Maryland DB commits to play at UVa
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 19, 2004

When defensive back Theirrien Davis made his official visit to Virginia this weekend, he had no intentions of committing. But the trip was so positive he couldn’t say no to the Cavaliers.

Davis, a 6-foot, 180-pound safety from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md., chose UVa over Duke. Those were the only two official visits he made, but also took an unofficial to Penn State and was scheduled to visit Marshall.

“I was leaning toward Virginia but didn’t come down this weekend with the intention of committing,” Davis said Sunday night. “After seeing the campus and facilities and talking to the players and not hearing a negative word from any of them, I was impressed. I liked the family atmosphere here and the fact that the coaching staff has a lot of NFL experience.”

A second-team All-Metro, all-league and all-state selection, this multi-talented athlete from Maryland’s largest high school, focused more on offense as a senior tailback than as a safety. He rushed for 1,400 yards on 153 carries and had 185 yards in receptions. He also returned kicks.

But he was recruited as a safety by Virginia. Davis, who has 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash, had 80 tackles last season.

“I definitely love to hit,” Davis said. “In order to be a good safety, you have to love to hit. But I also like to use my speed to cover people. I’ve had a lot of success with my pass coverage this year.”

Davis said that Virginia’s coaches emphasized during the recruiting process that there would be an opportunity for someone to come in and get some playing time in the secondary next season.

“That was also a factor in my decision,” Davis said. “They didn’t specify that it would be me or anyone else in particular but said the opportunity would be there and that’s hard to ignore.”




Virginia gets elusive first ACC win
Smith, Billet lead way in overtime win over FSU
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
January 19, 2004

The Virginia men’s basketball team took several glances into the abyss Sunday afternoon at University Hall. At times, Florida State was poised to send the Cavaliers to a devastating 0-4 mark in the ACC and a tailspin that might be unrecoverable.

A funny thing, however, happened on the way to that abyss - the Cavaliers pulled themselves out of it.

Keyed by two Devin Smith baskets, the Cavaliers outscored the Seminoles 11-2 in the overtime session to notch a 76-67 victory.

“It was an important game. In the ACC, every game you win is the greatest thing that’s happened and every game you lose the world’s going to end,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen. “The world didn’t end today. It was a giant win because it’s the first league win. … We were trying to get the albatross off our necks.”

Todd Billet had a season-high 26 points while adding six assists for the Cavaliers (11-4, 1-3 ACC), who entered the game having lost two straight and four of their past six. Smith, whose ailing back was further damaged in Thursday’s loss at Georgia Tech, did not start but finished with 21 points. Junior forward Jason Clark in just his third game back after an academic suspension, gave the Cavaliers much-needed energy with five points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes while Donte Minter finished with nine points and seven boards.

Von Wafer led Florida State (12-5, 1-3 ACC) with 17 points.

If an air of desperation fueled the Cavaliers on Sunday, another ingredient aiding their cause was one usually absent.

Virginia held Florida State to just 31.9 percent shooting after allowing four of its last six opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor.

“If we defend, we’ve got a chance to win. We finally played the kind of defense we needed to win in the ACC,” Gillen said. “If we don’t defend, we don’t have a chance with our offense.”

Florida State led 30-25 after a less than aesthetically pleasing opening 20 minutes.

The Cavaliers eventually regained the lead, 38-36, on a Billet 3-pointer with 16:19 remaining. The Cavaliers twice expanded that lead to seven but the Seminoles weren’t content to allow the home team to cruise to its first ACC win.

The Seminoles battled back to tie the game and eventually grabbed a 64-62 advantage on a layup by Adam Waleskowski with 1:45 left.

Billet, a moment after he had actually airballed a trey with the game tied, gave UVa a 65-64 lead with a 3-pointer with 1:27 left.

In total, Billet connected on six of his 13 3-point attempts as Virginia made a season-high 13 treys on 31 attempts.

“Todd Billet was on fire. He played with a big heart and he carried us,” Gillen said. “We probably had our best overall shooting game from the perimeter.”

Added Billet: “Coach called some plays for us today and we were able to get and then make some good looks from outside.”

The Seminoles, however, tied the game at 65 after Waleskowski made 1 of 2 from the line. Neither team scored in the final 1:12 and the game was sent to overtime with the teams tied at 65.

Smith, who connected on four of his nine attempts from behind the arc, made a 3-pointer to start overtime and then followed it with a pull-up jumper to give UVa a 70-65 lead with 4:05 remaining in the extra session. The Seminoles would get no closer than four the rest of the way as Virginia registered the precious first ACC win.

“We were frustrated after the other night and we knew the mistakes we were making and the focus we were losing in games. We wanted to come out tonight and play hard and get that first ACC win,” Clark said.

Smith didn’t not start the game because of that continued soreness in his back but Elton Brown also was benched and there was likely more of a message in that decision as Clark and Minter started in the frontcourt.

Brown fouled out with three points and four rebounds in 20 minutes. Brown’s fifth foul was what could have been a costly charge with 1:12 left and the game tied.

“We’d lost two in a row. I can live with losing, but I can’t live with the way we played at Georgia Tech. We didn’t play with heart, with toughness and with guts and that’s why we changed the lineup,” Gillen said.



Heroes are plentiful in crucial win
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 19, 2004

Virginia basketball was 0-3 in the ACC and in need of a hero.
Sunday afternoon several Cavaliers answered the bell as they became the last team in the league to gain a conference win with a 76-67 overtime win over visiting Florida State.
The real story of the game was defense. Coach Pete Gillen has been calling for the Cavs to put forth a strong defensive effort all season long. Sunday, they didn’t just talk the talk.
Virginia held FSU to a 31.9 shooting percentage for the game. The Seminoles didn’t make a single field goal attempt in overtime (0 for 9) and made only one field goal the final five minutes of regulation.
Coming into the game, Virginia’s defense had allowed the highest opponent field percentage of any ACC team.
“Finally we played the kind of defense that we needed to,” Gillen said after the Cavs improved to 11-4 overall. “If we defend, we’ve got a chance because we’re not going to win [in the ACC] with just our offense.”

You want heroes?
How about Jason Clark, getting a starting assignment and playing 34 minutes in only his third game of the season. He pulled down nine rebounds and had five points.
Todd Billet? He showed up Sunday with the mentality that coaches love. Any opportunity he had to take an open jumper, he was determined to take. Billet drilled in 26 points and had six assists and only one turnover in 40 minutes of playing time.
J.R. Reynolds and Donte Minter also stepped up and made big contributions, but perhaps the biggest hero on the day was Devin Smith.
Plagued all season by a bad back stemming from a herniated disc, Smith didn’t practice all week and wasn’t sure he would even be able to play after taking some lumps at Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
When they announced starting lineups Sunday, Smith was well behind the Virginia bench, over near the tunnel’s entrance, perched on an exercise bike as he tried to loosen up.
“I was supposed to start but I told Coach Gillen that I wasn’t ready,” Smith said.
When he was ready, the Seminoles were in trouble. The junior forward scored 21 points off the bench, hitting 8 of 13 shots (4 of 9 from the
bonusphere), pulled down six rebounds, had a block and two steals. He played defense, he took charges, he showed guts when Virginia was faced with its biggest gut-check of the season.

Avoiding disaster
Gillen knew that 0h-for-Four in the ACC could have been disastrous. His players knew it, too.
“We had to have this win,” Smith said.
Smith has been amazing in recent weeks, at least on offense. Sunday was no different. As the Cavs trailed 30-25 at halftime, Smith began to shoot his team back into the game.
He scored on a drive and was fouled early in the half
and cut it to three, then nailed back-to-back 3-pointers from the left corner at the 15:10 and 14:28 marks to build UVa’s lead to 44-39.
Smith’s and Billet’s shooting seemed to revive the Cavaliers’ confidence as they led 59-53 with 7:06 to play on another Smith trey. But Florida State didn’t go down without a fight. The Seminoles took a 60-59 lead with 5:12 remaining, the last field goal FSU would score in the game.
When it came down to the final seconds with the game knotted at 65 and Virginia playing without a timeout, Clark spotted Smith open in the left corner and passed it over as the time ticked away.
Smith didn’t know how much time was left. His feet weren’t set for the shot. He just knew he had to put it up.
He missed as the game went into overtime. But he wasn’t worried. Smith knew he’d get another chance.
The first shot of the overtime was the same shot by Smith. This time it went in. On the next possession, bad back and all, Smith hit a short baseline jumper for a 70-65 lead. It was only fitting that with 11 seconds to play Smith was spotted all alone downcourt from where he slammed the ball home.
“Devin is one of the most courageous, gutty guys I’ve coached in my career, Gillen said afterward. “He’s the one guy on this team who tries to take charges and he’s the one with a bad back.”
It was no surprise that when Gillen got to the lockerroom after the game he told Clark, Billet and Smith that they all played with “tickers” because of the heart they showed in stopping the ACC slide.
“You have to have toughness like Devin shows,” Billet said of his teammate. “You’ve got to have guys like that on the team. It means a lot.”
Gillen had complained that his team hadn’t shown that kind of toughness in league play, that the rest of the ACC had tough guys. Clark and Smith exhibited that kind of toughness on Sunday in spite of the pain.
Clark said he hadn’t expected to play that much in only his second game back. His legs were feeling it, particularly in the second half. As evidence of his willingness to mix it up, he was wearing four stitches from the battle.
Smith, well that’s another story.
“I was real sore after the Georgia Tech game,” Smith said. “I was injured a couple of times down there. I’m real sore now, too, but I’ve got some medicine to take tonight.”
He can’t explain the pain. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes he wakes up in pain and it doesn’t go away. Sometimes it bothers him only when he’s sitting.
“Sometimes it’s in my hip and my back gets real tight,” Smith said. “But I can’t think about it because when I’m on the floor they expect me to produce.”
Tough times demand tough people to do that. Smith earned his badge of courage Sunday. Hopefully his mentality will rub off upon some of his teammates in time for Tuesday night’s home game against Clemson.



U.Va. uses 13 treys, OT for 1st ACC win
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 19, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It took overtime. It took a reshuffled lineup. Thirteen 3-pointers. A pair of clutch free throws from a freshman who shoots 58 percent.

It took all of that, and then some, for Virginia to scratch out its first ACC win Sunday, 76-67 over Florida State in front of 7,345 at University Hall.

No matter. The Cavaliers, faced with a game that loomed as an early season must-win, will gladly take it.

“It was a huge, huge win for us,” guard Todd Billet said. “We couldn’t lose this one.”

Faced with the possibility of slipping to 0-4 in the ACC, Virginia (11-4, 1-3 ACC) dug down and turned in its best defensive effort of the season, holding FSU (12-5, 1-3) to 32 percent shooting. The Cavaliers limited Seminoles star Tim Pickett, who burned them for 53 points in two games last season, to nine points on 3 of 16 shooting.

“Finally, we played the defense we need to play to win in the ACC,” coach Pete Gillen said.

Toughness was a theme of the day. Forward Devin Smith, who was doubtful for the game after reinjuring his lower back against Georgia Tech Thursday night, came off the bench to score 21 points, all in the second half.

Smith set the tone early by taking a charge, flying after rebounds and diving on the floor for loose balls.

“I just couldn’t hold anything back out there,” Smith said.

Jason Clark, making his first start of the season after missing 12 games for academic reasons, provided an active, intimidating presence inside, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking two shots in 34 minutes.

Clark replaced Smith in the starting lineup, but the pair spent most of the game on the floor together. Freshman Donte Minter started in place of Elton Brown at center, and played 24 minutes to Brown’s 20. Derrick Byars and Gary Forbes started, as they have all season, but gave way to Smith and freshman J.R. Reynolds for most of the afternoon.

Gillen said he made the changes after a lackluster effort against Georgia Tech Thursday night.

“I can live with losing, but I can’t live with the way we played Thursday,” he said. “We didn’t play with heart, with toughness, with guts.”

Virginia played its way out of some tough spots Sunday. Trailing by five at halftime, the Cavaliers opened with a 3-point barrage, getting two each from Billet (26 points) and Smith, and one from Reynolds to take a 49-42 lead.

Florida State came back behind freshman Von Wafer (17 points) and pulled head 64-62 before Billet hit a trey with 1:25 left.

A missed free throw by Adam Waleskowski set up overtime. Virginia held the Seminoles to two Pickett free throws in the extra session. Minter, who was hitting just 58 percent, canned two free throws to secure the win with 47.7 seconds left.

Minter finished with just nine points, but also blocked four shots, combining with Clark to give Virginia a much-needed defensive presence inside. Reynolds did a good job shadowing Pickett, and Billet kept Florida State’s point guards from penetrating.

“That had a lot to do with the outcome,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

On the offensive end, Virginia hit as many 3-point shots (13) as two-pointers. It’s not a formula the Cavaliers might want to try very often, but for one crucial game anyway, it did the trick.

Gillen, sweat soaking through his blue dress shirt, said he never used the term “must-win” with his team prior to the game. But he acknowledged what was at stake, saying a loss would have been ''devastating.”

“In the ACC, every game you win is the greatest thing that ever happened,” he said. “Every game you lose, the world’s going to end.

“The world didn’t end today.”



Gillen experiment works in OT win
Todd Billet and Devin Smith break out in a lineup including junior Jason Clark and freshmen Donte Minter and J.R. Reynolds.
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE - With legions of Virginia men's basketball fans calling for Pete Gillen's head, Todd Billet and Devin Smith rolled their coach off the chopping block Sunday.

Billet and Smith combined for 39 points in the second half and overtime - and 47 overall - as Virginia rallied for a 76-67 victory over Florida State at University Hall.

It was the first conference victory of the season for the Cavaliers (11-4, 1-3 ACC).

"In the ACC, every win is the greatest thing that ever happened; every game you lose, the world is going to end," said Gillen, whose team received enthusiastic support from a crowd listed at 7,345. "Well, the world didn't end.

"It was a giant win, to try to get the albatross [from] around our neck. We've had some decent wins before, but it was certainly our best win of the year because it was a league win and an overtime win. Would the world have ended? No. But, it would have been a devastating loss."

Florida State (12-5, 1-3) has lost 18 straight ACC road games, but the Seminoles went 10-0 to start the season and had been in the Top 25 two weeks ago.

If it was the biggest game of Gillen's six-year UVa tenure, as some had speculated, then the second half was the biggest half after UVa had fallen behind 30-25.

Thus challenged, Gillen sent out a seldom-seen lineup in which Billet and Smith were joined by junior Jason Clark and freshmen Donte Minter and J.R. Reynolds.

Minter had been informed Friday that he would start in place of the team's leading scorer and rebounder, Elton Brown, and Clark was a late addition to the starting lineup after Smith's herniated disk flared up and kept him out of practice for two days.

Clark, who was named UVa's top defender in 2002-03 but was on academic probation for the first 12 games of this season, admittedly had seen his weight soar to 250 pounds from the 234 at which he was listed in Uva's media guide.

After playing a total of 20 minutes in his first two games, Clark played 34 minutes Sunday and had two blocked shots to go with a team-high nine rebounds.

"Virginia did a very good job of defending us today and that had a lot to do with the outcome," said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, whose Seminoles missed all nine of their field-goal attempts in the overtime and shot 31.9 percent from the field.

Minter had a season-high four blocks, none bigger than a rejection of Alexander Johnson with the Cavaliers ahead 70-65 in overtime. Then, after Florida State closed to 70-67, Minter was fouled on a defensive rebound and hit two free throws with 47.7 seconds remaining.

"I guess those 7 a.m. foul-shooting workouts paid off," said Minter, shooting 58.3 percent from the line before Sunday.

"I'm not even sure Donte knows how big those free throws were," Billet said. "That made it a two-possession game. It was a one-and-one, too. I'm not sure he knew, but I wasn't going to tell him."

The Cavaliers jumped to a quick five-point lead in the overtime, thanks to a 3-pointer and a baseline effort by Smith, who had missed a shot that could have ended the game in regulation.

"I was a little off-balance when I caught it," Smith said. "I was behind the basket, too, but I knew there wasn't much time left."

Smith got off to a 3-for-27 start on 3-pointers that was attributed to an absence of practice time. That situation hasn't changed, but Smith is 11-for-19 on 3-pointers in the past three games and 16-for-35 over the past six.

He told Gillen that he would not be available to start Sunday and didn't make his first appearance until 13:03 remained in the first half, by which time he had spent several minutes on a stationary bicycle in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms.

"We had the game lost a couple of times and we dug down," Gillen said. "It took courage, courage of a guy like Devin Smith. That had nothing to do with talent. He's talented, but it's guts and he wants to win. I've been coaching a long time and he's one of the most courageous, gutty guys I've been around."

 

Virginia pulls out victory in overtime
Cavs' defense chills Seminoles in their first ACC win of the season
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 19, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - On a raw, gray afternoon, a bit of sun- U.VA. 76 FSU 67shine finally fell on the struggling University of Virginia men's basketball team.

In a game they could not afford to lose, the Cavaliers clawed to a 76-67 overtime victory over ACC rival Florida State yesterday at University Hall. A spirited crowd of 7,345 saw the Cavs (1-3, 11-4) snap a two-game losing streak and assure themselves company in the ACC cellar. FSU fell to 1-3, 12-5.

"In the ACC, every game you win is the greatest thing that's ever happened," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "Every game you lose, the world's going to end. So the world didn't end today."

Since winning at Clemson on March 3, 2001, the Seminoles have dropped 18 straight ACC road games.

"Virginia did a very good job of defending us today, and that had a lot to do with the outcome," said second-year coach Leonard Hamilton, whose team led 30-25 at halftime.

Florida State failed to make a field goal in the extra period. The Seminoles' only points in overtime came on two free throws by senior guard Tim Pickett that made it 70-67 at the 1:43 mark. For the game, Virginia held Florida State to 31.9-percent accuracy from the floor.

"Finally we played the defense we need to play to win in the ACC," said Gillen, whose record in overtime games with the Cavaliers is 5-3.

Virginia starters Derrick Byars and Gary Forbes combined for one point. Junior center Elton Brown, who came in as the Cavs' top scorer, had three points and four rebounds off the bench before fouling out on a charge in the final minute of regulation.

Had Gillen known before the game, he said, that U.Va. would get that little production from those three players, "I'd have said we have no chance of winning."

Many of the other Cavaliers, however, turned in memorable performances. Senior guard Todd Billet hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points - both season highs - to lead the Cavaliers. He added six assists, two steals and only one turnover.

Junior forward Devin Smith's effort might have been more impressive. After re-injuring his back Thursday night at Georgia Tech, Smith didn't practice Friday or Saturday. He was questionable for yesterday's game but decided to try to play after getting a painkilling shot about an hour before tipoff.

Smith didn't start, and he wasn't particularly effective when he finally checked in. He had no points and one rebound in eight first-half minutes.

The shot "just took a while to kick in," Smith said. "When it did, I was all right."

That's an understatement. He finished with 21 points, six boards, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot. He missed a 3-point attempt at the end of regulation that would have given U.Va. the victory, but 15 seconds into overtime, Smith drained his fourth trey to make it 68-65. He scored seven of the Cavs' 11 points in OT.

"I've been coaching a long time," Gillen said, "and he's one of the most courageous, gutty guys that I've been around."

Jason Clark, in only his third game of the season, started for Smith, and his aggressive play sparked the Cavaliers. The 6-8, 245-pound junior, who played a total of 20 minutes in Virginia's losses to Duke and Georgia Tech, contributed five points, nine rebounds, two blocks and untold energy in 34 minutes yesterday.

"He brings an athletic presence that not many teams have," Billet said.

The Cavaliers were coming off an 18-point loss to 12th-ranked Georgia Tech. Unhappy with his team's play in Atlanta, Gillen benched Brown and started 6-8 freshman Donte Minter, who totaled nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes yesterday. Another standout, first-year guard J.R. Reynolds, came off the bench to score eight points, pass for five assists and play tough defense on Pickett, FSU's best player.

Asked about shaking up his lineup, Gillen said, "We lost two in a row. I can live with losing, but I can't live with the way we played Thursday. . . . Virginia's got a tradition of fighting and scrapping and, if you lose, go down swinging. We wanted to play Virginia basketball."




U.Va., Tech add football commitments
Recruits have two-way potential
By Norm Wood
Daily Press
Published January 19, 2004

With just over two weeks remaining before national signing day, the football recruiting classes for Virginia and Virginia Tech are beginning to take shape. Both universities got commitments from out-of-state two-way athletes this weekend.

Theirrien Davis, a 6-foot-1, 187-pound safety/running back from Greenbelt, Md., committed to the Cavaliers on Sunday before returning home from a visit to U.Va. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech got a commitment Saturday from Damian Sims, a 5-9, 183-pound cornerback/running back from Greenacres, Fla.

Davis turned down scholarship offers from Penn State, Duke and Marshall. In his senior season at Eleanor Roosevelt High, he had 1,353 yards and 13 touchdowns at tailback, and 83 tackles and one interception at strong safety.

U.Va. assistant coach Ron Prince recruited Davis as a safety, but may get an opportunity to play tailback for the Cavaliers, according to Roosevelt coach Rick Houchers.

"He has exceptional speed and I think he's one of those kids that's blessed to be gifted on both sides of the ball," said Houchers regarding Davis, who has been clocked at 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10.65 seconds in the 100. "He's one of those guys that's physical enough to be like an extra linebacker up there in the box, but he's also a great cover guy."

Sims, who has been clocked at 4.38 seconds in the 40, opted for Virginia Tech instead of Kansas State. He will visit Virginia Tech on the weekend of Jan. 30, and has already visited Kansas State and East Carolina.

Despite running for 1,326 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior, Sims was also recruited primarily for his defensive skills, according to Terry Gough, Sims' coach at John I. Leonard High.

Sims had four interceptions in his senior year. But Gough added that after Virginia Tech coaches saw film of Sims running the ball, the coaches told Sims he may get a chance on offense, too.

"He is absolute bottled lightning," Gough said. "I've had some scatback types and some big bruisers, but this kid is just so explosive."

The first day high school football recruits can sign a letter of intent to attend a university is Feb. 4.

 

Cavs Shake Loose For First ACC Win
Defense Shuts Down Seminoles in OT : Virginia 76, Florida St. 67
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, January 19, 2004; Page D05

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Jan. 18 -- Reeling from a series of decisive defeats and still without a conference win, Virginia responded with perhaps its best defensive performance of the year and grinded out a 76-67 overtime victory Sunday against Florida State.

The Cavaliers (11-4, 1-3 ACC) had allowed four of their past six opponents to make more than half their shots, but Sunday they forced the Seminoles (12-5, 1-3) to shoot 32 percent and held them without a field goal in the five-minute overtime period.

"We did it with our defense," said Coach Pete Gillen, whose team was the last in the ACC to garner a conference win. "Finally, we played the defense that we need to play to win in the ACC.

"It was a giant win trying to get the albatross [off] our neck. We had some decent wins before, but this was certainly our best win of the year because it was a league win, it was an overtime win, it was a gut-check win. . . . Would the world have ended? No, but it would have been a devastating loss."

Tied at 65, Virginia opened the overtime with a three-pointer by Devin Smith, then forced a turnover when J.R. Reynolds knocked away Michael Joiner's entry pass. Smith (21 points) hit a baseline jumper on Virginia's next possession, pushing the lead to five.

Florida State, which lost its fourth straight game, closed to 70-67 on two free throws by Tim Pickett, who leads his team in scoring but had only nine points on 3-of-16 shooting. Andrew Wilson had a chance to tie the game on the Seminoles' next possession, but his three-point shot from the corner was off the mark. Virginia's Donte Minter grabbed the rebound with 47 seconds left, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws, helping to secure the win.

"We knew that we needed this win," Smith said. "We had to get this win."

Smith nearly didn't play after aggravating a back injury in Thursday's 93-71 loss at Georgia Tech. He sat out of practice the past two days and wasn't in the starting lineup, spending the opening minutes riding an exercise bike on the sideline. But he hit 8 of 13 shots, including 4 of 9 three-point attempts, for his third 20-point game of the season. "Some games it's not that bad, but today it was real bad," Smith said of his back afterward.

Fellow captain Todd Billet had perhaps his best game of the season for Virginia, scoring a season-high 26 points, including 6-of-13 shooting on threes, with six assists and just one turnover.

With support from Minter, Reynolds and forward Jason Clark, the Cavaliers were able to get by with little contribution from Derrick Byars, Elton Brown and Gary Forbes, who combined for four points.

Cavaliers Notes: Gillen shook up the starting lineup for the first time this season, inserting Minter for Brown, and Clark for Smith. "I can live with losing, but I can't live with the way we played Thursday," Gillen said. "We didn't play with heart, with toughness, with guts." . . . Freshman Vince Redd, a 6-foot-6 forward who also plays for the football team, was in uniform for the first time since joining the team this week. . . . Virginia shot 13 of 31 on three-pointers, establishing season highs in both makes and attempts.
 

Swift safety gives U.Va. commitment
Two-way star in high school, Davis hopes to aid Cavs' secondary
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 19, 2004

The University of Virginia football team is trying to bolster its secondary, and Theirrien "Bud" Davis wants to help. Davis, who took his official visit to U.Va. over the weekend, committed before returning to Maryland.

"The team was so tight-knit," Davis said by phone from his home in Bowie. "It was like a family, and that's what I'm looking for."

A 6-0, 185-pound senior, Davis was a two-way star for Eleanor Roosevelt High in Prince George's County. The Raiders finished 12-1 in 2003 after losing in a state Class 4A semifinal.

Davis, who's also a track star, made The Washington Post's All-Metro second team at tailback in 2003. He'll miss running the ball but is excited about the position he'll play at Virginia.

"Safety all the way," said Davis, whose fastest time in the 100 meters in 10.65 seconds. He said he's run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds.

Davis, an honor-roll student, scored 1,180 on the SAT. He also had scholarship offers from Penn State, Marshall and Duke, he said, and Tennessee was among the other schools expressing serious interest.

 

'Noles swoon in OT
Virginia hands FSU 18th straight ACC road loss
By Jack Corcoran
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Can you say NIT?

Florida State sure hasn't looked any better than that since 2003 turned into 2004. The Seminoles lost their fourth in a row Sunday, falling 76-67 to Virginia in overtime.

Just like Clemson on Tuesday, Virginia picked up its first ACC win at FSU's expense. Devin Smith scored 21 points, including five in a row at the start of the extra session, to send the Seminoles to their 18th consecutive league road loss.

And now the schedule becomes brutal. FSU hosts No.9 North Carolina on Thursday and No.4 Wake Forest on Sunday. The Seminoles visit No.2 Duke on Jan.29.

"It's hard to drop one like this on the road," said Andrew Wilson, who made his first start of the season. "We have guys with a lot of character on this team. Nobody's going to give up. That hasn't entered anybody's mind. We're still only four games into the conference season. We have to keep battling out there and eventually we're going to break through and win a few games."

After opening the season 10-0, FSU has lost five of its past seven. The Seminoles (12-5, 1-3 ACC), hoping to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years, will not look back fondly on this week if they're on the bubble in two months. Especially Tim Pickett, who was 3 for 14 in FSU's 53-48 loss at Clemson. He was 3 for 16 against Virginia (11-4, 1-3), finishing with nine points.

Pickett was 1 for 9 from 3-point range. His biggest miss came with the score tied 65-65 on the next-to-last possession of regulation.

"I felt like it was going in, but another night that my shot wasn't falling," Pickett said. "I was trying to mix my game up. It was another difficult game. The only thing I can do is keep my head up and stay positive."

Smith missed from 3-point range at the buzzer but connected twice at the start of overtime. He knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing and buried a jumper along the baseline after a turnover by Michael Joiner.

Pickett hit a pair of free throws to pull FSU to within 70-67. But Wilson missed from deep in the right corner with 49 seconds remaining. Virginia's Donte Minter and Todd Billet put the game out of reach by hitting a pair of foul shots apiece.

"We had the same shots as them in overtime," said FSU's Todd Galloway, who played 30 minutes because starting point guard Nate Johnson was hampered by an injured knee. "You just have to give them credit. They knocked theirs down and we didn't."

Billet had 26 points, six assists and one turnover. He was 6 of 13 from 3-point range. Freshman Von Wafer led FSU with 17 points, hitting 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

Adam Waleskowski gave FSU a 64-62 lead with 1:45 remaining in regulation. But the Seminoles didn't score another basket the rest of the game, missing their final 11 shots. Billet answered from long range. Waleskowski tied the game at the line with 1:12 left, hitting his second foul shot after missing the first.

FSU coach Leonard Hamilton stayed with senior Mike Mathews at center but still changed his starting lineup for the first time this season. Wilson got the nod at small forward over slumping Anthony Richardson.

After scoring only 19 points in the first half against Clemson, FSU was shut out for the first 5:33 against Virginia. And, just like against the Tigers, Johnson took an early seat on the bench. Inflammation in his right knee, not foul trouble, forced him to come out in the opening two minutes. He played only 15 minutes, and just four minutes after halftime. He did not play in overtime.

That didn't help the Seminoles, who missed their first eight shots and didn't pick up their first basket until Joiner scored on a layup at the 14:02 mark. But the Cavaliers, who had nine of their 16 turnovers in the first half, failed to build on their 5-0 lead. FSU even took a 30-25 lead into the intermission. Richardson scored nine of his 12 points in an 11-3 run over the final four minutes of the half.

Johnson, the ACC's assist-to-turnover leader, had no points, no assists and one turnover. Galloway was also blanked, missing all 7 of his shots from the filed. He had five assists and one turnover.

Hamilton, whose team shot a season-low 31.9 percent, said Johnson did not practice following the loss to the Tigers.

"Virginia did a very good job defending us today, and that had a lot to do with the outcome," Hamilton said. "They did a great job of taking advantage of us not having Nate Johnson."