J.R. shoots down Deacons
Senior scores 40 in Cavalier home victory
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
January 21, 2007

When it comes to playing Virginia, the common belief is that if you can stop J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary, you stand a pretty good chance of winning.

But in the first half of a matinee at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday, Wake Forest seemed to take a different approach: Let Reynolds and Singletary do their thing and stop everyone else.

After allowing the backcourt duo to score 37 of Virginia’s 40 first-half points, Wake Forest trailed by only two. The approach seemed to be working.

However, in the second half, the Demon Deacons decided to flip-flop their strategy. UVa subsequently took control of the game and, behind a career-high 40 points from Reynolds, cruised to an 88-76 victory in front of a crowd of 14,564.

Reynolds’ scoring output was the highest of any ACC player this season.

“I just let the game come to me and got into a rhythm early,” said Reynolds, who was 12 of 18 from the field, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. “I didn’t rush anything and just got into the flow early and was able to play my game.

“I’m just glad we got this win. It was great for us.”

Virginia (11-6, 3-2 ACC) started strong. The Cavaliers nailed five of their first six shots - including three straight Singletary 3-pointers - and jumped out to a 13-2 lead.

However, Wake Forest (9-9, 1-5), behind 10 first-half points from Michael Drum, slowly chipped away at the deficit and took its first lead - 29-27 - on a Jamie Skeen tip-in.

“I wasn’t real surprised when they came back on us,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said, “because I felt defensively we weren’t on top of our game as we had been in previous games.”

Virginia, which led 40-38 at the half, shot 46 percent from the field and held the Demon Deacons to 38-percent shooting, but was outrebounded, 20-14.

UVa’s offense - other than Reynolds and Singletary - was non-existent.

That’s what made Wake coach Skip Prosser’s decision to switch to a triangle-and-two defense slightly puzzling.

The new alignment, which consisted of playing man-to-man on Reynolds and Singletary and zone on everyone else, essentially dared Virginia’s supporting cast to contribute.

“Anytime someone wants to box-in-one you or triangle-and-two you, it’s for the respect of the guys that they’re doing it to,” Leitao said, “and for the disrespect of the other guys.”

When the second half began, Virginia’s role players acted as if they had been disrespected.

Jason Cain hit a jumper. Mamadi Diane knocked down consecutive 3-pointers, then found a streaking Lars Mikalauskas for a layup in transition.

Cain finished off a 12-2 run with a monstrous jam off a beautiful no-look pass from Singletary.

Suddenly, UVa looked like a completely different offensive team - a balanced one.

“It’s a gamble we took,” said Prosser, when asked why he decided to change up his defense, “but give Virginia credit. The other kids stepped up and made shots.”

Reynolds, who had 20 points at the half, began heating up again about midway through the second stanza. He drained a 3-pointer, then converted a pretty left-handed dipsy-do move in transition to give Virginia its largest lead of the game - 69-54.

“The only time I’ve seen him play better was in the ACC Tournament against Miami,” said Virginia senior Jason Cain, referencing a 32-point game by Reynolds in 2005.

Leitao said it was easily the best game he has seen Reynolds play.

“Today was a special day for us because of him and the shots that he made,” Leitao said.

Another thing that made the day “special” was Virginia’s defense on Wake Forest’s Kyle Visser, who came into the game averaging nearly 18 points and eight rebounds per game. UVa held the Demon Deacons’ top gun to a season-low of eight points. Visser was just 2 of 10 from the field and had five turnovers.

“I thought we crowded him enough to get him off balance,” Leitao said. “As good of a scorer and post player that he is, for him to only come up with eight points - I think was a credit to what we did to him.”

Singletary, who was coming off a 25-point outing in the win over Maryland, scored only two of his 19 points in the second half. However, he dished out seven assists, despite only playing 28 minutes.

“We expected to win this game and just took care of business,” Singletary said. “We just have to keep it going, keep our chemistry.”

Virginia plays at N.C. State on Wednesday night.

“I told the team that I’m happy we could not play our best basketball and still win by double figures,” Leitao said. “Hopefully I’m going to take that as a positive and some sign of growth.”

Dunks

The Cavaliers are now 10-1 at JPJ Arena. … After the game, UVa Athletic Director Craig Littlepage presented Leitao with a basketball to commemorate his 100th career win, which came against North Carolina State on Dec. 3. Leitao now has 106 career wins. Reynolds’ 40 points were the most scored by a UVa player at home since Donald Hand scored 41 against N.C. State in 1999. The last UVa player to score 40 or more points was when Devin Smith had 40 against Iowa State in 2004.

 

Reynolds makes his statement
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
January 21, 2007

No sooner had J.R. Reynolds gunned down visiting Wake Forest with a career-high 40-point scoring effort on Sunday afternoon, his cellular phone started lighting up.

Once he got to his locker space in Virginia’s dressing room, the senior guard from Roanoke noticed five calls from a familiar number, his mom, Laverne. Due to a snowstorm, she didn’t dare make the drive from Roanoke to Charlottesville, but she had watched her son mow down the Deacons in the ACC matchup, 88-76.

The 40 Club

Reynolds’ 40 points were the most by any ACC player this season and the most by a Cavalier since Devin Smith hit that total against Iowa State in 2004. He became only the ninth player in UVa history to reach the 40-point plateau.

“40 points ... I mean how much more impressive do you want to get?” said Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser. “Ten for 10 from the line, 6 for 8 from 3 ... I’m impressed. Obviously, we had no answer for him.”

Reynolds connected on 12 of 18 field goal attempts overall as he became only the fifth player to ever score 40 or more points against Wake Forest, and the first since 1977. Ironically, another Roanoker, former Duke shooting star J.J. Redick, scored in the 30s on four occasions against the Deacs.

Perhaps somewhat overlooked in the scoring spree against the ACC’s worst defense (statistically), was the fact that when UVa point guard Sean Singletary had to come out of the game with foul trouble and played but 28 minutes for the day, Reynolds was nearly flawless at moving into that job. Reynolds had four assists and but one turnover.

A shooter at heart

While that is important, Reynolds is all about shooting. His role is to cut defenses to ribbons and that’s exactly what he did against the Deacs, scoring 13 consecutive points during one seven-minute stretch in the first half.

Prosser quipped that some of J.R.’s 3-pointers came from so deep that they should have been worth four.

Reynolds, who practices his shot relentlessly, said he’s comfortable taking two or three steps behind the line and proved it consistently, even after Prosser gambled by slapping a triangle-and-two defensive scheme at the two Wahoo guards to start the second half.

Didn’t work.

Making plays

J.R. just kept on shooting, and shooting, and shooting. Much to UVa coach Dave Leitao’s delight, his shooting guard followed up on a conversation the two had had only Friday.

“He and I had talked about it during the week, the delicate balance between a shooter who can make plays and a player who can shoot,” Leitao said.

The coach felt that Reynolds had been too concerned with making plays, then thinking about shooting. On Sunday, the senior made the adjustment to being a shooter first, then thought about playmaking.

“He was playing off his strength, which is making shots,” said Leitao. “He made shots, so when he put the ball on the floor it made it a little bit easier. When he doesn’t have the threat of a jump shot, when he just catches it and tries to drive and hasn’t shaken his defender, then the help defense can clog his decision making.”

Leitao believed it was by far the best game he had seen Reynolds play.

Reynolds wasn’t ready to go that far, but said it was one of the best, rating it in the same department as a previous career-high 32 against Miami to end UVa’s long drought of wins in the ACC Tournament, and a certain game he had his final year of high school at Oak Hill Academy when he hit a Warrior record 14 3-pointers.

“I think the 14 3’s, well it’s hard to top that,” Reynolds said with a grin.

He said that during all three of the aforementioned games that he got into a shooting rhythm early and the game just flowed. Didn’t force anything.

“Once you get into a rhythm it’s hard to get out,” the shooter said. “You’re zoned in and basically every shot you take is going in for you. That’s what coach and I were talking about the other day. That I’m a shooter and shooting opens up everything else.”

Reynolds, who passed former teammate Elton Brown to move into the top 20 on Virginia’s all-time scoring list, realized after his conversation with Leitao that he needs to start looking for his shot more often.

“I haven’t made that many 3’s or taken that many 3’s this season (in fact, his 23 for 71 on 3-pointers coming into the game, aren’t enough to even qualify him in that ACC statistic), so that definitely tells me that I need to take more 3’s,” Reynolds said. “Once you start making 3’s, it opens up everything else for you.”

While both the coach and the player knew that Reynolds was having a pretty good day, neither realized just how good until the 40 was in the books. Leitao heard the crowd cheering late and he didn’t realize why until he looked up and saw the number on the board. Reynolds didn’t know until he came out of the game.

“I was so into the game and getting a win,” said J.R. “I was aware of the shots I was making, but I wasn’t aware of the points because I was so locked in. I didn’t want this game to slip away from us.”

Leitao said that as far as he was concerned, 38 or 39 points would have been just as good in terms of what Reynolds supplied for the Cavaliers, now 11-6 and 3-2 in the ACC.

“But 40 sounds better and looks better in the next day’s newspaper,” Leitao chuckled.

At least Reynolds’ mom will think so. She can cut that one out for the scrapbook.

 

Reynolds wraps up Wake
Cavaliers' guard has flawless 40-point effort in ACC win; 'some of his 3s looked like 4s'
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 22, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With 9.6 seconds left, the horn sounded, and J.R. Reynolds walked to the University of Virginia bench in triumph.

The 6-2 senior from Roanoke exited to a rousing ovation from the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena. Even his hard-to-please coach smiled, shaking Reynolds' hand and patting him on the head.

"Today was a special day for us, because U.VA. 88 WAKE 76of him and the shots he made," U.Va. coach Dave Leitao told reporters later.

Of such performances are legends born. On a snowy afternoon that kept many fans home, Reynolds scored a career-high 40 points to lift U.Va. to an 88-76 victory over ACC foe Wake Forest.

"Obviously, we had no answer for him," Demon Deacons coach Skip Prosser said.

Reynolds' previous best was a 32-point effort against Miami in the 2005 ACC tournament. He eclipsed that at the 4:38 mark yesterday, with a catch-and-shoot trey that gave him 34 points.

His stroke looked flawless from the start yesterday, and Reynolds made his first five shots, including three 3-pointers. For the game he made 12 of 18 from the from floor 6 of 8 from beyond the arc -- and 10 for 10 from the line.

The six treys also were a career-high for Reynolds, a third-team all-ACC pick in 2005-06.

"Some of the 3's were like 4's," Prosser said.

The 40 points are the most by an ACC player this season, surpassing the 37 that Reynolds' backcourt mate, junior Sean Singletary, scored Jan. 3 in a rout of Gonzaga.

Reynolds is the first Cavalier to hit the 40-point mark since forward Devin Smith scored 40 in a Dec. 6, 2004, loss at Iowa State. He's the first opponent to score that many against Wake since Davidson's John Gerdy rang up 40 on Feb. 16, 1977.

"It felt good," Reynolds said, "especially getting the win."

The victory was the second straight for U.Va. (3-2, 11-6). Wake, the ACC's last-place team, fell to 1-5, 9-9.

"Give credit to Virginia," Prosser said. "Obviously Reynolds was huge and played like a big-time senior [shooting] guard. And obviously we didn't do much to dissuade him from doing that."

Sixty-six seconds into the game, U.Va. senior Jason Cain opened the scoring with a 17-footer from the baseline. That was the last field goal of the half by a Cavalier not named Reynolds or Singletary.

At the break, Reynolds had 20 points and Singletary 17, and Virginia led 40-38. Prosser decided, he said, to "try to make somebody else beat us." The Deacons opened the second half in a triangle-and-two defense in which two players shadowed Reynolds and Singletary and the others played a zone.

"It was a sign," Leitao said, "of respect for the guys who had the 37 points and disrespect for the guys who should have been giving us more points."

Wake's strategy failed. The Wahoos outscored the Deacons 14-4 in the first 5:30 of the second half, and Cain, sophomore swingman Mamadi Diane, sophomore center Laurynas Mikalauskas and junior forward Adrian Joseph accounted for those 14 points.

Diane, coming off a 26-point effort against Maryland, failed to score before intermission yesterday. But he sank two treys early in the second half and finished with 10 points. Cain also contributed 10 points, and Joseph had six points and six rebounds. Mikalauskas scored only two points but led U.Va. with seven boards. Singletary, who played only 28 minutes because of foul trouble, had 19 points and seven assists.

U.Va.'s low-post defense frustrated Wake center Kyle Visser, who came in averaging 17.9 points and 7.8 rebounds. The 6-11, 255-pound senior missed 8 of 10 shots from the floor and finished with eight points, five rebounds and five turnovers.

"I think they just attacked me everytime I got the ball," Visser said. "Everyone was digging down, and double-teaming seemed to work well for them."

 

J.R.'s shot dead on as UVa tops Deacons
Roanoker J.R. Reynolds scores 40 points, making 6-of-8 3-point attempts, in the victory for the Cavs.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Four years after he made 14 3-point field goals in a game for Oak Hill Academy, J.R. Reynolds can remember neither the opponent that day or his final point total.

The memory of his 40-point outburst Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena might stick with him a little longer.

Reynolds became the first player to hit the 40-point mark at UVa's new coliseum, scoring 20 points in each half of the Cavaliers' 88-76 victory over Wake Forest.

It was the high in the ACC this season and a career high for Reynolds, a 6-foot-212 senior from Roanoke whose previous high was 32 against Miami in the 2005 ACC Tournament.

Second-year UVa head coach Dave Leitao said it was the best he has seen Reynolds play.

"By far," Leitao said.

Reynolds made 12-of-18 shots from the field, including six of eight 3-pointers, and went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. In addition, he played point guard when Sean Singletary was out of the game for 12 minutes and contributed four assists with only one turnover.

"How much more impressive do you want to get?" Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said.

Reynolds picked up two first-half fouls, not usually a good omen for the Cavaliers, but Leitao's decision to reinsert him with 3:16 remaining paid immediate dividends.

Wake Forest, which had trailed 13-2 when Prosser called timeout after less than 3 minutes, had fought back to take the lead at 29-27.

Normally, Leitao likes to save a player with two fouls until the second half, but five Virginia players had two fouls and the Deacons (9-9, 1-5 ACC) were beginning to control the action.

Reynolds and Singletary combined for 11 points on the next five possessions and the Cavaliers (11-6, 3-2) took a 40-38 lead into halftime.

At that point, Reynolds and Singletary had scored 37 of Virginia's 40 points, including 37 of the last 38.

Prosser became quizzical when asked why he opened the second half in a gimmick defense, the triangle-and-two.

"You were here for the first half?" Prosser asked. "We had to try something. The theory was to try and make someone else beat us."

Thus challenged, UVa outscored the Deacons 10-2 to start the second half, getting a pair of 3-pointers by Mamadi Diane, two baskets by Jason Cain and one by Lauris Mikalauskas.

"As soon as I saw a guy at the top of the key and another guy guarding me, I knew what it was," said Reynolds, who said the Cavaliers had seen a triangle-and-two maybe once or twice all season. "They're trying to say the other guys can't play."

The triangle-and-two didn't work, nor did conventional defenses, at least not against Reynolds.

"He was pulling up from everywhere, hands in his face and it didn't matter," Wake senior Mike Drum said.

Prosser added, "Some of his 3s were like 4s."

Surprisingly, Reynolds entered play Sunday without the required number of made 3-pointers (2.5) to rank among the ACC leaders. He had made 23 in 16 games.

"I hadn't made that many 3s or taken that many 3s," Reynolds said. "Coach Leitao and I had talked about that."

Still, Reynolds ranks third on UVa's all-time 3-point list with 188, which puts him third among active ACC players.

"There's a delicate balance between a shooter who can make plays and a player who can shoot and I thought that he was being a little bit too fine with that," Leitao said.

Once Reynolds establishes his shot, Leitao reasons, it's easier to make plays.

"Today was a special day for us because of him," Leitao said.

The last ACC player to score 40 points in a game was North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough last February. Reynolds' fellow Roanoker, J.J. Redick, had three 40-point games as a senior for Duke last season.

When asked if it felt like he was having a 40-point game, Reynolds said, "Not really."

Fans serenaded Reynolds on several occasions as they followed his increasing point totals on the scoreboard. Reynolds never looked.

"Not one time," said Reynolds, who entered the game with a 16.2-point average. "I keep my eye on the score. That's the biggest thing."

By the time he returned to the locker room and activated his cellphone, Reynolds saw that his mother already had called five times. The threat of snow had caused her to remain in Roanoke.

"She comes most of the time," Reynolds said, "but there was no way she coming over the mountain in the snow. I'm sure she watched on TV. We can probably get her a tape if she wants one."

He might want to grab one for himself.

 

Cavs' Reynolds gets the point
A career-high 40 points from J.R. Reynolds lead Virginia to a win over spiraling Wake Forest.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
January 22, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao sat down with J.R. Reynolds last week during practice, Leitao's advice wasn't exactly profound, and certainly didn't reveal some dormant virtue within Reynolds.

"Just remember, you're a shooter first," Leitao told him. "And everything else will come off that."

Simple stuff. Important stuff, too, as it turned out.

Leitao's refresher with Reynolds about the shooting guard's role set up a hallmark performance Sunday at John Paul Jones Arena. Reynolds scored a career-high 40 points in the Cavaliers' 88-76 win over Wake Forest.

"I don't wanna say it felt easy, but once you get into a rhythm, it's hard to get out," Reynolds said. "Especially when ... every shot you're taking is basically going in."

Reynolds' numbers burst off the stat sheet: 12-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-8 on 3-pointers, and 10-of-10 on free throws. And just one turnover, an auspicious sign for his duties as backup to point guard Sean Singletary. Reynolds had six and seven turnovers in his past two games, respectively.

"He was playing off of his strength today, and his strength is making shots," Leitao said.

Reynolds' previous high was 32 points in last season's ACC tournament against Miami. But those Cavaliers had fewer aspirations than this bunch, 11-6 overall, 3-2 in the ACC. Leitao knows his NCAA tournament hopes hinge, in part, on how Reynolds balances his responsibilities, something he struggled with earlier this season.

He was thrust into the backup point-guard spot after T.J. Bannister transferred in the offseason to Liberty. Reynolds took the additional job seriously - maybe too seriously.

"I think he thought by playing the point that that gave him the responsibility of having to distribute and penetrate and kick and all the things that point guards do," Leitao said. "He still has to be a shooter. From there, you can still distribute and do those things, but you do it knowing that when you catch, the first thing you need to do is think about your shot."

Shooting filled his mind early Sunday. He made his first five shots and scored 20 of Virginia's 40 first-half points. He made 4 of 5 3-pointers, some from so deep that even Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser figured some extra credit was due.

"Some of those 3s were like 4s," he said.

Said Virginia swingman Mamadi Diane: "Whenever someone's having a night like that, they're taking shots they wouldn't normally take. That's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to milk it out as long as you can."

Wake Forest (9-9, 1-5) fell down by as many as 11 points but trimmed the deficit to two by halftime. Prosser went with a triangle-and-two defense in the second half, focusing on stopping Reynolds and point guard Sean Singletary (17 first-half points) and daring the three other Cavaliers to produce. They did, as players other than the guard tandem scored the half's first 14 points.

But the Demon Deacons - saddled with a four-game losing streak that reasonably could stretch to eight by the first week of February - had no solution for Reynolds, who became the first player to score 40 against them since Davidson's John Gerdy in 1977.

Reynolds continued to produce even when he ran the point as Singletary picked up his third foul and sat for 5:48 midway through the second half. Before he went to the bench, Singletary gave Reynolds an obvious reminder: "You've gotta keep getting shots up."

Reynolds had four points and one assist with Singletary out. He didn't monitor his point total as it crept toward 40. His teammates said little to him on the court, though it seemed nothing could disrupt his rhythm. They just stuck to their strategy, as simple and important as Leitao's advice.

"Keep giving him the ball," forward Jason Cain said. "That's pretty much it."
 

Reynolds leads Cavaliers past Demon Deacons
Senior guard notches career-high 40 points; Singletary adds 19 points as Cavs win third ACC game
Anders Sleight, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

On a snowy afternoon in Charlottesville, the Virginia men's basketball team continued its stellar play at John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia dispatched the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest 88-76 and improved its record at home to 10-1. Virginia's overall record now stands at 11-6 (3-2 ACC).

Senior guard JR Reynolds had a career night and was the undisputed leader of the game, knocking down several deep three-pointers. He finished with a career-high 40 points on 12-18 shooting and added four assists.

Junior guard Sean Singletary contributed 19 points and seven assists. He had the hot hand early on but picked up his third foul early in the second half. Singletary's foul trouble forced Virginia coach Dave Leitao to come up with another answer -- Reynolds.

"Both JR and Sean were nothing short of phenomenal in the first half," Leitao said. "Both of them were backed up and they still hit shots. When they do that it makes it a little bit simpler for us. JR continued his strong performance in the second half and really allowed himself to make plays."

Virginia got off to a very quick start against the Demon Deacons. Thanks to several three pointers from Singletary and Reynolds, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early 13-2 lead three minutes into the game. The duo pushed the pace and created several open scoring opportunities, on which the Cavaliers were able to capitalize. Reynolds continued his hot shooting throughout the first half, finishing 4-5 on threes.

Virginia finished the first half with a two-point lead, 40-38. Reynolds and Singletary led the Cavaliers with 20 and 17 points, respectively. The rest of the Cavaliers only put up three points in the first half, two of which came on Jason Cain's jumper in the opening minute.

Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser changed his tactics in the second half by going to a "triangle and two" defense in order to limit Reynolds' and Singletary's production.

Virginia started the second half much like it did the first half -- with a flurry of points. The Cavaliers opened the half with 10 points in less than two minutes. Sophomore forward Mamadi Diane came up with two three pointers while Reynolds and Singletary were being marked closely.

After Singletary picked up his third foul early in the half, Leitao was forced to rest the star point guard.

Diane, Reynolds and senior forward Jason Cain picked up the slack and continued to shoot the ball extremely well. With nine minutes left in the game and Singletary on the bench, Reynolds took over the game. He hit another long three pointer, and moments later, he went coast to coast with a number of nifty moves and dropped in an impressive layup. Additionally, Virginia was able to contain Wake Forest's best player -- Kyle Visser -- who finished with eight points on 2-10 shooting from the field.

Down the stretch, Virginia relied on Reynolds' shooting and a number of free throws to hold off Wake Forest. Virginia connected on over 86 percent of its free throws, a statistic that reflects the team's overall stellar shooting. Virginia made 52 percent of its field goals and 50 percent of its three pointers.

JR Reynolds reflected on his career night after the game.

"I think that I just let the game come to me, that was the biggest thing," Reynolds said. "I didn't rush anything but just let it come to me. I was just playing my game."

 

Is Virginia sacrificing defense for offense?
Clayton O'Toole, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

When the Tor-Leitao spun into town two years ago, he came with really only one promise: "We will play defense."

Virginia fans ate it up. Tired of the Gillen regime's lax policies on just about everything -– particularly defense -– Wahoo nation loved the idea of a hard-nosed, grind-it-out, workmanlike team capable of wearing teams down at home and frustrating opponents on the road.

Last season, Cavalier fans got exactly what they asked for. Coach Dave Leitao took Gillen's players, taught them the basics of good defense and Virginia became one of the better defensive teams in the league. At season's end, the Cavaliers were No. 5 in the ACC in scoring defense, No. 3 in three-point shooting defense and No. 3 in rebounding. Defense comes at a price, however, as last season's team finished tied for dead last in the ACC in scoring offense.

One of two things must have taken place this past off-season: 1) Someone in the Virginia administration casually mentioned to Leitao that it might be nice if the team played a little more exciting brand of basketball to coincide with the inaugural season of a rather expensive new stadium. 2) More likely, however, Leitao made the executive decision that these Cavaliers could win more games if they scored more -– a lot more.

Enter: Virginia's version of the "run-and-gun" offense, known lovingly as the "run and stun." Stun, because it seems to be significantly more effective in the first five minutes of both halves, when the Cavaliers "stun" their opponents, build a slight lead and then desperately try to maintain it for the rest of the game.

Thus far, the "run and stun" has been very effective at improving Virginia's offense. With Sean Singletary and JR Reynolds leading the way, Virginia currently ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring offense, up nearly 15 points from last season. Every yin has its yang, however, and Virginia's yang this season has been defense. Entering yesterday's game against Wake Forest, Virginia ranked dead last in the ACC in scoring defense, giving up a considerable 73.9 points per game. Exhibit A: Wake Forest played Duke last Thursday in Durham. The Demon Deacons, not exactly an offensive powerhouse, scored a grand total of 40 points. Yesterday against the Cavaliers, however, Wake Forest tallied 38 points ... in the first half.

Leitao had an interesting comment following the Maryland game last week that I think gets at the real situation here. He talked about how this team does a great job responding to specific instructions leading up to a game. For example, Leitao said the coaching staff stressed transition defense leading up to the game with UNC, and the team responded by keeping the Tar Heel fast break in check for most of the game. What this team needs to do better is essentially to multitask, to be able to take instruction on different aspects of the game (say offense and defense) and have that result in a complete team effort on the court.

Here's the point: Virginia is 3-2 in the ACC and 11-6 overall. There are many games left to play and, at this point, the Cavs still have a shot to go dancing in March. To do so, however, Virginia is going to have to pick up some big wins on the road in the ACC, an impossible task without stellar defense. So, as exciting as the "run and stun" can be, let's just hope this team -– and this coach -– have not completely forgotten a certain promise made a little while back.

 

Reynolds' career day lifts Cavaliers
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
January 21, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -When his first 3-pointer went in, J.R. Reynolds knew he was in for a good day. When a few more jumpers fell, he knew the Cavaliers would ride his hot hand all afternoon.

But only after the John Paul Jones Arena crowd of 14,564 gave him a standing ovation as he left the court in the waning seconds of Virginia's 88-76 win over Wake Forest on Sunday, did the senior guard glance up at the scoreboard and see that he had just scored 40 points, a career high and the most by an ACC player this season.

"I was so locked in to the game and getting the win, I was aware of the shots I was making, but I wasn't aware of my points," said Reynolds, whose previous career-best was a 32-point effort in an ACC Tournament win against Miami two years ago. "I didn't want this win to slip away from us."

The last time a Virginia player scored 40 points in a game - Devin Smith at Iowa State in 2004 - that's precisely what happened. The Cavaliers lost a close one 81-79.

Reynolds made sure the Cavaliers (11-6, 3-2 ACC) didn't follow suit Sunday. The senior guard went 12-for-18 from the field, sank all 10 of his foul shots and had four assists to one turnover, getting a significant chunk of time at point guard when Sean Singletary went to the bench with foul trouble.

He also regained his touch from long range. Over the previous seven games, Reynolds was 8 of 31 on 3-pointers. Sunday, he went 6-for-8, draining a couple from well beyond the line.

"Some of the 3s were like 4s," Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser said.

"Once the first couple went in, it gave me that confidence I was looking for," said Reynolds, who once made 14 3-pointers in a 44-point effort in high school at Oak Hill Academy but had never made more than five in a college game.

Wake Forest (9-9, 1-5 ACC) tried everything it could to slow him down. Virginia went into halftime with a 40-38 lead with Reynolds and Singletary combining for 37 of the Cavaliers' 40 points. The Deacons switched to a triangle-and-two defense to start the second half, guarding Reynolds and Singletary man-to-man and playing a zone on Virginia's role players.

The rest of the Cavaliers took it as an affront.

"They pretty much said, 'You can't play,'" said forward Jason Cain, who was the only Cavalier other than Reynolds and Singletary to make a field goal in the first half. "You just go out there and try to prove them wrong."

The supporting cast made Wake Forest pay for its defensive decision, scoring Virginia's first 14 points after the break.

Cain opened with a jumper before Mamadi Diane, who missed all three of his first-half shots, sank back-to-back 3s. Lars Mikalauskas made a layup before Singletary made a no-look pass on the fastbreak to Cain, who finished with a dunk, capping a 12-2 run that gave the Cavaliers a 12-point lead.

The Deacons, who are alone in last place in the ACC, wouldn't get any closer than seven after that.

Jamie Skeen led Wake with 14 points off the bench and Ishmael Smith added 13.

Center Kyle Visser, who entered the game fourth in the ACC in scoring (17.9 ppg) and tied for fourth in rebounding (7.8 rpg), had a frustrating afternoon, finishing with a season-low eight points on 2-for-10 shooting and committing a season-worst five turnovers.

Singletary scored just two points after halftime but still finished with 19 and seven assists for UVa. Cain and Diane both chipped in with 10 points.

But Reynolds was the story. He swished a long 3-pointer with 4:37 to go to give him a new career-high at 34 points. A driving layup got him to 36 before he made all four of his free throw attempts in the final two minutes to become the first player to score 40 points against Wake Forest in nearly 30 years.

The only question that remained was if it was the best game head coach Dave Leitao had seen Reynolds play?

Leitao didn't hesitate with his answer: "By far."

 

Cavaliers knock off Deacons 88-76
Reynolds scores 40 for Virginia; Wake Forest loses fourth in a row
By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.

With snow accumulating outside John Paul Jones Arena, Wake Forest continued to experience rough sledding inside during yesterday's 88-76 loss to Virginia.

Senior J.R. Reynolds poured in a career-high 40 points - the most against Wake Forest since 1977 - and Sean Singletary, his backcourt running mate, contributed 19 points and seven assists in 28 productive minutes.

"It's all about getting into a rhythm,'' Reynolds said after making 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range and all 10 attempts from the free-throw line. "That's the biggest thing.

"If you get into a rhythm, your shots are going to fall.''

But it wasn't until their frontcourt teammates began to pitch in at the start of the second half that the Cavaliers were able to pull away to an easy ACC victory.

Virginia improved to 11-6 and 3-2 in conference play. Wake Forest, which shot 39 percent and got a season-low eight points from star Kyle Visser, fell to 9-9 and 1-5 with its fourth straight setback.

Reynolds' outburst tied for the third-most points ever scored against Wake Forest, and produced the most since Davidson's John Gerdy scored 40 on Feb. 6, 1977. The record belongs to Butch Zatezalo of Clemson, who scored 46 against the Deacons on Feb. 18, 1969.

"He was scoring from everywhere, with hands in his face,'' junior Michael Drum of Wake Forest said. "He was scoring from every angle.

"We can't foul (Reynolds and Singletary). When they get on the free-throw line they knock down every free throw.

"So that was the story of the game.''

Coach Dave Leitao of Virginia, on the other hand, said that the story was the Cavaliers' play in the opening minutes of the second half. Virginia led 40-38 at the break, by which time Reynolds and Singletary had scored 37 points.

In response, Coach Skip Prosser of Wake Forest opened the second half in a triangle-and-two that assigned man-to-man responsibilities to Ish Smith and Drum and aligned L.D. Williams, Kevin Swinton and Visser in a 1-2 zone.

"We had to try something,'' Prosser said. "What we were doing with (Reynolds and Singletary) in the first half wasn't working.''

The impact of the move was immediate. Jason Cain, who had taken two shots in the first half, hit a baseline jumper. Mamadi Diane, who had missed all three shots in the first half, sank back-to-back 3-pointers.

Then, moments after Lauryna Mikalauskas scored inside for his only two points and a 50-40 lead, Prosser called a timeout with 18:22 left in the game. The Deacons emerged from their huddle in their customary man-to-man.

"It's a respect for the two guys that had the 37 points and a disrespect for the other guys who should be giving us more balance,'' Leitao said of the triangle-and-two. "And (Diane) and Jason under the basket did a really good job.

"We just continued to run our little motion sets and, through that, guys found open spots and (Diane) made back-to-back 3s. From up two at halftime to up by eight or 10, that was essentially the story of the game.''

Reynolds agreed with Leitao's assessment.

"Definitely,'' Reynolds said. "They're trying to say the other guys can't play. (Diane) stepped up and did a very good job for us.''

Interestingly, Diane, a 6-5 sophomore from Potomac, Md., begged to differ.

"I didn't take it as disrespect,'' Diane said. "I just looked at it when they went to the triangle-and-two as being wide open.

"That's basically how I viewed it.''

The Deacons, who managed two points on their first nine possessions of the second half, fell behind 52-40 on Cain's dunk off a fast break and were never again closer than seven. Their efforts to come back were stymied by Virginia's offense, which shot 59 percent in the second half, and their own inability to exploit Visser's size advantage inside.

Visser, a 6-11, 255-pound senior averaging 17.9 points, made 2 of 10 shots from the floor and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. He finished three points less than his previous season low of 11 that he scored against N.C. State on Jan. 13.

Leitao attributed the performance only partly to the defense of his post players, Mikalauskas, Cain and Tunji Soroye.

"I thought he got real deep post position at times,'' Leitao said. "There were some times, early on, when we crowded him enough to get him off balance.

"In the second half he missed some good looks - whether it was us or him wearing down.''

Visser was asked if the wear and tear of being the Deacons' main offensive weapon were indeed taking their toll.

"It's not that,'' Visser said. "Definitely it's a long season, but tonight wasn't my night.

"Personally I thought I let my team down a little bit, but hopefully that won't happen again.''

Jamie Skeen contributed 14 points and eight rebounds, and Ish Smith bounced back from an abysmal performance last Thursday against Duke to score 13 and draw a couple of second-half charges on Singletary. The Deacons were good enough to rally from an early 13-2 deficit to take a 29-27 lead with three minutes left in the first half, but weren't good enough to sustain their effort in the second half.

Leitao, who picked up his third technical foul of the season with 5:09 remaining, breathed a sigh of relief after his team's second straight victory. The Cavaliers beat Maryland 103-91 in John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday night.

"I was worried today, because I didn't have great confidence we were going to have the same kind of inspired game as we had against Maryland,'' Leitao said. "I told the team after the game that I'm happy that we could learn from this and not play our best basketball and still win.''