Emerging from a Long shadow
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 10, 2008

The conversation left a lasting impression on Jeffrey Fitzgerald.
In a way, it was Chris Long’s way of passing the torch.
Having played his final college football game - a 31-28 loss to Texas Tech - Long reached out to Fitzgerald and others in a way that only a co-captain and an All-American could.
“He told me after the game that we are not teammates right now, but we are still brothers,” Fitzgerald recounted after the Gator Bowl loss. “That just goes to show what type of guy that he is.”
And despite using all of his eligibility, Long’s impact, his drive and the uncanny motor displayed for the world to see during a nine-win season will linger, Fitzgerald says.
“I kind of feel like I let him down [against Texas Tech], but he was a good mentor to me and I learned a lot of things from him,” Fitzgerald said, “and I am going to carry them on as I go out there when he is not out there.”
Replacing the departed - nose tackle Allen Billyk, linebacker Jermaine Dias, safety Nate Lyles and Long - will not be an easy task for Virginia’s defense, a unit that finished third in the ACC and 16th in ther nation in points allowed, but remains a welcome challenge.
“We feel like we have a lot going for us,” Fitzgerald said. “We just have to get ready for next year.”
That process, for the defense and the other units, starts long before spring practice.
“The team is built within the offseason,” rising senior linebacker Clint Sintim said. “It’s not really built during camp. It’s not built during the first couple of weeks of the season. The team is built in February when we are out there in winter workouts and we are sweating and running and we are tired.
“That’s when the character of the team is built. Last winter, we built a strong foundation which helped us have a pretty good year. We will see how it goes.”

Defensive line
Departed starters - NT Allen Billyk, DE Chris Long
Projected starters - NT Nate Collins (Jr.), DE Alex Field (Sr.), DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald (Jr.)
2007 Grade: A-
Much of the acclaim and notoriety during the 2007 season was justifiably given to Long, who tied for third in the nation by averaging just over one sack per game. Long, the Dudley Award and Ted Hendricks winner, also led the ACC in tackles for a loss.
Fitzgerald, after two solid
campaigns, emerges as the clear-cut leader for a defensive line that helped Virginia register 43 sacks.
Billyk, a steady performer that enjoyed an injury-free season, had 15 of his 38 tackles during the final four games.
Without question, replacing Billyk will come as an easier task than Long. That’s partly due to the experience gained over the past two seasons by rising junior Nate Collins.
To his credit, Collins embraces a greater role - on and off the field.
“I am ready to get this team ready any way that I can, any way that I can help out,” said Collins, who had a game-saving pass break-up at North Carolina on a two-point conversion and registered a safety against Texas Tech.
“I want to step out and be a leader. We have a lot of leaders leaving and we just need people to step up and I feel like I can fulfill that spot. I am just going to have to show the coaches and all my peers that I am that person that can help the team to get ready and do what we have to do so that we are not in this predicament next year.”
Billyk said he sees enormous potential from Collins, who played in 2006 as a true freshman.
“Out of his class, he is pretty much the only leader - I am sure other leaders will come along but they are young still - and Nate has been playing a lot and he gets the big picture,” Billyk said. “He has had the ‘hard’ coaching and he had times where he is like, ‘These guys don’t like me.’ And everyone goes through that, but it’s when you go through that and how you build off of that that matters. You then become a leader, and I feel like that is the biggest part, because you see these younger guys and they will not be able to take the coaching like the older guys can.
“That’s one of the things, as soon as you get over that you can help the younger guys come along. That’s when you become a leader, I think.”
Nick Jenkins, who redshirted as a freshman in 2007, is expected to serve as Collins’ top back-up.
Finding the third starter in Virginia’s base 3-4 defense will be one of many that is worth monitoring in the spring and beyond.
Alex Field, a rising senior with limited experience and 23 career tackles, could be the frontrunner. He has continued to add muscle on his frame and was listed at 280 pounds at season’s end.
“He is one of those guys that is really a hard worker,” Billyk said. “He doesn’t really say much ever, but he goes about his business and gets the job done.
“He’s like 6-foot-7 and getting all jacked up in the weight room. He has been really coming into his own since last year. He is going to step in, I think, and be the guy next year.”
Field will have a host of younger talent to compete with for the starting nod and Virginia could elect to use a frequent rotation to keep players fresh.
“You have Field, [Sean] Gottschalk and [Matt] Conrath coming up, too,” Billyk pointed out. “Don’t be surprised by Conrath. That kid really showed a lot this year. He just needs to get through spring ball and it will help with him being in the college lifting program.
“I think there is going to be crazy competition for that position. It is just going to be whoever can demonstrate that they can get the job done on a play-to-play basis. They all showed glimpses of being able to play. They just have to show more consistency.”

Linebackers
Departed starter - OLB Jermaine Dias
Projected starters - ILB Antonio Appleby (Sr.), ILB Jon Copper (Sr.), OLB Clint Sintim (Sr.), OLB Denzel Burrell (Jr.) or Aaron Clark (Sr.) or Aaron Taliferro (R-Fr.)
2007 Grade: B-
Virginia is in excellent shape at coach Al Groh’s favorite position, with three returning starters that combined for 124 solo tackles and 14.5 sacks.
Inside linebackers Antonio Appleby and Jon Copper, both rising seniors, and Sintim, who plays on the outside, have been through nearly every experience imaginable.
The Cavaliers will have at least one vacancy with outside linebacker Jermaine Dias having completed his eligibility. Dias, who battled numerous injuries during his career, finished his final campaign with 54 tackles, but failed to register a sack.
Sintim, as Long and others have noted, will be asked to be the team’s emotional leader.
He is willing and able, but also sees the opportunity present for younger players to emerge at linebacker and throughout the defense.
“We do have some holes to fill,” Sintim said. “Guys leave and other guys have to step up. It is an opportunity.
“If I was a younger guy and I saw Chris Long or Jermaine Dias or Nate Lyles leaving, that’s my opportunity to step up and be a playmaker. That’s the opportunity.”
Sintim sees an interesting fight brewing for snaps as a starter at outside linebacker and even presented a sleeper candidate, Aaron Taliaferro.
“It’s definitely going to be a battle,” Sintim said. “There’s no guaranteed frontrunner for that spot. There’s going to be Aaron Clark, Taliaferro, Denzel [Burrell] ... there’s going to be a lot of guys competing this spring.
“It’s going to be important for all of those guys.”
Clark, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder entering his final season, had nine tackles and a sack this season, but made his greatest impact on special teams.
Burrell, who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, had 12 tackles and a sack this season, as well.
But it was Taliaferro that garnered Sintim’s attention late in the season in practice.
“Aaron is a different type of guy,” Sintim said. “He is a quiet guy. He doesn’t talk much. He’s a football player, and I guess he wouldn’t be your prototypical football player by talking to him, but the way he plays football is ridiculous to me.
“He’s the type of guy that will knock somebody out and try to help them up.”
J’Courtney Williams (shoulder) and John Bivens (knee) will provide depth at inside linebacker as they try to return to form after undergoing surgery.
Other linebackers who will push for playing time include Darnell Carter, Darren Childs, Terrence Fells-Danzer, Jared Detrick and John-Kevin Dolce, among others.
“We are loaded at linebacker,” Sintim said.

Defensive backs
Departed starter - S Nate Lyles
Projected starters - CB Chris Cook (Sr.), CB Vic Hall (Jr.), S Byron Glaspy (Sr.), S Brandon Woods (Jr.) or Rico Bell (So.)
2007 Grade: C
Overshadowed by the end result, Nate Lyles’ performance in the Gator Bowl demonstrated his team-first mentality as much as talent.
Lyles, a safety, gladly stepped into a hybrid role, often sliding down into a role typically designated for a linebacker.
A fan favorite for his determination in returning from a serious neck injury suffered against Georgia Tech in 2005, Lyles wrapped up his career sixth on the team with 180 career tackles, 68 of which came this season.
With Lyles and backup Jamaal Jackson completing their eligibility, Virginia’s coaching staff will be focused in the spring on finding playable depth at safety for multiple packages.
One option popular among many is moving rising junior Vic Hall, who started all 12 games this year at cornerback. Lyles, however, did not see that occurring.
“I don’t know about that,” he said, “because there is going to be a battle at safety already.”
That battle is likely to include rising junior Brandon Woods, and a pair of rising sophomores Rico Bell and Matt Leemhuis.
Woods, originally a wideout,
enjoyed a great spring and progressed throughout the season, Lyles pointed out.
“I’d say since the spring the light has been definitely coming on for him in terms of how to play safety, especially since when he came from receiver it was a little but difficult for him,” Lyles said. “He is definitely getting the hang of things.”
Bell, known as a powerful tackler, was a state champion in the 100-meter dash in track as a senior in high school.
“He has learned so much since he has been here,” Lyles said of the rising sophomore. “Not only is he a hitter but he is fast. All of that stuff is a plus in his book.”
Leemhuis, who made a tackle in his lone appearance against Miami, only clouds the picture.
“He had a really good fall,” Lyles said. “I couldn’t tell who is going to come out of the spring as the starter because everybody is making really good improvements.”
Lyles chuckles when thinking about the depth at cornerback, as well.
Chris Cook, who missed the Gator Bowl for academic reasons, is expected back to join Hall, rising sophomores Ras-I Dowling, Mike Parker and Trey Womack.
Dowling’s rise was mind-boggling, going from Hargrave Military Academy to the tough assignment of covering Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree in a matter of months.
Another positive wrinkle will be thrown into the mix by the return of Mike Brown, who has two years of eligibility remaining. Brown missed the 2007 season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during a summer workout.
“We laugh about it all the time and say, ‘We don’t know what is going to happen,’” Lyles said of the cornerback shuffle. “The good part about is that all of them have gotten significant playing time. And even the ones who haven’t like Dom Joseph, he is real promising and I am sure coach is going to find a way to get him in the game.
“I think they are going to be a bright spot. There are leaders there already like Cook and Vic and the younger guys will just follow suit. I am real interested to see what is going to happen with that next year.”
Lyles is so impressed he wishes he had an additional year of eligibility to enjoy the ride.
“I wish I had a little bit more,” he joked, “but it is their turn now.”

 

Odd-shooting Baker makes his mark on Cavs' backcourt
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 10, 2008

Former Duke star J.J. Redick, now a member of the Orlando Magic, has a picturesque jumpshot. Redick’s technique is so fundamentally sound that he is able to hock instructional videos on television.

Suffice to say, Virginia guard Calvin Baker will probably never be a poster boy for good shooting form. The sophomore from Hampton has one of the more unorthodox jumpers that you’ll ever see.

“That’s the way I’ve been shooting my whole life,” Baker explained. “I guess I just started doing it like that at a young age. I needed like a push shot just to get it up to the rim and it’s just kind of stuck with me.

“A couple of coaches tried to change it, but they say, ‘If it works, don’t fix it,’ and it’s always worked for me.”

That has certainly been the case this season. In his first season at Virginia, Baker is, somewhat surprisingly, the team’s fourth-leading scorer.

Baker, a walk-on who sat out all of last year after transferring from William & Mary, is averaging 9.2 points.

In addition, the 6-foot-2, 186-pounder is averaging 2.7 assists, which ranks second on the team behind Sean Singletary.

“I’ve always thought I could play at this level,” said Baker, when asked about the step-up in competition to the ACC. “But I didn’t know last year how I was going to fit in on the team - what my role was going to be.

“To be honest, I didn’t know how I would do this year - if I was going to be rusty from sitting out a year. I just didn’t know what to expect.”

When Baker elected to transfer to Virginia, many people figured his playing time would be minimal since there were scholarship players ahead of him on the depth chart.

However, from the first day of practice in October, Baker has outplayed freshmen Mustapha Farrakhan and Sammy Zeglinski.

With Zeglinski out indefinitely with an ankle injury and Farrakhan still adjusting to the college game, Baker has become coach Dave Leitao’s first guard off the bench.

Baker, who is averaging 23 minutes per game, has helped minimize the loss (to graduation) of J.R. Reynolds. He’s shooting 47 percent from the field, including a 45-percent clip (21 of 47) from 3-point range.

By comparison, Singletary is shooting 39 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range (24 of 61).

The former standout at Woodside High in Newport News - Baker was named the state’s Co-Player of the Year in 2005 - believes sitting out last season, per NCAA transfer rules, wound up being a huge benefit.

“I think I’ve grown a lot as a player,” Baker said. “Coming out of high school, players have a lot of confidence and they don’t really know what they’re getting into.

“After seeing everything now, I don’t think that I would have been ready to jump in and play in the ACC. I think the year at William & Mary and then the year last year has really helped me be prepared to come in and play.”

Teammate Adrian Joseph called Baker “a hard worker.”

“Ever since he’s come in, he’s been like a sponge and tried to absorb everything that we do,” Joseph said. “Especially from Sean and J.R. last year. He learned so much from them and it’s showing in the games right now.”

Making Baker’s play more impressive is the fact that he has adapted to a new position. Baker, who plays many of his minutes at the shooting guard, was strictly a point guard before coming to Charlottesville.

Now, the question is, will Baker ever shed his walk-on status? Currently, Virginia is at the 13-scholarship limit, and, unless someone leaves unexpectedly, it will not have one to offer Baker next season.

“I’m pretty confident I’ll eventually get one,” Baker said, “but I don’t know when it’s going to come.”

If he sticks to his game the way he has his unconventional jumpshot, it might not be far off.

 

Cavs sit atop ITA list
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 9, 2008

No biggie.

That was pretty much Virginia men’s tennis coach Brian Boland’s reaction on Tuesday. His squad had just been selected No. 1 in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.

“We’re honored to be picked No. 1, but the real work is ahead of us,” said Boland, speaking by phone from Florida, where members of his team were competing individually. “It’s not where you start. You can’t base your success on how you start a season. It’s how you finish.”

This marks the second time in the past three seasons that Virginia has opened the year as the nation’s top-ranked squad.

In 2006, UVa was ranked first, but wound up getting knocked out in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Virginia made it to the semifinals.

The Cavaliers, who return five starters from last year’s squad that finished 30-4 and ended the year ranked No. 2 nationally, are followed by reigning national champion Georgia, Ohio State, Baylor and Mississippi.

Virginia received 27 of the 37 first place votes in the poll, with Georgia receiving the other 10. USC, Texas, Illinois, UCLA and North Carolina round out the top ten.

Boland said being ranked No. 1 won’t put any added pressure on his players.

“Not at all with this group,” he said. “We’re just going to go out each and every day and continue to work hard, improve, enjoy the journey together and have fun with it - just taking the approach of enjoying the process and collectively improving.

“We have great group of young men and we’re obviously excited about what’s ahead of us, but it’s not important how you start the rankings, it’s how you finish.”

ACC schools Wake Forest (No. 15), Duke (No. 16), Florida State (No. 8) and NC State (No. 20) were also ranked in the preseason top 20.

In the latest ITA singles rankings, four Cavaliers are in the top 100 nationally. Senior Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India), the reigning NCAA Champion and preseason No. 1 player in the national rankings, retains the No. 1 spot.

Junior Dominic Inglot (London, England) is ranked a career-high No. 3. Senior Treat Huey (Alexandria) is No. 12.

Virginia has a school-record five doubles teams ranked. The team of Devvarman and Huey remain No. 1 after going 13-0 in fall, including winning both the ITA All-American and ITA National Indoor doubles titles.

The Cavaliers open the 2008 season on Jan. 20 as they host No. 43 William & Mary at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Tribe is the first of 20 ranked opponents on the Cavaliers’ 2008 schedule.

 

Cavaliers search for identity
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
January 6, 2008

Where are the cupcakes when you need them?

Virginia’s men’s basketball team could probably use one of those Rent-A-Victims about now to rid themselves of the bitter taste from a 108-70 thrashing at the hands of Xavier Thursday night.

Instead, the Cavaliers (10-3) have to wait until a week from tonight to climb back into the saddle. And, instead of pouncing on a defenseless cupcake, they have to play their next game at Duke, where the Cavs haven’t won since 1995.

In case you haven’t noticed, Duke is still Duke.

But we’re really not sure just who the Cavaliers are, at least not right now. We’re not alone. Coach Dave Leitao is trying to figure it out, too.

Up and down

Is this the same bunch of Wahoos that jumped all over Arizona on the road back in November? Or, are they the team that couldn’t solve Syracuse’s zone at John Paul Jones Arena early last month?

Are they the lost souls that performed like the Little Sisters of the Poor in Cincinnati the other night, when they played matadoresque defense, were outrebounded for only the second time this season and gave up a staggering 18 treys - the most ever by a UVa opponent?

Apparently, Leitao didn’t want to wait very long to find some answers. Vowing to return to the basics, the fiery coach - known for his disciplinarian philosophy - had the Cavaliers on the court early Friday morning after returning late Thursday night from their thumping.

Our spies informed us that Saturday’s practice was even more grueling than usual and lasted for an unusually long time.

The worst thing one of Leitao’s basketball teams could do was violate his two most important tenets: fail to play defense or fail to rebound. His team did both, particularly the former, at Xavier.

“I’ve always said that you can’t control, night in and night out, if the ball goes in the basket or not,” Leitao said. “But you can control whether the other team’s shots go in or not. We violated that from the first play ... The first play we gave up a dunk, and all five guys were in violation of where they needed to be, and it continued on from there.”

Coach’s calling card

Defense is the big factor that attracted Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage to Leitao. A product of the Jim Calhoun school of basketball coaching, the very blueprint of Leitao’s coaching philosophy is all about defense.

When his team fails to execute that part of the game, it drives the man crazy.

His somber mood following the rout at Xavier was reminiscent of that a year ago in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the Cavaliers’ performance nearly set the game back to the days of peach baskets.

Following landslide losses to Appalachian State and Utah and a narrow escape against Division II

Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, the coach was fit to be tied.

He didn’t speak to his family, his players, his coaches. He sat alone outside, searching his soul for answers.

While the Cavs’ performance at Xavier the other night may not have been quite as bad as those in the Caribbean last year, Leitao is looking for the same answers about this basketball team as he did last year’s squad following that brutal performance.

Last year, he figured it out as the Wahoos found themselves, won a share of the ACC regular season championship with North Carolina and Leitao was voted ACC Coach of the Year.

With the nonconference schedule completely finished now, Virginia’s task is somewhat daunting.

There are 16 ACC games looming dead ahead in a league known for cannibalizing itself.

There won’t be any more patsies. From this moment on, everyone’s out for blood and any team that shows a weakness is exploited and left twisting in the wind.

This is the sort of challenge that gets the creative juice, the competitive juices flowing for a coach in any sport. This is when those guys earn their paychecks.

Leitao’s assignment is simple and yet complicated in that he must find a way to turn his basketball team around and only has a week to make progress.

 

Cavs guard Tat cleans up in garbage time
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 5, 2008

CINCINNATI - One of the nicknames that teammates and coaches have given Solomon Tat is “Solo.”

On Thursday night at the Cintas Center, it was pretty appropriate.

Tat was one of the only Virginia players who seemed to bring intensity during the Cavaliers’ hideous 108-70 loss to Xavier.

“He showed a lot of character,” said Virginia senior Sean Singletary. “We’ll probably be expecting him to play a lot more.”

Tat, playing in just his second game of the season - he missed the team’s first 11 contests following sports hernia surgery - had a career-high of 12 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

“I think [tonight] was one of my best days,” said Tat, a 6-foot-5 guard. “I came out and felt a lot better. This week in practice, there was no pain. I feel pretty comfortable.”

The most encouraging part of Tat’s performance - other than the fact he emerged healthy - was the aggression he showed on the offensive end. The sophomore from Nigeria attacked the rim - a rarity on a team that loves to bomb away from the perimeter.

Although many of his minutes came in garbage time, Tat drew fouls in the lane and ended the evening with a game-high nine free throws.

“He’s getting more healthy,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “He’s getting his rhythm back and getting more confidence. As he gets more confidence in himself, obviously he becomes a guy that we can use.”

The question now is whether Leitao should consider moving Tat, one of the team’s best on-the-ball defenders, into the starting lineup.

Previously, the rationale against such a move was the fact that Tat is not a very good outside shooter. But Jeff Jones, the starting 2-guard, has not hit a 3-pointer in his last 12 games, so would there really be much of a drop-off?

Tat’s attacking offensive style could be a complement to Virginia’s 3-point-happy starters.

“The decision is up to Coach,” said Tat, when asked if he would like to be starting. “I feel pretty much ready to go, but in terms of starting and minutes, that has to do with Coach. I don’t have anything to do with that.”

One thing is fairly certain. With Virginia opening ACC play at Duke next Sunday, it’s not likely that Leitao will continue to start two freshmen - Jones and big man Mike Scott.

With nine days off, Tunji Soroye and Lars Mikalauskas will probably be close to full strength for the Blue Devils.

A somber Leitao was non-committal when asked if there would be any lineup shakeups in the wake of one of the more dismal efforts of his tenure.

“We’re going to get back to work and address it then,” he said.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008 - 12:07 AM

UR developments interest London
Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London is closely following developments at his alma mater, the University of Richmond.

Spiders coach Dave Clawson has interviewed for the offensive coordinator's job at the University of Tennessee. If Clawson were to leave, London would be a strong candidate to succeed him at UR.

London, a 1983 graduate of Richmond, recently completed his sixth season as a U.Va. assistant and second as Al Groh's defensive coordinator. During the search that ended in February 2004 with Clawson's hiring, London interviewed for the head job at UR. Back then, however, he had not been a defensive coordinator or worked on an NFL coaching staff. London, who's from Hampton, coached the Houston Texans' defensive line in 2005.

Under London's direction, U.Va.'s defense has thrived. The Cavaliers ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense this season, allowing an average of 19.7 points.

London, one of U.Va.'s top recruiters, also has been an assistant at UR, William and Mary and Boston College. He played defensive back for the Spiders and later worked as a detective in the Richmond Police Department. His daugher Kristen plays on the U.Va. women's basketball team.

A year ago, London was a candidate to become coach of the new program at Old Dominion University, but U.Va. persuaded him to stay in Charlottesville.

Virginia finished 9-4 this season after losing 31-28 to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl last week.

Cavaliers need duo to help Singletary
Virginia's all-ACC point guard, Sean Singletary, can't do it alone. To be successful, the Cavaliers need consistent play from junior swingman Mamadi Diane and senior forward Adrian Joseph in particular.

Neither helped Singletary much Thursday night in Cincinnati, where Xavier humbled U.Va. 108-70. Singletary had 14 points and seven assists. Diane and Joseph were a combined 4 for 15 from the floor and scored 13 points between them. Joseph, who came in averaging 8.1 rebounds, grabbed three against Xavier.

"I'm a big believer that one of the major talents a player can have is experience," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said afterward, "and those two guys have got more experience than most, and they're not giving us what experienced guys should be able to give us: not [only] in productivity, but in other areas. So I got to continue to try to get that from them."

Joseph played only 18 minutes and Diane 17 against Xavier.

"As a senior and a captain, today I think I let the team down," Joseph said.

Tat's performance encouraging to coach
For Leitao, perhaps the most encouraging sight at Cintas Center was the play of Solomon Tat. A sophomore from Nigeria, Tat had surgery Sept. 8 to repair a sports hernia and didn't make his 2007-08 debut until Dec. 30.

Four nights later, at Xavier, the 6-5, 223-pound swingman scored a career-best 12 points in 16 minutes.

"As he gets his rhythm back, he gets more confidence," Leitao said, "and as he gets more confident in himself, obviously, he becomes a guy we can use."

Jeff Jones has started every game at shooting guard for U.Va., but the 6-4 freshman hasn't made a 3-pointer since Nov. 17. If his production doesn't increase, Jones is likely to see some of his minutes go to Tat.

A groin injury marred Tat's freshman season, and he admits that college basketball has been a trying experience for him.

U.Va. men's tennis team top-ranked
In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason rankings released yesterday, the U.Va. men's team is No. 1.

Coach Brian Boland returns five starters, including defending NCAA singles champion Somdev Devvarman, from a team that finished 30-4 in 2007. Devvarman, a senior, begins the season ranked No. 1 nationally. Also in the top 100 are these U.Va. players: No. 3 Dominic Inglot, No. 2 Treat Huey and No. 82 Houston Barrick.

Virginia opens the season at home Jan. 20 against No. 43 William and Mary. - Jeff White

 

Home is where the hoops are for Roger Mason
By Ed Miller
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 10, 2008
WASHINGTON

Roger Mason is living his NBA dream just a long 3-pointer from where it all began for him, before he ever picked up a basketball.

"I was born about a mile from here," Mason, a member of the Washington Wizards, said before Sunday's game at the Verizon Center. "At Howard University Hospital."

You can't get much closer to your roots than that. Mason played high school ball just over the Maryland line, at Good Counsel, and his college ball two hours south, at the University of Virginia. Not a game passes when he doesn't hear a "Wahoo Wah!" from someone in the home crowd, he said.

Lately, though, Mason's been hearing cheers from a lot more than random members of Cavalier Nation. He's getting acclaim from Wizards fans of all stripes after putting together the best stretch of his NBA career.

In 13 games in December, the 6-foot-5 Mason averaged 12.6 points, made 43.5 percent of his 3-point attempts and established career highs in minutes played (46) and points (24). He started five games when Antonio Daniels was out with a sprained knee and has remained a key member of the rotation off the bench since Daniels returned.

"It's been nice to be out there getting consistent minutes and getting an opportunity to really make an impact," said Mason, 27. "The NBA is about staying prepared and staying ready. Some day, your opportunity is going to come."

For Mason, it was a long time coming. He left Virginia after his junior year in 2002, saw mop-up duty over the next two years with Chicago and Toronto, then played two years in Israel before signing with the Wizards before last season.

The only former Virginia player in the league was living a tenuous professional existence. It was enough to make one wonder whether things would have turned out differently had he stayed another year in Charlottesville.

Mason has no regrets about leaving early, not after he had been told he would be a top-15 pick, he said. He injured his shoulder late in his junior season, though, then re-injured it in his first workout after declaring for the draft.

Facing surgery and at least eight months of recovery time, Mason had a decision to make. He could sit out the season at Virginia and return for a fifth year. Or he could stay in the draft.

Mason stayed and slipped to the second round, No. 32 overall. After his shoulder healed, he played in 17 games for the Bulls late in the 2002-03 season and just three in 2003-04 before being traded to Toronto.

The Raptors waived Mason in December 2004, and he headed to Israel. It might have been the best move of his career, he said.

"It put the ball back in my hands," he said. "It allowed me to be a player again. It was great for my confidence."

His wallet, too. Mason said he made more in Israel than he has at any time in the NBA, including this season, when he'll earn a reported $770,000.

Still, it wasn't the NBA. Mason signed with Washington before the 2006-07 season and averaged 2.7 points in 62 games. Modest numbers, but Mason flashed enough potential that San Antonio made him an offer after the season.

It was flattering, coming from the defending NBA champions. But after bouncing around for several years, Mason thought a little continuity would serve him well. He re-signed with the Wizards, and coach Eddie Jordan said the team is glad he did.

"He was a key for our summer preparation," Jordan said. "We wanted to go after him. He's a professional. He knows the system. And he gives us a talent, a skill that we absolutely need, in 3-point shooting."

Mason was recruited as a shooting guard at Virginia, but was forced to play point guard as a junior. He's played both guard positions for the Wizards this season and has grown more comfortable running the team. He's also improved as a defender, Jordan said.

"He knows he's gonna play a little bit more," Jordan said. "The confidence factor is a big factor in the league. That's what he has now. He knows he's going to play through some mistakes and that he's got some room to do some things, to be creative. He knows that if he misses a couple shots, he's going to get some more minutes to make up for it and get on a roll."

Mason's minutes have dropped since Daniels returned. He's averaged about 23 per game over the past three games. But with Gilbert Arenas out indefinitely with a knee injury, Mason figures to remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Mason said it's been satisfying to finally show that he can be a contributor in the league. His ability to shoot, defend and play either guard position should keep him around the NBA for a while. But Mason, who'll be a free agent at the end of the season, wants more than just a job in the league.

"It's about having a big impact, and I think I'll be able to do that in this league," he said. "At some point I'd like to be a starter, and I don't see why that can't happen."

If it happens where it all started for Mason, all the better.