Old friends set for in-state showdown
Seth Greenberg and Pete Gillen remain civil despite the heated rivalry between the Hokies and Cavaliers.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Among the well-wishers calling Seth Greenberg after 18-point underdog Virginia Tech upset Georgia Tech was Pete Gillen, the men's basketball coach for the Hokies' biggest rival.

Greenberg wouldn't mind returning the favor, just not after tonight's game at Cassell Coliseum.

If the Cavaliers were to upset visiting North Carolina on Saturday, say, Gillen might be hearing from Greenberg.

"I talked to him [Tuesday]," Greenberg said. "He called me, just to tell me, 'You might not realize what a good win that was, but that was a helluva win.'"

Greenberg already knew that. Chances are, he'd feel the same way if the Hokies can get past Virginia in the first men's basketball game between the schools since Tech's entry into the ACC.

Although the teams enter the game with identical records at 10-6, they are hardly in the same position.

For one thing, Tech, after three straight conference wins, stands fourth in the ACC standings at 3-2. Virginia is tied for last at 1-5.

Little was expected of the Hokies when they were picked 10th by the ACC media in the preseason. The Cavaliers were a preseason pick for eighth, but, in Gillen's seventh season, that was viewed as unacceptable by many in the camp.

Indeed, Gillen has been under fire virtually from the time Greenberg arrived in Blacksburg in March 2003.

"It bothers me," said Greenberg, who has known Gillen for more than 25 years, since they both worked for Howard Garfinkel at the Five-Star Basketball Camps. "I'm going to be honest with you. It bothers me.

"I admire and respect and have empathy for a guy that's coached in the Elite Eight and coached in the Sweet 16 and put numerous teams in the NCAA Tournament, who's obviously a good coach.

"Yet everyone who has never called a timeout or never put together a scouting report or never had a team meeting has an opinion on how he should do his job.

"It would be like having a layman come into a courtroom and evaluate a cross-examination. A lot of people don't know what they don't know and it's sad."

Greenberg classified much of the criticism as "mean-spirited."

"And, it hurts me," Greenberg said. "Twice a year, we need to beat each other's brains in, but Pete's a friend."

As he prepares his team to face the Cavaliers, Greenberg sees a formidable opponent. Virginia's lone ACC victory was a squeaker, 81-79, against fellow cellar-dweller Clemson, but one week earlier Tech slipped past the Tigers 59-57. Clemson was the visitor in both cases.

"In league play, everyone barely beats everyone," Greenberg said, "except North Carolina. You look at Virginia's team and you see a low-post scorer in [Elton] Brown, a tough matchup in [Devin] Smith and a point guard [Sean Singletary] who can control the game."

There might not be a more-maligned ACC player than Brown, who has never made first-, second- or third-team All-ACC but ranks seventh among active ACC players with 1,230 career points.

It is Gillen's contention that nobody in the ACC sees as many as double- and triple-teams as Brown, to which Greenberg replies, "He's probably right."

And that's not going to change tonight.

"We work on [doubling the post] every day," Greenberg said.

Tech relishes the underdog's role, although the Hokies enter tonight's game as a two-point favorite.

"They're going to come here ready to knock us off our high horse," Tech guard Zabian Dowdell said. "We have to be ready for that. We have to stay hungry. We can't be content with what we've done so far because, when you look at it, it's really nothing."

Said Greenberg: "I think we need to have a dirtbag mentality. We need to have the mentality that we're going to fight and claw and scratch and earn everything we get."

As a result of Tech's entry into the ACC, the Hokies and Cavaliers will play twice in the same season for the first time since 1979, so Greenberg and Gillen probably won't be too cozy in upcoming weeks, but these are a couple of guys who exchange Christmas gifts.

Well, sort of.

"He always jokes about my ties," Greenberg said. "He sent me a tie for Christmas. He was busting my chops at [ACC] media day. We all have hard jobs. We work like hell against them in recruiting and we're going to work like hell against them on the court, but I don't have to dislike the person just because he works at Virginia."

Running back recruit turns tide, picks UVa
College notebook by Doug Doughty
The Roanoke Times

Virginia got a football commitment Wednesday from the running back who had moved to the top of its recruiting list, but it wasn't without an anxious moment for UVa fans.

Mikell Simpson, a SuperPrep All-American from Harrisburg, Pa., made his announcement live on ESPN News, revealing his choice by pulling a UVa cap from his bag. At the same time, Simpson said he was going to "to the University of ... Alabama," the other finalist among the schools which had offered him a scholarship. When he realized his error, Simpson said, "Oops," and quickly corrected himself.

Simpson, rated the No.6 prospect in Pennsylvania and the No.14 running back in the country by SuperPrep, suffered torn cartilage that required surgery following the sixth game of the season but is expected to be 100 percent by the fall.

At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Simpson would be the tallest of Virginia's running backs, as well as one of the fastest, with 4.38-second speed for 40 yards. He visited UVa, Alabama, Michigan State and Nebraska, and he was scheduled to visit Florida last weekend before the Gators took a commitment from another back.

Simpson, who scored 26 touchdowns as a junior, is the 22nd player to commit to Virginia and the first since Rashawn Jackson on Oct.3. Jackson played running back at Bergen (N.J.) Catholic but has a different body type (6-2, 260) from Simpson.

• UVa recruit Eugene Monroe, a 6-6, 320-pound offensive lineman from Plainfield, N.J., was rated the No.1 prospect in the country by SuperPrep in its All-America issue that reached subscribers this week.

Williams picks JMU

Alleghany wide receiver Bosco Williams, named first-team All-Timesland for the second year in a row, has made an oral commitment to Division I-AA national champion James Madison.

Williams, a 6-2, 200-pounder, had 42 receptions for 767 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. He was the object of increased defensive attention after a junior year in which he had 55 receptions for 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Alleghany coach Jack Baker said that Williams picked JMU over VMI. Williams continued to hear from West Virginia, where his father was an All-American in the 1970s, but did not have a Division I-A offer at the time of his commitment.

"People will say he's a step slow for wide receiver at the I-A level," Baker said, "but, to me, he's got a lot of upside. And, as he matures, I think he's going to get faster.

"I think, inside that body, that there's a 235- or 240-pound young man. He wants to play wide receiver, but if he's not a wide receiver there, he's got a chance [to play] at two or three other spots."

Williams, whose sister graduates from JMU this spring, made first-team All-Timesland in basketball last year but does not currently plan on playing basketball for the Dukes, according to Baker.

More recruiting

Maybe the recruiting "experts" have discovered Virginia Tech, whose recruiting classes traditionally have been undervalued. Rivals.com currently has the Hokies ranked 10th and Virginia ranked 15th.

Another publication devoted to recruiting, the G&W Recruiting Report out of State College, Pa., had Virginia fifth and Tech 10th in its mid-January rankings. The Cavaliers and Hokies recruiting classes were ranked No.1 and No.2 respectively in the ACC.

• First-team All-Group AAA quarterback Greg Boone, a 6-4, 255-pounder from Oscar Smith in Chesapeake, is expected to announce for either Virginia Tech or Maryland when he goes public today with his decision. Boone, who also visited North Carolina and West Virginia, is rated No.15 among the nation's quarterbacks by SuperPrep.

• The word out of Virginia Tech was that Timesland defensive player of the year Darryl Gresham indicated he would sign with Florida when he informed the Hokies of his decision not to visit Blacksburg this weekend. Virginia continues to pursue Gresham, a William Fleming linebacker who committed to the Cavaliers in July before reopening his recruiting.

Elder idle

Georgia Tech basketball star B.J. Elder, whose injury was seen as day-to-day when he suffered a pulled hamstring Jan.1, will not be in uniform when the Yellow Jackets entertain Wake Forest tonight. Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt wasn't brimming with confidence when the topic was raised during the ACC coaches' teleconference.

"It's an indefinite thing," Hewitt said. "B.J. practiced [last] Thursday and we thought he was well on his way back. He had a little bit of a relapse, not as significant an injury as he suffered Jan.1 against Kansas, but it was enough that we felt like we needed to shut him down.

"He's going to be out for at least two weeks ... maybe. I don't want to put a number on it. I'm not a trainer; I don't play one on television. Whenever our medical staff says he can play again and get back on the practice floor, that's when you'll see him."

• A 28-point outburst by Georgia Tech guard Will Bynum against Virginia Tech followed a three-game stretch in which he had scored five, 10 and seven points. When the Yellow Jackets had a rare, six-day in-season break, Hewitt held Bynum out of practice for three days and practiced him lightly on the fourth. It was Bynum whose playing time rose most dramatically in Elder's absence.
 

Virginia lands tailback
Simpson chooses Cavs over Crimson Tide
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 27, 2005

Mikell Simpson saw the glitter of Los Angeles, experienced the frigid nights of Michigan, the excitement of The Swamp, and stood in The House that The Bear built.

But in the end, Simpson’s heart was in Virginia.

The four-star, speedy tailback from Harrisburg, Pa., startled fans from his remaining two schools on national television Wednesday when he announced his college choice live on ESPNews to recruiting analyst Mike Farrell.

Simpson said, “I’m going to Alabama ... I mean, to Virginia,” then pulled a Cavaliers cap out of a bag, confirming his intent on becoming a Wahoo. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound tailback, ranked as a four-star prospect by Rivals, the fifth-best overall prospect in the state of Pennsylvania, and the 14th-best running back prospect in the nation, became UVa’s 22nd commitment.

National signing day is Feb. 2, when all players can sign the national letter-of-intent.

Simpson, who had offers from UVa, Alabama, UCLA, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and others, said he made up his mind about a week ago, but that it was a difficult decision because he knew he couldn’t go wrong with either Virginia or ‘Bama.

“I would wake up every day for awhile there and one day I would want to play for Virginia, the next day Alabama, then Virginia,” Simpson told The Daily Progress on Wednesday night during a celebration at his home. “Last week, Virginia was on my mind. I felt like in my heart that Virginia is where I wanted to be.”

The Cavaliers might have gotten a little lucky in the recruitment of the big-time back when Florida gained another running back commitment. Simpson appeared to be headed to The Swamp to play for new coach Urban Meyer.

Meyer had told Simpson that the Gators liked his speed (4.38 in the 40) and that his versatility fit Meyer’s style of wide-open offense. Simpson is the type of open field runner than most any college program would love to showcase.

However, the Gators were in the market for only one tailback in this class and a recent commitment filled that spot.

“They just called my coach and told them they got a commitment and didn’t have any more room,” Simpson said. “There are no hard feelings. I understand it is a business.”

Still, Virginia had to worry about Alabama and the great tradition of the SEC school. Former UVa offensive coordinator Sparky Woods, now the Crimson Tide’s running backs coach, handled the recruitment of Simpson. Virginia running backs coach Anthony Poindexter was the lead recruiter for the Cavaliers, but had plenty of help from the rest of the staff.

“I liked UCLA, but the facilities weren’t that good,” Simpson said Wednesday night of his visit to the West Coast. He attended the UCLA vs. Southern Cal game at the end of the season.

“At Michigan State, well, I just didn’t get the right vibes out there,” Simpson said.

“I loved Florida and Alabama was right up there with Virginia,” the tailback said.

So, what swung him over to coach Al Groh’s Cavaliers?

“I felt very comfortable with Virginia’s coaching staff, especially Coach Poindexter,” Simpson said. “I’ve got a chance to go in there and get playing time as a freshman. Their style of offense allows me to run the ball as well as get involved in the passing game.”

Poindexter, the former UVa All-American safety, made quite an impression on Simpson throughout the recruiting process. The Pennsylvania prospect had either unofficially or officially visited Charlottesville three times during his recruitment, but his last time down during the season was to gain an idea of how the Cavaliers prepare for a game.

“I can relate to Coach Poindexter a lot because he’s a young coach and was recently in the NFL, so he knows what it takes,” Simpson said. “I like the way he approaches a game. He’s not too uptight, but more kind of laid back. But still, he demands that things be done right. If you don’t do something right, he gets on you.”

Simpson rushed for 862 yards on 88 carries (9.8 average) and 21 touchdowns his junior season. He also caught 23 passes for

520 yards (22.6) and five TDs. He was named all-conference on both offense and defense, picking off five interceptions on the other side of the ball.

However, his senior season was cut short after five games due to a MCL injury in his left knee. He still finished with

456 yards rushing on 51 carries and scored eight touchdowns.

“I got my knee scoped, but it wasn’t anything too serious,” said Simpson, who had the surgery on Oct. 26 and was released from therapy two weeks later. “Everything is back to normal.”

In fact, he was declared 100 percent recovered recently after he turned in his first sub 4.4 timing in the 40 since the injury.

Virginia’s coaches believe that Simpson could play the same role in the Cavaliers’ offense as senior Alvin Pearman did this past season. Pearman went on to make first-team All-ACC tailback.

“The coaching staff told me that I’m a little bigger and faster than Alvin,” Simpson said. “He is a great player, but he’s gone and I’m looking forward to stepping in and me and Wali Lundy being the one-two punch.”

Simpson has been compared to all sorts of running backs, everything from family friend Ricky Watters, the former Notre Dame and San Francisco 49ers tailback who also hails from Harrisburg, to Washington Redskins tailback Clinton Portis.

“I’m a speedy, big-play, finesse type of running back who can make big plays as well in the passing game,” Simpson said. “Last year on the first play from scrimmage in the first game, I went 94 yards from scrimmage. I don’t like to get caught ... that’s my game.”

Those words are music to Groh’s ears.

Old rivals making new history
Cavaliers vie for conference road win against surprising Virginia Tech
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
January 27, 2005

There are worries, fears and nightmares. For Virginia, its game tonight in Blacksburg is probably already two of the three with the third yet to be determined.

When Virginia Tech entered the ACC, it was largely viewed as a move to enhance the league as a football conference. Basketball? That was more of an afterthought. That’s a simplistic spin on a complex situation, but that’s generally how it was perceived.

Of course here in the Commonwealth, there was some mention of basketball and how now being league foes would raise the level of the basketball rivalry between UVa and Tech.

For UVa fans distraught at the idea of the Hokies joining the ACC, the consolation was basketball. They snickered at the thought of that. Surely the Hokies, whom Virginia owns a 73-45 all-time series lead over, could not compete in the ACC? There were giggles as Virginia fans claimed that now beating the Hokies would result in two ACC wins.

Nobody is laughing now.

The Hokies (10-6, 3-2 ACC) have won three straight ACC contests, including a 70-69 victory over then-No. 12 Georgia Tech last Saturday. Coupled with the Cavaliers 1-5 ACC start, the Hokies are the favorites tonight in what is the first conference meeting between the two schools in nearly 70 years. When ACC expansion was finalized some 18 months ago, few would have predicted that the Hokies would be looking down at the Cavaliers in the hoops standings prior to their first ACC meeting.

“We’re playing hard and with a pretty good purpose. … Resilient might be the best word to describe this team. We know that this league is not very forgiving and three wins could turn into a nightmare in the next four or five games if you don’t get better,” said Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg.

The Hokies’ three ACC wins have all come in one-point affairs with the late rallies pushing them to victory.

“We are staying in games, competing at a higher level and then finding ways to win,” Greenberg said. “I’m not a village idiot. I understand we are two or three plays away from being 0-5 instead of 3-2. There is a small margin of error in this conference and you have to be a little lucky and be in position to win at the end of the game. The ball has bounced our way pretty good the last few weeks.”

Nobody can relate to those statements by Greenberg more than the Cavaliers. They had no REM period before their nightmare as it arrived with that 0-5 start to league play.

The Cavaliers earned their first ACC win with an 81-79 decision over Clemson at U-Hall last Saturday but their momentum pales in comparison to the Hokies’ entering this contest.

“We were fortunate to win over Clemson. … This will be a very tough game for us. Seth has done a great job with them. They have been playing well. It will be a very tough challenge against our in-state rival,” UVa coach Pete Gillen said.

Greenberg can equally understand Virginia’s current situation and defends Gillen, a longtime friend in the coaching ranks.

“It’s so much easier for you all to sit and talk about it but this league is going to do that to you. Depending on who you play and where you play them, that will obviously alter your won-loss record,” Greenberg said. “Virginia is a very good basketball team and a team that was good enough to beat Arizona.”

These current situations in the two programs no doubt will only serve to cause the Virginia Tech students to be that much more enthusiastic tonight at Cassell. Of course, it’s not as if they need any extra incentive for this game.

The basketball rivalry has always been a healthy one but not close to the gridiron version. The intensity would have ticked up a notch anyway but the current ACC standings certainly adds an extra spice.

“I think the intensity goes up even more. It was always a giant game and hard fought. Tech loves to beat us and we love to beat them in every sport. The emotions and stakes are even higher now,” said Gillen, whose team was pummeled 73-55 on their last visit to Blacksburg two years ago. “I’m sure the place will be a madhouse down there. They would like nothing more than to beat Virginia. We are going to a tough situation but I have a lot of confidence in our guys.”

Cavs will face tough crowd on Thursday
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 26, 2005

Scattershooting around the ACC, while noting that Virginia had better be prepared for its most hostile environment of the season on Thursday night ...

That’s right. Maybe the Cameron Crazies are wild and crazy guys, but expect the crowd at Virginia Tech to be more hostile toward the Wahoos when the state rivals collide in Blacksburg.

Remember two years ago? That’s when a lot of the problems of UVa’s basketball program began to surface as the uninspired Cavaliers unraveled and lost to an inferior team. Things haven’t been the same around Wahoo hoops ever since.

For once, Cavalier fans would like to see their basketball team as fired up to play this game as the Hokies always are. Anything less will likely spell defeat.

Tech is 3-2 in the ACC, while UVa is 1-5. But Hokies coach Seth Greenberg, once a graduate assistant for Terry Holland in Charlottesville, knows how thin the line is between success and failure in this league.

"I understand we’re two or three plays away from being
0-5 as opposed to 3-2," Greenberg said. "That’s the margin of error in this conference. We’re playing hard and we’re playing with a pretty good purpose. We’re just trying to stay in basketball games.

"Three wins can turn into a nightmare the next four or five games if you don’t continue to get better, to work hard," the Hokies coach said.

All you have to do is look at Clemson as evidence of that theory. The Tigers are 1-5, but are only four points away from having three road victories and a 3-3 ACC record.

Tar Heels resting
After taking on the Hokies in Blacksburg on Thursday, the Cavaliers return home to host North Carolina on Saturday.

The Tar Heels have been off all week, resting with a 16-2 overall mark and a 5-1 record in league play. Roy Williams would rather be playing, but center Sean May believes the rest may help Carolina.

"We’ve got a lot of guys with aches and pains,” May said. “We can use some time off to heal."

Williams realizes that, but still there is a temptation to keep playing while a team is playing well.

"It does give the guys time to catch their breath," Williams said. "If it was up to me, I’d keep playing. But my body doesn’t have to do what those guys have to do. I think it’s better for them physically than it is mentally."

Pete and Herb
It’s difficult to tell just which of these two basketball coaches, UVa’s Pete Gillen or N.C. State’s Herb Sendek, are catching the most heat from fans.

A poll on our sister paper’s site, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, asks what UVa should do with Gillen and the majority of those answering want the coach’s head.

N.C. State fans have been demanding Sendek’s head for most of the last nine years. When the Wolfpack lost to Virginia Tech recently, State fans said it was the last straw in their internet postings, radio talk show calls and e-mail letters to newspaper in the area.

But Sendek, as he usually does, found himself back in the good graces after beating Maryland, even though the Pack nearly blew a 26-point halftime lead.

Still, State stands at 12-6 overall and 2-3 in the league with a pair of one-point ACC losses. If the Pack beats Florida State tonight in Raleigh, Herb will at least be 3-3 in the league, and considering that the Seminoles have lost 12 in a row to the Wolfpack and 26 consecutive ACC road games, that’s a good bet.

What If? What if the original ACC plan to bring Miami, Boston College and Syracuse into the league had gone through as expected?

A good ACC basketball race would be even better with BC and Syracuse in the mix.

Look at this week’s AP rankings: 2. Duke; 3. UNC; 4. Syracuse; 5. Wake Forest; 8. BC.

Then there’s Georgia Tech at No. 22. Maryland and Miami are in the Also Receiving votes category. That’s eight, or what would have translated into three-quarters of the league, among the nation’s top 48 teams.

Football update. Running back Mikell Simpson will announce his decision between Virginia and Alabama this afternoon on ESPNews between 3:30 and 4 p.m.

Mike Farrell, no stranger to Daily Progress readers, will be on the show as ESPN’s national recruiting analyst and reported that the No. 14 back in the country (according to Rivals), has already made his decision and is keeping it quiet until this afternoon’s show.

Simpson, from Harrisburg, Pa., reminds Virginia’s coaching staff of All-ACC tailback Alvin Pearman. Simpson has been told by the Cavs’ staff that he would play a similar role in the Wahoo offense.

On the other end of the state, Virginia Tech has dropped its plan to make Florida its primary recruiting territory outside of the Old Dominion, and instead is concentrating mostly on Georgia and the Carolinas. The Hokies landed one big recruit from North Carolina this week in 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end Jonathan Hannah, who may play both football and basketball in college.

The Hokies have two commitments from North Carolina and two from Georgia.

Free throws ... Congratulations to Mac McDonald, the Voice of the Cavaliers, for being named the Sportscaster of the Year for the state of Virginia. McDonald, who has been so honored before, will be featured at the April meeting of the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame ceremonies in Salisburg, N.C. ... Olu Babalola, who lit up UVa for 22 points the other night, became the first Clemson forward to have at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in one game since Greg Buckner did it in 1994-95. Babalola had seven boards, five assists and had two steals. ... Maryland’s D.J. Strawberry suffered a torn left ACL and is out for the rest of the season... he will have surgery next month, followed by six months of rehab. ... Maryland has a tough week coming up, playing at Duke tonight, then hosting Georgia Tech on Sunday.
... The Virginia House of Representatives honored past and current Wahoos with two resolutions this week, one commending former UVa quarterback Aaron Brooks, now QB for the New Orleans Saints, for his community work, and also commended the 2004 Cavalier women’s lacrosse team for winning last season’s NCAA national championship... Virginia Coach Al Groh was on the New England Patriots’ sideline for Sunday’s AFC Championship victory over Pittsburgh. It was a reunion of sorts for Groh, who worked with Pats’ head coach Bill Beleihik, outgoing offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel.

A matter of timing
Virginia Tech is a hot, confident team. Virginia is still trying to find its groove. The two meet on the court tonight.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published January 27, 2005

As a guy who's been around the game a bit, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg knows how the ball bounces. And he knows how good fortune could just as easily be bad karma.

Case in point: His basketball team, which has won three consecutive ACC games by a total of four points. Had Carlos Dixon not come up with that steal and breakaway against Clemson, had Coleman Collins missed that fadeaway against N.C. State, and had Georgia Tech made just one of its three shots in the final 12 seconds ...

But in each case, the ball bounced Tech's way. And going into tonight's game against Virginia in Cassell Coliseum, the Hokies (10-6, 3-2) are in fourth place in the conference.

"I'm not a village idiot. I understand we're two or three plays away from being 0-5 as opposed to 3-2," Greenberg said. "But that's the margin. There's a very small margin of error in this conference. You've got to be a little bit lucky and at least put yourself in position where they have a chance to make plays at the end of the game."

Virginia (10-6, 1-5) hasn't been in that position much lately. Ranked 19th nationally a little over a month ago, the Cavaliers (10-6, 1-5) were tied with Clemson for last place until the Tigers lost Wednesday night. Virginia lost its first five ACC games by an average margin of 16 points. In four of those games, the Cavs were close at halftime before falling apart in the final 20 minutes.

Virginia got its first league win Saturday night, an 81-79 home victory over Clemson. But U.Va. didn't make plays down the stretch to win it. In fact, Cavalier guard J.R. Reynolds missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13.5 seconds left, giving the Tigers a chance to win. But Clemson's Sharrod Ford missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"It was important to get that win," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "You can't win two in a row until you win one in a row."

Two teams, two directions.

The Hokies have won four consecutive games, which matches their longest winning streak since the 1995-96 season. In four years as a Big East member, Tech won three conference games in a row only once - to conclude the 2003-04 season.

Several players are stepping up. Guard Zabian Dowdell is averaging 18.4 points a game in conference play, 51/2 points higher than what he averages in non-league games. Collins is averaging 13.8 points and 6.8 boards in ACC games.

But more than numbers, Greenberg sees his team developing a winner's attitude.

"They really believe they can get a stop, get a loose ball, at the end of the game," he said. "That's a very fragile thing. You can have it one week and lose it the next."

Virginia went into the New Year with an 8-1 mark (among the eight victories was a blowout of then-No. 10 Arizona) but is 2-5 since.

Personnel losses have played a factor: Devin Smith, the Cavaliers' leading scorer, missed a three-game stretch. And Jason Clark, the team's best interior defender, is done for the year because of academic reasons.

"This league will do that to you," Greenberg said of U.Va.'s poor start. "Depending on who you play and when you play them, it's going to affect your win-loss record. If Devin Smith's healthy at the beginning of the ACC season, it's probably a different story. People don't understand: When you lose one player in basketball, a player like him is more than 20 percent of your team."

Tonight will mark the first game between these teams as ACC rivals. The Cavaliers have won seven of the last eight in the series but were blown out 73-55 in Blacksburg two years ago.

"Tech certainly loves to beat us and we love to beat them, so it's a great rivalry," Gillen said. "But now, the stakes are higher and the emotions are higher. I'm sure the place will be a madhouse. We're going into a tough situation."

Virginia eventually gets its football commitment
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jan 27, 2005

Mikell Simpson appeared live on ESPNEWS yesterday afternoon to announce his college choice. After an awkward moment, University of Virginia football coach Al Groh got good news.

Asked where he was headed, Simpson initially said the "University of . . . Alabama," then caught himself and said, "Virginia." Blame nerves, not a misguided attempt at drama, the 6-1, 195-pound tailback said in a phone interview later.

"I just slipped up," said Simpson, whom SuperPrep rates No. 13 among running backs in the Class of 2005.

Simpson, who attends Harrisburg (Pa.) High, took official visits to U.Va., Alabama, Michigan State, UCLA and Florida. Not only is Virginia the closest of those schools to his home, Simpson favored the Cavaliers' offense, which he believes will best "showcase my abilities."

He's been called a bigger, faster version of all-ACC tailback Alvin Pearman, Virginia's most versatile player as a senior in 2004, and Simpson welcomes such comparisons.

"I'm looking forward to going down and replacing [Pearman]," he said.

Secondary coach Bob Price was Virginia's lead recruiter for Simpson, who said he also was impressed with running backs coach Anthony Poindexter. The NCAA signing period opens Wednesday.

A knee injury limited Simpson to five games in 2004, but he said he's healthy again after having surgery to repair a slight tear in his left meniscus.

Simpson, who has met NCAA eligibility requirements, said he's been timed at 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

With the addition of Simpson, U.Va.'s recruiting class for 2005 consists of 22 players. The Cavaliers hope to land at least three more: Hampton High wideout Todd Nolen, Meadowbrook, Ga., defensive end Antonio Forbes and Bethlehem, Pa., linebacker Kyle Newell.

Newell, who visited Virginia last weekend, also is considering N.C. State and Tennessee. He told The Times-Dispatch yesterday that he's probably going to decide "in a couple days."

Two players who committed to U.Va. early in the process offensive lineman Matt Lowry and linebacker Lamont Robinson -- have since reneged and will sign elsewhere Wednesday. Lowry, from Glenolden, Pa., is headed to Penn State, and Robinson, who's from Salem, N.J., is bound for Oklahoma.

Also, all-Group AA linebacker Darryl Gresham, from Roanoke's William Fleming High, has backed out of the commitment he gave U.Va. in July. Gresham says he's still interested in Virginia but also is considering Florida and Virginia Tech.

Not at face value
Only on rare occasions will Va. Tech's Collins let emotions spill out
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jan 27, 2005
VIRGINIA AT VA. TECH
TODAY: 8 p.m., Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg
ON THE AIR: TV WUPV-Ch. 65, 8 p.m. Radio -- WRVA (1140), WXGI (950), WBBC (93.5), XM Satellite Radio Ch. 181, 7:30

Coleman Collins is not the man of many faces. Happy, sad, healthy, hurting . . . Collins' expression pretty much never changes.

"That's kind of my whole M.O., to try and play it cool," said Collins, a sophomore at Virginia Tech.

So who was that guy wearing Collins' jersey and looking a whole lot like Collins mugging for the cameras after the Hokies' basketball team defeated Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta? Collins, whose home is in Stone Mountain, Ga., dropped the cool thing and let his emotions show.

"Sometimes, you can't help how you're feeling, and that was one of those times," said Collins, a 6-8 forward. "I've been going to that gym for a lot of years, as a little kid at Bobby Cremins' basketball camps, watching Georgia Tech games. We'd work concessions for a half and then sneak into the game for the second half.

"I had a lot of friends and family there. I have a lot of friends who go to Georgia Tech. . . . A whole lot of feelings just came up for me then."

Each game seems to bring out something new in Collins, on the court as well as off. Healthy again after having a cyst removed from his left foot in December, Collins has become a major part of the Hokies' ma- chine as they make their way through the ACC for the first time. Tech (3-2, 10-6) will try to extend its winning streak to five tonight at 8 when Virginia (1-5, 10-6) visits Cassell Coliseum.

Collins' season has to be broken down to B.S. and A.S. -- before surgery and after surgery. He's averaged 14.8 points and 6.3 rebounds the past six games. In the first eight, he never got to 14 points and had as many as six rebounds only once.

"He's one of their unsung heroes, and I think he's done a great job for them," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said.

Collins does tend to fall behind senior Carlos Dixon and fellow sophomores Jamon Gordon and Zabian Dowdell on the "who gets noticed" scale. But he's managed to produce plenty of highlights in his brief career. He hit a game-winner last season against Rutgers and another Jan. 19 against North Carolina State. He's proved to be a capable outside shooter and, since his surgery, he's been more than willing to go inside and bang.

He's doing it against guys who are much older. Collins won't be 19 until this summer.

"I went to first grade for about a month and they just decided to move me up to second grade," he said.

Said Tech coach Seth Greenberg, "Coleman is the most mature 18-year-old I've ever been around. He's very bright, he keeps things very much in perspective. He's very analytical, he definitely wants to know the hows and whys."

Collins is a communications major who writes a column for the student newspaper The Collegiate Times. He's a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. There's a lot more to him than basketball and, judging from his lack of expression on the court sometimes, it would be easy to conclude that basketball isn't that high on the priority scale.

That would be the wrong conclusion. Don't let the face fool you. Collins cares, plenty.

He may soon make that plain again, just as he did at the end of the Georgia Tech game.

"I can't really control how I feel at certain times. It definitely worked Saturday, and if I ever get that feeling again, you'll see it," he said. "I don't usually yell after I get a dunk but that time I yelled for a while. I just had a lot of energy and I want to try and keep that up for the rest of the season."

 

Trip to Tech is big for U.Va, bigger for Gillen
By BOB MOLINARO, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 26, 2005

For Pete Gillen’s struggling Virginia team, Thursday night’s appearance at Virginia Tech is nothing less than an identity game.

Until this season, no matter how harsh Charlottesville’s winters of discontent, the Cavaliers could always claim to be the state’s best ACC basketball team. It was a simple numbers game.

Not any more. It’s one thing when, in its maiden ACC season, Virginia Tech is superior to U.Va. in football. Tech is a football school. But in one fell swoop, is U.Va. also about to cede its basketball reputation to the new kid on the block?

Virginia, 1-5 in the conference, will be the more desperate team when it visits Cassell Coliseum, where two ACC foes have fallen this season. Seth Greenberg’s squad, picked by the media to finish next to last in the conference, is feeling very good about itself after three consecutive ACC victories, all surprises. The last, an upset at Georgia Tech, was the most improbable. Virginia fans are well aware that, earlier this month, the Yellow Jackets crushed the Cavaliers in Atlanta.

Gillen’s teams flounder on the road in the ACC, but until recently, few thought the trip to Blacksburg was a real danger game. Or that the first conference meeting between the two teams would be crucial to U.Va.’s season and, perhaps, the psyche of its fans.

It’s widely held that the Cavaliers must make the NCAA tournament to ensure Gillen’s return. Given the current state of U.Va., that’s like saying John Kerry must still win Ohio to claim the White House.

“The season will tell the story,” Craig Littlepage, U.Va. director of athletics, said last week at the launching of a marketing campaign for the new basketball arena, scheduled to open in the spring of 2006.

U.Va. has raised $94 million through private donations for the 15,000-seat facility. Total cost of the project, which includes a parking garage, practice facility, access road and academic center, is $130 million.

“For this project to reach a successful conclusion,” Littlepage said, “we’re going to need for everything to be on target. We’re going to need for the teams’ performances to be on an upswing.”

Want to know whether or not Gillen will be invited back for an eighth season? Read between the lines.

“I don’t think it’s a stretch,” Littlepage continued, “to say we haven’t gotten to the point where we want to be, and it’s my job, in part, to make sure that we are poised and on an upward movement as we go into the new arena.”

Upswing? Upward movement? These words do not leap to mind when you think about U.Va. hoops. If Gillen goes, it will not be a case of heavyhanded administrators and overzealous alumni bringing down the hammer at the first sign of trouble. Marketing and packaging of a new arena, from the funding to the filling of the place, requires the kind of positive vibes Gillen has been incapable of producing.

An opulent arena like the one U.Va. is erecting — a school brochure claims that the building will “set a new standard in intercollegiate athletic venues” — needs a primary tenant worthy of the surroundings. In other words, a drawing card to help the school raise the $27 million it is seeking through premium seating contributions. “We need,” said Littlepage, “for the enthusiasm to be growing among fans and the student body.” A victory in suddenly dangerous Blacksburg might help U.Va. hold onto its turf. But if enthusiasm for Cavaliers basketball continues to flag, it’s unlikely anybody will be calling the new arena The House That Pete Built.

Cavs look to cool Hokies' hot streak
Coming off crucial ACC victory over Clemson, Virginia must travel to take on Hokie challenge
Becky Piedel, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

Pete Gillen is no mathematician. But the apricot-topped skipper of the Virginia men's basketball knows that for his team to win two games in a row, they have to win one first.

Last Saturday, the Cavaliers (10-6, 1-5 ACC) grabbed their first conference win of the season against fellow ACC basement dweller Clemson, and tonight they'll go for number two versus conference newbie Virginia Tech (10-6, 3-2).

"It's very important [to pull together back-to-back wins]," Virginia tri-captain Devin Smith said after Virginia's 81-79 victory over the Tigers. "Everybody has their confidence back because we know that we can win in this league. We just have to prepare for Virginia Tech, because they're playing pretty good right now."

But "pretty good" might be an understatement. In their first season in the conference, Virginia Tech hasn't cowered in the shadows of Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest or any of the ACC's other beefy squads. Instead, the Hokies have joined in the winning and thrown a curveball into the conference standings.

At 3-2, the Hokies own the fifth best record in the conference, trailing only Carolina's big three and fellow surprising newcomer Miami.

After early losses at home to the Tar Heels and on the road at Florida State, Virginia Tech has strung off three straight ACC wins, most notably last weekend's 70-69 upset of then-No. 12 Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Last season, the Hokies crutched themselves on All-Big East forward Bryant Matthews, who, at 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds, averaged 22 points and nine rebounds a game. This year, Tech's locus is backcourt play.

Carlos Dixon, Zabian Dowdell, Coleman Collins and Jamon Gordon aren't the type of players to be named preseason All-ACC or to be recognized in a lineup of ACC guards.

But, together, the quartet has earned Virginia Tech attention and respect in the heralded ACC.

Dixon and Dowdell both average about 15 points, Collins 11 points and Gordon 10 points, five rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Versus the Yellow Jackets, Dixon reeled off 21 points, including the game-winning jumper with 36.8 seconds remaining.

"They've won three close games," Gillen said. "That's not an accident -- it's coaching, it's guts. They're believing in him [Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg] and listening to him. They're playing well, and that's a sign of good players and good coaches."

In the only meeting between the teams last season, Virginia won at home, 80-65.

But the Hokies trounced Virginia, 73-55, the last time they played at Tech in January 2003. The Cavaliers are 14-23 all-time in Blacksburg.

"Going on the road to Virginia Tech, we know that is going to be a hostile environment," Smith said. "We just have to take it like another game -- every team in this conference is good. We have to be prepared for a hostile environment."