Will banged-up Singletary play Sunday?
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
January 14, 2006

University of Virginia point guard Sean Singletary hasn't practiced the last two days and appears questionable for Sunday's game at Virginia Tech.
"He's banged up in a lot of different areas," said Virginia coach Dave Leitao during his teleconference on Friday. "We're trying to get him as much rest as we possibly can. We'll see how he feels [today] and try and get him ready for Sunday."

Singletary scored 27 points and dished out seven assists in the Cavaliers' loss to Florida State at University Hall on Wednesday. In the game, he spent a good deal of his time sprawled on the court.

During one sequence in the second half, Singletary barreled into a courtside table as he tried to corral a loose ball. The sophomore appeared to hit his head, and then stayed on the ground for several moments.

Near the end of the game, he lay in the middle of the court on his stomach writhing in pain. Afterward, Leitao attributed the incident to cramps.

Singletary, who played 40 minutes against the Seminoles, has been bothered for much of the season by a hip injury that he sustained during a practice in early December. On Jan. 2, after the Western Kentucky game, Leitao said the injury was probably something Singletary would have to battle the rest of the year.

Just a minute into the Clemson win last Saturday, Singletary took a nasty spill as he drove to the hoop. He appeared to hit his head and neck when he landed.

"I felt a little dizzy," said Singletary, following the game, "but then I just said, 'Suck it up.'"

Luckily for the Cavs, point guard T.J. Bannister is back in the fold after returning from his sports hernia injury against Florida State.

Look for Bannister's minutes to increase from the 18 he played against the Seminoles, regardless of whether Singletary plays.

Leitao said he may utilize the three-guard attack - featuring Singletary, Bannister and J.R. Reynolds - that he used briefly versus Florida State.

"We maybe need to get Sean off the ball a little bit - to allow him to think more about scoring than just running the team," Leitao said.

"In doing so, we still have to get T.J. caught up to the rhythm of the game. I think he's in a little bit better shape and feeling healthy, but it's hard to miss the amount of time that he's missed and for him to just jump into the flow, no matter how much experience [he's] got."

Singletary, who was a standout football player at his high school in Philadelphia, plays an aggressive style that Leitao loves. However, it also makes the 6-foot, 174-pounder more susceptible to injuries.

"I'm gravely concerned because of the minutes he logs and how hard he plays," said Leitao, following Wednesday's game. "He gives up his body. He gives to this program probably equal to about what three guys give. His body has suffered for it."

Cavs face Hokies today
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
January 15, 2006

Virginia Tech, Virginia's opponent this afternoon, has been somewhat of an enigma through its first 16 games.
In their second game of the season, the Hokies lost at home to Bowling Green. A couple of weeks later, they nearly beat Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Which Virginia Tech team will show up today in Blacksburg for the Commonwealth Challenge? Most likely one with a hearty appetite, according to Virginia coach Dave Leitao.

"We've got a team on their home court that really concerns us because of the fact they play very hard," Leitao said. "They play determined. They play together. They haven't won a conference game yet, so I know they'll be extremely hungry and come out with a lot of extra energy as a result."

On Dec. 4, Virginia Tech was leading No. 1-ranked Duke by a point with one second left before the Blue Devils' Sean Dockery hit a 43-foot heave to win the game at the buzzer.

The Hokies (10-6, 0-3) are coming off a 64-61 home loss to North Carolina on Tuesday. Tech had a chance to tie the game, but guard Deron Washington missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

The Hokies, whose other conference loss came at Florida State last Saturday, are led by guard Zabian Dowdell and big man Coleman Collins.

The 6-foot-9 Collins is averaging a team-leading 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds. The junior scored a career-high 25 points against Duke, including the go-ahead tip-in that gave the Hokies their lead just before Dockery's heroics.

Dowdell, a sophomore who can play the point and shooting guard, is second on the team in scoring at 14.8.

The Hokies have been helped by the recent return of swingman Wynton Witherspoon, a sophomore who missed the first nine games with a foot injury. He's scored 36 points in his last two games, including a career-high 19 against Florida State.

The Cavs' Mamadi Diane and Adrian Joseph will probably draw the defensive assignment against Witherspoon.

"You have a guy, who as the season has gone on, has gotten much more comfortable in their lineup and has become a really good asset for them," said Leitao of Witherspoon. "He's played about half their games now and has fit in very well.

"He's versatile, as well as extremely aggressive. Obviously that concerns us as a team. We have to prepare for that."

As has been the case all season, a major key to the game - in addition to the health of UVa point guard Sean Singletary who's been banged up - will be whether the short-handed Cavs can stay out of foul trouble.

UVa (7-6, 1-2) cost itself a victory against Florida State on Wednesday night by fouling out all three of its big men.

"Overall, we have to do a much better job of anticipating contact in the post," Leitao said. "When you're the aggressor, you don't get called [for fouls] as much. We are a lot of times in reactionary positions. We have to do a better job of that."

Leitao said he has never been involved in an in-state rivalry as intense as Virginia-Virginia Tech. He said his biggest rival when he coached at DePaul was Marquette.

"I'm beginning to find out more about [the Cavs-Hokies rivalry]," Leitao said. "It's extremely deep-rooted and has the makings of another challenge that we have to not only accept, but perform well in."

The Hokies have six players on their roster who hail from the state of Virginia. The Cavs have J.R. Reynolds (Roanoke), Laurynas Mikalauskas (Charlottesville, via Lithuania) and Mike Forkin (Centreville).

Leitao said he was looking forward to his first game as a head coach in Blacksburg.

"I think any time you have two teams in close proximity in the same state and recruiting area, and fans on both sides who are passionate - that has a lot of meaning for the players," he said, "and especially having in-state players on your team. When you put all those things together, it becomes a little more special."

DUNKS: UVa is leading the Commonwealth Challenge, 6-3. It has an earned a point apiece for wins in volleyball, women's soccer, men's cross country, women's cross country, men's swimming and diving and women's swimming and diving. Virginia Tech has earned a point for its win in men's soccer and two points for its victory in football.

The Cavs lead the all-time series in basketball 74-46, but are just 14-24 in Blacksburg.

The schools split two meetings last season, each team winning on its home court.

Leitao said he's been to Blacksburg two previous times as an assistant coach. "It was always a very difficult place to play and I think it remains that way," he said.



 

Arena will sport stellar AV system
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 15, 2006

With the financial backing of Paul Tudor Jones II, the University of Virginia is going all out to make sure that the Cavaliers' new basketball home will be the best experience possible for its fans.
The John Paul Jones Arena (named for Jones' father), built at a cost of $129.8 million, will be completed in May and will host Wahoo men's and women's games next season. But there are plenty of people already working behind the scenes to enhance the atmosphere.

A large portion of that experience will include a $7.5 million audio-visual system, which is over and above the project cost of the arena, and again compliments of Paul Tudor Jones (cue the Hallelujah Chorus). Most arenas around the country(pro/college) have AV systems in the $2 to $3 million range.

'Best presentation'

Jones told Virginia that he wanted the best presentation in the country, so then it was up to Jon Oliver, executive associate director of athletics, to figure out just what was the best. The first thing Oliver did was to explore a number of NBA arenas because he knew that the pro market is almost always ahead of the curve.

He wisely made a three-day swing through San Antonio, Dallas and Houston to see the variety in video boards. With that knowledge, he and colleagues came up with Virginia's concept of what worked best for the new 15,000-seat arena. Next step, how much would it cost?

Mitsubishi quality

When UVa put out the project for bid, Mitsubishi answered.

"As far as video boards [scoreboard, instant replay systems, etc.] go, I don't think it gets any better than Mitsubishi in terms of Diamond Vision," Oliver said. "That's the best quality out there. It's normally hard for people to afford that type of thing, but if you can get it, that's what you want."

Diamond Vision has been the preferred choice of premier venues around the world for more than two decades, including many pro sports facilities, including Yankee Stadium, Denver's Mile High Stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, The Palace at Auburn Hills, Atlanta's Philips Arena and many more.

Test run

Once the deal was struck with Mitsubishi and the board was constructed, the next step was a test run.

Like Oliver said, you don't want to figure it out when you're unpacking the crates ? "like, oops!"

So, he and Todd Goodale, director of UVa's video services, flew to Nagasaki, Japan, to put the big board through its paces.

"It was an all-day process," Oliver said. "Mitsubishi put different content on the board and we took some content over with us, basketball, different events, to see how it would look. We ran through very specific tests before we accepted the board. It was a very long trip, but well worth it."

The two Virginians took a day off after the test process to explore Nagasaki and got a real taste of the Japanese culture.

"Gracious hosts, amazing people," Oliver said. "And as you know, I like to eat and that was the hardest part of the trip for me, finding something that you're really comfortable with."

Speaking from personal experience, I had never been so glad to see the Golden Arches in all my life as during a weeklong trip to Tokyo in the '80s. While I like fine dining, sushi is not my bag, and Oliver obviously shares that sentiment.

"We walked around for half a day and finally found a Kentucky Fried Chicken," Oliver chuckled. "We were nervous about it at first, but it was great."

The board will be put on a boat and shipped to America, which will be one of the major projects in terms of the new arena's inside work.

"We will have a LED [light emitting diode] display system [like at Scott Stadium] ring at the center of the arena, where you can put up messages and sponsors," Oliver said. "We're going to have eight matrix boards, which is also LED. We're going to use four of those to always show score, time and stats. Then there's the big board [for replays]."

There will be a noise meter and all sorts of extras, including two video boards in the lobby.

"Probably the closest NBA arena to what we're doing is Chicago," Oliver said. "The Phoenix Suns have a system that's very close to what we have, but we have better resolution across the board in what we're doing. It's going to be amazing."

But that's just part of what Oliver's team is doing. When you're jumping from an 8,500-seat facility to a 15,000-seat, state-of-the-art arena, Oliver believes it's all about amenities and winning. Coach Dave Leitao's job is to take care of the latter. Oliver is already working on the other stuff.

"What I said to our marketing staff is that they have to assume we're going to lose every game and we still have to find a way to see it out," Oliver said. "Well, that means you've got to go to the amenities. What's the food going to taste like? Concessions are big. What's the audio-visual presentation going to be like?"

He paid close attention to those details, as did some colleagues upon another swing through the Texas pro arenas recently. They observed promotions, how to get fans more involved in the game, everything possible to enhance the experience of going to a Virginia basketball game.

"We have very specific goals of what we want to do with attendance in Year One," Oliver said (UVa has averaged 7,500 a game so far this season). "We know we have some great teams coming in: Gonzaga, Arizona and Stanford. That's going to help drive attendance. But we belief if we can get people exposed to that product, our basketball team, and the excitement of being in the building, that people will stay with us long-term."

And, oh yes, there won't be any sushi at the concession stands, so don't ask.
 

Brooks returning for senior year
UVa inside linebacker wants to earn degree
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
January 15, 2006

Hundreds of Central Virginia residents have purchased UVa football jerseys in the past three years.
Most of those jerseys have the two numbers on the front and back: 34. And it's safe to say most, if not all, of those owners figured their purchase would be a throwback by the time the 2006 season started.

Think again.

In a surprising move, Virginia inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks announced Saturday that he would return to school for his senior season with the Cavaliers, postponing a jump to the NFL.

Brooks, an All-American and Butkus Award finalist in 2004, had until today to declare for the NFL Draft.

One of Brooks' teammates and fellow inside linebacker, Kai Parham, announced earlier in the week that he would forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. Unlike Brooks, Parham had completed the requirements to get his college degree.

"I came to Virginia to earn my degree and help Virginia become a great team," said Brooks in a released statement. "I still have a lot of unfinished business to meet my goals. When I do walk into a NFL locker room, I want to do it with my degree. I am looking forward to getting my game in top shape and helping my teammates win an ACC Championship.

"It will all be a lot of work, and I am ready to get started. I appreciate all the support I have received from the advisors, coaches and teammates."

Virginia coach Al Groh said his program was "appreciative in the confidence [Brooks] has in us.

"This has turned into a tremendous situation for us. Standing in my office five years ago, I told Ahmad that I had coached one of the greatest linebackers in football history [former New York Giants' star Lawrence Taylor]. Usually you don't get one of those in a career, let alone two. I'm going to do all that I can to make sure I coach a second one."

Prior to his junior season, Brooks was considered by many NFL Draft experts to be a lock for the first round. His stock dropped dramatically after surgery on his right knee kept Brooks out of spring practice, most of preseason practice and the first three games of the '05 season.

After returning in the fourth game, a road game at Maryland, Brooks twisted his ankle in the second half and missed the following game at Boston College. He returned for Virginia's thrilling win over Florida State, but a back injury sidelined the linebacker in the Cavaliers' final two games.

For the season, Brooks played in just six games and was a part of 27 tackles.

"Last year, he had that 34 on his back, but it was just a shell of 34," said Brooks' father, Perry, who played for the Washington Redskins. "It wasn't the real 34, the Ahmad Brooks that we came to know ... and love."

Perry Brooks said he urged his son to return to school to get his sociology degree.

"I got mine and my daughter [Krsunthia] got hers," said the elder Brooks, who graduated from Southern. "It is very important because he is down there and has an opportunity to get it. With the injury that he had, it was a wake-up call for everything. Once you have a degree, you have that for the rest of your life.

"A degree from the University of Virginia goes a long, long way in this world. Football is good. Football is great. But, Ahmad hasn't gotten to that point yet to be a professional athlete.

Perry Brooks said it was his obligation as a father to stress the importance that a college degree would have for his son.

"Right now, you have a lot of kids who don't see the importance of a college degree, but 10 years down the road, 20 years down the road they always look back and say 'Man, I wish I would have gotten my degree,'" Perry Brooks said. "It comes from really trying to keep them focused and making them understand how important it is. That is part of being a parent - to make them understand. You have young kids that don't understand and they don't know. Some learn quicker than others."

After playing his first two seasons at Virginia near 250 pounds, Brooks' weight had ballooned to 275 by the time he made his season debut. That was as a result of being unable to work out in the months leading up to the season his dad said.

"Going through his injuries last year, he didn't have an opportunity to work out like he needs to do to get in shape and lose weight and stuff," Perry Brooks added. "Hopefully, he will go back and start working out and start eating properly and get his weight down."

Perry Brooks also said the relationship that his son had with coach Groh played a pivotal role in the decision.

"Ahmad had the opportunity to go to any college in this country," Perry Brooks said. "From the USC's to Florida State's to Miami's, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Maryland and he chose the University of Virginia and one of the reasons that he chose Virginia was coach Al Groh.

"A talent like Ahmad doesn't come by too often in this world and coaches like Al Groh don't come by too often in this world, either. Ahmad had a great coach at Hylton [High School] in coach Brown and now he has another great coach down there with coach Groh."

Both Perry Brooks and Groh said that it would be an up-hill battle getting the former All-ACC linebacker back to his original form, but all the parties involved are committed to ensuring it happens.

"This isn't going to be easy," Groh said. "There's a lot of work ahead, but the opportunity is there and the plan is in place. Ahmad is anxious to get started."

Perry Brooks added: "It was very hard decision. It was a big decision. I think that we made the right one, but it has been hard. It has kind of been a long time coming, but we made it.

"Ahmad is glad to get back to school and start working out and become the person that we all want him to be and the football player that we know he can be."

 

Brooks isn't done with Cavs
After an injury-filled season, preseason All-American Ahmad Brooks says he's not ready for the NFL.
By Doug Doughty
9 81-3129
The Roanoke Times

Virginia saw a silver lining Saturday in the injury cloud that hung over Ahmad Brooks' 2005 football season.

UVa announced that Brooks, a junior linebacker and preseason All-American, has elected to return for his final season of college eligibility.

Brooks played in only six of 12 games this past season as the result of knee, ankle and back injuries.

He did not begin play until the fourth week after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from behind one of his kneecaps.

"I came to Virginia to earn my degree and help Virginia become a great team," Brooks said in a statement released by UVa. "I still have a lot of unfinished business to reach my goals."

Brooks, son of former Washington Redskins defensive tackle Perry Brooks, was seen as a possible first-round draft pick after the 2004 season, when he was named first-team All-ACC and one of three finalists for the Butkus Award that goes to the nation's top linebacker.

Not long after Brooks decided to return for the 2005 season, he experienced the knee problem that eventually led to an operation and prevented him from participating in spring practice and weight-room workouts. He was listed at 260 pounds this season -- up 11 pounds from the previous season.

Brooks had 27 tackles in six games after recording 117 as a freshman and 90 as a sophomore.

"When I do walk into an NFL locker room, I want to do it with my degree," said Brooks, 21. "I am looking forward to getting my game in top shape and helping my teammates win an ACC championship.

"It will be a lot of work and I am ready to get started. I appreciate all the support I have received from my advisors, coaches and teammates."

Brooks' longtime linebacking partner, Kai Parham, earlier had declared that he would pass up his final season of eligibility. Freshman Antonio Appleby, who started UVa's final two games in Brooks' absence, is likely to join Brooks on the inside of UVa's 3-4 next year.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Jan 14, 2006

DOWN TO THE WIRE: Tomorrow is the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the coming NFL draft. Kai Parham has done so. Another linebacker from the University of Virginia, Ahmad Brooks, is still weighing his options, according to his father.

"We're taking the weekend" to reach a decision, Perry Brooks said by phone yesterday.

"It's a family affair," said the elder Brooks, a former NFL defensive lineman, "so we're just trying to help Ahmad make the right decision for Ahmad."

Brooks was a Butkus Award finalist in 2004, when he led the Cavaliers in tackles for the second straight season. In 2005, however, knee, ankle and back problems limited him to six games, and Brooks, 6-4, 260, no longer is a lock to be an early round draft pick.

A man who identified himself as Brooks' older brother, Perry Jr., called in Thursday night to "Best Seat in the House," a radio show in Charlottesville, and said he hoped Ahmad would return to Virginia for a final season.

MEDICAL REPORT: U.Va.'s best basketball player, guard Sean Singletary, didn't practice Thursday or yesterday. First-year coach Dave Leitao hopes to have Singletary tomorrow in Blacksburg, where Virginia will take on Virginia Tech, but the 6-0 sophomore isn't likely to be 100 percent if he plays.

"He's banged up in a lot of different areas," Leitao said yesterday. "We trying to get him as much rest as possible."

The Cavaliers experienced life without Singletary on Dec. 7, and it wasn't pleasant. An injured hip kept Singletary from playing against Fordham, which stunned U.Va. 62-60 at University Hall.

PLAY BALL: The U.Va. baseball team's fourth annual "Step Up to the Plate!" gathering is next Saturday at 6 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium. This year's guest speaker is former Orioles great Brooks Robinson.

Previous speakers were Tony La Russa in 2003, Cal Ripken Jr. in '04 and Tommy Lasorda in '05.

Tickets are $50 for adults, and $35 for youths 12 and under and U.Va. baseball alumni. A sponsored table is $2,500. Proceeds benefit the U.Va. baseball program.

The event will start at 6 p.m. with a silent auction and an autograph session with Virginia's baseball team. Dinner will follow. After Robinson's comments, a live auction will be held.

For ticket information, call (800) 542-8821. To reserve a table, call (800) 626-8723.

GOING BOWLING: Athletic Director Craig Littlepage will speak Feb. 6 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. He'll discuss the logistics of taking a football team, as well as cheerleaders, a marching band and support personnel, to a bowl game. U.Va. beat Minnesota in last month's Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn.

The event, sponsored by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, is open to the public. The cost is $60, which includes dinner.

For information, call Ron Rechenbach at (804) 337-2044 or Jimmy Woody at (804) 219-2106. To register, visit http://clmcvr.org/registration.htm. - Jeff White
 

Brooks not done at U.Va.
Linebacker will return to the Cavs to focus on football and degree
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 15, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The University of Virginia has added a blue-chip football "recruit" for next season.

Linebacker Ahmad Brooks, an all-ACC pick and a Butkus Award finalist as a sophomore in 2004, has decided to postpone his NFL career and return to U.Va. for his senior season, the school announced yesterday.

"I came to Virginia to earn my degree and help Virginia become a great team," Brooks, 21, said in a statement. "I still have a lot of unfinished business to meet my goals. When I do walk into a NFL locker room, I want to do it with my degree. I am looking forward to getting my game in top shape and helping my teammates win an ACC championship. It will all be a lot of work, and I am ready to get started. I appreciate all the support I have received from the advisors, coaches and teammates."

Brooks, a graduate of Hylton High in Woodbridge, led U.Va. in tackles as a true freshman in 2003 and again as a sophomore. But Brooks had surgery on his right knee last March, a setback that caused him to miss spring practice and much of training camp.

His long-awaited 2005 debut came in U.Va.'s fourth game, but knee, ankle and back problems plagued Brooks all season. He was out of shape and made only 27 tackles in his six games.

When the 6-4, 260-pound Brooks is in top physical condition, however, his blend of power, size and speed can be breathtaking.

There's "no question he's the most talented player I've ever seen or been around," then-U.Va. defensive coordinator Al Golden said last summer. "He just does remarkable things. For him, it's all about focus, and it's all about experience. He's still very young in his development . . . He's got to develop better workout habits, better study habits off the field, kind of like [former U.Va. linebacker] Angelo Crowell had."

 

Hokie lifts team
Witherspoon will play through pain again today against U.Va.
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 15, 2006

The pain in his left foot, Wynton Witherspoon decided, he could handle. The pain of watching his team lose a game he thought he could help it win was not tolerable. And that's the short answer to why the Virginia Tech sophomore is playing instead of sitting out the rest of the season as a medical redshirt.

"The team needed me this year," Witherspoon said.

Tech (0-3 ACC, 10-6) and Virginia (1-2, 7-6) play today at 4 p.m. in an ACC game at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg. Witherspoon will be in the starting lineup. He's had 36 points the past two games, showing why Tech coach Seth Greenberg had so much faith in him before the season started.

But getting to this point has been quite the adventure. Less than a month ago, Witherspoon figured his season was done.

He had tried to come back from preseason surgery to fix a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot. It wasn't working. He was near the allowable limit for games played to still qualify for a medical redshirt.

"After we played Stanford, I thought that was it," said Witherspoon, who hardly played in that Dec.17 game. "But the foot started feeling a little bit better, and I wanted to be out there."

Watching the Hokies lose at Old Dominion on Dec.30 pushed Witherspoon over the edge. Doctors assured him he risked no further damage to the foot if he played. How much pain could he take?

"They played a lot of zone, and I felt like I could have impacted that game greatly. It was bad," Witherspoon said. "I wanted to get out there and play."

Witherspoon's presence means more than points.

Greenberg hadn't been using his bench much with Witherspoon out. Now he's starting Witherspoon at small forward, freeing Markus Sailes to become the sixth man and provide backup to Witherspoon and both guards. Shawn Harris can also help in the backcourt, A.D. Vassallo on the wing.

"If we can get one more frontcourt guy to contribute, now all of a sudden we have legitimate depth," Greenberg said.

Witherspoon played 37 minutes in Tuesday's loss to North Carolina. Greenberg would like to get it into the 30 range.

The point total from the past two games is more than acceptable. Witherspoon had three rebounds in each game. He had two assists in the first, none in the second.

"They were good games, but there's more that I can do," Witherspoon said. "I can make plays for other people."

Virginia coach Dave Leitao said Witherspoon fits right into the Hokies' rotation because "he adds the same way a lot of their guys add - they're versatile as well as being extremely aggressive. He's become a really good asset for them. They have a lot of guys who have played a lot of minutes, and he gives them a little more bench strength, allows them to stretch their lineup a little bit."

It's a luxury Greenberg is glad to have, especially after thinking it wouldn't happen this season. He's thrown Witherspoon right into the pool.

"I think deep down he always wanted to play. He was scared, and you know what? I don't blame him," Greenberg said. "There's still in the back of your mind an uncertainty. He hasn't dealt with this before.

"We won't see his full potential this year. He's going to be a very good player. He has a very good feel for the game."

 

St. Clair reborn in Chicago
Released by the Dolphins, John St. Clair is reunited with former Rams assistant Lovie Smith in the Windy City.
By B y Doug Doughty
981-3129

John St. Clair already owns a championship ring as a member of the St. Louis Rams team that won the National Football Conference and played in Super Bowl XXXVI in January 2002, but there's always room for more jewelry.

St. Clair, one of three William Fleming High School graduates to play in the NFL this year, could be a good-luck charm for second-year Chicago Bears' head coach Lovie Smith.

It was an appeal from Smith that persuaded St. Clair to go to Chicago when Miami terminated his contract Sept. 7 -- four days before the start of the regular season.

"Coach Smith called me personally when Miami released me and wanted me on his team," St. Clair said. "When the head coach calls you, it's hard to turn that down."

Smith was familiar with St. Clair from his tenure as the defensive coordinator at St. Louis, where St. Clair spent the first four seasons of his NFL career.

St. Clair, a third-round pick out of Virginia in 2000, elected to become a free agent after the 2003 season and signed to a two-year contract by the Dolphins, for whom he started 14 games in 2004. When it looked as if he would not start this season, he was released for salary-cap reasons.

"John St. Clair will probably get an opportunity to play someplace else," first-year Dolphins' coach Nick Saban said at the time. "We certainly wish him the best and in a lot of ways we would like to have him on our team again, but that may not happen."

In fact, the Dolphins made it known that they were willing to sign him at a reduced salary.

"St. Louis called me," he said. "They wanted me back. San Francisco tried to sign me also. It was a blessing, man. Some of the guys who get released, teams don't come after them like that. St. Louis and Chicago were going back and forth trying to get me."

Of the four teams involved, only one -- the Bears -- made the playoffs. Chicago (11-5) will entertain Carolina today in the NFC semifinals at Soldier Field.

The extended run has helped make up for the change in environment from balmy Miami to brisk Chicago.

"On a good day, it's 45 degrees," said St. Clair, who said the forecast calls for temperatures in the 40s today. "There was one Sunday night game we played when the wind-chill was 6."

St. Clair, signed two days after the start of the season, played in 13 games during the regular season. He started twice -- once at left guard and the second time at right guard when the regular, Fred Miller, was sidelined by a broken jaw sustained in a locker-room fight with teammate Olin Kreutz.

St. Clair was a center at Virginia, where he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the ACC's best offensive lineman in 1999. It's just like old times in Chicago, where St. Clair is charged with opening holes for 1,300-yard rusher Thomas Jones, who set the UVa career rushing record when he and St. Clair both were seniors.

The Bears were coming off a 20-10 loss to Cleveland and were 1-3 before going on an eight-game winning streak that propelled them to the top of the NFC's North Division.

"From the first day of practice, I knew we'd be a good team," said St. Clair, whose UVa connections include his wife of four years, the former Shannon Shelton from Martinsville. "The defense was great and the offense was improving. Coach Smith has turned it around. It's all due to him."

The Bears were 5-11 under Smith last year -- their third straight losing season after an NFC Central championship in 2001.

"I want to stay in Chicago," said St. Clair, who is in his sixth NFL season but won't turn 28 until July 31. "When Miami cut me, I was going to take a little break for a while, take a week or two to get my mind straight, maybe come back next year and try the free-agent market.

"When Coach Smith called me, that was a guy who knew what I could do. I couldn't turn that down. They're talking about a contract extension already."
 

Rivalry pits rare matchup of coaches
Veteran college head coaches Seth Greenberg and Dave Leitao have never faced each other in a regular-season game.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

The first time that Seth Greenberg and Dave Leitao met as Division I men's head basketball coaches, nobody was predicting that their second meeting would take place in the ACC.

Leitao was in his first season at DePaul and Greenberg was wrapping up his eighth season as South Florida when the Bulls defeated DePaul 76-74 in the first round of the 2003 Conference USA tournament.

South Florida and DePaul were in different divisions of Conference USA, which meant Greenberg and Leitao never met as head coaches in the regular season, an event that has been reserved for this afternoon at Cassell Coliseum, where Virginia Tech (10-6, 0-3 ACC) entertains Virginia (7-6, 1-2) at 4 p.m.

It won't be the first trip to Cassell for Leitao, who remembers two visits to Blacksburg when he was an assistant under Jim Calhoun at Connecticut.

"We won one and lost one," said Leitao, who is in first season as the Cavaliers' head coach. "It's obviously a little bit different now because they're getting very, very good crowds, which they did not have in times gone by.

"It was always a very difficult place to play and, obviously, remains that way."

In his two stints as an assistant at Connecticut and three seasons at DePaul, Leitao's teams did not have an in-state rival that played in the same conference.

Leitao played and coached at Northeastern under Calhoun when the Huskies' biggest rival was Boston University, coached by Rick Pitino.

"Both coaches were very young," Leitao said, "but, on a smaller scale, that probably rivalled any game that's played collegiately. That was extremely intense."

Leitao has always been viewed as a Calhoun protege, so that makes Greenberg the Pitino in the Tech-UVa rivalry.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Greenberg said.

Greenberg already has faced the Cavaliers four times, including twice last season, the Hokies' first as ACC members. More than 20 years ago, he was on the Cavaliers' bench as a Terry Holland assistant when UVa played the Hokies in Richmond.

Greenberg and Leitao have crossed paths on the recruiting trail but "this really isn't about me and Dave Leitao," Greenberg said.

"I'm not worried about playing Dave Leitao. He's a little big for me. He could post me up, but I could take him outside."

Presumably, Greenberg, who turns 50 in April, still has a quick first step.

"I'm a real blow-by guy," he said.

Greenberg is more concerned with the Cavaliers' sophomore point guard, Sean Singletary, the fourth-leading scorer in the ACC. Leitao is concerned about Singletary, too, but for a different reason.

Leitao held Singletary out of practice Thursday and Friday in hopes that he could get some rest after taking a beating Wednesday in an 87-82 overtime loss to visiting Florida State. Singletary ultimately was driven from the floor with a cramp but extensive playing time has not helped a hip condition.

"Singletary is as good as any point guard in the league," Greenberg said. "Really, they've got a good starting five."

The Cavaliers were picked to finish last in the ACC and are not burdened with lofty expectations. The Hokies, on the other hand, welcomed back four starters from a team that tied for fourth last season, although they were picked eighth in the preseason.

"It's a team that greatly concerns us," Leitao said. "They're playing very, very hard, they play determined, they play together. They have not won a conference game yet, so I know they'll be extremely hungry."

Greenberg says the one thing he knows for sure about Leitao is that he will recruit players.

"Everywhere he's been, he's been able to recruit talented athletes," said Greenberg, an associate of Leitao's predecessor, Pete Gillen, at the Five-Star Camps run by Howard Garfinkel.

"They left him pretty good players, but I think what happens in our business is, when things start to go south, you've got a two-year grace period. And when things continue to go south after that, you become a target. It's hard to turn that around. The buzzards start to circle."

 

Talks with Legg labeled ‘premature’
Hagans teased by basketball talk
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

A conversation between Virginia football coach Al Groh and 43-year-old Purdue offensive-line coach Bill Legg was so preliminary that Legg doesn’t know if he is being considered by the Cavaliers as an offensive coordinator or as a line coach.

Matter of fact, he doesn’t know if he is being considered at all.

How would Legg describe his trip to Charlottesville?

“As a casual visit with Al Groh,” he said. “It was more accidental than on purpose.”

Legg had no previous connection with Groh, other than his association with former Marshall coach Bob Pruett, Legg’s boss in Huntington, W.Va., in 2001-2002.

“Coach Groh and Bobby have worked along the way,” Legg said. “I’m thinking maybe [that was a factor], but I don’t even know how it got started, to be honest with you.”

Groh called Purdue coach Joe Tiller and asked for permission to speak to Legg, and they met last week in Charlottesville.

Legg said he was “in shock” when he heard of newspaper reports about his meeting with Groh and believes “there is more fluff than substance right now,” he said.

As of Tuesday, they had not spoken again.

So, speculation that he might join the UVa staff is premature?

“Very,” he said. “Extremely. That’s a good word for it.

“We haven’t discussed anything in specifics. Some of this stuff, I think, is way too soon.”

Legg, the first player to sign with Don Nehlen after Nehlen was named head coach at West Virginia, played for the Mountaineers from 1981-84. He later coached for Nehlen from 1995-2000, serving as offensive coordinator in 2000.

New coach Rich Rodriguez retained only Billy Stewart, a former VMI head coach, from the Nehlen staff.

Legg also has a VMI connection, having overseen the offensive line for Stewart in 1994.

Purdue is well thought-of at Purdue, which gave up only nine sacks this year, compared to the 33 allowed by the Cavaliers.

Legg, by the way, is a graduate of Poca (W.Va.) High School. Poca’s nickname, aptly enough, is the Dots.
While trying to come up with a phone number Mike London left with me several weeks ago, I was one able to get in touch with another possible target for a Virginia job, ex-Cavalier offensive lineman Mike Sewak.
Sewak said Tuesday that he has spoken to Groh and feels comfortable, as a fellow UVa alum, in picking up the phone and calling the Cavaliers’ head coach.

On the other hand, Sewak said he is focusing on getting another head-coaching position after being let go after four seasons as the head coach at Georgia Southern, where he was 35-14.

Among the openings mentioned by Sewak was Central Connecticut State, which has called a news conference for today to announce its new coach.

FORK UNION MILITARY basketball coach and UVa graduate Fletcher Arritt hasn’t sent many players to his alma mater, so it doesn’t sit well when one of his products doesn’t pan out in Charlottesville.

Some of the players Arritt has sent to UVa over the past 25 years are Doug Newburg, Ted Jeffries, Cornel Parker and Harold Deane. All completed their eligibility. Donte Minter, a 6-foot-8 post player from Concord, N.C., will not.

Minter, who played two years for the Cavaliers but was plagued by injuries, left the team before Christmas and recently has said he will enroll at Appalachian State.

“Hey, listen, he is the best guy we’ve had over there, other than Harold Deane,” Arritt said. “He’s a much better prospect than Cornel Parker, Ted Jeffries, anybody else we’ve had over there. It’s just sad.

“At Fork Union, we don’t want a kid to go to Virginia [and fail].”

What bothers Arritt more than anything is, when he reached out to Minter this fall, he said Minter would not return his calls.

“I just feel like, had I been able to talk to him, that he could still be over there because he could get his knee fixed,” Arritt said. “These guys have a mentality of, if they’re hurt, it will all clear up and everything’s going to be happy again. Blah, blah, blah.

“That’s not the way it is. You’ve got to work at this rehab. He never did get it right. Here’s another aspect of it: When those guys don’t feel good about themselves and don’t play, they’re likely not to do well in the academic area.

“While I don’t know, I suspect there was a combination there.”

It all started with the knee.

“Minter hyperextended his knee,” Arritt said. “I think he’s got structural damage in there. I think he’s got to have somebody BRILLIANT to look at that knee and go in there and fix it if he’s ever going to play again.

“I can’t imagine any better place to have that done than Charlottesville, Virginia.”

BEFORE T.J. BANNISTER returned to the men’s basketball team – and heck, even now that he has returned – the second-best point guard on the UVa campus (behind Sean Singletary) might have been football quarterback Marques Hagans.

“Let me tell you, Hagans is a better point guard than he is a quarterback,” Arritt said. “He played with us from March till June. He played against [Taron] Downey every day. He really has got as much talent – or more – than Downey.”

Downey went to Wake Forest, where he scored more than 1,100 points while splitting time between point guard and shooting guard.

“When Marques signed originally with Indiana, he was going to play basketball out there for Bob Knight,” Arritt said. “He didn’t make the [SAT] score, so he came to Fork Union. He worked out with us every day after the season. He was probably the best player on the floor – make that, easily the best player on the floor.”

When alerted to Hagans’ basketball prowess earlier this season, UVa basketball coach Dave Leitao said he couldn’t see Hagans joining the basketball team and jeopardizing his football future.

That wouldn’t have bothered Hagans, who expressed interest in reporters’ questions about football until learning he would have to be registered for classes.

I CAN’T SAY that I subscribe to the reports that Groh and Hampton High School football coach Mike Smith have patched up their differences, not after Groh declined an invitation to a banquet last Friday to celebrate the Crabbers’ state championship.

Smith said last week that coveted James Madison assistant Curt Newsome would be sitting between Groh and Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer but that place seating never materialized.

Beamer attended the banquet with assistant Jim Cavanaugh, North Carolina head coach John Bunting was there with assistant Ken Browning, and Newsome represented James Madison. Groh left word that he would be on the road, meeting with recruits.

“I’d just chalk it up to miscommunication,” observed Smith, who said he had not spoken to Groh since calling the UVa office in early December to recommend Newsome.

Groh took Smith’s advice to heart, but Newsome said this week that he had not spoken to Groh since their mid-December meeting in Charlottesville.

The hiring of linebackers coach Bob Diaco and the likely return of London as defensive coordinator may fall into the no-brainer category. If Groh is intentionally taking his time with the other hires, he wouldn’t be the first coach to wait until recruiting ends before filling out his staff.
 

2001 class one of the best
Not many misses among top 25 recruits
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

In a daily reshuffling of paper that rarely yields any column ideas, I have come across the 2000-2001 listing of the top college prospects in Virginia.

I hadn’t looked at the list of 2001 signees recently, but I do remember last year’s review of the 2000 signees and what an unimpressive list that was.

I won’t recount what happened to all those players, but here was The Roanoke Times’ top 10 (in order): Brandon Royster, Raymond Mann, Chris Perry, Maurice Shanks, Chad Cooper, Jeremiah Davis, John Dunn, Robert Bennett, Mike Daniels and Josh Spence.

Six years after the end of their high-school careers, only Perry and Dunn are in the NFL, and Perry wasn’t even a Virginia resident, having played in the undergraduate program at Fork Union as a boarding student from Winston-Salem, N.C.

In comparison, the class of players who graduated from Virginia high schools in 2001 was eminently more impressive:

No. 1 Bryan Randall – Randall, a quarterback from Bruton High School in Williamsburg, was the ACC player of the year and led Virginia Tech to a conference championship in its first year as a conference member. He will have a legacy as one of the true class acts in Virginia Tech football.

No. 2 De’Angelo Hall – Hall, a cornerback from Deep Creek in Chesapeake, was a first-team All-East selection, a second-team All-American and The Roanoke Times’ selection as the Division I state defensive player of the year in 2003. He turned pro after his junior year at Virginia Tech and was the first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons.

No. 3 Mike Robinson – After playing in a variety of roles and positions early in his career at Penn State, Robinson started at quarterback for Penn State this year and led the Nittany Lions to a turnaround 11-1 season. He was fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

No. 4 Justin Hamilton – Hamilton, from Clintwood High School, started six games at defensive back for Virginia Tech this year after serving in a variety of roles – mostly on offense – earlier in his career. He was the Hokies’ second-leading receiver as a sophomore in 2003 and had 75 rushing attempts as a reserve tailback in 2004. He also was a valuable special-teams performer.

No. 5 Patrick Estes – Estes, a tight end from Benedictine in Richmond, was not as celebrated as one of his Virginia classmates and fellow tight ends but received considerable playing time and was drafted by San Francisco, which moved him to the offensive line and kept him on the active roster.

No. 6 Carlos Campbell – Campbell, a former Hampton High School quarterback, was recruited by Notre Dame as a wide receiver. He never was redshirted and eventually finished his career at cornerback, where he was the 12th-leading tackler for an Irish team that went 6-6 in 2004. He did not make a single start.

No. 7 C.J. Fayton -- Fayton, a quarterback at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, was recruited as a wide receiver by Tennessee. He was the Vols’ third-leading receiver this year, with 24 receptions, and had 74 receptions in his career, seven for touchdowns.

No. 8 Darryl Blackstock – Blackstock, a defensive end at Heritage High School in Newport News, spent one season at Fork Union Military Academy before starting for three years at outside linebacker for Virginia. He was second on UVa’s all-time sack list before passing up his final year of eligibility. He was a third-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals.

No. 9 Cedric Humes – Humes, a running back from Princess Anne, had something of a Randall-type career in that he was well-regarded for the workmanlike way he went about his business. Humes led the Hokies in rushing this year as a fifth-year senior, with 752 yards, and had more than 1,600 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in his career. He was particularly lethal against archrival Virginia.

No. 10 D.J. Walton – Walton, a running back from Hylton High School, may have been the biggest bust on the Top 25 and you can take that any way you want. Walton, who picked Virginia Tech over Penn State, Virginia and Wake Forest, moved to defensive back – as expected – and was on the verge of playing time before two arrests, the second of which, an armed robbery, led to his permanent dismissal from the team.

No. 11 Ottowa Anderson – Anderson, a wide receiver from Norview High School in Norcom, had 72 receptions in his UVa career but was another player dogged by off-field issues. He was academically ineligible even before he was arrested for fighting with his girlfriend in the summer of 2004. He had a redshirt year at his disposal but was suspended for one game for a violation of team rules and had only 10 receptions this past season.

No. 12. Jeff King – King, a tight end from Pulaski County, was personally responsible for the reintroduction of the tight end into Virginia Tech’s offense. After catching a total of seven passes in his first two seasons, King had a total of 51 catches in his last two seasons, 10 for touchdowns and twice was named second-team All-ACC.

No. 13 Melvin Massey – Massey, a linebacker for Tommy Reamon at Warwick High School, was a backup nose tackle for three years at Virginia before transferring to Division I-AA Hampton University, where he had instant eligibility for a fifth year. Massey, not a major factor at Hampton, played in nine games and for a total of 47 plays in his final season at UVa.

No. 14 Heath Miller – Miller, a quarterback at Honaker High School and the Group A player of the year, was moved to tight end at Virginia and ended his career as an All-American, a two-time All-ACC selection and the winner of the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. He was a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers and has been a starter since the opening game.

No. 15 Blake Warren – Warren, a linebacker from Centreville High School in Fairfax County, played in 48 games during his Tech career and had 96 tackles. His only start came in the 2004 opener before the Hokies turned to Xavier Adibi. One of his brothers, Brett, is another Tech reserve linebacker. A third brother, Beau, will arrive at Tech next year.

No. 16 Chris Pannell – Pannell, a defensive end from Robert E. Lee in Staunton, was last mentioned in The Roanoke Times by teammate Tim Sandidge, noting that Pannell once had been hit by an apple thrown by a West Virginia fan. Pannell was listed as a backup offensive tackle in the fall of 2003 but subsequently left the team. His biggest claim to fame was that his girlfriend once posed for Playboy.

No. 17 Nate Ilaoa – Ilaoa, named Washington Post offensive player of the year as a senior at North Stafford, had Virginia Tech in his final four before signing with Hawaii. Ilaoa, a native Hawaiian, had 85 carries for 636 yards and six touchdowns this year. Listed as a 5-9, 248-pound wide receiver and running back, he also had 36 receptions and 274 yards and one TD. He had 46 receptions as a redshirt sophomore, then missed nearly two seasons with a knee injury.

No. 18 Elton Brown – Brown played in one game as a senior at Hampton High School after being charged with assault one year earlier after his junior year at Heritage High School in Newport News. But he was a qualifier and vastly underrated at No. 18. He became a starter for the final month of his freshman year at Virginia and ended his career as a first-team All-American and winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy that goes to the ACC’s top offensive lineman. He started this year for the Arizona Cardinals.

No. 19 Nick Smith – Smith, the Group AA offensive player of the year in 2000 as a junior at Park-View Sterling, transferred to Centreville High School before signing with Wake Forest. It was reported that he was transferring to James Madison prior to the 2002 season. However, he did not enroll at JMU, Centreville coach Mike Skinner said Friday, and did not play in a college football game.

No. 20 Danny McGrath – McGrath, an offensive lineman from Herndon High School, is one of the few players on the list who has remaining eligibility. McGrath made his first career start this season and ended up starting eight games at center. He received an extra year because he did not enroll at Tech until the January following his senior year in high school.

No. 21 Tyree Spinner – Spinner, younger brother of former Virginia quarterback Tyree Spinner, followed his brother to UVa and then to Richmond when his brother transferred. Spinner, from Paul VI in Fairfax, played tight end in high school and was a defensive end at Richmond. He never played for the Cavaliers and played only briefly for the Spiders before surfacing at Morgan State, where, listed as a 6-7, 300-pound senior tight end, he caught three passes this past season.

No. 22 Chris Clifton – Clifton, a quarterback at Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, ended up seeing most of his action at Virginia Tech at wide receiver. Clifton, who indicated last spring that he was leaving the program over a lack of playing time, returned this past season as a redshirt senior. He played in 31 games in his career and made one start. Clifton played on special teams in nine games this season.

No. 23 Tim Sandidge – Sandidge, a 6-1, 310-pound defensive tackle from Amherst County, started three games for Virginia Tech at the end of the 2003 season and then didn’t start again until this season, when he started nine games and finished with 36 tackles, only two behind the highly regarded Jonathan Lewis.

No. 24 Aaron Alexander – Alexander, a quarterback at Henrico High School, was a quarterback in four games at Michigan State as a true freshman, then moved to wide receiver. Alexander (6-5, 200) was never redshirted and caught a 26-yard pass in his final college game against Hawaii in Honolulu (maybe Nate Ilaoa was there). In his best season, Alexander caught 44 passes in 2003.

No. 25 Ernest Hunter – Hunter, a nose tackle from Lake Braddock High School in Fairfax County, had 24 tackle this season for West Virginia (11-1). Hunter was a starter at defensive tackle in 2003, was plagued by injuries in 2004, then changed positions and started again last season.

WHO WE MISSED? Three starters on Virginia Tech’s Gator Bowl championship team were not on the list – outside linebacker James Anderson (No. 26), offensive lineman Will Montgomery (No. 43) and offensive tackle Reggie Butler (No. 57).

Montgomery, a first-team All-ACC selection this past season, was a walk-on from Centreville. Butler was a late recruit from Monticello High School in Charlottesville, and, at No. 26, Anderson barely missed the Top 25.

Some of the other Top 25 players who have played at the Division I-A level include Florida State punter Chrius Hall (No. 42), Ohio University wide receiver Anthony Hackett (No. 44) and Maryland wide receiver Derrick Fenner (No. 93).

Fenner, a two-year starter for the Terps, originally was scheduled to play for Connecticut after becoming eligible late in the recruiting process at Hampton High School.

 

London returning to UVa at defensive coordinator
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
January 14, 2006

Mike London had options. The Houston Texans, for whom he originally left the University of Virginia last year to be the defensive line coach, offered to let him stay despite head coach Dom Capers' firing this month. He also had other offers on the table.
In the end, the opportunity to be a coordinator was just too good.

London resigned Friday as the Texans' defensive line coach and confirmed that he is expected to be introduced as Virginia's defensive coordinator sometime this weekend. London, 45, coached UVa's defensive line from 2001-04 and served as a recruiting coordinator for three years.

"Just looking at the big picture, at this particular time in my career it was probably a better move for me," London said. "I'm not closing the door on the NFL. It just makes sense for all the right reasons why I could come back."

For one, not much has changed since he left.

"It will be a challenge, but it is a place I know," London said. "Familiarity is a positive."

For another, he'll be a coordinator, something that served Al Golden and Ron Prince well as they parlayed their coordinator positions at UVa into head coaching jobs at Temple and Kansas State, respectively, in December.

London has head coaching aspirations, but in each of his previous coaching stints - Richmond (1988-89, 1994-96) William & Mary (1990-93), Boston College (1997-2000), Virginia and with the Texans - he has been either a linebackers or defensive line coach.

"I believe the (athletic) directors out there, one of the questions they ask is, 'Have you been a coordinator?'" London said. "It just seems that that is a prerequisite that they have. You look at guys on (Virginia's) staff. They have been coordinators for a couple years and now the opportunity is there for them.

"I've been in the NFL. Now I'm going to be a coordinator. There's not much I haven't done from a coaching perspective."

In addition to his coordinating responsibilities, London expects to work with the defensive line.

Levern Belin, who replaced London last year, will work with the linebackers.