Richmond to announce London as coach
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 19, 2008

The worst-kept secret in the Commonwealth is official - finally.

Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London is set to open a new chapter in his life today at his alma mater.

The University of Richmond has called a press conference at 2 p.m. at the Jepson Alumni Center, at which time the school will introduce London as its new head football coach, multiple sources confirmed.

London, 47, replaces former Spiders coach Dave Clawson, who resigned from the school last week to become the offensive coordinator at Tennessee.

Terms of the contract were unavailable and attempts to reach London were unsuccessful.

Despite published reports, it does not appear at this time that Virginia running backs coach Anthony Poindexter will join London as Richmond’s defensive coordinator.

The past two seasons, London has served as Virginia’s defensive coordinator as the Cavaliers went 14-11 overall and advanced to this month’s Gator Bowl. He also worked at UVa in a previous four-year stint (2001-2004) as the defensive line coach.

London, who handled recruiting in Washington, D.C., Virginia’s Tidewater region and Georgia, was a defensive back at Richmond, earning his degree in 1983.

After working as a detective in Richmond, London served as an assistant coach at Richmond on two separate occasions.

London’s daughter, Kristen, a junior on the Virginia women’s basketball team, said she was ecstatic to learn of the announcement.

“I am very excited for him,” Kristen said. “He deserves it. He helped change the program [at Virginia] a lot, even as an assistant coach.

“It’s good that his achievements are recognized. It is his alma mater and he owes it to the people there, as well. His name is very well known there and throughout Virginia. Anywhere he goes, he deserves.”

Under Clawson, the Spiders advanced two of the past three seasons to the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) playoffs.

Groh was out of town Friday evening, attending an award ceremony in Washington, D.C. for former Virginia defensive end Chris Long.

 

UR seals deal with London
New football coach will be introduced this afternoon at on-campus press session
Saturday, Jan 19, 2008 - 12:05 AM
By JOHN PACKETT
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

It apparently took University of Richmond athletic director Jim Miller a few days to iron out all of the contract details with his new football coach, but he finally got his man.

The school has called a 2 p.m. press conference for today in the Jepson Alumni Center to introduce Mike London as the successor to Dave Clawson.

London, who has been the University of Virginia's defensive coordinator for the past two seasons, was offered the job earlier in the week, sources said. The two sides didn't come to an agreement until yesterday.

It is believed Miller interviewed only three people for the job, which became available when Clawson left last Friday to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Tennessee.

London was apparently Miller's No. 1 choice from the start of the interview process.

A native of Hampton, London, 47, was a standout defensive back for the Spiders, graduating in 1983. He coached at his alma mater on two occasions, working with outside linebackers in 1988-89 and 1994-96.

In addition to spending six years in Charlottesville, London has also served as an assistant at William and Mary and Boston College. He was an assistant with the Houston Texans of the NFL for one season (2005).

London will become the first black coach of a major sport at UR, as well as the first alumnus to head the football program since Ed Merrick was at the helm from 1951-65.

Neither Miller nor London could be reached last night for comment.

The press conference is open to the public.

 

Sewell's future up in air
Saturday, Jan 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Might Jameel Sewell return to the University of Virginia after serving his academic suspension? It's too early to say, according to Patrick Kane, who coached Sewell at Hermitage High School.

A 6-3, 226-pound quarterback, Sewell has started the Cavaliers' past 22 games. Sewell learned Thursday, after his appeal was turned down, that he was not academically eligible to take classes at U.Va. this semester.

Sewell, who entered U.Va. in 2005, redshirted that fall. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Neither Sewell nor his parents could be reached for comment yesterday, but Kane said the family has yet to decide on the next move for Sewell.

Also placed on academic suspension, which at U.Va. typically lasts for two semesters, were three of Sewell's teammates: cornerback Chris Cook, linebacker Darnell Carter and wide receiver Chris Dalton.

Kane said he believes that Sewell is in position to remain eligible under NCAA rules. If so, Sewell could transfer to a Division I-AA school and play in the fall.

Whether Sewell tries to return to U.Va. may depend on the length of his suspension, which the university did not disclose. If Sewell doesn't return for the fall semester, he would have only one season of eligibility left if U.Va. re-admitted him in 2009. -- Jeff White

 

Big issues 'dawg' Hokies, Cavaliers
Dave Fairbank
11:52 PM EST, January 18, 2008
 

Virginia appears to have lost its starting quarterback, while Virginia Tech retained its leading rusher. Which program benefits most from these developments is open to debate.

Jameel Sewell, Virginia's starting quarterback for the past 22 games, is not enrolled in school this spring. Academic reasons, according to reports.

Typically, academic suspensions at Thomas Jefferson U., encompass two semesters, meaning that Sewell likely will not suit up next fall.

Given that he already has redshirted and has just two seasons of eligibility remaining, his playing career at U.Va. might be finito.

Meanwhile, Branden Ore, Virginia Tech's leading rusher the past two seasons, withdrew his hat from the NFL ring at the 11th hour and intends to return for his senior season.

Ore's return certainly provides a statistical advantage over the alternative. He has rushed for more than 2,100 yards and scored 27 touchdowns the past two seasons.

However, he also has done little to inspire confidence that he will be the type of presence valued within a team that loses a good deal of its playmaking and leadership.

Ore was not enrolled in school for the 2006 spring semester. He said that he remained home in Chesapeake to rehab following shoulder surgery -- a dubious claim considering that he had access to all of the requisite rehab personnel and equipment in Blacksburg.

Last summer, he returned to camp out of shape and only late in the season displayed his 2006 all-conference form.

Most recently, Ore testified earlier this month in the drug trial of a supposed friend who tried to implicate him for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute -- a case that began from a traffic stop in the summer of 2006 and that hung over him and the program for the past two seasons.

Though Ore was exonerated, the incident doesn't speak well of his judgment or choice of friends.

He then filed the necessary paperwork to make himself eligible for the upcoming NFL draft, but withdrew his name before the Friday deadline.

Ore filed and withdrew without explanation. Or, as he memorably said to colleague Norm Wood: "I ain't talkin', dawg."

Neither is anyone at Virginia. Privacy concerns prevent coaches and school officials at U.Va., and everywhere else for that matter, from elaborating beyond the fact that Sewell and three others are not enrolled.

Sewell is a gifted athlete whose performances last season hopscotched between the dramatic and the erratic. He led fourth-quarter drives and comebacks that became the hallmark of Virginia's 9-4 season, but routinely scattered passes and induced a fair share of cringing among the faithful.

Sewell improved greatly between his redshirt freshman and sophomore years, though he needed a stout performance during summer school in order to become eligible in 2006. Uncertainty about his status meant that U.Va. coaches were unable to groom him for the starting job from the jump, essentially limiting his and their options.

Options one, two and three are now Peter Lalich, the touted freshman who saw sporadic action last season. He is a big, strong-armed pocket passer, the kind with whom head coach Al Groh is most comfortable and most familiar (You might have heard -- Groh coached in the NFL at one time).

Potential or not, no one thinks that a seldom-used sophomore making his first start against the best program in the country for the past five years -- Southern Cal comes to Charlottesville in September -- is an upgrade over a two-year starter.

But as Groh might say: You make the best of particular circumstances as they're presented to you.

A half-step below the Ore and Sewell situations, both programs also had cornerback news. Virginia junior Chris Cook is also not enrolled in school and is likely unavailable this fall, while Tech's Victor "Macho" Harris, like Ore, did an NFL about-face and will return next season.

Cook is the Cavaliers' best cornerback and his absence will be felt. Harris, an All-ACC talent, gives the Hokies' depleted defense a fourth returning starter.

On its face, the return of Ore and Harris appears to be a huge benefit. But if both of them spend the next 11 months believing they ought to be earning an NFL paycheck rather than going to school and setting examples for underclassmen, then Tech's additions are liable to be a bigger detriment than Virginia's subtractions.

 

Making the grade still hard for Cavs
By Doug Doughty

After learning that two-year starting quarterback Jameel Sewell and three other players were not enrolled for the second semester, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at Virginia's academic-advising process.

It was not a pretty sight.

According to UVa's last five football media guides, Adrien Harraway is the fifth person to head up Virginia's football academic-advising effort in five years.

Harraway is listed as the director of academic affairs for football, a position held last year by Claudia Pirkle.

The title hasn't always been the same from year to year and, in one of the media guides, the holder of the position was listed as "TBA."

Harraway's bio describes him as a 2002 graduate of Northern Iowa, with a master's degree from Arizona State. Nothing against Harraway, who was promoted from assistant director in June, but how's a 26- or 27-year-old going to stand up to Al Groh?

For a little insight, I requested an interview Friday either with athletic director Craig Littlepage or executive associate AD Jon Oliver. In an email to school spokesman Rich Murray at 2:22 p.m., I said my questions concerned the five academic coordinators in five years.

"Craig and Jon are not available to discuss this at this time," Murray wrote back at 5:26 p.m.

Hey, I know they're busy. The UVa women's basketball team, one of the few Cavalier athletic success stories in recent days, was preparing for a visit from fourth-ranked Maryland at 7 p.m.

The Cavalier men entertain Boston College at 8 tonight, but the story du jour concerns the UVa football program, and what many people are calling an "implosion."

Even before the announcement that Sewell and Co. were not enrolled, first-team All-ACC offensive guard Branden Albert revealed that he would not be returning for his senior year.

Then came news that Richmond head coach Dave Clawson was resigning to become the offensive coordinator at Tennessee, a development that immediately focused the spotlight on 47-year-old UVa defensive coordinator Mike London.

London, a Richmond alumnus, spoke to UR officials Wednesday.

There were predictions that London would be named coach Friday or today. Late Friday night, Richmond's athletic department announced it would introduce its new football coach at 2 p.m. today.

In the meantime, television stations in Richmond and Charlottesville were reporting that UVa assistant Anthony Poindexter would be joining London's staff as defensive coordinator.

Poindexter has served as UVa's running backs coach for the past four years. Before that, he was one of the Cavaliers' most decorated and most popular players as a hard-hitting safety during the mid-1990s.

Poindexter hasn't been a great recruiter to date, but potentially he could be. London has single-handedly kept Virginia competitive in some areas and was the lead recruiter on eight of the first 16 players to commit to Virginia this year.

Moreover, London has a terrific relationship with the players, and that will be the greatest loss if he goes to Richmond. If there is a UVa assistant who approaches London in that area, it would be Poindexter, so what if he goes, too?

Of all the possible scenarios that are swirling, Poindexter to Richmond seems to be the most unlikely for me. The Spiders may be able to pay London with money originally raised in an attempt to keep Clawson, but they wouldn't win a bidding war for Poindexter.

At times like this, we need to remind ourselves that it's not about coaches. It's about players. For all of his drawbacks, Sewell has started 22 games at quarterback and enabled the Cavaliers to win nine games this past season and have a record-setting 10th win in their grasp.

Three of UVa's four losses followed injuries to Sewell in the fourth quarter.

A UVa news release Thursday said only that Sewell and three other players, including starting cornerback Chris Cook, were not enrolled for the spring semester. After watching this program for more than 30 years, my impression is that none of them will play in 2008.

Academic suspensions traditionally have been for one year. Moreover, there is a limit to summer-school credits that can be counted toward satisfactory-progress requirements.

Many questions remain unanswered.

Are they ineligible by UVa standards or by NCAA standards? If it's the former, they could surface on a Division I-AA roster next year, possibly at Richmond (Sewell's hometown) or Liberty (in Cook's hometown).

Liberty coach Danny Rocco already has taken a call from a Cook advisor.

It was Cook, remember, who was ineligible for the Gator Bowl after failing to pass the required six credit hours in the fall. The Cavaliers very nearly lost tailback Mikell Simpson, whose belated arrival in Jacksonville stemmed from an academic matter he needed to resolve.

If London leaves, somebody will take his place. If Sewell can't play, rising sophomore Peter Lalich will be in position to step up. But maybe the larger issue to resolve concerns academics.

How much blame does Groh deserve for the academic casualties? Teams at all levels have academic issues. He's not the first, but, in the end, he's responsible.

There is an NCAA rule limiting football players to no more than 20 hours of mandatory playing and practice time, but that doesn't count training time or film work. An NCAA study released this week showed that the average Division I-A player devotes 44.8 hours per week to football.

That's like asking somebody to be a full-time student while working a full-time job. Of course, they're getting a full scholarship (or the I-A football players are), but if you want to keep them, there comes a time when enough is enough.
 

Reeling Cavs face ACC leaders
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 19, 2008

During the 2004-05 season - former coach Pete Gillen’s last at the helm - Virginia lost its first five ACC games and finished 4-12 in league play.

This season Virginia has only dropped its first two league games, so the situation isn’t nearly as ominous.

However, after tonight’s home game with Boston College, UVa plays three of its next four games on the road - a place where it has posted just a 4-13 record in coach Dave Leitao’s two-plus seasons.

Translation: Virginia might want to find a way to beat BC - or face the potential of a vicious downward spiral.

“I’m not panicking because we have a team full of competitors that hates to lose,” said sophomore guard Calvin Baker. “When you have a team like that, eventually things will start clicking. When things start clicking - I just can’t wait for that.”

Neither can Virginia fans. Their team wasn’t doing much clicking on Wednesday night in its one-point overtime loss to Virginia Tech. Virginia (10-5, 0-2) built leads only to see them vanish due to a combination of shoddy defense and random offensive funks.

In addition, the Cavaliers were killed on the glass - one area of strength for the team leading into the game. The Cavs were outrebounded, 47-39. That led to a whopping 22 second-chance points for the Hokies; UVa had just six of its own.

Offensively, it’s been the same old story for Virginia - trying to find a consistent complement to leading scorer Sean Singletary and searching for some kind of points in the paint.

Tonight, easy baskets may be hard to come by. BC has Tyrelle Blair, the conference’s leading shot-blocker (4.19 per game).

The Eagles (12-4, 3-0) are tied with North Carolina atop the conference, but still seem to be adjusting to life without Jared Dudley, last year’s ACC Player of the Year who is now a member of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats.

BC lost to Kansas at home by 25 on Jan. 5. Two nights later, the Eagles lost again at home - to Robert Morris.

However, BC bounced back with a 39-point win over Wake Forest last Saturday, then defeated No. 21 Miami on Tuesday.

The Eagles are led by guard Tyrese Rice. The junior from Richmond is second in the league in scoring (19.5 PPG) and fifth in assists (5.27 APG).

The Rice-Singletary matchup should be fun to watch. Singletary, third in the league in scoring (18.9) and first in assists (6.33), had a season-high of 34 points against the Hokies on 12 of 21 shooting. However, the rest of his teammates combined for just 12 field goals.

“You just go through slumps, and unfortunately we’re going through one right now,” Singletary said, “but if you have enough character, [you’ll] come out on the other side of adversity in a positive way.”

Right now, however, frustration seems to be mounting. Leitao, whose team is riding a three game-losing streak, spoke for less than four minutes at his press conference following Wednesday’s loss.

Virginia has never lost more than three straight in the Leitao Era.

Baker said everyone remains optimistic.

“When you lose by one in overtime, on your own homecourt - it hurts,” he said. “We just have to bounce back. We can’t dwell on the loss. Hopefully we can get a win [against Boston College].”

Dunks

Virginia leads the all-time series with BC, 4-1. UVa had won the first four meetings before losing in Chestnut Hill last season. … Tunji Soroye and Will Harris, who both missed Wednesday’s game against Virginia Tech with back injuries, appear probable for tonight. … Lars Mikalauskas (shoulder) will not play.

 

In a hole, Cavs face must win
Singletary will need help for first ACCwin vs. visiting BC
Saturday, Jan 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- A season ago, the University of Virginia men's basketball team lost two of its first three ACC games. The Cavaliers, undeterred, battled back to win a share of the ACC regular-season title and advance to the NCAA tournament's second round.

A history major, Sean Singletary is not. But the all-ACC guard knows the Wahoos turned things around last season, and he's confident they can do so again. So is Virginia's other captain, senior forward Adrian Joseph.

"It's far from over," Joseph said after U.Va.'s overtime loss to Virginia Tech at John Paul Jones Arena.

Nonetheless, it's hard to overstate the importance for U.Va. (0-2, 10-5) of tonight's game against visiting Boston College (3-0, 12-4). If the Cavaliers lose, they'll be 0-3 in ACC play for the first time since 2004-05 when they finished 4-12.

"We need a win," Singletary said.

Had the Cavaliers not squandered leads in the second half and in overtime against the Hokies, they would have collected that victory Wednesday night.

"It's no mystery why we lost," Singletary said. "We broke down fundamentally on defense down the stretch, throughout the whole overtime and the end of regulation."

Offensive breakdowns also contributed to U.Va.'s first-ever loss to an ACC opponent at the JPJ. Singletary played brilliantly, scoring a season-high 34 points. But his fellow starters -- forwards Joseph and Mamadi Diane, center Mike Scott and shooting guard Calvin Baker -- missed 27 of 37 field-goal attempts and scored only 27 points.

Baker, coming off a strong performance at Duke, was 2 for 8 from the floor against Tech. With the score 63-63, the 6-2 sophomore took a pass from Singletary and launched a 3-point attempt with 28 seconds left in regulation.

"It felt so good coming off my fingertips," Baker said. "That was one of the few shots today that I took that actually felt like it was going in . . . When I missed it, I was surprised."

Determined not to let Singletary beat them, the Hokies blanketed him late in the game. In the final minute of overtime, with Virginia leading 69-68, the ball ended up in the hands of Baker, who shot a mid-range jumper from the left baseline. This one, too, missed.

"They doubleand triple-teamed me, and they got a little bit more physical, but it's part of the game," Singletary said. "I was able to get into the teeth sometimes and get other guys shots. We just didn't have shots falling for us tonight."

If those shots don't fall tonight, Virginia could have its first four-game losing streak since 2004-05.

"It's a tough position right now, but it's not over," Joseph said.

 

Pettinella finds his groove
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 17, 2008

As Virginia’s Ryan Pettinella stood on the free-throw line at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday night, Duke fans, in a lame attempt at humor, chanted “HGH” at the made-out-of-granite senior.

Pettinella shot an airball.

However, maybe that was a turning point for the Rochester, N.Y. native.

Pettinella nailed the second of the two free throws and finished with a career-high nine points.

Then, in Virginia’s overtime loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday night, Pettinella put on a free-throw shooting clinic for the ages.

Well, sort of.

The 6-foot-9, 249-pounder, who came into the game shooting 14.3 percent (2 of 14) from the charity stripe, knocked down two key free throws in the second half. Pettinella banked the first one in, then, to the sell-out crowd’s delight, swished the second.

“We were up by seven and I was saying, “I’ve got to make these. This is a huge game. I’ve got to knock these down,’” Pettinella said. “I really focused and got both of them.”

After draining the second free throw, Pettinella pumped his fists wildly as he ran back on defense. It was the kind of emotional display usually reserved for his teammate and good friend Lars Mikalauskas.

“The crowd was pretty into it and I was pretty happy inside,” said Pettinella, who finished with six points and two rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. “I don’t really get too fired up on the court, but that was one moment where I did show some emotion.”

The free throws put Virginia up 59-50 with 9 minutes, 47 seconds left in the game.

“Running back on defense, I slapped Sean’s hand and I had a really good feeling about the game at that point,” Pettinella said, “but we couldn’t pull away from them.”

Deron Washington’s layup at the buzzer wound up being the difference in the Hokies’ win.

“[Virginia Tech] didn’t quit and they gave a lot of effort,” Pettinella said. “To lose like that on a last shot was really disappointing.”

Believe it or not, Pettinella’s free-throw shooting hasn’t always been so abysmal. As a freshman at Penn, he shot 64 percent before dipping to 43 percent as a sophomore and then to 24 percent in his first year at Virginia last season.

Pettinella, like his teammates, looked pretty upset after the stunning loss - but maybe he gained a little confidence with his free-throw shooting performance?

“I don’t think I had made two in a row all year,” Pettinella said. “Hopefully, it can create some kind of rhythm and I can stay on this roll.”

 

First two Leitao classes not contributing much
What's with all the injuries?
By Doug Doughty

For the past two-three weeks, I have been aware of an online debate about Dave Leitao’s recruiting ability but not paid much attention to it.

Leitao had the reputation of a good recruiter before he took the Virginia job and I have never considered that reputation to be undeserved, not even now.

But, I can see why some people have their doubts, particularly after the Cavaliers’ performance Wednesday in a 70-69 overtime loss to visiting Virginia Tech.

This is Leitao’s third season as Virginia’s head coach and he has had two full recruiting classes, as represented by the freshmen and sophomores on this year’s team.

Those players accounted for five points against the Hokies – three points by freshman Mike Scott and a pair of free throws by classmate Jeff Jones.

The sophomore class of Jamil Tucker, Solomon Tat, Jerome Meyinsse and Will Harris did not have a single point.

In the sake of fairness, it should be noted that the 2007 class included a fifth recruit, Ryan Pettinella, who began his career at Pennsylvania and transferred to Virginia from Monroe (N.Y.) Community College, where he did not play.

Pettinella came off the bench to contribute six points against Virginia Tech and now has scored a total of 14 points in 38 minutes over the past two games. He also has made three straight free throws after going 1-for-13 from the line to start the season.

There is another regular contributor who has joined the program during the Leitao tenure, Calvin Baker, who has started the last two games at shooting guard. However, it is misleading to characterize Baker as a Leitao recruit because he initiated contact with the Cavaliers before transferring from William and Mary.

Basically, the issue is Virginia’s sophomore and freshman classes. On-line Leitao supporters say that players like J.R. Reynolds were not world-beaters as freshmen and that’s correct, but the sophomore class needs to step it up.

It should be mentioned that Harris and freshman Sammy Zeglinski were not in uniform Wednesday night. Neither were senior Tunji Soroye and junior Lauris Mikalauskas.

That’s another issue with this team: What’s with all the injuries? Why are they always breaking down?

Harris was projected by many to be the top recruit in the 2007 class and media gadfly Jeff White and I agree, if you put Harris on the floor and left him out there for 30 minutes, that he’d probably account for 15 points and eight rebounda a game.

He plays so infrequently now that he doesn’t seem to have any confidence, and the way he walked stiff-legged to the huddle during timeouts Wednesday, he looked like a candidate for the geriatric ward.

Tucker, a 6-9 forward with a nice 3-point stroke and decent athleticism, was a guy who could have made a difference Wednesday night but he took one shot in 12 minutes.

Tat played three minutes and did not have a stat of any kid, not even a foul.

Tat’s 12-point outing in 16 minutes of garbage time at Xavier no longer looks like a sign of things to come. Meyinsse was only on the floor for four minutes Wednesday, but if he can’t find a comfort level against the young, relatively undersized Hokies, how long will it be before he’s ready for a regular dose of ACC action?

Pettinella and Baker do not receive athletic grants, so the Cavaliers only used eight scholarship players against the Hokies. Of the five who did not play, four were injured and Mustapha Farrakhan was – what do they call it ? – a healthy scratch?

Remember what Leitao said about Farrakhan before the season: “What I've noticed from him is that he can really, really shoot the basketball. I mean really shoot the basketball.”

Farrakhan proceeded to miss his first seven 3-pointers of the season before finally connecting at Xavier. He looked unsure of himself when called upon to handle the ball late in Virginia’s game with Duke and is not really an option at this time.

For much of the 2006-2007 season, Leitao talked with reporters about a “third option” behind Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. In Reynolds’ absence this season, there frequently has not been a second option behind Singletary, and certainly none out of the freshman and sophomore classes.

Three fall signees will at least constitute the nucleus of Leitao’s 2009 class, which looks to be a good one with mega-scorer Sylven Landesberg and big men John Brandenburg and Assane Sene. Leitao has missed on some national top 25 talent, but he’s gotten a lot of players in the 50-150 range.

Virginia should be able to thrive on players like that. Heck, Singletary and Reynolds weren’t McDonald’s or Parade All-Americans, but, after the last two classes, who knows?

Maybe the freshmen and sophomores will surprise us, but they’re not doing much right now.
 

Virginia starts spring prep
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 17, 2008

Undefined roles typically generates concern in the mind of a baseball skipper.

Typically.

Brian O’Connor, of course, would dispute that.

For the first time since his arrival before the 2004 season, Virginia’s baseball coach truly does not have an idea what his weekend rotation will look like in May.

Beyond his ace, right-hander Jacob Thompson, the options are endless.

“We have never entered into a year where there is so much uncertainty where we ask, ‘Who are the proven other starters, other than Jacob?’” O’Connor said.

The same could be said at the back end of his pitching staff, where all-time saves leader Casey Lambert must be replaced.

“I think it comes down to, as far as the pitchers go, ‘Who is going to do the job when the games roll around and who is going to take grasp of those roles,” O’Connor said. “Really it might take five, six weeks to start to solidify who those guys might be.

“But I think that competition will be good. It will force everybody to be at their best and fortunately we have that depth this year because of the amount of games.”

Thanks to a new rule adopted by the NCAA, college baseball programs cannot officially start practice until Feb. 1 and a uniform date of Feb. 22 was put in place for contests to level the playing field for northern schools.

Due to that, Virginia, as will others, will travel less and play more.

“We will play 10 games in the first 10 days of the season,” said O’Connor, noting a pair of early-season doubleheaders. “From the Friday that serves as opening day to the following Sunday there are 10 ballgames.

“The first week of the season we are going to need six starting pitchers, and when you play four games on a weekend you need a lot of bullpen guys.”

The candidates to join Thompson, an 11-game winner last season, on the weekend include senior Pat McAnaney, senior Robert Poutier, junior Andrew Carraway and sophomore Matt Packer.

Others will have the opportunity to parlay mid-week success into a greater role, most notably sophomores Jeff Lorick and Neal Davis and freshmen Jake Cowan and Sean Tierney.

“I think starting out the season that we have four other guys that could compete for us on the weekend and a couple of guys that are looked at as candidates during the middle of the week that, as the season goes along, could develop and be candidates on the weekend,” O’Connor said. “I am excited. I think we have a lot of options out of the bullpen and we have a lot of options for guys that can start.”

Jake Rule and Michael Schwimer could serve as a two-man closing crew, but freshman Tyler Wilson could join the mix since his style resembles Lambert.

Luckily, Virginia is relatively healthy. Concerns linger about shortstop Greg Miclat’s progress from arm surgery, but O’Connor said the North Carolina native has been diligent throughout the rehab process.

Using Miclat in the outfield on occasion, an experiment that was employed in the fall practice period, could also become an option.

“His throwing program is progressing very well,” the coach said. “I don’t believe that he is going to be able to play shortstop every day so in the fall we were exploring the options of him playing center field on the days that he can’t play shortstop.

“We probably would have looked at the center field last year but we had four high-quality options that were playing.”

All four of those options, however, have departed. Tim Henry, Brandon Marsh and Mike Mitchell completed their eligibility and Brandon Guyer was drafted and signed by the Chicago Cubs.

Replacing four players that scored 148 runs and drove in 147 will not be easy.

“That’s probably what’s most up in the air,” O’Connor said. “I feel like we have seven guys that could legitimately compete for us out there. They are all going to contribute and compete for playing time.

“When it comes around to the games it’s going to be a matter of who gets the job done and who gets hot. The nice thing is that we have a lot of options and we can play a lot of combinations out there.”

Virginia opens its season on Feb. 22 against Lehigh at 4 p.m.