Balky back not slowing Smith
The UVa junior scores 22 points and has eight assists in the Cavaliers' win over the Tribe.
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Not much has been said about Devin Smith's herniated disk since he received a pain-killing shot one week before the season.

"Actually, I haven't had a shot since the first one," said Smith, a 6-foot-5 junior. "I didn't feel like it worked, so I felt like I didn't need it."

Somehow, Smith has continued to perform at a reasonably high level, including a 22-point, eight-assist effort Monday night in the Cavaliers' 84-71 victory over William and Mary.

"Without him, we very easily could have lost," UVa coach Pete Gillen said. "His back's still bothering him, but when he's as healthy as he can be, we're a different team."

Smith's 3-point field goal with 7:23 remaining sparked a late-game surge after the Tribe (4-7) had cut a 15-point deficit to 64-63.

"He made a huge shot for them," William and Mary coach Tony Shaver said. "We played a lot of man-to-man in the second half, but we went to a trap zone there for one possession and he knocked in a big '3.'"

"I think we really had the game in reach. We had three straight possessions to take the lead [at 64-63] and didn't make a shot. I think, if we had made one of those, it would have been interesting to see what happened."

Smith finished 7-for-7 from inside the arc, but he had made only one 3-pointer until that point.

"I kind of felt that one was going in because I shot it in rhythm," Smith said. "I had my legs and followed through on it."

Smith arrived at Virginia with the reputation of a dangerous outside shooter after making 108 3-pointers in 2001-2002 at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. He made 64 3-pointers last year, when his 38.6 percentage ranked eighth in the nation.

In fact, no pair of ACC teammates made as many 3-pointers last year as Smith and Todd Billet, but Smith connected on only one of his first 14 attempts this year.

"I know I'm better than that," said Smith, who doesn't discount Gillen's theory that a lack of practice time has prevented him from fine-tuning his stroke.

"Some days I practice the whole practice. Others, I'm there for part of it. Most of the time, I do something. Now that we've got some days off, I can get in the gym every day and practice on my shooting."

After playing four times in nine days, Virginia (10-2) will be off for six days before it entertains Duke at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the Cavaliers' ACC home opener.

Virginia fans wouldn't know if Smith were at full speed because they've never seen him at full speed. Last season, he missed most of preseason practice as the result of arthroscopic knee surgery and his conditioning was lacking.

Smith weighed more than 240 pounds last season and, while the Cavaliers listed him at 239 this year, he definitely feels more agile.

"They listed me at 225 when I came here," he said, "but, there's no way I was 225."

Despite the back problems, Smith clearly is jumping much better. He has a team-high 14 dunks, compared to three in 32 games last season.

"Even though I'm not knocking down shots, teams still have to play me for my shot," he said. "It gives me the opportunity to take it to the basket."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jan 7, 2004

FULL SLATE: Virginia's non-conference football opponents in 2004 will be Syracuse, Akron and, most likely, the University of Texas at El Paso.

Syracuse and Akron will visit Scott Stadium. U.Va. is expected to play at UTEP, a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Minters would then come to Charlottesville in 2005.

UTEP finished 2-11 in 2003, after which Gary Nord was dismissed as coach. About three weeks later, UTEP hired Mike Price, who had a successful run at Washington State before leaving for Alabama. Price's tenure in Tuscaloosa ended in controversy before he coached a game for the Crimson Tide.

U.Va. is tentatively scheduled to open the season against Syracuse, but that could change. The ACC has yet to release its football schedule for 2004, because it's waiting to learn if Boston College will join the conference in 2004-05 or 2005-06.

A decision is likely to come in the next two weeks and hinges largely on Conference USA, five of whose members - Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida - have accepted invitations to join the Big East. If Conference USA agrees to let those five leave after this school year, then the Big East would allow BC to join the ACC for 2004-05.

The Big East is losing three schools to the ACC: Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College. Tech and Miami will join the ACC in July.

HAWAII-BOUND: Quarterback Matt Schaub, who capped a record-setting career at U.Va. by earning MVP honors in last month's Continental Tire Bowl, will play in the Jan. 17 Hula Bowl in Maui.

Schaub will play for the Aina team, coached by Ohio State's Jim Tressel. Maryland's Ralph Friedgen is head coach of the Kai team.

ONE WHO GOT AWAY: When Schaub was a schoolboy star in West Chester, Pa., Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris recruited him. Schaub opted for Virginia, of course, and in his final college game burned Harris' Panthers.

The 6-5, 240-pound Schaub passed for 244 yards and one touchdown in U.Va.'s 23-16 victory in the Tire Bowl.

"I always knew he could throw - he's one of the most impressive guys I've seen on tape out of high school - but what impressed me today about him is his mobility," said Harris, who spent three seasons as a quarterbacks coach in the NFL.

"He's a big man that moves. They've done a nice job with him, and he's done a great job responding. I think he's a guy who'll be reckoned with at the next level."

PROMOTION? Former U.Va. football star Anthony Poindexter, a graduate assistant at his alma mater, is expected to fill the full-time vacancy on Al Groh's staff created by Kevin Ross' recent departure, sources said.

It's not clear, however, whether Poindexter would coach the Cavaliers' running backs, as did Ross, who left to join his father's staff at Army. Poindexter, an All-American safety at Virginia, worked with the team's wide receivers in 2003.

MASTER OF MANY TRADES: Check out junior Devin Smith's season highs in various categories: 25 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, three blocked shots. Given that the 6-5, 235-pound forward arrived at Virginia in 2002-03 as something of a one-dimensional player, such versatility is especially impressive.

Smith, who spent his freshman year at a Kansas junior college, made 64 of 166 shots from beyond the 3-point arc as a U.Va. sophomore, but the rest of his game wasn't especially well-developed. This season, however, he's played power forward and small forward and ranks second on the team in scoring and rebounding and first in steals.

He's only shooting 19 percent from 3-point range, but the improvement in his overall game has been dramatic.

"The guy's developed," senior point guard Todd Billet said. "You come in with one thing, and your goal as a player is to expand your game and be effective at many things on the court. He's really a complete player."

THE LATE SHOW: Fans stayed away from University Hall in droves Monday, in part because of the 9 o'clock starting time for Virginia's game with William and Mary. TV, as usual, got its way. Comcast SportsNet broadcast the game.

Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen didn't make the schedule, but he could live with it. "Any time we get on TV, it's good for us," Gillen said, "so I have no complaints."

COMING SOON: With the demise of U.Va.'s Pep Band, the music heard at U-Hall during men's games generally has been rock'n' roll played over the PA system. But Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said the school "will have a live band in place" toward the end of this month to play at hoops games.

William Pease, who began work at U.Va. in November, is building this band as well as creating a marching band to play at football games, starting next season. - Jeff White
 

BCS not '03's only meltdown
By CAULTON TUDOR, Staff Writer

Now that it's over, the 2003 college football season will long be remembered as the one during which the Bowl Championship Series formula melted down.
The complicated system that was supposed to give us a single national champion wound up producing two, Southern California and Louisiana State. What's worse, the BCS will be back in 2004. Some changes will be made, but there will be no playoff in Division I-A football.

The BCS mess aside, there were other highlights, lowlights and issues. Here are a few:

Big 12's flop

That loud regular-season barking translated into a modest bite when it counted.

League champion Kansas State fell to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl; runner-up Oklahoma lost to LSU in the Sugar; and once-imposing Texas was beaten by Washington State in the Holiday. Ironically, the Big 12's most impressive postseason performance was much-maligned Nebraska's victory over Michigan State in the Alamo.

ACC's surge

A 5-1 bowl record helped erase the taste of a sour regular season. Only league champ Florida State lost its bowl game, and by only two points to future ACC member Miami in the Orange Bowl.

For the second straight season, the ACC failed to crack the final Associated Press top 10. But wins by Maryland in the Gator and Clemson over No. 6 Tennessee in the Peach put both ACC schools in the top 25.

ACC in '04

The league should be above average again at quarterback.

Expected to return are Charlie Whitehurst of Clemson, Chris Rix of FSU, Darian Durant of North Carolina, Reggie Ball of Georgia Tech, Brock Berlin of Miami, Cory Randolph of Wake Forest and Bryan Randall of Virginia Tech.

Here's my projected ACC finish: 1. Florida State, 2. Miami, 3. Clemson, 4. Georgia Tech, 5. Virginia, 6. Maryland, 7. N.C. State, 8. Virginia Tech, 9. North Carolina, 10. Wake Forest, 11. Duke.

What if?

Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett had maintained his eligibility?

A late-season loss at Michigan prevented the Buckeyes from a chance to get into the BCS title game. But even though they were missing the nation's most exciting runner and quarterback Craig Krenzel was banged up, the 2002 champs finished 11-2, pushing head coach Jim Tressel's three-year record to 32-7.

Best coaching job

Perhaps the season's best coaching job was pulled off by Paul Johnson of Navy. The Midshipmen went 2-10 in 2002 and were expected to win no more than three or four games. Instead, Johnson's team finished 8-4, got a bowl bid and built a decent foundation for next season.

Mid-majors excel

The Mid-American Conference had its best season ever. Miami (Ohio) cracked the top 10 in the final AP poll, and Bowling Green wound up No. 23. Northern Illinois finished 10-2, including a win over Maryland, and Marshall defeated Kansas State.

Go figure the Heisman

Don't count on Oklahoma's Jason White repeating as the Heisman Trophy winner. Then again, he didn't deserve this year's.

The only back-to-back Heisman winner was Ohio State's Archie Griffin in 1974 and '75. White, who will be a fifth-year senior, will still be working with a potent offense, but voters will remember his problems against Kansas State and LSU.

Does anyone now believe that White was the nation's best college football player? This year's balloting goes to show you again that too much weight is given to the success of a candidate's team. That's why N.C. State's Philip Rivers, my pick, didn't get more support. If the vote is taken today, USC quarterback Matt Leinart wins the trophy.

Here's my early '04 checklist: 1. Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh wide receiver; 2. Matt Leinart, USC quarterback; 3. Mike Williams, USC wide receiver; 4. Jason White, Oklahoma quarterback; 5. Darren Sproles, Kansas State running back; 6. David Greene, Georgia quarterback; 7. Chris Leak, Florida quarterback; 8. Chris Rix, FSU quarterback; 9. Justin Vincent, LSU running back; 10. A.J. Hawk, Ohio State linebacker.

Chow, wow

There can't be a more valuable assistant coach in the country than USC's Norm Chow. In the past four seasons, the quarterback guru has left his thumb print on the careers of Rivers, 2002 Heisman winner Carson Palmer and Leinart.

Get a clue, Nebraska. Give the guy a call.

Back to 11 games

After two straight seasons of 12-game schedules, the 2004 calendar will put most teams back on an 11-game format. That's good. At least most teams will have to finish 6-5 or better to become bowl-eligible.

Hindsight

The AP preseason top five were; Oklahoma, Ohio State, Miami, Michigan and Texas. Southern Cal started at No. 8 and LSU at No. 14.

Hot seats

These coaches will begin the 2004 season under pressure to improve or else: Florida's Ron Zook, Colorado's Gary Barnett, Alabama's Mike Shula, North Carolina's John Bunting, Syracuse's Paul Pasqualoni and Stanford's Buddy Teevens.

But the most interesting coaching story of next season will involve Joe Paterno at Penn State. After going 3-9 in his 38th season, Paterno fought off efforts to force him into retirement. A similar showing next season will mark the end of the Paterno era.


 

Smith provides spark
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
January 6, 2004

Virginia coach Pete Gillen says he holds his breath everyday about it.

Virginia junior Devin Smith claims the pain comes and goes.

The subject is the herniated disc in Smith’s back, which has kept the swingman less than 100 percent for the entire season.

There are times, however, that the hobbled Smith looks like Virginia’s most athletic and energized player on the court.

Such was the case Monday in the Cavaliers’ 84-71 victory over William & Mary.

Smith had 22 points, five rebounds and a career-high eight assists and also hit a key 3-pointer that sparked a decisive late-game run.

“Devin’s unbelievable. Without him, we don’t win the game. We could have easily lost,” Gillen said. “He made some big steals. When he plays well, we are a different team. We are another half level better.”

Smith has now registered 22 and 25 points (Iowa State) in two of his last three games. Perhaps a testament to the fact that he’s indeed not 100 percent, however, is that he had just an eight-point effort in a loss to Providence.

“His back is still bothering him and he doesn’t have his legs each and every game. Like I said, when he’s healthy we are a different team,” Gillen stated.

Smith’s spotty shooting is likely the byproduct of the sore back, which has limited his practice time.

He was just 2 for 8 from behind the arc against the Tribe. Of course, one of those treys was the biggest shot of the game.

After erasing an 11-point halftime deficit, William & Mary made it a one-point game, 64-63, with 7:38 left.

Following a TV timeout, Smith connected on a 3-pointer that sparked a 15-2 Virginia run and pushed the Cavaliers out of harm’s way.

“That one, I felt was on. I shot it in rhythm and everything and I had my legs and followed through with it,” Smith said. “I thought it was real big because it gave us a cushion.”

Smith’s play and the Cavaliers’ late-game exploits were among the positive signs in what otherwise was a fairly lethargic Virginia effort.

The Cavaliers looked tired and only mildly interested at times and that was reflective of a U-Hall crowd that was listed at 6,354 but might have been just half that.

“I thought our kids were tired. It was our fourth game in nine days and I think we were drained. … We knew the kids were dead. They were crushed from three games and seven days. We were fortunate to win,” Gillen said.

Added Smith: “I think we were somewhat tired. We have played four games in how many ever days. We sort of pulled through a little tonight and made the plays when we had to make them.”

Virginia does get some rest now before hosting No. 2 Duke on Sunday. Gillen claims it could not come at a better time.

“We need it. We’re dead. We couldn’t play another game in two days if we wanted. We’d just have to throw a flag up or something,” Gillen said.
 

Recruiting class now ranks 35th
By Mike Farrell / Special to The Daily Progress
January 6, 2004

As we enter the first official visit weekend of January, the Virginia Cavaliers stand ranked with the 35th best recruiting class in the country, a shade below expectations put forth by Al Groh and his staff.

However, despite the longest commitment drought in recent memory, there are two things that can help the Cavaliers bolt deep into the top 25 ...

The first is to land two top wide receivers.

This is critical to this class as the Cavaliers have received commitments from players at every other position of need, but it is clear that two speedy wideouts are needed to make an early impact and stretch the field.

Currently the Cavs are in the mix for three four-star wideouts - Doug Dutch from Washington, D.C., Dwayne Jarrett from New Jersey and Eddie Royal from Virginia. However, do they lead for any of them?

Word out of San Antonio at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl was that Dutch was a strong lean to Michigan and he told this writer that Miami, Michigan and Florida have the lead over Virginia and Maryland.

Dutch visits Florida on Jan. 9 and will decided shortly after that, but things are starting to look “iffy” for UVa in this race.

As for Jarrett, things look much better for Virginia but there is some stiff competition. USC has always been his favorite, but the Trojans are very far from home and are loaded with skill position players. Ohio State has suddenly moved into the mix and don’t count out Boston College just yet, especially with the recent commitment of Marquise Liverpool and the impending commitment of Brian Toal.

Virginia is still the team to beat for Jarrett however, which is great news for UVa fans because he’s the best of the trio.

Finally, Royal lists Virginia, Virginia Tech and Marshall as his top three. He has the usual questions about the Hokies (i.e. will they open the offense up and throw the ball?), but Virginia Tech still has to be considered the favorite here.

Marshall has his brother and UVa has a nice offense for a wideout, but his friend and quarterback Sean Glennon is already a Hokie and Royal seems to be leaning that way as well.

Make no mistake about it, if the Cavaliers don’t land one of the above three then they have failed recruiting the wideout position. If they land Jarrett and lose out on the other two, that will be considered a success because his potential is amazing. And if they land two of the three, that will help them jump right into the top 25 for sure.

The second key aspect for Virginia is to land three Virginia players from the Farrell 14.

It doesn’t matter what combination the three commits come in, but to stay even in the state of Virginia and set themselves up for the future, UVa needs three of them. The remaining players from the final Farrell 14 are …

DE/LB Olu Hall. Until a big-time Robinson player commits to UVa, the Cavaliers will still be considered a longshot here. Hall likes Virginia and Virginia Tech and will likely stay in state, but the Hokies have to have the edge.

LB Jerod Mayo. Mayo lists Virginia, Virginia Tech and N.C. State as his three leaders, but has been considered a Cavalier lean for quite some time. He should be one of the three that UVa needs.

Royal. See above.

DE Clint Sintim. Sintim is a hard one to read because he grew up a Hokie fan yet almost committed to Virginia during the summer. Maryland doesn’t have room for him and Tennessee and Ohio State aren’t likely options, so this one will come down to a coin toss between Tech and UVa

DB Ahmad Bradshaw. This should be another Cavalier commitment as Bradshaw is close to pledging to UVa and could make his announcement anytime

LB Andrew Bowman. North Carolina is his final visit, but this should be another in-state decision with the Hokies holding the slight edge. This one could go either way.

Virginia should land Mayo and Bradshaw for sure with Hall, Royal, Sintim and Bowman as the swing guys to reach the three needed in my opinion. Both UVa and Virginia Tech have three commitments from the Farrell 14 with six guys set to choose. If the Hokies get four of them, then Virginia will have fallen short of its in-state goals.