Blackstock to go pro
Virginia linebacker follows Miller to NFL Draft
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
January 14, 2005

Five days before he was to play the final regular-season game of his junior campaign, Virginia outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock told reporters that he had made up his mind on whether or not to return for a senior season.

“I already know what I’m going to do,” Blackstock said at the time. “I like to keep everybody guessing.”

Some of the “guessing” ended when Blackstock told reporters prior to UVa’s trip to the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho, that he would wear jersey No. 1 against Fresno State. Blackstock added that it would not be the only time he donned the single-digit number.

If Blackstock was attempting to keep everyone “guessing” with his comments, he succeeded with flying colors.

On Wednesday the guessing game ended.

Blackstock called several teammates - soon to be former teammates - to tell them that he had decided to enter the upcoming NFL Draft, forgoing his final year of eligibility at Virginia.

Blackstock became the second Cavalier underclassman to announce intentions to leave school early for the NFL Draft. Tight end Heath Miller announced his decision through Virginia’s Media Relations office on Monday.

No release was made as of Thursday on Blackstock’s behalf, but Virginia coach Al Groh offered a short statement.

“Darryl played a significant role in a lot of games that we have won,” Groh said. “He is a talented player and we wish great success for him with this next challenge.”

Blackstock told the Daily Press newspaper in Hampton Roads of his intentions.

The biggest factor in his decision to turn professional early, Blackstock said was his 17-month-old son - Savion.

“I wanted to take care of him,” Blackstock said. “I also just didn’t want to jump to any conclusions because of what I did [this season]. I didn’t want the hype to get to me. I took it real conservative and let the answers come to me.”

This season, Blackstock led all Division I linebackers with 11 sacks and finished with a team-high 15 tackles for a loss.

Blackstock’s sack total ranks fourth all-time in school history for a single season.

At the end of the regular season, Blackstock was named to the All-ACC second team.

For his career, Blackstock recorded 27 sacks, ranking him second all-time at the school and just one sack shy of the ACC record for linebackers. Former Georgia Tech linebacker Marco Coleman (1989-91) registered 27.5 career sacks.

As a freshman at Virginia in 2002, Blackstock became a household name in college football circles by registering 10 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss, both records for a UVa freshman and tops among the nation’s rookies.

CollegeFootballnews.com and Rivals.com named Blackstock national defensive Freshman of the Year.

While it remains unclear if something happened after the bowl game off the field to force Blackstock’s decision, it is known that he used the NFL’s draft advisory committee to find out where he would be selected.

The committee, which is made up of NFL personnel from various ranks and positions, told Blackstock he would likely be taken in the second round of the draft.

On Thursday, NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper said Blackstock could improve on his expected positioning.

“I think he has a chance to be a late first rounder,” Kiper said during an online chat on ESPN.com. “He has become more of a complete player in the last couple seasons. He has a lot of ability.”

Blackstock hopes to improve his stock during pre-draft workouts. The draft will be held in New York on April 23 and 24.

“That’s the easy part,” Blackstock said of the pre-draft combines. “The running, the lifting, that’s a natural for a football player. The hard part is performing at the NFL level once you get there. I’m always willing to learn. I’m always ready to learn new things.”

Blackstock said he had not signed with an agent but planned on doing so. If Blackstock does sign with an agent, he would not be allowed to return to the college ranks.

Note. Virginia sophomore linebacker Ahmad Brooks and offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson have indicated that they will return to Virginia next season. … Miller and Blackstock are the fifth and sixth Virginia football players, respectively, to declare for the draft with eligibility remaining. The most recent - wideout Tavon Mason - turned pro after the 2001 season but went undrafted. Other Cavaliers to enter the NFL Draft with eligibility remaining include Marcus Wilson (1989), Herman Moore (1990) and Ronde Barber (1996).

Problems following Cavaliers to U-Hall
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
January 14, 2005

In a game it desperately needed to win, Virginia could only find ways to lose.

As Miami outscored Virginia 51-34 in the second half in Wednesday’s 91-80 defeat, the problems that have always plagued the Cavaliers on the road again surfaced at University Hall.

Defense, rebounding and lack of offensive execution all sent Virginia to its second straight 0-3 start in ACC play. The Cavaliers also began last season 0-3 in the ACC en route to a 6-10 finish.

Those three elements blended into a perfect storm that put the Cavaliers in a gargantuan hole in terms of competing for a respectable finish in the ACC. It is a scenario that has materialized too often for the Cavaliers since the dawn of the New Year.

Double-digit wins over Arizona and Richmond in November seem like distant memories as the Cavaliers have lost three of their last four games with the one win coming in double-overtime.

Now the Cavaliers head to Duke - a place they haven’t won since 1995 - and Maryland - a place they’ve won just once in the last 11 tries.

“We have to go there with a new attitude. We can’t hold back. We need to leave everything out there on the floor. We need a win desperately. I know it’s a long season but we need a win,” freshman point guard Sean Singletary said.

Virginia coach Pete Gillen singled out poor defense after his team allowed the Hurricanes to shoot 58.6 percent in the second half.

“It wasn’t our offense but the defense,” Gillen said.

Yet, the Cavaliers’ offensive ineptitude was at the very least a contributing factor.

At one point in the second half, the Cavaliers had six straight possessions that resulted in no shots and six turnovers. Good offense can sometimes overcome poor defense - some of Gillen’s early teams managed that - but it’s a certainty that bad offense only compounds poor defense.

“We started struggling and juggling lineups a little. … In the second half, we just couldn’t stop them. If you allow a team to shoot 58 percent, you will not win,” Gillen said.

The defense was unable to stop the quickness of Miami’s guard triumvirate of Guillermo Diaz, Anthony Harris and Robert Hite. The trio combined for 62 points as they jolted around the Virginia defense with ease.

“We outplayed them in the first half but still didn’t play defense but we outscored them,” Singletary said. “In the second half, they just ran on us and we didn’t play defense, either. They got the loose balls, the 50-50 balls and converted. … We have to start playing defense.”

Some teams have recovered from 0-3 and even 0-4 starts but it’s quite rare. Notably in 1996-97, North Carolina rebounded from an 0-3 start to finish with 11-5 mark. Of course, that team included Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams and Ed Cota. Even Virginia in 1989-90 came back from an 0-4 ACC start, finished 6-8 and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Wednesday’s performance, however, and the fact that Virginia has lost its first three ACC games by an average of 17.3 points a contest makes such scenarios unimaginable at this very moment.

“I don’t think we’ve dug ourselves too big of a hole yet. We have a lot of games to play yet,” said forward Jason Clark, summoning as much optimism as he could.

Blackstock forgoes final year at UVa
Cavaliers linebacker Darryl Blackstock joins tight end Heath Miller in declaring early for the NFL Draft.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Linebacker Darryl Blackstock, who last month indicated that he would be returning for his final season at Virginia, has decided to make himself available for the 2005 NFL Draft.

Blackstock, who played at Heritage High School in Newport News, told his hometown paper that he wanted to provide for his 17-month-old son, Savion.

In an interview with the Daily Press, Blackstock said he sought the input of an NCAA advisory committee that indicated he was a likely second-round pick. He did not respond to requests to call The Roanoke Times and other papers.

He is the second Virginia underclassmen to pass up his final season of eligibility, joining Heath Miller, recipient of the John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end. It was the first time UVa has lost two underclassmen to the draft in the same year.

"Darryl played a significant role in a lot of games that we have won," said Virginia coach Al Groh, confirming Blackstock's decision. "He is a talented player and we wish great success for him with this next challenge."

Two potential first-round draft picks, inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks and offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, have said publicly that they will return for the 2005 season.

Blackstock, a second-team All-ACC pick this past season, told Groh that he wanted to change numbers for the 2005 season and was assigned No.1 for the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho.

"And, I don't plan on wearing it for one game," said Blackstock in a news conference Dec.18.

With his new number, he had two tackles - both assists - in a 37-34 overtime loss to Fresno State in Boise.

Blackstock, a 6-foot-4, 242-pound junior, wore No.56 for nearly three seasons but did not enjoy comparisons to Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who wore that number when Groh was his position coach at North Carolina and with the New York Giants.

Blackstock finished the 2004 season with 15 tackles for loss, including an ACC-high 11 sacks. His 27 career sacks rank second in UVa history behind Chris Slade's 40.

Virginia must replace five defensive starters, including both outside linebackers, Blackstock and fifth-year senior Dennis Haley.

Candidates to replace them include sophomores Jermaine Dias and Vince Redd, redshirt freshman Clint Sintim and recruit Olu Hall, a 2004 signee who is at Hargrave Military Academy.

Timesland defensive player of the year Darryl Gresham, a linebacker from William Fleming in Roanoke, said he has withdrawn his oral commitment to the Cavaliers but is interested in UVa, Florida and other schools. He visited Florida this past weekend.

Numbers tell the story: Gillen’s future shaky
Old antagonist involved in Gresham recruiting
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Based on events of the past 10 days, I don’t think that Pete Gillen will be returning for an eighth season as Virginia men’s basketball coach.

In my estimation, Gillen would keep his job if the Cavaliers got an NCAA bid and I think a 7-9 conference record would get them a bid, based on the toughest non-conference schedule Virginia has played in recent years.

I don’t think the Cavaliers can get to 7-9, not after their 0-3 start, including Wednesday night’s 91-80 home loss to a Miami team that was picked 11th in the ACC.

(Has anybody else made the connection that home losses to underdog Miami teams ultimately may have ruined Virginia’s football and men’s basketball seasons?)

What surprised me Wednesday night was the people who asked, "Do you think they’ll let him finish out the season?"

I don’t think it would be Virginia’s way to have Gillen not finish out the season. Maybe that approach works when a coach has "lost" his team or there is a mutiny brewing, but that does not appear to be the case.

I didn’t speak to J.R. Reynolds after his 0-for-3, two-point outing against the Hurricanes, but I doubt that he’s blaming the coach. If he’s blaming anybody, he’s blaming himself.

Elton Brown wasn’t blaming Gillen after a two-point, three-rebound, three-turnover second half against Miami, but he wasn’t blaming himself either. After an 18-point, seven-rebound first half, he attibuted his second-half decline to Miami’s double teams.

Here’s my question, if Brown was being double-teamed, why didn’t he have any assists? If you’re being double-teamed, aren’t you supposed to look for the open man? In UVa’s past five games, including three losses and two overtime victories, Brown has two assists and 19 turnovers.

I had an astute former coach ask me why Gillen doesn’t just bench Brown. My feeling is that somewhere inside Brown is another 25-point, 10-rebound game, like the one he had against Loyola Marymount. I don’t feel the same way about sophomore Donte Minter, who, again Wednesday night, shot and missed the first time he got his hands on the ball.

Since the game wasn’t on television, I’m not sure how many people realized that sophomore Jason Cain was the first big man on the bench for UVa. Cain entered the game with 9:33 remaining in the first half and the Cavaliers trailing 24-18. When he was replaced by Devin Smith with 4:31 left, UVa was up 32-30.

During that time, Cain hit his first career 3-pointer (he got a lucky bounce) and was active, just as he was Saturday in a seven-minute stint at Georgia Tech, where he had three points and five rebounds. Gillen said on his radio show Monday night that Cain needs to get stronger, but it looks to me as if Cain works the boards as aggressively as the other big men.

(Can’t say I was surprised that Cain didn’t play in the second half.)

I wish basketball had the same plus-minus statistic as hockey, where you get a plus or a minus for each goal your team scores or gives up when you’re on the ice. To me, the Cavaliers blew an opportunity to regain the momentum when back-up point guard T.J. Bannister entered the game with 13:38 left.

UVa had five possessions while Bannister was in the game and committed turnovers on all five. Bannister had only one of the turnovers, though, and I don’t think Gillen did him any favors by putting him with a unit that did not include the team’s top 3-point shooters (Smith, Reynolds and Sean Singletary).

I hate to say it, but whenever I see Bannister, I think of ex-Cavalier J.C. Mathis, another player whose father travelled great distances to watch him play. Until the last month or so of his career, I always thought Mathis got more playing time than he merited, and always wondered if his father’s presence was any influence.

IN READING INTERNET accounts of Florida’s pursuit of All-America linebacker Darryl Gresham, committed to Virginia since July, I wasn’t surprised to see Mike Locksley’s name mentioned.

I trace a lot of the bad blood between Maryland and Virginia to Locklsey’s tenure on the Maryland staff.

Most recently, Locksley was handing out his University of Florida business cards at the Nike All-Star Camp in Charlottesville, in clear violation of NCAA regulations prohibiting college coaches from attending the camp.

I corresponded today with a high-school coach who confirmed Locksley’s attendance at the Nike Camp and also reported that Locksley has left Gainesville, Fla., and joined former boss Ron Zook on the staff at Illinois.

An 0-5 ACC start probable for Cavs
Andy Bitter / Lynchburg News & Advance
January 14, 2005

My column for next Friday was all mapped out. I had already written it in my mind.

It was going to reassure Virginia men’s basketball fans that despite recent road losses to Duke and Maryland, the season, in fact, was not over. It was going to say to UVa backers that the Cavaliers’ schedule was brutally tough to start out and that they were overreacting to the team’s 1-4 ACC start. And lastly, it was going to implore the Wahoo faithful to ease up on head coach Pete Gillen, who has a habit of starting slow and a knack of turning it on late.

Then the Cavaliers went and lost at home Wednesday night by double digits to Miami, a team with a new coach, in a new league with plenty of new players that left Virginia in a situation that is anything but new.

Oh-and-3 in the ACC is not unfamiliar territory. The Cavaliers started 0-3 in the conference last season. They were 1-3 two years ago to start ACC play and 0-5 in Gillen’s first season at the helm in 1998-99.

Hold tight. With games at Duke on Sunday and at Maryland on Wednesday, Virginia could very well end up 0-5 again, which would serve as perfect symmetry for those who are already calling for Gillen’s ouster.

What should be more upsetting to UVa fans than the fact that their Cavaliers lost to a team picked to finish last in the ACC’s preseason poll (trust me, with those guards, Miami is going to give more than just Virginia fits), is that they showed absolutely no grit for a team defending its home floor trying to avoid digging itself a crater-sized hole.

From following the team the last couple years, there appear to be two players capable of playing every game with heart and guts.

The first, Devin Smith, missed three games with an ankle injury before gutting it out Wednesday night and leading UVa with 21 points. The second, Jason Clark, could only go 10 minutes because of a strained Achilles’ tendon and might miss more time.

Gillen desperately needs somebody else to step up.

Elton Brown has said time and again that he is a leader on this team but has rarely shown it. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Miami, but fizzled in the second half, scoring just two points and grabbing three rebounds.

J.R. Reynolds displayed some guts against Western Kentucky, fighting off an illness and exhaustion to drop 20 points on the Hilltoppers as the Cavaliers won in double overtime. But he’s been erratic. On Wednesday, he made no field goals and scored two points.

And Sean Singletary, once lauded as the savior of the program (as unfair as that was for a freshman), has cooled off, taking his medicine from a couple of the ACC’s best, Chris Paul and Jarrett Jack.

The mystifying thing is this team looks nothing like the one that ambushed Arizona by 18 in mid-November and started 8-1. It would be a cop-out to blame Smith’s injury. Virginia was run out of the gym in the conference games he missed and has collapsed in the second half of all three of its ACC losses, losing by an average of 17.7 points.

The good news is the Cavaliers still have time to right their wayward ship. The bad news is that they must do it in the stormy waters of the ACC.

UVa has 13 conference games remaining. Four are against Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest, which this season can almost be chalked up as automatic losses.

Realistically, a 7-9 mark should get Virginia into the NCAA Tournament. The NBA’s Eastern Conference is not as stacked as this season’s ACC, and the tournament committee will take note.

But getting to seven wins is the hard part. Looking at the schedule, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Maryland and N.C. State look beatable in Charlottesville. Stealing a couple of games on the road will be no small task - as is always the case in the ACC.

UVa faced a similar situation last year and Todd Billet saved Gillen’s job with a hat trick of buzzer-beaters. But Billet’s gone, the ACC’s a whole lot tougher and another 6-10 conference mark won’t be enough to save the Rasputin of the ACC again.

Gillen stated before the season that the Cavaliers’ proper place is in the NCAA Tournament. He’s got his work cut out for him to get them there.

VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Jan 14, 2005

FRESH START: After leaving Virginia's basketball program with one season of eligibility remaining, center Colin Ducharme became a Division II All-American at Longwood. Point guard Majestic Mapp is on pace to earn similar accolades at West Georgia.

Mapp, whose career at U.Va. was marred by knee injuries and an up-and-down relationship with coach Pete Gillen, is thriving at West Georgia. The Braves (13-2) are ranked No. 4 in Division II, and the 6-2 Mapp is their top scorer.

"The coaches told me from the jump I'd get a chance to play again: every minute, every night," Mapp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I needed that. I was tired of not playing, I can't even explain what it feels like to play 35 minutes a night. It feels like high school all over again, like I'm at home, in a zone."

Mapp, who's from Harlem, N.Y., scored a career-high 32 points against Wingate and averages 19.1, along with 3.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds. He's also become a terrific 3-point shooter.

He's has made 50 of 123 attempts from 3-point range - 40.7 percent - a dramatic increase in accuracy from his days at U.Va. In 2003-04, Mapp made only 3 of 15 shots from beyond the arc. For his career at U.Va., Mapp was 32 of 120 - 26.7 percent - from long range.

A McDonald's All-American in high school, Mapp enrolled at Virginia in 1999-2000 and was a key reserve as a freshman. He missed the next two seasons, however, because of knee problems and played little in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Before last season, to the displeasure of many U.Va. fans, Gillen announced that Mapp would not be invited back in 2004-05. Mapp, who earned a bachelor's and a master's at Virginia, was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA.

PROGRESS REPORT: Of the four recruits who entered Gillen's program in 2001-02, two remain - senior center Elton Brown and senior forward Jason Clark, both starters.

The other members of that class - point guard Keith Jenifer and shooting guard Jermaine Harper - left U.Va. after the 2002-03 school year. They sat out 2003-04 as transfers and have assumed prominent roles at their new schools.

Jenifer, who grew up in Baltimore, starts for Murray State (7-5). He's averaging 5.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 turnovers. Jenifer wasn't a good shooter in his two seasons at Virginia, and he still struggles. He's shooting 29.3 percent from the floor and 64.9 percent from the line. He's 0 for 11 on 3-point attempts.

Against Eastern Kentucky last week, Jenifer made two free throws with three-tenths of a second left to force overtime, and Murray State went on to win 80-78.

Harper, a Los Angeles native who graduated from Blue Ridge School in Greene County, is back in his home state. He's started eight games for Cal State-Fullerton (7-4) and averages 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.

TOUGH ROAD: A season ago, after losing its first three ACC basketball games, Virginia finished 6-10 in conference play. The Cavaliers (0-3, 9-4), who fell at home to Miami on Wednesday night, may be hard-pressed to match that record this season.

The Wahoos meet fifth-ranked Duke on Sunday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where they've lost nine straight. Three nights later, U.Va. plays at Maryland. The Terrapins are struggling, too, but Virginia has won only one of its past 11 games in College Park.

ROUGH STRETCH: This hasn't been a good month for U.Va.'s football recruiting. Not only did Lamont Robinson, who had committed to Virginia in June, announce this week that he'll sign with Oklahoma, Darryl Gresham may be headed elsewhere, too.

Robinson and Gresham were recruited to eventually succeed Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks as Virginia's starters at inside linebacker.

Gresham, a two-time all-Group AA pick from Roanoke's William Fleming High, committed to U.Va. in July. "I believe in the program," Gresham told The Times-Dispatch at the time. "I trust everybody there, and that's where I want to spent the next four years of my life."

Other schools continued to recruit Gresham, however, and he didn't stop them. He took an official visit to Florida last weekend and now says he'll probably choose between the Gators and the Cavaliers. U.Va. hopes to get Gresham to Charlottesville for another unofficial visit on the final weekend of this month.

Another player who committed to U.Va. for 2005, Durham, N.C., wideout Brandon Woods, has scheduled an official visit to South Carolina. - Jeff White

U.Va. loses star LB
Blackstock headed to NFL after stellar junior season to help care for his child
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jan 14, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The 2004 MPC Computers Bowl will be remembered as, among other things, the first - and last - game in which Virginia linebacker Darryl Blackstock wore jersey No.1.

Blackstock hinted to reporters last month that he'd return to U.Va. for his senior season - "I don't plan on wearing it for one game," he said of his new number - but he's had a change of heart. A three-year starter for Cavaliers coach Al Groh, Blackstock is off to the NFL.

"Darryl played a significant role in a lot of games that we have won," Groh said in a brief statement last night. "He is a talented player, and we wish great success for him with this next challenge."

The NFL's draft-advisory committee recently told Blackstock that he'd likely be chosen in the second round.

Blackstock is the second Virginia star this week to forgo a final season of eligibility in favor of the NFL. The first was All-America tight end Heath Miller.

At 6-4, 240 pounds, Blackstock has good size for an outside linebacker, and he's an exceptional pass-rusher. He led the nation's linebackers with 11 sacks this season, also the most by an ACC player. He leaves U.Va. with 27 career sacks, the second-most by a linebacker in ACC history.

Only defensive end Chris Slade, who had 40 sacks, ranks ahead of Blackstock on Virginia's all-time list.

Blackstock, 21, said his responsibilities as a father influenced his decision. He has a 17-month-old son, and "I wanted to take care of him," Blackstock told the Daily Press of Newport News.

After a stellar career at Newport News' Heritage High, Blackstock enrolled in 2001 at Fork Union Academy, where he repeated the 12th grade and starred for the postgraduate football team.

Blackstock recorded 10 sacks as a freshman at U.Va. and six as a sophomore. He ranked 10th on the team in tackles in 2004, with 45, but led the Cavaliers with 15 tackles for loss.

Until the MPC Computers Bowl, Blackstock wore jersey No. 56 at U.Va. That evoked comparisons to Lawrence Taylor, whom Groh coached as an assistant with North Carolina and the New York Giants.