Who's going to step up for Virginia?
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 27, 2004

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering when Virginia’s road misery will end ...
The Cavaliers have won only once in their last 16 ACC road games, that coming last February at Maryland, which was ranked in the top 10 at the time. It seems from this perspective that the Cavs are lacking confidence.
When UVa lost at North Carolina last Saturday, the Cavs played really good basketball for 23 minutes and then lost focus, became frazzled and unraveled. Somehow, they need to find a way to resist imploding when a couple of bad breaks go against them.
Virginia’s RPI is No. 34 in the nation in one ranking, No. 37 in the other and its strength of schedule is No. 40. If this team can come together, win a couple of road games and get hot at home, who knows what might happen.
“The league this year is as tough as I’ve ever seen it,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “The timing might not be good to have a young team this year, but that’s the way it is.”
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, whose team was ranked among the top five in the nation, but dropped a big game at N.C. State on Saturday, agreed with Williams.
“In this league, it’s hard to win on the road. You tend to look at trends - reasons - but it’s just hard. It hasn’t been easy to win on the road in the ACC for a long time,” Hewitt said.
Virginia needs to throw caution to the wind when it goes to Wake Forest on Saturday. The players need to give Coach Pete Gillen their best effort for 40 minutes. They need to play aggressive defense, relentless defense. They need to crash the boards, even the guards.
If they do those things, they should be hanging around at the end of the game and then it’s up to whether the shots fall or not.
Wake coach Skip Prosser, whose team has lost four in a row and hosts Maryland on Thursday, said that losing erodes confidence, which leads to things falling apart down the stretch in games. Virginia can relate to that, at least on the road.
“We need a breakthrough win,” Prosser said. “There’s nothing cryptic about it. Our guys know what it takes to get it. Nobody on the floor on our end, has grabbed the game by the throat when it was there for the taking.”
Gillen can relate to that. Some of his guys have to come through when the game reaches its most critical point. There comes a time in every game where one team wins it, the other loses.
It seems here that J.R. Reynolds and Gary Forbes have the ability to take over games. Todd Billet and Devin Smith have done it before. Jason Clark can do it on the defensive end and on the boards. Elton Brown should be able to do it if he’ll focus on defense and rebounding. Derrick Byars has the ability to light it up and should break out of his slump.
There’s no reason this team can’t beat this road problem. Someone just has to step up and, as Prosser said, take it by the throat.
Who is it going to be?
Wolfies No. 2. Who would have thought that N.C. State would be alone in second place in the ACC this far into the season?
Well, the Wolfies’ stay might be short-lived. They face two tough road trips, at UNC and Maryland. State is 1-4 on the road this season after losing at Boston College last week.
Playing at UNC can be tough, but State has lost 14 in a row at Maryland, the last seven under Herb Sendek.
How did State, one of the league’s worst offensive rebounding teams, beat Georgia Tech? They crashed the boards and grabbed 21 of ‘em.
“Our guys are hungry and when you’re hungry, you eat,” State’s Julius Hodge said. “We came out like savages tonight.”
State also attempted 41 shots from 3-point range, the most in a game by the Wolfpack since 1991 when Rodney Monroe, Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta launched 42 treys against Maryland.

No family feud. Maryland’s Williams said that he isn’t interested in getting into an emotional battle against Mike Krzyzewski and staff in the rivalry between the Terps and Coach K’s Duke program.
“When Lefty was here, it got so personal between Dean and Lefty that it became the game,” Williams said of former coach Lefty Driesell and UNC coach Dean Smith. “I’ve always tried to keep things school versus school. The players determine the outcome.”

Prepping for NCAAs. Krzyzewski never misses an opportunity to help his basketball team and that’s what he did last week when he kept the Blue Devils on the road.
After playing at Maryland last Wednesday, Duke stayed in D.C. to prepare for Saturday’s game at Georgetown. Normally, Coach K would have flown home so players wouldn’t miss class.
But he believed that staying and playing two games close together would give his team a good feel for the postseason.
“Being on a trip like this, Wednesday to Saturday, is kind of what you would do in an NCAA tournament,” Krzyzewski said. “Playing in a huge arena (the MCI Center) with that type of atmosphere is similar. All of that helps you prepare.
“We’ve played about half our games away from Duke,” he said. “That’s pretty unusual and I think it’s made us better.”

Unexpected visit. Defensive back Martel Thatch, who has already committed to North Carolina, is visiting Virginia this weekend. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound safety from Greensboro, N.C., is ranked as the No. 15 safety in the nation by Rivals.
“I am going to give Virginia a hard look,” Thatch told The Wagon Online. “I know they need help in the secondary and they think I can be that help.”
New Jersey wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, the No. 2 athlete in the country by Rivals, said it’s pretty much a two-team race between Virginia and Southern Cal. Ohio State has dropped further behind.
UVa coach Al Groh and USC coach Pete Carroll are now matching wits in an attempt to lure the Mike Williams-clone to their respective campuses.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has gained a commitment from the No. 15-ranked player on the Gold List, Lake Taylor’s Purnell Sturdivant, a defensive back/running back. To keep track of current and recent state recruiting, check The Daily Progress online (www.dailyprogress.com) and look for the Gold List icon.

Free throws ... When Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt visited Chicago for an in-home visit to recruit Will Bynum, Bynum’s mother, Rose Robinson, felt it necessary to escort Hewitt to his car because the southside neighborhood is so rough. ...Bynum said that basketball was the easiest part of his life: “Chicago is just crazy ... You’ve got to make decisions whether you want to walk past this corner or not. It’s just rough getting to school. You make any wrong decision and it could be the end of your life.”...Somehow, we don’t think he’ll be intimidated by the Cameron Crazies. ... When Wake lost at Florida State on Sunday, it marked only the second time in three seasons the Deacs had lost a game after leading with five minutes remaining (previously Wake was 55-2 under Skip Prosser when leading with five minutes to play).
...Florida State, by the way, has lost 18 straight ACC road games heading into Thursday night’s game at No. 1 Duke, where the Devils have won 36 straight home games. ...
...Every ACC team, except Duke that is, seems to have some sort of problem. Virginia has lost 15 of its last 16 ACC road games. ...Wake has lost four straight games overall. ...N.C. State has lost its last 14 straight games at UNC. ...Georgia Tech has now lost eight in a row at N.C. State. ...Clemson has gone 11 straight games against ACC opponents without scoring 70 points. ...Clemson’s football program has agreed to a two-for-one football series with Temple (home in ‘05 and ‘07, in Philly in ‘06), as the Owls replace Auburn, which canceled a home-and-home against the Tigers in 2006 and 2007.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jan 28, 2004

CHANGE OF PLANS: Cross the University of Texas at El Paso off the list of Virginia's football opponents for 2004 and'05. The schools had tentatively agreed on a two-game series - with the Cavaliers to visit UTEP in'04 and the Miners to play in Charlottesville in'05 - but UTEP's new coach, Mike Price, objected.

So the deal is off, and U.Va. officials are searching for another opponent to fill out an 11-game schedule for'04. Ten opponents are set. Syracuse and Akron will visit Scott Stadium, as will ACC members Maryland, Clemson, North Carolina and Miami. Virginia will play ACC road games against Florida State, Georgia Tech, Duke and Virginia Tech.

The Cavaliers could end up playing seven home games in'04, depending on how negotiations go with prospective opponents.

U.Va. is tentatively scheduled to open the season against Syracuse, but that too is subject to change. The ACC has yet to release its football schedule for 2004.

ON THE RISE: He had surgery on his left thumb before the season and missed two games last month with a viral infection. Freshman guard J.R. Reynolds is healthy now, however, and his role in Pete Gillen's program seems to be expanding with each game.

Reynolds, the ACC's rookie of the week, has averaged 9 points in his past eight games. The Roanoke resident scored a career-high 15 points in 26 minutes against North Carolina.

Division I basketball never intimidated him, Reynolds said, but the bandage on his non-shooting hand "kind of held me back from doing some of the things I wanted to do, because I didn't want to re-injure my thumb and be out longer. I just wanted to try to let it heal up . . . I'm just trying to come back slow."

WORDS OF WISDOM: Tiki Barber will address the Class of 2004 during valediction exercises May 15 on the Lawn at U.Va.

Barber, a 1997 graduate of U.Va.'s McIntire School of Commerce, plays tailback for the New York Giants. The Class of 2004 selected him as its valediction speaker.

A native of Roanoke, Barber and his twin, Ronde, starred at Virginia for then-coach George Welsh. Ronde moved up to the NFL, too, and plays cornerback for Tampa Bay.

At U.Va., Tiki Barber was twice named to the ACC's all-academic team.

HOME RUN: Former Baltimore Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr. will be the guest speaker next month in Charlottesville at a fund-raiser for the Virginia baseball team. The Feb. 10 event - called Step Up To The Plate! - will run from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at U.Va.'s Memorial Gymnasium.

In addition to Ripken's remarks, the fund-raiser will include silent and live auctions of memorabilia and tickets, and Virginia's new baseball coach, Brian O'Connor, will introduce his team.

Tickets are $75 per adult and $50 per child (12 and under). A buffet dinner will be provided, and ticket-holders will receive T-shirts and other items. For information or to buy tickets or tables, call U.Va.'s athletic ticket office at (800) 542-8821.

SLOW START: U.Va., which finished 19th in the Directors' Cup race in 2002-03, came out of the fall ranked 32nd, with 128 points, in the 2003-04 standings.

Schools receive points based on how their teams fare in NCAA championships. Fall sports are football, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball and field hockey. The Cavaliers earned 64 points in men's soccer, 50 in women's soccer and 14 in men's cross country.

INDOOR/OUTDOOR: He's listed at 6-6, 243 pounds on the roster, but Vince Redd looked bigger Saturday afternoon when he made his debut for Virginia's basketball team.

Redd, a freshman who's on football scholarship, played the final 1:11 of U.Va.'s 96-77 loss at North Carolina. He finished with one blocked shot, no points and no rebounds.

After redshirting during the football season, Redd joined the hoops team a couple weeks ago. When spring football practice starts, Redd will be among the candidates to replace Raymond Mann at outside linebacker.

"I can do both [sports]," Redd said, "it's just a matter of focusing. Hopefully I can come in and have a good spring and a good summer and be able to [win] the starting position."

FOOTBALL: Inside linebacker Jon Copper, who starred for Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate team in 2003, plans to join Al Groh's program as a recruited walk-on.

The 6-1, 230-pound Copper, an outstanding student, is a graduate of Roanoke's Northside High. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds, FUMA coach John Shuman said, and bench-presses 385 pounds. He was Fork Union's second-leading tackler last season.

"He will be a surprise next training camp [at U.Va.]," Shuman said. "He's a hard-nosed guy. They'll be impressed with his work ethic." - Jeff White
 

UM trip is paradise for Williams
Star linebacker Willie Williams enjoys his Hurricanes visit but has yet to commit to a college. Florida is next before he decides on Feb. 4.
By MANNY NAVARRO
mnavarro@herald.com

If his trip to Florida State was like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Auburn was a trip to the Simple Life, Willie Williams' experience this past weekend with the hometown Miami Hurricanes could be summed up in one word: paradise.

Coach Larry Coker picked him up at his Carol City home in a white Cadillac Escalade, then put Williams up at the Mayfair House Hotel in Coconut Grove. Williams' room featured a jacuzzi on his balcony.

The name of Williams' room? The Paradise suite.

As usual, Williams was treated to feasts at some of the area's nicest restaurants. He gobbled up ribs, shrimp and barbeque chicken at Monty's, then had three lobster tails and two steaks at the Rusty Pelican.

Williams called the trip his best yet, although he said Miami and Florida State are still tied in the battle for his services.

''This thing just gets harder every week,'' Williams said. ``Who knows, maybe when I go to Florida next week I'll like them so much I'll commit right then and there.

``This is going down to those three nights before National Signing Day [Feb. 4]. Then, I'll announce it.''

COOL COKER

Williams was surprised when Coker picked him up.

''Coach [Coker] looks like an old guy in his 50s or 60s, but he's real cool,'' Williams said. ``When he talks, he sounds like he's 18 or 20.

'And when I saw he was driving the Escalade, I was like, `Dang, coach got some taste.' ''

When Williams arrived at UM, Killian running back Bobby Washington and Killian cornerback J.R. Bryant were waiting for him. The recruits spoke with school counselors about academics.

''UM looks like it has a real good business school,'' Williams said. ``After going on these trips and living like King Tut, I think business is something I want to get into.''

After talking books, the recruits were taken to the weight room.

''I love that weight room -- it's state of the art,'' Williams said. ``I felt like I was in the year 2020 when I walked in there. They had some machines I've never seen in my life. Now I know why these guys get so big.''

During the tour, Williams said he enjoyed partaking in playful banter with Washington and Bryant over their state semifinal playoff game this past season. Carol City beat Killian 3-0 and went on to win the Class 6A state title.

''All they kept talking about was that game,'' Williams said. 'They were like, `If it wasn't for you Willie, we'd be state champions.' I told them, 'If it weren't for our defense -- not only me.' ''

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

Following the campus visit, the recruits boarded a bus with the coaching staff and headed for the Orange Bowl. Williams said he wasn't aware the recruits had a police escort.

''We'd get to a red light and I would hold on because the bus driver would just take it,'' he said. ``Coach Coker looked at me and he was like, `Are you OK, Willie?'

'I was thinking the bus driver was crazy. Coach Coker was like, `Willie, we've got police escorts.' I told him, 'Thank God. I thought the police were trying to pull us over and give us a ticket.' That was pretty funny.''

Williams, who wore No. 17 at Carol City in honor of UM linebacker D.J. Williams, had his own No. 17 waiting for him inside the Canes' locker room. In the next locker was jersey No. 52 -- the number once worn by superstar linebacker Ray Lewis.

''When I first put on [his UM jersey], I felt at home,'' Williams said. 'Coach was like, `That's you, Willie.' To be honest, it really felt like it.''

After the players put on their jerseys, parents were asked to leave the locker room. The players were then called out one by one to run out of the famed tunnel while their names were announced over the stadium speakers.

Williams ran out of the tunnel through a giant-sized UM helmet and the infamous smoke. The music playing over the loudspeakers was Bone Crusher's rap hit Never Scared. Oddly, though, Williams kind of was.

''I was running like a blind man,'' Williams said. 'I had my eyes closed cause I didn't want none of that smoke to get in my eyes. Coach was like, `It's OK, Willie. It isn't going to hurt you.' Now, I know. Running through that smoke was awesome.''

Williams and the recruits enjoyed their experience so much they didn't want to give back their jerseys.

''J.R. and I figured we would stuff it under our clothes,'' Williams said. ``Bobby hid his in his stomach, but he looked pregnant.''

DINNER AT MONTY'S

Following the stadium, the recruits were bused to Monty's restaurant on Miami Beach.

''As soon as I got off that bus, it was like a cartoon,'' Williams said. 'The smell hit me right away. Coach was like, `Willie, you've got an eating disorder.' ''

After the recruits were greeted with nachos and crab claws, the main course quickly followed -- along with the arrival of UM players, including D.J. Williams and cornerback Antrel Rolle.

''Coach Coker must be related to Cleo or something,'' Williams said of the famed TV psychic. ``The man knew what I wanted and had it already ordered. I didn't need a menu. I told him, `Coach, how did you know what I like?'

'He was like, `Willie, I've been reading up on you.' ''

Dinner was followed by a trip back to Rolle's apartment for a few hours of video games. Then it was off for a night out on South Beach.

'They took us to this place called `The Bed.' Warren Sapp, Clinton Portis, Jevon Kearse and a whole bunch of really hot girls were all there. We didn't stick around long. After that, we just went back to the hotel to sleep.''

After breakfast the following morning, Williams met with linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves.

``He told me how they really want to use me for blitzes and that I'll play [weakside linebacker]. I liked hearing that.''

The following morning, Williams and the recruits headed back to the athletic complex for one final meeting with the coaching staff.

Williams met with Coker, who handed him the crystal football awarded to the Hurricanes as part of the Sears National Championship trophy of 2002.

''He asked me, `You ready to win one of these?'' Williams said. 'I was like, `Sounds good to me.' He told me, `All you need to do, Willie, is let me know. The jersey is the easy part. All we have to do is scrape off the D.J. on the number 17 and put a W.'

``Man, that sounded awesome. I like that No. 17.''

 

Hendricks commits to Miami; UVa recruits shopping
From Staff Reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
January 26, 2004

While two of the Gold List’s top five football prospects are wrapping up their official visits, Virginia lost out on another out-of-state recruit on Monday when New Jersey defensive tackle Dwayne Hendricks committed to new ACC member Miami.

Hendricks, ranked the No. 11 defensive tackle in the country by Rivals and the No. 3 overall prospect in New Jersey by SuperPrep, chose the Hurricanes over Virginia and Iowa. He also had offers from Florida, Michigan and Penn State.

The big tackle said he committed to Miami last week when ‘Canes head coach Larry Coker visited his Millville, N.J., home, but waited to announce his choice until after his official visit to South Florida over the weekend to make sure he was comfortable with the decision.

Meanwhile, Eddie Royal, a wide receiver from Westfield High in Chantilly, took his official visit to Virginia Tech. Ranked as the top receiver prospect in the state by The Daily Progress’ Gold List, Royal is the No. 5 overall prospect in the state.

Royal said he enjoyed his visit to Virginia Tech, where his official host was Hokies’ back-up quarterback Marcus Vick. He has one remaining visit to Marshall and said he will choose between Tech, UVa and Marshall on Feb. 4, national signing day.

Virginia coach Al Groh has an in-home visit scheduled with Royal on Wednesday.

The Gold List’s No. 4 ranked player, Kecoughtan linebacker Jerod Mayo eliminated Purdue from his list of finalists over the weekend. Mayo will now choose between UVa, Tech, N.C. State and Tennessee.

He said he will eliminate another team from his list by the end of this week and plans to announce his choice near signing day.

Mayo also visited Virginia Tech over the weekend and enjoyed his trip, noting that Tech coaches described his role in the Hokies’ new 4-3 defensive scheme.

N.C. State coach Chuck Amato will be visiting Mayo’s home in Hampton tonight, with Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer scheduled for Wednesday. UVa recruiting coordinator Mike London is also dropping by this week.

Charlotte running back Andrew Pearman, brother of current UVa tailback Alvin Pearman, took his official visit to Charlottesville over the weekend. He committed early but re-opened his recruitment a few weeks ago and has since visiting Army, South Carolina and Wake Forest. He is scheduled to visit Hawaii this week.
 

Reynolds emerges as critical element
After long period of injury, illness, fully-recovered freshman guard displays talent, composure, intensity in offense, defense to earn praise from coach Gillen
Jonathan Evans
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

He was there, but he wasn't really there. His number two jersey was on his back as he ran up and down the court, but he would tell you himself that he wasn't really playing basketball.

Freshman guard J.R. Reynolds couldn't play his brand of basketball until less than a month ago. It wasn't until early January when the Roanoke, Va. native was able to put all injury and health concerns behind him and focus solely on basketball.

"My injury held me back from doing some of the things that I wanted to do," Reynolds said. "I'm just trying to come back and play hard."

An injury to his non-shooting hand was the first physical stumbling block in the young career of the 6' 2" off-guard.

"I had never been injured before, I never needed surgery before," Reynolds said. "So the thumb was holding me back a little bit."

Fully recovered, Reynolds said he no longer worries about his thumb, nor does he have to deal with the illness that kept him out of Virginia's games against Loyola Marymount and Costal Carolina. Now that he no longer has to hold back, Reynolds is letting the ACC know what type of talent he has.

A pure shooter, Reynolds boasts a smooth stroke which proved to be lethal from beyond the arc when his three three-point shots led Virginia to a home win over Clemson. Thus far in the conference season, Reynolds is second only to Devin Smith in three-point field goal percentage among Cavaliers, shooting 39.1 percent from long range.

Though a freshman, Reynolds has exhibited a work ethic and a composure which has endeared him to Virginia coach Pete Gillen.

"He has really good poise," Gillen said.

Reynolds was one of few Cavaliers to earn the coach's praise after a loss at North Carolina.

"I thought he did a really good job," Gillen said.

Reynolds is one Cavalier who has taken Gillen's message of defensive intensity to heart. His on-the-ball perimeter defense has been a steadying influence on a team whose defense is rocky at times. Reynolds has been called on to guard some of the premiere perimeter players in the ACC. From Tim Pickett to Rashad McCants, Reynolds relishes the challenge of shutting down an opposing team's top threat.

"I like all challenges," Reynolds said. "I just try and not let that player score as many points on me."

Reynolds is not one to back down from a challenge, whether he's faced with a standout guard or 20,000 people wearing powder blue. He showed no fear in his first appearance on the hallowed hardwood of the North Carolina Dean Dome. Reynolds played with an aggressiveness and composure that led him to shoot 5-9 from the floor, ending the game with 15 points and three rebounds.

Clearly Reynolds is hitting his stride as his role in the Cavalier lineup has increased. As he has played more minutes, Reynolds has responded by shooting better from the field, connecting on 46.7 percent of his field goals in the conference season. Reynolds has also shouldered more of his team's scoring load, totaling 34 points in last three games.

"I'm more relaxed now," Reynolds said. "I'm just letting the game come to me. I'm not forcing anything."

While he may not be forcing anything on the hardwood, Reynolds is forcing opponents to pay attention and realize that he is present on the court, sinking shot after shot.