Leitao's class gets just a little bigger
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
January 27, 2006

University of Virginia coach Dave Leitao's 2006-07 recruiting class got even stronger on Thursday when Leitao and staff received word that 6-foot-8 power forward Ryan Pettinella had been admitted to the school as a transfer student.
Pettinella, who played his first two years at the University of Pennsylvania, won't be eligible until next season.

Last season, the Pittsford, N.Y. native averaged 4.8 points per game for Penn. He had a season-high 10 points against Villanova.

Pettinella will be a welcome addition to UVa, which is Manute Bol-thin across its front line. This season, the Cavaliers have just three scholarship post players on their roster and have had to use Drew Shiembob, a 6-foot-4 walk-on from Richmond, as one of their big guys.

Pettinella, who will have two years of eligibility remaining, is known for his physical style of play. He should be a nice complement to incoming freshman Johnnie Lett. The other members of next year's class are Jamil Tucker, Will Harris, Solomon Tat and Andy Ogide.

Sources said Pettinella was hoping to transfer to UVa after last spring, but was denied admission to the school. At that point, he transferred to the University of Cincinnati, but left after Bearcats coach Bob Huggins was forced out.

Pettinella enrolled in classes at a community college in upstate New York and got his grades up before gaining acceptance to UVa on his second try.

Pettinella's arrival would seem to throw off the Cavaliers' scholarship allotment for next year - they have commitments from five players - but Pettinella is reportedly willing to pay his own way if a scholarship is unavailable.

REYNOLDS QUESTIONABLE. On Wednesday, University of Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds was pretty confident he would be able to play at Duke on Saturday.

On Thursday, during a teleconference, UVa coach Dave Leitao said he was unsure.

"He got evaluated further [on Wednesday]," Leitao said. "I think we're on a day-to-day basis. You have to be very careful in dealing with the issues of concussions and things like that."

Reynolds injured himself in Tuesday's victory over Miami. He banged his head on the floor while driving to the basket for a layup and missed the last 15 minutes of the game.

Leitao said if Reynolds can't go against the Blue Devils, junior T.J. Bannister and freshman Mamadi Diane would have to pick up the slack.

"If we don't have J.R., both of those guys will have increased playing time," Leitao said. "As to who gets the bulk of it, we'll get to practice and find that out - as we get deeper into game prep and see who gives us the better advantage."

Bannister's penetration was a huge plus against Miami. The 5-foot-10 dynamo, who had four assists, repeatedly beat defenders off the dribble and set teammates up for easy deuces.

Diane's performance against Miami wasn't one of his best, but his lone field goal - a 3-pointer in the second half - helped keep the Hurricanes at bay.

 

Freshman develops appetite for points
After going scoreless in a win at Virginia Tech, UVa's Lauris Mikalauskas has become more aggressive on offense.
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE-- If Miami men's basketball coach Frank Haith thinks Lauris Mikalauskas is a load now, he should come back in a couple of years.

"I want to be 260 pounds by next year," said Mikalauskas, who banged his way to 12 points and eight rebounds Tuesday night in Virginia's 71-51 victory over the visiting Hurricanes.

"Then, not many people can stop me in the ACC."

At 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, Mikalauskas can hold his ground now, and, for the second game in a row, an opposing coach left University Hall with lofty praise for UVa's freshman from Lithuania.

"That kid, [No.] 11, just played hard" Haith said. "He's a talented player, but he played hard. When he takes the ball out of our hands, that's just toughness. We really got out-toughed tonight."

Mikalauskas had not scored in double figures in an ACC game until he contributed 10 points off the bench last Thursday in the Cavaliers' 72-68 victory over then-No. 24 North Carolina.

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams repeatedly spoke about back-to-back Mikalauskas tip-ins and the demoralizing effect they had on the team.

Against Miami, Mikalauskas was 5-for-6 from the field. He is shooting 61.5 percent (40-of-65) from the floor.

Less than two weeks ago, it appeared that Mikalauskas had bottomed out when he went scoreless in a 54-49 UVa triumph at Virginia Tech. He had fouled out for the second game in a row, having picked up 10 fouls in a total of 37 minutes.

"Me and Coach [Dave] Leitao had a conversation for about 45 minutes and he told me I needed to do a little bit more scoring-wise," Mikalauskas said. "You can't win ACC games only getting scoring from the guards. He told me I needed to be a presence inside."

In practice, assistant Steve Seymour tutored Mikalauskas on the art of setting screens without fouling.

"Something has gone off inside of Lauris that has allowed him to increase his aggressiveness while staying out of foul trouble," Leitao said. "Maybe that's what freshmen do; it takes them a little while to get used to it."

Mikalauskas spent four years at the Blue Ridge School in nearby Greene County and has an unusually high comfort level for a foreign player. He has a home away from home with Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey, who was at UVa's game Tuesday night.

"We talk pretty much every day," Ramsey said. "From the beginning of his time here, it was important for him to fit in and adapt to the American culture."

Ramsey wasn't surprised to see Mikalauskas in the middle of the court, dancing with students who had rushed the floor after the North Carolina game.

"That's Lauris," he said. "He was a central figure here at Blue Ridge. He's a charismatic guy."

UVa (10-6, 4-2 ACC) also got a solid contribution from Mikalauskas' fellow freshman and roommate, Mamadi Diane, whose 3-pointer with 5:43 left gave the Cavaliers a 12-point lead and put a dagger in Miami's comeback hopes.

The Hurricanes (11-8, 3-3) had come to town with four victories in their previous five games, but the Cavaliers have now won four of their last five games, with the lone loss coming in an overtime affair with Florida State.

It was UVa's most lopsided victory over an ACC opponent since Feb. 25, 2001, when Pete Gillen's only NCAA tournament team defeated North Carolina 86-66 at University Hall.

Virginia prevailed Tuesday night despite the absence of second-leading scorer J.R. Reynolds, who was woozy after he crashed to the floor early in the second half.

Reynolds did not play in the last 15 minutes, but backcourt partner Sean Singletary picked up the slack, scoring 20 of his game-high 29 points in the final 15:26.
 

Of 'boot the hoot' and Doughty’s education
Pettinella shares UVa-McQuaid Jesuit connection
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

I’ll be honest. When I first heard that former University of Pennsylvania basketball player Ryan Pettinella was transferring to Virginia, I just assumed that he would not be coming on scholarship.

As one-time UVa men’s basketball coach Bill Gibson told me: “You know what happens when you assume something? You make an ‘ass’ out of ‘you’ and ‘me.’ “

I can still picture myself sitting in Gibson’s office – more than 30 years ago -- and him writing the word “assume” on the blackboard and dividing it by syllables.

Bill Gibson?

”Who was Bill Gibson?” I’m sure a lot of UVa fans are asking.

Gibson was the head coach at UVa for 11 years and the immediate predecessor to Terry Holland. Virginia fans campaigned for Gibson’s scalp with their infamous “Boot the Hoot” campaign, but he persevered and recruited Barry Parkhill and oversaw UVa’s move to big-time status when it went 21-7 in 1972.

I can’t remember why Gibson resigned and took the South Florida job after the 1974 season. I don’t think he was pushed, but he may have felt unappreciated.

In any case, I digress.

THE MORE I READ about Pettinella, the more I can see why he might have intrigued some people.

As a sophomore at Penn, Pettinella averaged 4.8 points and 3.0 minutes. He wasn’t a starter, but he played in all 29 games for a Quakers’ team that went 20-9. He shot 50 percent from the field but he needs some work from the free-throw line, where he was 34-of-80 (42.5 percent).

The fact that he attempted 80 free throws in 361minutes says something for his mobility and aggressiveness, as does the fact that he was headed to Cincinnati before Bearcats’ coach Bob Huggins was dismissed. He even had a “bio” on Cincinnati’s website for a time.

Petinella’s subsequent decision to attend Monroe College, a two-year college in Rochester, N.Y., was well-advised. If he graduates from Monroe, he will be eligible for Virginia next season, and, because he has not played basketball for Monroe, he will have two years of eligibility at UVa.

With five players signed or committed for next season, Virginia currently does not have a scholarship available for Pettinella, but he is capable of paying his way until one becomes available. His father, Ed, is a Syracuse graduate and member of the board of the Syracuse School of Business.

Pettinella, an avid weight-lifter who expects to play at 6-9 and 240 pounds, was a third-team All-New York selection at McQuaid Jesuit in Pittsford, N.Y. That’s the alma mater of Tom Sheehey, a highly touted 1983 UVa signee who went on to a respectable career for the Cavaliers.

McQuaid Jesuit is also the alma mater of former Virginia walk-on Cade Lemcke, who lives in Charlottesville and informed the Cavaliers’ staff of Pettinella’s availability. Current UVa assistant Rob Lanier was familiar with Pettinella from his tenure as head coach at Siena.

“It’s awesome,” Pettinella told the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester. “To think I’d be going to Virginia after everything that’s happened – I never thought that.”

IN THIS COLUMN last week, it was suggested that the hiring of Dave Borbely as UVa’s new offensive-line coach represented a shift toward national recruiting since Borbely’s last three jobs were at Stanford, Notre Dame and Colorado.

“I don’t think there’s any interpretation to it,” Groh said. “We’re looking to hire the best-fit offensive-line coach we could find and he’s got a significant background in doing the things that are foundation things in our system. I try to keep everybody in the same philosophical family for compatibility purposes.”

Unlike earlier hire Bobby Diaco, whom Groh remembered from an all-star game in which Groh’s son played, his association with Borbely has lasted about 3 ˝ weeks.

“When we hired the original staff, the one position I didn’t have a fix on in our ‘network’ was the offensive line,” Groh said. “I called up a number of guys I respected and said, ‘Tell me some guys.’ Ron Prince’s name came up two or three times and I said ‘whoa.’ “

REGARDING SAFETY Tony Franklin, whose marijuana-possession case has been pushed back to Feb. 21, Groh indicated he’s not in any hurry to make a decision on Franklin’s return for a fifth year.

“I’ve only been there a day and a half since the students have been back,” said Groh, located on his carphone between recruiting visits. “What I told Tony was, when I get off the road and I’m there full time, we’ll get together and talk about it.’