Tackle shifts to Cavs
Milstead had given UNC commitment, plans to go with U.Va.
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 15, 2007

Offensive tackle Lamar Milstead, who committed to North Carolina in July, has reversed field. Milstead, a 6-6, 250-pound senior at Ballou High in Washington, D.C., said he informed the Tar Heels yesterday that he plans to sign instead with the University of Virginia next month.

Milstead, who broke the news to U.Va. coach Al Groh and defensive coordinator Mike London yesterday, said last night that he began questioning his choice of UNC not long after committing.

"This isn't a spur-of-the-moment thing," said Milstead, who will take an official visit to U.Va. this weekend. "Actually, I've been moving toward this for a while."

That UNC fired John Bunting at the end of the 2006 season didn't help its chances of keeping Milstead in its 2007 recruiting class. Carolina hired Butch Davis to succeed Bunting.

Milstead, who also had scholarship offers from such schools as Georgia, Boston College and Maryland, has visited Virginia numerous times.

"I fit the mold of a U.Va. player," he said.

His teammates at Ballou included linebacker Romale Tucker, who also may end up at U.Va. Tucker, however, has academic issues and before enrolling at Virginia in 2008-09 would have to attend prep school. Milstead hasn't qualified academically but said he is close to doing so.

Also this weekend, long-snapper Danny Aiken accepted a scholarship offer from U.Va. Aiken, who's from Roanoke, is in Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate program.

 

Groh nabs a recruit from UNC
D.C. product Milstead opts for UVa instead of North Carolina
From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
January 15, 2007

Al Groh got a visit on Sunday from an unexpected yet welcome guest.

Lamar Milstead, a four-star offensive lineman from Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., took a detour in his trip home from an official visit at North Carolina to meet with Virginia's football coach, according to Rivals.com.

Milstead, who had given a verbal commitment to UNC before former coach John Bunting was fired, decided that he wanted to be a Cavalier. UNC, which went 1-9 last year, officially hired coach Butch Davis on Nov. 13.

"I told [Coach Groh] I was committing and he's usually a pretty calm person, but I could tell he was very excited to have me," Milstead told Rivals.com. "Once I did that, I contacted North Carolina and they were very understanding about the whole situation."

Milstead, who is rated the 20th-best offensive tackle in the Class of 2007, elected to become the 25th commitment for the Cavaliers after weighing his options at the two ACC schools.

"It was a little bit of two things," he said. "It's the fact North Carolina has a new coaching staff that I really don't know where I fit into their scheme, and the fact that Virginia has been with me since 10th grade."
 

Cavs have a steep learning curve
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
January 15, 2007

Following its 78-73 loss to Boston College on Saturday, the University of Virginia men’s basketball team has played a little more than half of its regular-season games. UVa has a 9-6 record, including a 1-2 mark in the ACC.
After 15 games last season, Virginia was also 9-6, but 3-2 in the ACC.
With the Cavs set to host Maryland on Tuesday night, The Daily Progress decided to hand out mid-season report cards.
Players are listed in alphabetical order:

Andy Burns
Freshman, Forward
Analysis: Burns, a recruited walk-on from Alexandria, has only appeared in eight of the team’s 15 games. With his Carrot Top-like hairdo, he’s become a fan favorite. However, due to his limited minutes - which have been mostly in garbage time - he hasn’t had a chance to make any kind of impact.
Grade: Incomplete

Jason Cain
Senior, Forward
Analysis: Every time you think Cain is on the brink of becoming the consistent big man that Virginia so desperately needs, he finds his way back into coach Dave Leitao’s doghouse. After coming off the bench against Stanford and Gonzaga, Cain was back in the starting lineup the last two games, averaging eight points and five rebounds. In the preseason, Cain was one of Virginia’s best players - but that hasn’t come close to carrying over into the regular season.
Grade: C

Mamadi Diane
Sophomore, Guard/Forward
Analysis: Diane started the season with a bang - a career-high 25 points in the season-opening win over Arizona. But since then he has been exactly what he was last season - madly inconsistent. Diane, who clearly has the skills to be the third scoring option that Leitao craves, has scored in double figures in back-to-back games just twice this season.
Grade: C+

Will Harris
Freshman, Forward/Guard
Analysis: After getting off to a slow start due to a foot injury, Harris is still struggling to find a consistent role in Leitao’s rotation. Harris has helped team chemistry with his effervescent personality, but other than a 14-point, six-rebound effort against N.C. State, he hasn’t made the kind of immediate impact that Virginia fans were hoping he would. Is he a small forward or a power forward? The coaching staff seems a little unsure how to utilize him.
Grade: C

Adrian Joseph
Junior, Forward
Analysis: Before the season began, the feeling was that Joseph might have to fight for minutes with Diane, Harris and Jamil Tucker. However, the Trinidad native seems to have found his niche as a player who can come off the bench and give the team instant offense. Joseph, who shot 40 percent from the field last season, is shooting at a 46-percent clip this season.
Grade: B-

Jerome Meyinsse
Freshman, Forward/Center
Analysis: Most people expected the 18-year-old from Louisiana to redshirt this season because of his inexperience - but that didn’t happen. Meyinsse, who scored a career-high nine points against Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 26, has been a DNP in five games. In his brief playing time, he has shown some nice post moves, including a jump hook.
Grade: Incomplete

Lars Mikalauskas
Sophomore, Forward/Center
Analysis: Mikalauskas was hampered out of the gates by sprains to both ankles. However, lately the Lithuanian has been showing some of the same form that made him a fan favorite last season. Mikalauskas played good defense on UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough on Wednesday and also scored a season-high 10 points. However, he has just six rebounds in his last five games.
Grade: C

Ryan Pettinella
Junior, Forward/Center
Analysis: The transfer from Pennsylvania was just beginning to grow accustom to his role as an energy-hustle player when he injured his knee in Puerto Rico. He had started seven of 10 games and was averaging 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds. More than anything, Virginia has missed his intangibles. If all goes well with his rehabilitation, Pettinella could be back in the lineup before long.
Grade: B-

J.R. Reynolds
Senior, Guard
Analysis: Reynolds’ scoring is down by 1.2 points this season. However, his shooting percentage is slightly up (from 40.7 to 42.2). Until Saturday’s 21-point effort at Boston College, most of Reynolds’ high-
scoring games were against the weaker teams on UVa’s slate. If Virginia has any hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, it needs Reynolds to come up bigger when it counts.
Grade: B

Sean Singletary
Junior, Guard
Analysis: The hardest player on this team to critique. He’s had some unbelievable individual performances (see his 37-point outburst versus Gonzaga), but also some duds (see the San Juan Shootout). Feeling completely healthy for the first time in a while, his scoring is up by more than a point. But first-team All-ACC guards should be able to elevate the play of their teammates. That hasn’t happened.
Grade: B

Tunji Soroye
Junior, Center
Analysis: Soroye had one of the best offseasons of any Virginia player. He packed on nearly 30 pounds of muscle and, according to Leitao, developed a new confidence in himself. Unfortunately for Virginia fans, that confidence hasn’t shown itself yet. Soroye is having the worst season of his career, averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds.
Grade: C-

Solomon Tat
Freshman, Guard/Forward
Analysis: Tat, the much ballyhooed recruit from Nigeria, missed 10 of the first 11 games with a groin injury. He’s appeared in the last four, but has averaged only nine minutes per game. His best attributes appear to be his fearlessness in driving to the basket and his defensive intensity. Leitao also calls him the team’s “spiritual leader” - whatever that means.
Grade: Incomplete

Jamil Tucker
Freshman, Forward
Analysis: Tucker started slow. His minutes were curtailed because of what Leitao deemed sub-par defense. However, in the last few games, Tucker seems to be growing more comfortable with what is expected of him. He scored a career-high 12 points in the win over Gonzaga. On Sunday at Boston College, he notched a career-high nine rebounds.
Grade: C

Dave Leitao
Head Coach
Analysis: After the Arizona game, Leitao looked like he was on his way to the Basketball Hall of Fame. But just like last year, his team has continued to struggle on the road. It all started with the loss at Purdue, then continued in Puerto Rico at the San Juan Shootout in one of the most dismal displays of basketball you’ll ever see. The same things that hurt Virginia last season - no inside game, no third scoring option, no shot-blocking - have hurt it this season. Luckily, Leitao and UVa still have time to turn things around.
Grade: C