons, his 13½ sacks are the most for any cornerback, and he posted 3 quarterback kills in 2002.

In two postseason contests this year, he has 2 interceptions, and another was called back. But talk to his teammates, and they suggest that Barber is happiest when allowed by Kiffin to blitz off the edge, to get a clear shot at the opposition quarterback.

"When they call the (cornerback) 'fire' blitz, he gets this big look in his eyes, like he thinks he's a linebacker or something," said Kelly. "He's got such a great sense of timing on the blitz. He never gives it away, never tips it off, and he loves to get in his licks on the quarterback."

He scuttled the Eagles' first offensive sequence of the second half Sunday, sprinting in from the right side of the defense, deking past the tailback, and forcing the fumble as he sacked Donovan McNabb for a 5-yard loss. And then, fittingly, he snuffed out Philadelphia's last-gasp drive, coming under slot receiver Antonio Freeman to steal away McNabb's pass on a slant route and then cavorting 92 yards up the right sideline for the touchdown.

"Just good (video) study," Barber said. "You know that, when they have the ball close to the end zone in that situation, they throw the slant almost every time. I was just waiting for it."

Fact is, Barber was in the right place at the right time so often on Sunday, a few Philadelphia players suggested he must have been in their huddle. But it was the Eagles who often played into Barber's hands, quite literally on that final interception, by allowing him to roam the middle of the secondary.

Barber was aligned against the slot receiver almost the entire game, giving him some freedom between the hashes, and Philadelphia spent about 60 percent of the contest with three or more receivers on the field. What they did not do was get the ball enough to Freeman to make him a factor in the game, and so Barber frequently abandoned the slot man, and freelanced a little more than he normally might.

By unofficial count, he was the closest secondary player on three passes where he didn't get his hand on the ball, but where he forced McNabb to throw errantly. He also contained the sweep on at least three rushes where he forced the Philadelphia runners to turn back inside.

It was, Kiffin noted, one of the most outstanding games the veteran coach had witnessed by a defensive back in a postseason contest.

"He was," Kiffin said, "everywhere out there. Everybody is talking about this cloning stuff. It's like we had 11 of him on the field."
 

 

ACC imposes an unofficial gag rule
Tony Barnhart - Staff
Monday, January 20, 2003
 

College Park, Md. --- Former ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan was a zero-tolerance guy when it came to the public criticism of officials. Coaches knew if they ripped the striped shirts after a game, a phone call --- and maybe a summons to the conference office in Greensboro, N.C. --- would be forthcoming.

New commissioner John Swofford has tried to be a little more tolerant, knowing things are said in the heat of battle that are regretted later. But at the end of last week, Swofford sent out the word: Enough is enough.

Maryland coach Gary Williams was the guy on the hot seat for comments made after last Wednesday's 81-72 loss at Wake Forest. It was a tough, physical game that rubbed nerves raw on both sides.

Even one of the officials, Doug Shows, lost his cool. He called a technical foul on Maryland's Steve Blake with 16 seconds left. As the final seconds wound down, Shows reportedly told Blake he would "see you next week." Blake and Williams took that as a threat, and Williams went off in the postgame press conference.

Williams felt free to criticize the officials because other ACC coaches, specifically North Carolina's Matt Doherty and Virginia's Pete Gillen, had done so this season with no sanctions. When asked if he would call the conference office to voice his concerns, Williams said, "We're in Alaska in Maryland," suggesting that as the northern-most school in the league, the Terps' concerns rarely are acknowledged.

On Thursday the ACC office gathered the information, and by Friday things fell into place. Williams issued an apology that was accepted by Swofford.

Then, to show the coaches that everyone must be held accountable, Swofford suspended Shows for one game, the first suspension for an ACC basketball official in more than six years.

Then everybody shut up and would not say another word about it. No statement was issued, but indications are that all parties in the ACC have been put on notice: The next such flare-up will be met with sanctions.

Stayed tuned. The season is just heating up.

 

 

Terps' new home near perfect
Gregg Doyel

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland built itself a nicer barn.

Duke took its first look Saturday at the Terps' $107 million Comcast Center, which has the barn-shaped convexity that made Cole Field House's roof so distinctive.

Comcast Center also has more brick than Cole, a monument to corrugated metal, and a lot more toilets. Cole had four restrooms -- in the entire building -- while the Comcast Center has 37.

The view is good, too. The worst seat in the steep-rising rows of Comcast Center is better than its counterparts at other huge ACC arenas, such as those at North Carolina and N.C. State.

Comcast Center also has the ACC's best scoreboard, an imposing atmosphere -- with a capacity of 17,950, including 10 rows of students circling the court -- and a handful of the ACC's most obscene student fans.

Other ACC fans -- the Cameron Crazies come to mind -- are indefensibly offensive, but the students who ringed the court Saturday were basely foul.

Among the lowlights: the T-shirt with a four-letter expletive written in 12-inch letters ... the front-row placard of a huge hand, middle finger extended and bearing an NCAA title ring ... the unprintable taunts coming in two-word bursts, generally with "you" in there somewhere.

Maryland should be proud of its new arena -- and ashamed of a small percentage of the fans who sit in it.