Cavaliers may get Bradshaw, Bowman
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 11, 2004

Don’t be surprised if the Gold List’s No. 8-ranked player, Bluefield’s Ahmad Bradshaw, commits to Virginia in the next few days.

Bradshaw, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound cornerback/athlete from Bluefield’s Graham High School, is expected to choose the Cavaliers over West Virginia and Virginia Tech. He rushed for 2,500 yards and 30 TDs for the G-Men.

Also, sources indicated that Hermitage linebacker Andrew Bowman, the No. 9 player on the Gold List, may be close to choosing the Cavaliers. He was also considering Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Purdue and Tennessee.

The No. 12 player, Landstown High wide receiver/defensive back Jeremy Gilchrist, has committed to Virginia Tech, while Wyatt Hicks, the No. 27 player on the Silver List, has committed to North Carolina. Hicks is a tight end/defensive end from Highland Springs.

Another Gold List player has committed to N.C. State, but not to play football. No. 23-ranked Ryan Pond, a quarterback from Western Branch in Chesapeake, has committed to the Wolfpack to play baseball.

Recruiting fans can track the commitments of Virginia’s top 50 prospects throughout the recruiting process by checking out The Daily Progress Web site (www.dailyprogress.com) and looking for the Gold List, listed under web events on the main page or simply call up sports on the site and look for the Gold List label.
 

No. 2 Duke comes to town
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
January 11, 2004

As snow fell in Charlottesville on Friday, a few UVa students sprung up tents near the entrance of University Hall.

There were a few, just a smattering waiting to receive precious spots for this evening’s game against No. 2 Duke.

In the recent past, the students’ tents were more of a gathering village. Now, the tents look quite lonely.

Today’s game is an announced sellout and probably because the opponent is Duke, it will be close to capacity (perhaps a better measure of a crowd these days than simply tickets sold).

The crowd likely will be lively and energized - as it usually is for Duke - but those are things a U-Hall crowd has rarely been this season.

Last Monday, Virginia played William & Mary before an announced crowd of nearly 6,300 but a real count would put the figure at just over half that. Certainly the time (9 p.m.) and opponent kept the attendance down a little.

“Certainly that game was not at the ideal time. We had a great crowd against Providence and a pretty good crowd against Iowa State. If we play well and perform, I think the crowds will be great. If we play mediocre and lose, they won’t be there,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen. “People want to see the glitz and the glamour. I’m sure people want to see the Dukes, North Carolinas and Marylands and those kind of teams.”

The Cavaliers are 10-2 but for whatever reasons, valid or not, some fans seem skeptical.

“I appreciate the ones that are there. The loyal fans that root for the team. If they give us a chance, I think the fans will like this team. … A lot of times the fans don’t think we’re supposed to be any good and we have to prove it to them,” Gillen said. “Our job is to try to win to bring more fans back.”

Certainly Gillen would agree that today offers as good a chance as any to prove it.

The No. 2 Blue Devils enter today’s games having won eight straight contests, the last five by an average margin of 28 points.

“I think Duke teams are always more similar than they are different. They’ve always had great teams and this is a great team,” Gillen said. “This team might be one of the best defensive teams they’ve had. … They can also score from all five positions.”

As usual, the Blue Devils are proficient in scoring from the perimeter with at least four 3-point threats. That would seem to play into a particular weakness of the Cavaliers, who have yielded 33 3-pointers in their last four games.

“What’s happening is we have to get back better on our fast-break defense. Secondly, our individual defense has to improve. We’re a little undisciplined and we’re jumping around and leaving our feet too much,” Gillen said. “We have to do a better job with our defensive fundamentals and keeping guys in front of you. … We’ve been working on it and hopefully we will improve.”

Punctuating the Cavaliers’ deficiencies defending the 3, has been their own inconsistency behind the arc. Over that same four-game span, Virginia has made just 25 treys in 84 attempts.

“There are a lot of things we can do about that. We’ve shot well from the perimeter only a couple of times. We’re capable of having good 3-point shooters but we have to work at it. We have to work on the fundamentals,” Gillen said. “I’m not saying we’re a great 3-point shooting team but we’re a better one than we’ve been showing. We’ll have to make 3s against Duke. I’m guessing they’ll make 10 or 11 so we’ll have to make seven, eight, or nine to stay with them.”

Both Gillen and his players cited fatigue in a sluggish performance against William & Mary on Monday. It was the Cavaliers fourth game in nine days but now they’ve had nearly a week of rest before today’s contest.

“We were fatigued and we needed rest. Now, everyone is excited for the Duke game. Everyone believes we can beat them and so does Coach,” said freshman Gary Forbes. “Believing we can go out there and beat them is half the battle right there.”
 

Gillen under fire prematurely
By Doug Doughty

Scarcely does the topic of Virginia men's basketball arise these days that somebody doesn't ask, "Is Pete gone?"

Here's a guy, Pete Gillen, who is in the third year of a contract that was extended to 10 years before the 2001-02 season. His teams have made four straight postseason appearances, and this year the Cavaliers are 10-2.

Maybe it's a soft 10-2, without a victory over anybody resembling a Top 25 opponent, but it's still 10-2.

Can't people just relax?

The Cavaliers have lost on the road to North Carolina State, which was picked fourth in the ACC before the season. Virginia was a preseason choice for eighth and, as a 6 1/2 -point underdog, was supposed to lose that game.

UVa's other loss was at home to Providence. The Friars had been ranked second in the country by one of the ratings formulas - how, I'm not sure - but they showed two nights later in an overtime loss to No.18 Texas that they're no pushover.

Maybe the biggest indictment of Gillen is that his program would be a preseason choice for eighth place in his sixth year.

That's a legitimate beef, but let the season play out. Even if Virginia had beaten Providence, would it have made any difference if the Cavaliers had then gone 4-12 in the conference?

Virginia could go 4-12. A lot of people look at double-digit losses to N.C.State and Providence, as well as single-digit victories over Mount St.Mary's and William and Mary, and think it will be difficult for the Cavaliers to win more than five ACC games.

The Cavaliers' first ACC home game at 5:30 tonight against No.2 Duke has the potential to set a tone for the season. Another double-digit loss, followed by a trip Thursday to overachieving Georgia Tech, could leave UVa in a big hole.

On the other hand, an inspired performance in front of what should be UVa's best crowd of the season would help restore some of the good will that has evaporated since Gillen's first three seasons.

Don't believe the attendance numbers in the box scores. Virginia has not drawn well this season. University Hall, with a listed capacity of 8,392, was not half-full Monday night for a game with William and Mary.

In all fairness, that was a 9 p.m. television game when school wasn't in session. Earlier, the building wasn't close to full for a meeting with then-unbeaten Iowa State, but that was a 6 p.m. New Year's Eve affair. Attendance for a 3 p.m. Saturday game with Providence was pretty good.

When the new, 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena opens in two years, Virginia can't afford to have crowds in the 5,000-6,000 range, which means Gillen can't have a steady diet of visitors such as Mount St.Mary's, High Point and Coastal Carolina.

Part of the recent disenchantment with Gillen stems from his scheduling, although I don't think it's an embarrassing slate for this team. I think that last year's 16-16 record, coupled with arrests and suspensions that dogged the team all season, has had more to do with fan unrest.

I also don't think that many fans like the way Gillen coaches, most notably the way he uses his timeouts. When a coach calls a timeout with 18:02 remaining in the first half and the score 3-3, as Gillen did last year at Georgia Tech, players and fans are overwhelmed with a sense of panic.

On the positive side, Gillen seldom has had more talented players in the program than he has right now, and the Cavaliers' early recruiting class, headed by point guard Sean Singletary, was rated No.18 in the country by Bob Gibbons.

There is no compelling reason to get rid of Gillen after this season, particularly with the new arena not scheduled to open until 2005-06. Plus, his $900,000-per-year contract was written in such a manner that any buyout would be for close to full value.

With a $128 million arena under construction, what's a $6.3 million buyout? I'm not even sure who would make that decision, though. Athletic director Craig Littlepage? President John Casteen? Paul Tudor Jones, prime benefactor of the new arena?

I think I'd like to see a few more games. So, probably, would they.
 

Future success for ACC
Published January 11 2004
David Teel

The insatiable urge to upgrade football fueled the ACC's expansion quest last summer. Weary of Florida State's dominance and a failure to secure at-large BCS invitations, the conference pillaged the Big East for Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech.

But did ACC officials underestimate their product? It's a question worth asking after conference teams, stocked with starting underclassmen, enjoyed unprecedented bowl success, winning five of six games - all convincingly.

The ACC's 5-1 bowl record was not only the nation's best this season, but also the best in the league's 51-year history. And if not for another agonizing wide-right for Florida State against Miami in the Orange Bowl, the ACC might have been perfect.

North Carolina State toyed with Kansas in the Tangerine Bowl; Virginia defeated Pittsburgh in the Continental Tire; Maryland abused West Virginia in the Gator; Clemson whipped Tennessee in the Peach, and Georgia Tech routed Tulsa in the Humanitarian.

Beware Big 12 (bowl record of 2-6) and Big Ten (3-5)? Traffic jams for spring games? Talk radio obsessing over recruiting?

Well, let's not be rash - leave that to Britney Spears. Besides, for the third consecutive season, no ACC team cracked the final Associated Press top 10, a unique failure among the six Bowl Championship Series conferences since the BCS' advent in 1998.

Then there are the ACC's bowl victims. Only Tennessee and West Virginia were among the top 25 after the regular season, only Tennessee after the bowls. Given the chance, Britney would annul that bunch, too.

The ACC's performance during the regular season was no more definitive. Georgia Tech defeated Auburn, wilted against Georgia; Wake Forest beat Boston College, folded against Connecticut; Virginia was outstanding against Virginia Tech, woeful at South Carolina; Florida State lost at home to Miami, won at Florida; Maryland fell at Northern Illinois, beat West Virginia; N.C. State was lucky to survive Texas Tech, unlucky in overtime at Ohio State.

Next season should be much better.

Now keep in mind that forecasting football eight hours in advance, much less eight months, is folly. Last season, Louisiana State was unranked and a five-time loser, while Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart took nary a snap. This season? Golden.

The ACC's gold standard in 2004? Not so fast. First, let's discuss the conference's alignment.

Miami and Virginia Tech, invited in July, are definitely in, giving the ACC eight bowl teams from 2003. Care to make it nine?

Boston College, invited in October, wasn't scheduled to arrive until 2005. But there is sentiment among schools and conferences affected by realignment to finalize this mess ASAP.

The hinge is Conference USA, its football and basketball gutted by the defections of Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, South Florida and DePaul to the Big East. If C-USA's remnants can be appeased (paid off?), the dominoes could fall for 2004, allowing Boston College to join the ACC, and the ACC to stage a football championship game. It's a longshot, but expect resolution by month's end.

With or without Boston College and a title game, the ACC's depth charts border on imposing.

Clemson expects 16 starters back from a team that defeated two top-10 opponents (Florida State and Tennessee) for the first time since the program's 1981 national title run. Most important, the Tigers boast the conference's best returning quarterback, Charlie Whitehurst.

Georgia Tech returns the ACC's leading rusher (P.J. Daniels), top pass rusher (end Eric Henderson) and rookie of the year (quarterback Reggie Ball); Maryland, winner of 10 or more games the last three seasons, placed seven underclassmen on the all-conference first and second teams; Virginia started only six seniors in its bowl victory.

Florida State and Miami? The Seminoles lost only tailback Greg Jones from their offense, and the Hurricanes always seem to have athletes, no matter how many bolt early for the NFL (three and counting this year).

ACC football never has been better - in theory. In actual competition, ACC teams next season face the likes of Southern California, Ohio State, Florida and Georgia. That is the true test.
 

Mayo mulls next move
U.Va., Tech among schools pursuing Kecoughtan senior
By Norm Wood
Daily Press
Published January 11, 2004

Kecoughtan High's Jerod Mayo is used to being stalked. It comes with being one of the nation's top linebacker recruits.

Phone calls at all hours of the day. A mailbox crammed full of letters from colleges every day. Internet Web sites gauging what his every change in mood means to his college search. Mayo is a bona fide A-list recruit. The experience has been enlightening, but he's tired of being shadowed. He'd better get used to it.

"It was fun at first, but it starts to get a little stressful with all the recruiting services and coaches," said Mayo, who is rated the nation's 10th-best outside linebacker recruit by the Rivals100.com recruiting Web site. "The services know as soon as you walk in the door from a school visit. They're calling you right away."

Mayo loved his visit to North Carolina State and had the red carpet rolled out for him at Virginia and Purdue. He'll get the same treatment on his official trips to Tennessee next weekend and Virginia Tech on the weekend of Jan. 23. He might be looking for some answers when he gets to Blacksburg.

"Virginia Tech told me they're going to change their defense up a little bit," Mayo said. "I'm waiting for (Jim Cavanaugh, one of the Hokies' defensive coaches) to come down here and show what those changes would be. He said they weren't going to make many changes, just tweak some things here and there."

Mayo likes Virginia and its four-linebacker approach. Though he might have to compete for playing time with linebackers including Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham, Mayo is undeterred.

"I'm always up for competition," Mayo said. "It doesn't matter where I go, I'm going to have to compete for a job. So that factor doesn't really take any school out of consideration."

Does any school have an advantage? If one does, Mayo's not saying.

"With the two in-state schools, I basically give them a slight edge, but I'm really wide open right now," Mayo said. "I'm just trying to find the best fit for me and the best education I can get."

Mayo said each of the five remaining schools on his list has told him he will have to add 20 to 25 pounds to his 6-foot-3, 213-pound frame. But none of them want him to change his game. After logging 110 tackles and seven sacks, forcing six fumbles and rushing for 1,247 yards as a senior, he made quite an impression.

Mayo, who began the season as Kecoughtan's starting fullback but moved up from the No. 3 tailback designation due to injuries, said he played tailback the same way he played linebacker ... looking to run people over. He averaged nearly 9 yards per carry, which makes one wonder why he didn't play tailback more in his career.

"One of the reasons we didn't do it earlier was because we had some other guys who could play back there," Kecoughtan coach Tommy Austin said. "He was our best defensive player. There's no doubt about that. We didn't want to wear him down."

Though the process may have lost some of its luster, Mayo is in no rush. He has a 3.5 grade-point average and a qualifying 980 SAT score, and he wants to major in computer engineering or computer technology. He might wait until Feb. 4, the first day high school recruits can sign national letters of intent with colleges, to announce his decision.

"I might take it right down to the wire," Mayo said. "I want to take all my visits and make sure I'm not missing anything and make sure I'm making the right decision."
 

Redick: One shot at history
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Jan 10, 2004 : 11:31 pm ET

Today at University Hall in Charlottesville, a native son could get a chance to break an ACC record that has stood for nearly a quarter-century.

And Virginia fans, without a doubt, will make plenty of noise when the moment arrives.

But when Roanoke product J.J. Redick tries to break the ACC record for consecutive free throws made, Virginia fans won't be cheering him.

They'll be jeering him.

"I'm sure they hate me there, and they're going to jeer me a little bit,'' said Redick, a Duke sophomore who has made 48 straight free throws to match the streak by former Virginia player Jeff Lamp in 1979-80. "I'm sure their fans are going to be screaming some obscenities at me.

"I'll have to concentrate and knock them down."

Redick has been knocking them down all season -- his whole life really. Redick once made 107 straight free throws shooting in the back yard with his brother, a streak stopped only by darkness, and he made 61 straight as a junior at Cave Spring High School and 43 straight as a senior.

Last season, his freshman year at Duke, Redick broke the school record with 43 straight. He made his final nine free throws last season and has yet to miss this season, making 39 straight to tie Lamp. Redick is 141-for-150 from the line at Duke.

Virginia fans hoped that Redick would be breaking records as a Cavalier, but he broke hearts when he made an early commitment to Duke.

Some fans might feel ill will toward Redick, but the feeling isn't mutual.

"Playing at Virginia, it's a special place for me, it really is,'' Redick said. "It's my home state, and I love [former AAU teammates] Elton [Brown] and Jason [Clark], and I have a lot of respect for Coach [Pete] Gillen. I'm excited to go back.

"It would be really nice to get the record there."

Redick relishes the opportunity to break the record at Virginia ?? just as he would in any hostile environment. Redick said that he looks forward to any opportunity to silence an opposing crowd, an attitude to which his teammates will attest.

"He especially loves being on the road shooting free throws. It's his way of saying, 'Take that,' " Duke senior Chris Duhon said. "He's cocky and arrogant when he gets to the line -- all the time really. His streak shows his personality."

Besides, Redick has struggled some with his free-throw shooting at Cameron Indoor Stadium -- behind the scenes, at least. The Blue Devils have an ongoing free-throw contest after practice, and in one of the great ironies, Redick ranks third on the team behind Daniel Ewing and Luol Deng.

Ewing took the top spot when he recently hit 23 of 25 free throws to top Redick.

"The first four times we did it, I was probably like 99 of 100," Redick said. "So I was in first place, even though I started at the bottom. They did it by age.

"So I worked my way up, but then Daniel beat me. He hit 23; I don't even want to talk about how many I made. It was less than 80 percent; it was an off day for me.

"I miss every now and then in practice. In games, I'm just more focused."

While some of today's focus will be on Redick's first trip to the free-throw line, the bigger picture finds the Blue Devils looking for their second straight road victory to open ACC play. Duke (11-1) has won 16 of its last 18 meetings with Virginia, but those two losses have come over the Blue Devils' last three trips to University Hall.

Duke won at Virginia last season but went 4-4 in ACC road games ?? mediocre by Duke's recent standards. But this season, Duke's more experienced group has victories away from home against Michigan State and Texas and opened the ACC schedule with a win at Clemson.

"It was good for us early in the season playing two big games like Michigan State and Texas,'' said sophomore post player Shelden Williams, who had his breakout game at Virginia last season -- 20 points and eight rebounds. "We're trying to build on that, and hopefully we can keep doing that.

"We're not as young as we were last year. Now we're more focused and are going in with the mindset of winning."

The Cavaliers (10-2) are off to a solid start. Post player Elton Brown (17.0 points, 7.2 rebounds) has been a force, and freshman wing player Gary Forbes is one of five Cavaliers averaging in double-digits.

The Cavaliers have been much better at home in recent seasons, and they're 8-1 at home this season. But beyond that, Virginia's success or failure has been linked to turnovers more than anything else has thus far.

In Virginia's two losses -- against N.C. State and Providence -- the Cavaliers averaged 19 turnovers. In their most impressive victories, against Iowa State and Minnesota, they averaged seven turnovers.

"Reality is somewhere in the middle,'' Gillen said. "We're averaging about 12 a game, so we were doing a pretty good job, so we've got to get back to that. I think we're capable of that. We've just got to concentrate and take care of the ball and be mentally ready.

"We have a young team, but I think we're doing a decent job. We have a ton of improving to do. We're playing in the best league in the country this year, so we've got a lot of work ahead of us. But I like the character of our team and I like the leadership. I like our team, and I think we have a chance."

 

What's the Point? Cavs Excel With Billet There
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, January 11, 2004; Page E03

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Jan. 10 -- Few players in the ACC shoot the basketball better than Virginia guard Todd Billet. In his career, the fifth-year senior has hit 278 three-pointers, sinking more than 40 percent of his attempts.

Yet as the Cavaliers prepare to plunge into the thick of the ACC season, Billet is averaging a career-low 10.8 points per game. As Virginia's primary point guard -- a role he assumed midway through last season -- he concentrates more on running the offense than on getting shots for himself.

So far, the shift in emphasis has paid off. The Cavs are among the national leaders with just 12.4 turnovers per game -- four fewer than last season -- and Billet is averaging 2.7 assists for every turnover, the best ratio of his career. With the other starters handling more of the scoring load, Virginia has a 10-2 record (0-1 ACC) entering Sunday's home game against second-ranked Duke (11-1, 1-0).

"I really wanted to improve at point guard because I knew I was going to be getting even more minutes [at the position] this year," said Billet, who had 108 assists and 93 turnovers last season. "One of the things I'm most proud of is the improvement so far in my assist-to-turnover ratio. That's the telltale sign of a point guard and the job he's doing. . . . I thought I had too many turnovers last year."

Billet makes the best use of his shooting ability when he plays shooting guard and can focus primarily on scoring, but Virginia's best lineup features two bigger, more athletic players on the wings -- Gary Forbes and Derrick Byars. So Billet plays the point, sliding over to shooting guard when reserve guards Majestic Mapp and T.J. Bannister are in the game.

"Todd's done a great job," Cavaliers Coach Pete Gillen said. "He's sacrificed some offense; he's sacrificed concentrating on some shots . . . but sometimes we've got to get him off the ball, because what he does best is catch and shoot. So it's a little bit of a juggling act. . . . We've got to mix it up a little bit, see how the game's going. If we're getting great scoring from our other four guys, then he can play the point. But if we need a little bit of a boost, then we have to get him off the ball or he's not rolling."

"We've got plays for him; we set screens for him, but he's not really thinking [primarily] about scoring," center Elton Brown said. "To him, it's just all about winning. He knows that around him he has four guys who can score."

Billet has been playing this kind of hybrid role for most of his career, first at Rutgers and now for two seasons at Virginia. He's skilled, smart and deceptively strong, but he's only 6 feet and doesn't have explosive athletic ability. He sometimes has trouble, he admits, getting his shot without help from his teammates.

"I think I'm a lot quicker than a lot of people give me credit for . . . [but] there's definitely a level of athleticism that's pretty unbelievable in terms of jumping ability in this conference," Billet acknowledged. "That's not something that I've been blessed with."

He hasn't entirely forgotten how to score, though. Check back after Virginia faces a few more ACC opponents.

"There's a delicate balance between running the team and looking to score," Billet said. "I think when conference play comes around, when it becomes more difficult to score . . . my aggression level probably goes up a little bit, because I've proven in the past that I can score in the conference and against the tough competition. . . .

"Things could change. I could play more two-guard as the season goes on. But it's going to be dependent on how guys are playing and how the team's clicking overall -- if we need more scoring or if we don't. We'll find out in the next few weeks."
 

Redick at home on line
Duke guard targets free-throw mark
By LUCIANA CHAVEZ, Staff Writer

DURHAM -- Duke guard J.J. Redick leads the nation in free-throw shooting at 100 percent.

Heading into today's game at Virginia, Redick has made all 39 of his attempts this season and tied Jeff Lamp's 1980 ACC record for consecutive free throws made with 48 overall, stretching back to last season. He also broke his own Duke record for consecutive free throws made with his 44th against Davidson on Dec. 29.

Funny. The way Blue Devils see it, based on post-practice free-throw shooting contests, Redick is not even the best free-throw shooter on the team at the moment.

The Blue Devils stage their contests with teammates after practices. Each shoots 25. The winner moves up and the loser moves down the "free-throw ladder."

Redick, who started at the bottom at the beginning of the season as the youngest player on the team, claimed to be shooting somewhere in the 99 percent range before recently coming up short against Daniel Ewing.

Ewing went up to the No. 1 rung, Luol Deng to No. 2 and the 100-percent guy to No. 3.

Redick refused to reveal how many he missed in the loss to Ewing, saying only that it was "somewhere around 80 percent."

"[Daniel] made 23, and it was an off day for me," Redick said.

Any miss irks him, but he is missing when it can't damage his record chase. When the game clock is ticking away, Redick expects to make every shot.

"He's cocky and arrogant when he goes to the line," said senior Chris Duhon, who outed the sophomore for his recent show of imperfection. "That streak shows his personality."

Redick said he doesn't think about breaking free-throw records, but, someday, he would love to shoot a perfect 100 percent for a season. He said the impossible-sounding task is all in the gray matter.

"The main thing is you have to tell yourself, 'I'm going to make it,' " he said.

Redick and North Texas junior Jill Medlock (37-for-37) are the only man and woman in NCAA Division I who are perfect from the line this season.

The NCAA record of 85 in a row over more than one season is held by Butler's Darnell Archey. The season mark is 73 held by Villanova's Gary Buchanan.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has his own approach to Redick's free-throw shooting.

"You leave him alone," Krzyzewski said. "We shoot a lot [in practice], but he shoots more. You don't become good at something unless you do it repetitively, and he has his routine. There are certain things you just don't mess around with, and that's one of them."

Redick has strung together free throws before. He hit 63 in a row during his junior year in high school. He made 43 in a row as a senior.

Another time, Redick had knocked down 107 in the backyard at home with his younger brother David shagging for him.

Jeanie Redick, their mother, ended that one, calling the boys into the house because it was getting too dark.

J.J. Redick, who is from Roanoke, Va., will savor the chance to break the record in his home state and on the road when the Devils play the Cavaliers today.

"The record means a lot to me, and I take pride in it," he said. "I'm sure they'll jeer me a little, especially if I break it there with Jeff Lamp's jersey in the rafters. But I like doing anything good on the road."

No. 49 will still feel like all the others.

"I may think, 'This is it,' '' Redick said. "Then knock it down like any other."


 

Solomon steps into challenge
Former U.Va. guard takes reins of troubled St. Bonaventure team
BY JOHN O'CONNOR
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 11, 2004

Anthony Solomon graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in rhetoric and communications.

The Newport News native is now in the rehabilitation business.

Solomon, 39 and a former Cavaliers reserve guard, is in his first season as the head basketball coach at St. Bonaventure, whose Atlantic 10 Conference program was deeply stained by scandal last year.

Junior-college transfer Jamil Terrell, it was revealed last March, earned a welding certificate from Coastal Georgia Community College rather than an associate's degree. Ineligible for Division I competition by NCAA guidelines, Terrell played in 25 games for the 2002-03 Bonnies anyway. St. Bonaventure's president, athletic director and coach - each of whom has left the 2,200-student Catholic school in Olean, N.Y. - were aware of the fraud.

"They screwed up. They put winning ahead of everything else," Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said.

The Bonnies forfeited wins and were barred from the A-10 tournament. The players chose to boycott their last two games of the regular season, leading to a six-figure penalty paid by the school. NCAA sanctions probably are forthcoming for the innocent left behind.

Into this nasty wound stepped Solomon, who left the Notre Dame staff and also worked previously as an assistant at Richmond and Virginia.

"He is just the kind of person you love to see be successful [because] he always does things the right way," said Terry Holland, Solomon's coach at U.Va. "And St. Bonaventure needs exactly that type of leadership right now."

When Solomon came aboard in May, the Bonnies had six scholarship players. He brought in three more over the summer. A couple of walk-ons help, but when players are unavailable due to injury or sickness, a member of Solomon's staff and a team manager participate in practice so the Bonnies can go five-on-five.

Naturally, to those who know St. Bonaventure's new coach, Solomon is upbeat.

"We'll be fine. What we've focused on is our ability to take each day one day at a time and work on improving our work ethic on a consistent basis," he said. "And that's not only on the basketball court. That's in life in general, in terms of dealing with our schoolwork, communicating with people on campus - our professors, our peers - and we like the steps we've taken. We think we're headed in the right direction."

The Bonnies are 4-9, not in bad shape at all, given the circumstances. On the road, St. Bonaventure's players and coaches hear taunts about cheating. At home, crowds have been strong and supportive at the 6,000-seat Reilly Center, one of college basketball's most uncomfortable dens for opponents.

Championship contention must wait. Scraping the muck off the Bonnies' reputation is job one for Solomon, followed by making the best of a short-handed team this season.

"He has worked with excellent head coaches and knows a great deal about how to produce winners under almost all circumstances," Holland said of Solomon's 15 years as an assistant at seven Division I schools.

Solomon, never before a head coach on any level, already signed two players for next season with a proactive approach that openly addressed last season's embarrassing episode.

"Myself as well as my staff, a lot of people know us throughout the country and understand the type of people we are," Solomon said. "They also understand the situation that we're in at the current time."

 

Cavs to get chance to impress full house
Second-ranked Duke offers an opportunity and a test for Virginia
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 11, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Disregard the official attendance for the nine games the Virginia men's basketball team has played at 8,392-seat University Hall this season: 63,629, an average of 7,070. That reflects the number of tickets distributed, not the DUKE AT U.VA.number of people who have shown up to see the Cavaliers.

The reality is this: Empty seats have outnumbered fans at several U.Va. games this season. An unimpressive nonconference schedule hasn't helped matters, but many Virginia fans clearly are down on beleaguered coach Pete Gillen, and they've shown their displeasure by staying away from U-Hall.

So be it, said Gillen, whose team was picked to finish eighth in the ACC.

"If we play well and win, I think the crowds will be great," Gillen said Friday. And if the Cavaliers struggle, he added, a portion of the fan base will stay home.

"I appreciate the ones that are there, the loyal fans that root for the team," said Gillen, whose record in six seasons at U.Va. is 96-67, with one NCAA tournament appearance. "If they give us a chance, I think the fans will like this team."

Poor chemistry, off-the-court problems and bad attitudes contributed to a disappointing 2002-03 season for Virginia, which finished 16-16 after losing in the NIT's second round. Critics questioned the team's commitment and character, and not without reason.

"Last year at times we'd take a loss, and it would almost be like it was OK," sophomore forward Derrick Byars said. "This year, the losses hurt us. The chemistry's a whole lot better. Guys are hanging together off the court, and we're following directions."

U.Va. (0-1, 10-2) returns to U-Hall tonight for a date with second-ranked Duke (1-0, 11-1). The game is sold out, and a capacity crowd is likely to actually show up to watch Virginia try to beat the Blue Devils for the third time in their past four meetings in Charlottesville.

"I think that's something that can help our team and help our performance," senior point guard Todd Billet said, "maybe taken us to another level in terms of intensity on the defensive end and help us play with a ton of emotion, because that's what it takes to beat a team like Duke."

Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils have won eight consecutive games since losing Nov. 29 to Purdue in the Great Alaska Shootout. As usual, Duke is stocked with former McDonald's All-Americans. They include sophomore guard J.J. Redick (14.7) of Roanoke and freshman swingman Luol Deng (14.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg), both of whom chose Duke over U.Va. But the Devils' offensive proficiency isn't all that concerns Gillen.

"This team might be the best defensive team they've had in a long time," he said.

Duke, first among ACC teams in scoring defense (56.6), has allowed opponents to shoot only 38.4 percent from the floor and 29 percent from 3-point range. If the Cavaliers shoot poorly tonight, particularly from long range, they'll probably fall hard.

"We're going to have to make 3s to beat Duke," Gillen said. "They're going to shoot well."

U.Va. has five 3-point threats: Billet (26 of 68), Byars (16 of 39), freshman swingman Gary Forbes (16 of 39), freshman guard J.R. Reynolds (10 of 30) and junior forward Devin Smith (8 of 42).

Smith's 19-percent accuracy on 3-pointers isn't indicative of his ability. As a sophomore, he made 64 of 166 attempts (38.6 percent) from beyond the arc. A back injury has hampered Smith's outside shooting this season, but he's begun to find the mark. He sank three treys in a Dec. 31 win over Iowa State and two in Monday's victory over William and Mary.

"His back's still bothering him, but when he's as healthy as he can be and he plays the way he can, we're a different team," Gillen said.

Jason Clark will make his season debut tonight, Gillen said. The 6-8, 235-pound junior, who started 15 games last season, rejoined the team last weekend after regaining his academic eligibility.