Leitao misses big men
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 30, 2008

Virginia’s trip to College Park last season is hard to forget. YouTube helps make sure of that.

Still posted on the Web site is the video clip of a joyous UVa locker room after the Cavaliers had just defeated Maryland to take sole possession of first place in the ACC.

As Virginia coach Dave Leitao is giving a congratulatory postgame speech, he mentions the contributions of center Tunji Soroye and the entire room erupts in applause.

Oh, how times have changed.

Tonight, last-place UVa (11-7, 1-4 ACC) limps into College Park in the midst of a two-game losing streak. The Cavaliers, who have lost five out of their last six, have been without Soroye (knee, back) and fellow big man Lars Mikalauskas (shoulder) for much of the season - and that looks to be the case once again this evening.

Leitao isn’t sure when - or if - the duo will ever return.

“[Their] injuries haven’t been to the point as of yet where it’s debilitating and they can’t work on getting back,” Leitao said, “but at the same point in time, it’s not going anywhere and hasn’t gone anywhere in terms of getting better.

“From a prognosis standpoint, I don’t think anybody - doctors, trainers, coaches or player - knows the answer.”

If there were ever a game where Virginia needed Soroye and Mikalauskas, it would be against Maryland. The Terrapins (12-8, 2-3), who have won two of their last three games - including a shocking upset of then-No. 1 North Carolina on Jan. 19 - feature big men James Gist and Bambale Osby. The duo is averaging a combined 26.9 points and 14.6 rebounds.

“They present quite a challenge,” Leitao said, “and we have to be prepared.”

In the game in College Park last season, Soroye had one of the best games of his career. He hauled in a career-high 11 rebounds, swatted four shots and hit three clutch free throws that propelled UVa to a 69-65 victory.

Mikalauskas had six points and five rebounds.

This season, without the Nigerian and Lithuanian in the lineup, Virginia has had to play freshman Mike Scott - a natural ‘4’ man - at the ‘5’ spot.

Given the circumstances, Scott has had a decent season, averaging 6.1 points and 5.8 rebounds.

“Right now, it’s a lot to ask of him - to be a primary rebounder against the frontline we faced [in the loss to Georgia Tech] or the frontline we’ll face [tonight],” Leitao said.

Meanwhile, Sean Singletary will be looking to bounce back from two straight sub-par outings. The Virginia senior, who has been bothered by a hip pointer, is 9 of his last 30 from the field.

“I’m just in a slump right now,” said Singletary following Sunday’s loss.

It was after that game that Leitao made the remark that his team’s season was by no means over, and there was still plenty of time to turn things around. On Monday, Maryland coach Gary Williams echoed those sentiments.

“Virginia is a good basketball team,” Williams said. “I think they’ve proven it in some of their games. They’re 1-4, but we [started] 3-6 last year and wound up 10-6, so nothing’s set in stone yet, especially with all the closeness of all the games so far.

“I think for a 1-4 team, they are a really good basketball team.”

Said Singletary: “I know we have the talent. We just have to get over the hump.”

Dunks

Sophomore Will Harris’ status is also up in the air. “We’re dealing with Will - as we are Tunji - with a back that some days feels better than others,” Leitao said. “There are some days where he wakes up and he can’t move. Credit to him - he tries to [play]. That’s kind of why he’s dressed because he’s going to try and gut it out, but it hasn’t been working for him.”… Singletary on the condition of his hip: “It can’t get any worse by playing on it. I just have to play through it and it will get better, keep getting treatments and that kind of stuff.” … Maryland leads the all-time series 101-65.

 

Cavaliers soft in the middle
Terrapins' Gist and Osby will pose challenge tonight
Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 01:42 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Dave Leitao studied the box score closely. Two numbers jumped out at the University of Virginia men's basketball coach: 46 and 20.

Leitao noted on the ACC coaches' teleconference Monday afternoon and again on his radio show that night that Maryland big men James Gist and Bambale Osby had combined for 46 points and 20 rebounds against Duke.

Their efforts didn't lift the Terrapins over the once-beaten Blue Devils, but the inside prowess of the 6-9, 235-pound Gist and the 6-8, 250-pound Osby worries Leitao, and for good reason. U.Va. (1-4, 11-7) plays Maryland (2-3, 12-8) tonight at the Comcast Center in College Park.

"They'll come after us at one of our weaker points, which is our interior defense," Leitao said.

Freshman Mike Scott (6-8, 233) has been starting at center for the Cavaliers, but he's a natural power forward. Senior Adrian Joseph (6-7, 201) has been starting at power forward, but he's a natural wing.

At present, Leitao's other options inside are seldom-used Jerome Meyinsse, a 6-8, 245-pound sophomore, and the offensively challenged Ryan Pettinella, a 6-9, 249-pound senior.

Sophomore forward Jamil Tucker, at 6-8, 241, has good size, but he's most comfortable on the perimeter. Three post players on whom Leitao was counting this season - 6-6, 245-pound Will Harris, 6-8, 246-pound Laurynas Mikalauskas and 6-11, 252-pound Tunji Soroye, the projected starter at center - have been unavailable because of injuries.

In Virginia's win at Maryland last season, Soroye had 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in 25 minutes.

"It's obvious we're playing with a short deck up front, just with the amount of bodies we're used to having," Leitao said.

That's placed more pressure on Scott. In the long run, he figures to be better for the experience, but the Chesapeake resident is being asked "to be the anchor in the backline of our defense . . . and that's a very, very difficult thing to ask him or anybody in his position to do," Leitao said. "But that's what we're asking from him, and we've got to get better at it."

In the Cavaliers' most recent game, an overtime loss to Georgia Tech, Scott had nine points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes. Pettinella played 21 minutes and had two boards and one point. In five minutes, Meyinsse grabbed a rebound. The Yellow Jackets' post players - Gani Lawal, Jeremis Smith, Zack Peacock and Alade Aminu - combined for 35 points and 22 rebounds.

Osby, a former Benedictine High star who transferred to Maryland from a junior college, might be the ACC's mostimproved player. He's averaging 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds and has posted double-doubles in three of his past four games. Against Duke, Osby had 20 points and 15 boards, both career highs.

In the Terps' offense, Gist and Osby are assured of getting plenty of touches down low. They're also gifted shot-blockers who between them have 86 rejections this season.

When a team "has two guys that work in conjunction with one another," Leitao said, "it makes them dangerous and makes one better by playing off the other, whether it's on offense or defense."

 

Cavaliers look for a couple positives
With two overtime losses in its first five ACC games, UVa hopes to turn it around at Maryland.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

If Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao wants his team to stay positive, he might want to get Maryland coach Gary Williams to address the Cavaliers.

First, Williams might want to see what happens when the Cavaliers (11-7, 1-4 ACC) and Terrapins (12-8, 2-3) meet tonight at Comcast Center.

"They're 1-4 [in the ACC], but we were 3-6 last year and finished 10-6," said Williams on the ACC coaches' teleconference Monday. "So, nothing's set in stone."

After going undefeated in ACC play last year at home, the Cavaliers already have dropped a pair of overtime affairs at John Paul Jones Arena, the latest when Georgia Tech rallied from a 13-point deficit in a 92-82 triumph Sunday night.

"The season didn't end today," said Leitao in his post-game news conference, "but, obviously, at 1-4, it doesn't look as good as it would at 4-1.

"I don't think panic sets in, but you certainly have to change your fortunes if you have any level of expectations."

Surprisingly, the Cavaliers have the same overall record after 18 games that they had a year ago. Virginia's season turned around at the 19-game mark, when the Cavaliers ventured to Raleigh, N.C., and beat N.C. State 71-58 for their first road win in more than a year.

If UVa is going to have a similar turnaround this year, it will have to come on the road. Three of the Cavaliers' next four games are away from JPJ, including a 1 p.m. Saturday game at Virginia Tech.

There is a temptation to think Virginia is losing the close games that it won last year, but, at this point in the 2006-2007 season, the Cavaliers already had lost games by two, one and five points.

That team had 1,700-point career scorer J.R. Reynolds and his fellow senior, Jason Cain, the team's top rebounder and inside threat. It also made extensive use of a couple of veteran post players, Tunji Soroye and Lauris Mikalauskas, who entered this season as potential starters.

Soroye and Mikalauskas don't even dress for games these days, Soroye due to a bad back and Mikalauskas because of a bad shoulder.

"We had two guys with size and intelligence who could clean up the interior of your defense," Leitao said. "Now, you substitute with a three-man in Adrian [Joseph] and a freshman in Mike [Scott] for a lot of the game and it becomes self-explanatory."

Scott is projected as a power forward but starts at center for the Cavaliers. Joseph was always a small forward until this year.

The Cavaliers outrebounded Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets relentlessly pounded the ball inside on offense.

Post players Gani Lawal and Zach Peacock had a combined 19 free throws.

Leitao tends to view his team's performance from a defensive perspective. However, there's no getting around the fact that UVa shot 31 percent in the second half against Georgia Tech, including 14.3 percent (2-for-14) on 3-pointers.

Two-time All-ACC selection Sean Singletary missed all six of his 3-point shots and is 1-for-11 on 3s in the last two games. He had a season-high 34 points in a 70-69 overtime loss to Virginia Tech but is 25-for-76 from the field in UVa's other five losses.

Singletary has been trying to play with a hip pointer for the past two games and was sick on at least two other occasions.

"He played 41 of 45 [minutes] and he probably right now should be about 25," Leitao said Sunday.

Leitao tried to give Singletary a breather with 4:52 remaining in regulation, keeping him on the bench following a timeout with the Cavaliers leading 69-66 and in possession of the ball. Singletary was out of the game for 1:14.

In his absence, UVa turned the ball over twice and fell behind 70-69.

"If he never played another minute, he'd still go down as one of the best ever to play here," Leitao said on his radio show Monday.

Time is running out if the Cavaliers want to make Singletary's last go-around a memorable one.

"There's urgency," Leitao said. "I operate that way: Game 1, Day 1. You only get 30-some of these [games] a year. Every one is critically important in my book."
 

Mystery man revealed for Cavaliers
By Ed Miller
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 30, 2008
CHESAPEAKE

Coach LeRoy Ricks saw the future of Deep Creek basketball and he was good - tall, quick and skilled, the type of talent who could turn a program around.

One problem, though: The future - a 6-foot-6 sophomore named Mike Scott - was holding a video camera, not a basketball.

He was a team manager, a kid whose ex-Marine father had him on academic lockdown. Although Ricks said Scott was eligible by school standards, until the player got his grades up to his dad's standards, Ricks would have to wait.

"I was definitely anxious to have him on the court," he said. "I remember telling my athletic director he was going to be the future of Deep Creek basketball."

The future was late in arriving, but Scott eventually got on the court at Deep Creek, then at Hargrave Military Academy and now at Virginia, where he has started the past nine games, averages 6.1 points and 5.8 rebounds and is considered the program's future at power forward.

One problem, though: With Virginia's frontcourt depleted by injuries, the 6-foot-8, 230-pound freshman has been playing out of position at center.

"It's a little unfair for him," coach Dave Leitao said. "Hopefully, in the long run, it'll make him better."

Scott knows about the long run. He majored in it for a while. At Deep Creek, he had to endure questions about why the most talented kid in school was taping games, not playing in them. He took out his frustrations by outperforming bigger-name players on the summer camp circuit, where people would look at the mystery man with no high school or AAU credentials and invariably ask, "Who's this kid?"

If he's got to wait a little longer to play his natural position at Virginia, so be it. Meanwhile, he gives up inches, pounds and years of experience to his opponents in the low post on a nightly basis.

"Bring it on," he said. "Whoever I'm going against, I'm going to go against them hard."

That's the way he learned to play. His school of hard fouls was the Indian River Community Center, where the staff still knows him as "Little Mike." His dad, Mike Sr., works there part-time and wielded a mean blocking pad, whacking his son with it as he shot layups to simulate the contact he'd get during games.

Scott learned to absorb the shots and still finish around the basket. But he couldn't power through his father's toughest defensive stance:

No grades, no play.

"I knew his potential and what he was capable of doing," said the elder Scott, a single parent for most of his son's childhood.

Scott found it humbling that everyone at Deep Creek knew why he wasn't playing. He sat out his freshman and most of his sophomore years before finally getting on the court at end of the season.

He scored 22 points in his Deep Creek debut, slamming home his first career basket. He followed it with a 27-point effort.

"I wanted to show everybody what they'd been missing," Scott said.

Scott averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds as a junior and 24 and 13 as a senior. Still, he remained a relative unknown on the AAU scene, taking a backseat to Vernon Macklin, who signed with Georgetown, and Duke Crews, who signed with Tennessee, on the powerful Boo Williams team.

VCU and Temple offered him scholarships. The Scotts chose the Owls because of their tough-love coach, John Chaney.

"I wanted him to go to a coach who was going to keep the pressure on him," Mike Scott Sr. said. "And, at the same time, help him mature as a young man."

Scott signed with Temple, but Chaney retired after the season. Temple released him from his letter of intent when it appeared Scott would not qualify academically. He eventually did qualify, he said. By that time, though, he had already contacted Hargrave.

As the son of a 20-year Marine Corps veteran, Scott adapted easily to military school, he said. The buzz about his basketball abilities increased the summer before he enrolled, when he was named MVP at a tournament in New Jersey. At his son's first practice that September, Mike Scott Sr. was greeted by coaches from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and N.C. State.

Eric Wallace, one of Scott's teammates at Hargrave, had committed to Virginia but changed his mind. Virginia needed a forward and liked Scott's versatility and ability to score in the post - a skill the team has lacked in recent years.

In his first games at Virginia, Scott was a spark off the bench, turning heads with his energy and rebounding. He grabbed six rebounds in

14 minutes against Howard and

13 in 19 minutes against Penn. He also wasn't shy about asking for the ball near the basket.

Leitao would like to see Scott get the ball more.

"He's got a nice touch," Leitao said. "We've got to continue to work to get him more and more confidence and more and more opportunities."

At the moment, Scott's got his hands full anchoring the back line of Virginia's defense and serving as the team's primary rebounder - both tall orders for a relatively slender freshman.

"That's a very, very difficult thing to ask him or anybody in his position to do," Leitao said.

Scott is not complaining. He figures fans will see what he can really do when he moves to power forward. In the meantime, he's happy to play center.

"Whatever it takes for me to play, I'll do it," he said.

After all, it beats holding a video camera.

 

Finishing difficult for Cavs
Reeling Virginia has plenty of questions, but not a lot of time to find the answers.
BY MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
5:33 PM EST, January 29, 2008
 

Virginia has 11 ACC games remaining to fix the problems that have the Cavaliers one defeat away from matching their conference total from last season.

Solutions are needed in a hurry. Tonight, U.Va. (11-7, 1-4 ACC) travels to Maryland (12-8, 2-3), which won at then-No. 1 North Carolina on Jan. 19 and played well in a Sunday loss to Duke.

The Cavaliers then head to Blacksburg for a Saturday rematch of Virginia Tech's 70-69 overtime victory in Charlottesville on Jan. 16.

"Obviously at 1-4, it doesn't look as good as if you were 4-1," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "I don't think panic sets in. I don't think any of that stuff happens. But you certainly have to change your fortunes if you have any level of expectation."

Virginia, which shared the ACC regular-season title last year with North Carolina at 11-5, is off to its worst ACC start since 2004-05, the year before Leitao replaced Pete Gillen. That's largely because the Cavs have been unable to finish games. Sunday's 92-82 overtime loss to Georgia Tech was the third time in its last four games that Virginia has squandered a second-half lead of eight or more points.

"We've just got to get over the hump," said senior guard Sean Singletary, whose stats Sunday read like a misprint -- 11 points on 5-of-19 shooting, including 0-of-6 on 3-pointers. "We've been in games, we've been up on just about everybody we played, besides a few games. We're right there."

Singletary's point, though, illustrates the problem. Far from providing a secure cushion, double-digits leads seem to fill the Cavs with anxiety. U.Va. led Georgia Tech by as many as 13 points in the first half, and Leitao feared another letdown even with a 10-point halftime lead.

"We've done it in the past where we've come out in the second half of games and have not played with the same kind of energy defensively," Leitao said. "(On Sunday), we came out with dead bodies and dead minds."

Virginia shot just 31 percent in the second half while allowing the Jackets to make 52 percent of their shots.

Though a 3-pointer from Lewis Clinch tied the game less than seven minutes into the second half, the Jackets' post presence spurred their comeback. Led by forward Gani Lawal's 15 points and six rebounds, Georgia Tech outscored Virginia 35-24 inside.

The Cavs' frontcourt has been depleted all season, with senior center Tunji Soroye sidelined with knee and back problems and junior forward Lars Mikalauskas fighting a shoulder injury. Freshman Mike Scott has been playing out of position at center, and shooting guard Adrian Joseph has been forced to play more minutes inside.

With the return of Soroye and Mikalauskas uncertain, the Cavs will have to come up with an answer for Maryland's powerful post tandem of James Gist (15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game) and Bambale Osby (11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds), an imposing pair Leitao called "a combination of the best interior -- both offensive and defensive -- post players in the league."

As Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said after Sunday's game, there's plenty of basketball left to play. But the Cavs will have to start playing better to dig out of the conference cellar.

"Teams that end up at the end of the year being good manage themselves through the end of the game," Leitao said. "You continue to play defense without fouling, and then you mentally as much as physically can execute and get shots that you want. In each of those three (losses after leading), we've been victimized by not doing either one of those."

 

Cavaliers look to halt losing trend against rival Terrapins
Star Sean Singletary currently recovering from hip pointer, expects to play tonight
Ryan Williams, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Virginia men's basketball team travels to College Park, Md. tonight, hoping to improve upon a 1-5 record in its previous six games.

This stretch has put the Cavaliers (11-7, 1-4 ACC) at the bottom of the conference standings, but also markedly increased the importance of this rivalry game.

The Cavaliers will, as always, look for leadership from senior guard Sean Singletary, who is continuing to battle a hip pointer injury that has limited his production as of late. Since accumulating two consecutive double-doubles in a loss against Virginia Tech (34 points, 10 rebounds) and a win against Boston College (19 points, 10 assists).

Singletary has had only 11 points in each of the team's losses to Georgia Tech and Florida State, but still averages 18.1 points per game.

"He's played 41 out of 45 minutes, and right now he should probably be at about 25," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said about Singletary's health.

Sophomore guard Calvin Baker seconded Leitao's opinion.

"Sean doesn't look like himself, he's not as aggressive as he normally is in transition, so I'm sure it's bothering him a little bit," Baker said.

Singletary hasn't been practicing lately and is receiving treatment for the injured hip; however, he knows as a senior captain that he must lead his team regardless of the circumstance, including fighting through injury.

"We've got a long season, so I'm just trying to get out there and see what we can muster up," Singletary said. "It can't get any worse for me by playing on it, so I've got to play through it and it'll get better."

Injuries seem to be a recurring theme for this year's Virginia squad. Senior center Tunji Soroye, junior forward Lars Mikalauskas, and sophomore forward Will Harris have all seen limited playing time this year. This depleted frontcourt has forced Leitao to put players in roles they aren't accustomed to, such as small forward junior Adrian Joseph playing as a power forward and freshman forward Mike Scott filling in as a center.

These injuries have cost the team a majority of its baseline defense and have caused problems for the team when facing opponents with dominating big-men.

The Terrapins (12-8, 2-3) will put the Cavaliers' adjustments to the test. Senior forwards James Gist and Bambale Osby are major contributors to the Maryland squad. Gist is second on the team with 15.4 points per game, and Osby is third with 11.5 ppg. This imposing frontcourt will force the Cavaliers again to look for a big performance from their out-of-position big men.

Maryland also gets strong contributions from sophomore guards Greivis Vasquez, the team's leading scorer with 16.5 points per game, and Eric Hayes, who averages 10.6 points per game.This backcourt will test the injured Singletary and Baker.

Among other recent problems, the Cavaliers have had a tendency to get big leads and lose them late in the game, as seen in recent losses to Georgia Tech, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

"I think once we get to the second half, we, as a team, get caught up in trying to win the game instead of just playing basketball," Baker said of the team's recent struggles.

The Cavaliers know, however, that it is not time to panic just yet. Leitao said he has the team focused on winning this game just as he would any other.

"Confidence doesn't come with winning and losing

 

The Life of Leitao
Paul Montana

We've all seen Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao yell, stomp and stare at his players to get the most out of them. What we don't know, however: Where does this style come from and why has it worked so well in his short career as a head coach? I sat down with Leitao a few weeks ago to ask him these questions and others in an effort to shed light on the multi-faceted personality of the third-year Virginia coach.

Q: You are obviously not afraid to confront a player when he makes a mistake, and given your resume, it seems to have worked well for you. Why do you think that is?

Leitao: "I don't think what the public sees in a guy that is demonstrative, or challenging, or competitive or a lot of those types of things, is what goes on the other 22 hours during the day. You're not going to get the respect of a player just by challenging them or yelling at them, or even encouraging in a demonstrative way. I take a lot of time and a lot of pride in making sure that each individual has a relationship so that there's an understanding when challenged as to the reasons why they were challenged, and if they ever feel like they disagree, or can't handle it, or have any objections to it, that they have an open line of communication to be able to discuss that with me at any point in time. I don't think I always enjoy doing that and I don't think everybody enjoys hearing it, but I think it has its place in what I feel is necessary from a competition standpoint in trying to get the best out of each individual."

Q: Do you ever have to take into account the fact that some players might not take criticism as well as others?

"Absolutely. If one were to look at some level of depth at what happens, I don't treat everybody the same way. Some can handle it better than others, and some can't. I've got to understand that, I've got to make adjustments that way and make sure that each person is being coached in a way that would make them better. Not everybody can handle that level of coaching, and not everybody can handle not being yelled at either."

Q: As a player, you were soft-spoken. When did you become such an outspoken head coach?

"It was probably as I started my career in coaching. To be an introvert, and be a person in the background, and then to do anything which in basketball has some elements of business to it -- where you're a salesman, and you have to go out and you have to have people believe what you say -- you can't do it by being an introvert. I kind of learned quickly at that time, and it kind of grew as the years went on to a level of confidence where the exact opposite of what I used to be is probably true now, where there are more times where I probably talk too much than not talk at all. I read a long story before about Bill Walton -- who gets on the air now as an announcer, who speaks eloquently, and talks with great confidence and pride -- and he had a speech impediment and was an extreme introvert before -- so it happens to people. I actually try to use [the Walton story] with our guys because we have a number of them that are introverted ... [so they know] you don't have to settle on that, that you can work to be a better version, or if you think that that's better, to change in that way."

Q: What specific things did you take from Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun (for whom Leitao worked under for 14 years)?

"When things happen here that may be of some kind of challenge to me, whether they're coaching, specifically issues or items that I deal with, or running a program or recruiting, I often think back -- even if I don't have a conversation with coach -- I'll think back to a time that has gone by, and how I remember it was dealt with, or how I remember he reacted to it, or how I felt at that particular time as to what might happen, and use it as a comparison as to what the situation may call for. In that way, he always will be somewhere hovering around my program and our thoughts and process about how you develop people, or coach teams, or whatever. I think there's a constant feel from him in that way, and I think that's part of what was passed on in my years together with him."

Q: Do you have a specific example of that?

"It happens probably a lot. [Jan. 3] we kind of had our rear ends handed to us, and what do you do from there? The thought process of trying to think about, 'OK, what's the next best step to take,' [will always] take me back to a specific example where we may have lost. I remember way back when, we lost to St. John's at St. John's by 35 points or something like that, so the next day his reaction was to get back to basics, and reclaim your program, not just get back to practices. Thinking of something specific like that when we came back from Cincinnati and had to get back up on our feet, it was that specific situation that I can go back to, to say, this is what happened, and as a result we got better."

 

Pats' Johnson mum on possible UVa move
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 30, 2008

First came questioning from a friend.

Then came inquisition from a reporter with the Boston Globe.

In a matter of hours on Tuesday, Pepper Johnson was asked twice about the potential desire that the 43-year-old might have in becoming the defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia. It would be a move that would reunite the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker with UVa coach Al Groh, his former position coach with the New York Giants.

The position has been vacant at UVa since Jan. 19, when Mike London was introduced as the head coach at the University of Richmond, his alma mater.

For now, Johnson, the defensive line coach for the New England Patriots, is focused solely on beating the Giants and winning the Super Bowl in Arizona.

“I don’t know, just my deal is … Sunday is as far as I can see,” Johnson told the Boston Globe. “That’s for me, probably Tuesday or Wednesday, I can sit down and if that is something that Al wants and something he’s talked to [Patriots head coach] Bill [Belichick] about, then I can hear him out.

“As of right now, I couldn’t give you a straight answer because I haven’t thought about it. A friend texted me on my phone and asked if I was moving to Virginia, and I was like ‘Why would I go to Virginia?’”

Groh coached Johnson while serving as linebackers coach and then defensive coordinator with the Giants, and the two developed a close relationship.

While he would listen to overtures from Groh, Johnson said he does not expect to pursue another job after the Super Bowl.

“I haven’t even looked any farther than Sunday. I’m at home,” said Johnson, who joined Belichick’s staff in 2001 after a 13-year playing career. “I’m with coach Belichick. I don’t see myself, unless he picks up and retires - or something I don’t know about - I’m here. I’m not looking to place myself anywhere else.

“With all honesty, you have to ask yourself “why?” I like to win. I started coaching, because I want to win some ballgames and I think I had a lot of knowledge up in my head that I wanted to share to some guys that are playing the game now. Coach Belichick gave me that opportunity. I don’t know if the grass is greener somewhere else. I’m not chasing.”

Johnson, a graduate of Ohio State, did completely rule out his interest in becoming a defensive coordinator at the college level.

“I don’t know. Once again, that’s something that is kind of difficult, because it all depends on who makes that phone call,” Johnson added. “If The Ohio State University did, then probably I’d have to tell Bill he’s going to have to hang on there without me. “Other than that, I don’t know.”

 

Ohio linebacker to visit UVa
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 29, 2008

A three-star linebacker is scheduled to be in Charlottesville today for an official visit.

Steve Greer of Solon, Ohio, has seen his stock soar following a 150-tackle senior season.

Greer, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, has taken official visits to Eastern Michigan, North Carolina and Oklahoma State and boasts offers from numerous others.

Virginia’s recruiting efforts for Greer have been headlined by wide receivers coach Wayne Lineburg.

The Cavaliers may also land an official visit this week from one of the state's top wideouts. Randall Dunn, a three-star from Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, scored 13 touchdowns in just his second season playing football.

Dunn met with his lead recruiter Bob Price, Virginia's recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach, and offensive coordinator Mike Groh at Ocean Lakes on Tuesday. Later in the day, Dunn eliminated West Virginia from consideration, making it a three-program race for his services between Virginia Tech, Virginia and North Carolina.

The Daily Progress also confirmed that Derek Winter, a wideout from Plant High in Tampa, Fla., has received an official offer and will visit this weekend. Winter, a two-star recruit, caught 75 passes for 1,686 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior and was a first-team All-State selection.