Down goes Brown in U.Va. romp
Saturday:Virginia at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m.
By Jeff White
Published: January 7, 2009

The ACC's leading scorer, battling a head cold, didn't make a field goal and finished with a season-low four points last night.

Against Brown, the University of Virginia men's basketball team didn't need a big game from freshman swingman Sylven Landesberg.

U.Va. had too much size, too much quickness and too much talent for its Ivy League opponent. The Cavaliers clamped down on the Bears' deliberate offense in the second half and pulled away for a 74-50 victory before a smattering of fans at John Paul Jones Arena.

"It's always good to get back to winning," said fourth-year coach Dave Leitao, whose team was coming off an ugly loss to Xavier.

The Wahoos (7-5) may not get to savor many more routs this season. U.Va., which opened ACC play by winning in overtime at Georgia Tech last month, closes the regular season with 15 consecutive conference games, starting Saturday at Virginia Tech.

Landesberg, who came in averaging 19.6 points, the most of any ACC player, went 0 for 6 from the floor last night. But the Cavaliers got contributions from virtually everyone on their roster -- 11 players scored -- and blitzed the Bears (5-7).

Leitao would love to see such balance every game. He knows Landesberg will score, Leitao said, and "if we can get other guys jump-started where they feel better about themselves and more integrated into the offense and as a result are more productive, I think that will be ideal for us."

Sophomore forward Mike Scott led Virginia with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season. Freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski added 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

The victory -- U.Va.'s 13th consecutive against Ivy League competition -- isn't destined to live long in fans' memories, but it was notable in at least one way. The game marked Mamadi Diane's return to the starting lineup.

Virginia's top returning scorer from 2007-08, Diane has spent most of his senior season mired in a horrendous slump, and he'd been demoted after the fourth game. The 6-5 swingman played well in the second half against Xavier, however, and that led Leitao to put Diane back in the first five, in the place of junior guard Calvin Baker.

Diane "stepped off the court the other night with a little bit of energy," Leitao said, "and so I tried to ride that a little bit, to jump-start not only him but us."

In the first seven minutes, Diane scored seven points last night. His baskets included a 3-pointer -- only his second of the season -- and a soaring dunk off a steal.

Diane, a team captain, found out Monday he'd be starting against Brown. His reaction, he said, was simply "to go out and handle business. [Leitao is] giving me an opportunity."

The past month has been difficult for him, Diane acknowledged. "There's been a lot of downs, but I've just stuck with it. I've been working hard, and I'm still going to continue to work harder than I ever have."

The crowd, announced at 8,357 but in reality much smaller, saved its loudest cheers for the 50-foot heave that Brown reserve guard Steve Gruber made midway through the second half as the shot clock expired.

 

Cavaliers gain mo' from Diane
Mamadi Diane scores seven of Virginia's first 12 points in the nonconference victory.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Mamadi Diane's performance in the closing minutes Saturday against Xavier was a start.

Then, he returned to the starting lineup.

Diane, previously buried in the worst slump of his career, scored seven of Virginia's first 12 points Tuesday, as the Cavaliers tuned up for 15 straight ACC regular-season games with a 74-50 victory over Brown.

"It's been difficult," said Diane, only 10 days removed from a six-minute stint that was the shortest of his four-year career. "It's been a lot of downs, but I've just stuck with it and I've been working hard. I'm going to continue to work harder than I ever have."

Diane had the highest 3-point shooting percentage on UVa's 2007-08 team among players with more than 10 attempts, but he missed his first 21 shots from behind the arc this season.

"It is crazy," he said. "I feel, after those games when I've shot so poorly, I could go in the gym right at that moment and start knocking down shots."

Diane extended another, more modest streak when he connected on his first 3-point shot Tuesday, but the Cavaliers (7-5) really didn't need his production against overmatched Brown (5-8).

Sophomore forward Mike Scott had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, but UVa's only other double-figure scorer was redshirt freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski with 14.

UVa freshman Sylven Landesberg, who had been scoring an ACC-high 19.6 points per game, missed all six of his shots from the field and finished with four points.

"He's had a head cold and hasn't really been himself the last couple of days," UVa coach Dave Leitao said. "I tried to put him back in towards the end and he preferred not to because he doesn't have the same kind of energy right now."

Virginia has used a variety of starting lineups, but Tuesday was the first time Diane had taken the floor with Landesberg, Zeglinski, Scott and 7-foot freshman Assane Sene.

Diane, starting for the first time since Nov. 25, took junior Calvin Baker's place at shooting guard.

Baker was 0-for-6 from the field Saturday in an 84-70 loss to 22nd-ranked Xavier and missed all four of his shots Tuesday night.

Diane scored seven points in 10 minutes against the Musketeers and has 14 points in 29 minutes over the last two games.

He said he learned of his return to the starting lineup when the team was given a scouting report Monday.

What cheers there were Saturday were reserved for Diane, especially when his 3-point drought ended.

"It was just everything that day," Diane said of his lifted spirits. "Also, the layups I got and the deflections and pressuring the ball. In practice, too, I just feel more comfortable in everything that I'm doing."

Leitao hasn't gotten much consistency out of any of the four players he has used at shooting guard -- Diane, Baker, sophomore Mustapha Farrakhan or Farrakhan's classmate, Jeff Jones.

The frequent lineup changes have been a response to practice performance and "just getting things right on defense," Leitao said.

"Moe stepped off the court the other night with a little bit of energy, so we tried to ride that a little bit. I think every coach would prefer -- and I think every player needs to know -- if they're going to play this amount of time or come off the bench. We're not, right now, constructed like that."

Virginia opponents have shot 42.4 percent from the field, easily ranking the Cavaliers last in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense, and it looked like more of the same when Brown shot 52.4 percent in the first half Tuesday night.

For most of the season, that figure has gone up in the second half, but the Bruins shot 23.3 percent in the second half and 35.3 for the game. Virginia wasn't exactly deadly, hitting 46.8 percent from the field, but UVa outrebounded Brown 41-29 and committed a season-low seven turnovers.

"It's always good to get back to winning," said Leitao.

"You have to be happy about that, understanding that you have to win a certain way. I think we had some of that [but] not all of that today."

 

Scott sharp as Cavs add to streak vs. Ivy League
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 6, 2009
By Hank Kurz Jr.

CHARLOTTESVILLE

In its final game before heading in earnest to ACC play, Virginia got the challenge it expected from Brown, and a needed victory.

Chesapeake's Mike Scott had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Sammy Zeglinski scored 14 Tuesday night as Virginia closed its nonconference schedule with a 74-50 victory.

The Cavaliers (7-5), who play at ACC rival Virginia Tech on Saturday, led 39-29 at halftime and used a 23-7 second-half run - after the Bears closed to 45-35 with 15:24 left - to take control for their 13th victory in a row against teams from the Ivy League.

The key, said Mustapha Farrakhan, was defense. After allowing Brown to shoot 52.4 percent in the first half, the Cavaliers heard about it at halftime.

"We definitely wanted to step up the defense in the second half," said Farrakhan, who scored nine points, all after the intermission, and was 1 of 10 Cavaliers to score. "We did a better job of contesting shots and making it difficult for them to score."

Brown (5-8) was led by Peter Sullivan's 14 points, but the Bears had 16 turnovers that led to 25 Cavaliers points.

Scott had 13 points and eight rebounds by halftime. Jamil Tucker added eight points for Virginia and Mamadi Diane seven.

Sylven Landesberg, the ACC's top scorer with a 19.6 average, missed all six shots from the field, scored just four points and played only 24 minutes.

Virginia coach Dave Leitao said Landesberg was struggling with a head cold.

The highlight of the night for a sparse crowd was a 50-foot heave by Brown's Steve Gruber that just beat the shot clock and swished through in the second half.

 

Cavaliers grin and Bear it
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 7, 2009

The Virginia ticket office should give Steve Gruber a cut of the gate receipts. After all, Gruber provided the most memorable entertainment on Tuesday night.

Forget about the Delta Dental Smile & Smooch Cam. Forget about the free Domino’s Pizza giveaway. You can even forget about Mamadi Diane’s highlight-reel dunk.

Midway through the second half, Gruber, — a generously-listed 5-foot-11 back-up guard for Brown who looks more like your younger sister’s boyfriend than a big-time basketball player — was the main attraction.

The junior from Milwaukee, Wis. swished an off-balance shot from about 50 feet.

“I caught the ball in the backcourt and knew there was no time on the shot clock, so I just threw it up there,” said Gruber, who hadn’t scored a point all season. “The next thing I know, it’s in the hoop.”

The sparse crowd on hand at John Paul Jones Arena, which had been comatose to that point, erupted. When Gruber came out of the game a few

seconds later, he received a standing ovation. The play by the diminutive Gruber was even shown on the replay board in the arena — a rare feat for an opposing player.

Gruber’s shot, coupled with the fact that Virginia won its last non-conference game of the season, 74-50, basically tells you all you need to know about what transpired at JPJ. No, this game was not one for the time capsule.

But Virginia coach Dave Leitao, whose team was coming off a bad loss to Xavier on Saturday, doesn’t care about aesthetics.

“It’s always good to get back to winning,” Leitao said. “I thought we did some of that today, particularly in the second half on defense where I thought we picked up the pace and wore them down a little more and stretch it out and run a little bit.”

Virginia (7-5) outrebounded the smaller Bears 41-29 and held them to just 23 percent shooting in the second half. UVa, which plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday, was led by Mike Scott’s 15 points and 10 rebounds. Sammy Zeglinski added 14 points.

Sylven Landesberg, who came into the contest leading the ACC in scoring, scored just four points (a career low), all from the free-throw line. Leitao said his star freshman has been suffering from a head cold and hasn’t been himself the last few days.

No matter against Brown (5-8), a team coming off a 15-point loss to American and had dropped games against Wagner and New Hampshire this season.

Leitao used his seventh different starting lineup to open the game. Somewhat surprisingly, Diane replaced Calvin Baker.

The senior captain, who broke an 0 for 21 streak from 3-point range versus Xavier, nailed his first three shots — a 3-pointer, a baseline jumper and one of his trademark soaring one-handed dunks, then missed his next five shots.

“It’s been based on practices and just getting more things right — particularly on defense,” said Leitao, when asked about the decision to start Diane. “I think Mo’s energy has been better…he stepped off the court the other night with a little bit of energy and so I tried to ride that a little bit to jumpstart not only him, but us.”

In the first half, Brown actually hung around. The Bears lulled the Cavs to sleep with their methodical style and burned them with some nifty backdoor cuts.

However, Virginia, which only led by 10 at the half, took command after the intermission.

“We just wanted to come out here and get back on the right path,” Zeglinski said. “We were able to do that. Going into league, it was good motivation.”

Leitao concurred: “We have a very difficult game on Saturday afternoon that we’ll have to be obviously very, very tight in all aspects of the game in order to be successful.

“One, it’s an ACC game. Two, it’s a road game, and three, it’s our neighbors down south. It’s always good for everybody to compete and hopefully win against them.”

 

Cavs dive into meat of their schedule
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: January 7, 2009

Play time is over. Now the real basketball season begins.

While Virginia has experienced some brushes with good opponents such as Xavier, Syracuse, Minnesota and a questionable Georgia Tech squad, what looms ahead is somewhat imposing. It’s all ACC all the rest of the way, baby, and there’s little margin for error.

After a 74-50 warm-up victory over another Rent-a-Victim in Brown University on Tuesday night, the Cavaliers enter ACC play with a 1-0 record in the conference thanks to last month’s overtime win over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. Virginia is a not-so impressive 7-5 overall, but the most optimistic followers of the program believe there is hope because of the team’s youth.

They’re not alone.

Tomorrow’s stars today

Brown coach Jesse Agel said that what impressed him most in scouting Virginia on film was its young players, the freshmen and sophomores.

It should be noted that 39 of the team’s 60 starts so far this season have been by freshmen and sophomores and that coming into last night’s game, they accounted for 69.5 percent of the Cavaliers’ offense and 65.7 percent of its rebounds.

The team’s three most dynamic scorers have come from those ranks with freshman Sylven Landesberg (19.6) leading the way, followed by freshman Sammy Zeglinski (11.8) and sophomore Mike Scott (11.0). Scott and Zeglinski led the Cavs in scoring against Brown, while Landesberg, suffering from a head cold, was held to four points (all from the free throw line).

The test begins now

So, what about this team as it heads into the basketball-rich ACC? Can it survive off the energy of its youth? Can it hold up to ACC defenses? Can it score enough to be competitive?

Well, the Cavs managed to accomplish those things with an 88-84 overtime win at Georgia Tech, an impressive league road win.

The trick is, can they do it again? We’ll find out Saturday when they head into treacherous territory at Virginia Tech.

UVa coach Dave Leitao is clearly concerned with several facets of his team and with good reason. The Cavaliers are ranked between 10th and 12th in at least 11 statistical categories in the 12-team ACC.

Among those are red flag categories, such as field goal percentage defense, scoring defense, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, blocked shots, assists, turnover margin and others. We could go on, but you get the point.

“I have a number of concerns,” Leitao said. “Defensively, we need to continue to get better, and rebounding, we need to get a whole lot better there.”

He also spoke of execution, complaining that the Cavs didn’t take the best shot on every possession against Brown.

“We really have to do that,” he said. “This team is going to have to do those things in order to be successful each and every night.”

Defensively, the Cavs suffered some mental lapses in the first half against the Bears, who shot 52.4 percent in the first half. After a halftime chew, that part of the game improved dramatically as Brown was held to 23.3 percent.

The rebounding stepped up, too, but it was against a team that lacked the size of ACC squads.

Leitao was also concerned about his team’s health. While there’s nothing major, the coach said the Cavs are nicked up with minor things, but that those things were affecting the rhythm of practice.

In fact, the team won’t practice today in order to give the squad some rest.

Then there’s the fact that some of these guys have very little experience, outside of their victory at Georgia Tech, to rely on. Playing in the ACC is a different animal.

“Some of our players are coming in from high school and haven’t really played much in games like they’re about to,” said senior Mamadi Diane, who scored seven points in the win over Brown. “The win at Georgia Tech probably helped a little, but I told them there will be a whole lot more hostile crowds and a lot worse environments than [Georgia Tech]. It’s going to be an actual fight every game.”

Ah, there’s the rub.

Critics of Virginia’s basketball program feel that some of the Cavaliers are soft, so the prospect of them holding up in an ACC street fight every night isn’t very promising.

“It’s definitely more physical in the ACC,” said Scott, who recorded his fifth double-double of the season.

Zeglinski said that if the Cavaliers focus on what Leitao has laid out for them, then they can compete in the league. Anything less and there could be a lot of long nights, such as Saturday’s game at rival Virginia Tech where the crowd will be every bit of what Diane described to his teammates.

“It’s a whole different level of basketball,” said Zeglinski, who viewed most of last season’s ACC games from the bench while sitting out as an injured freshman. “It’s real emotional and you’ve got to keep your poise throughout the whole game. Every possession matters and, defensively, you’ve got to be on your toes.”

He has a good grasp on what it takes. Now the Cavs need to go out and prove themselves.

Play time is over.

 

You never know
Could ACC basketball become as unpredictable as football?
David Teel
January 7, 2009

First-place Virginia lords over last-place North Carolina in the ACC basketball standings. The Cavaliers are unbeaten on the road in conference play, the Tar Heels 0-for at home.

What's that?

We're just one lap into the 16-game league race? North Carolina remains a viable national contender, and Virginia still needs TARP funds to avoid Chapter 11?

Oh.

But wouldn't it be amusing, not to mention entertaining, if the ACC basketball season mirrored the just-completed football campaign? Where no one had a clue what might transpire from one day to the next?

Well, with four conference games down and 124 to go, we have a glimpse. Road teams are 3-1, and invincible North Carolina isn't after all.

"It's part of life," Tar Heels forward/philosopher Danny Green said after Sunday's 85-78 defeat to Boston College. "Nobody is incapable of losing. What are you going to do? We're allowed to lose and do things of that nature."

During preseason, media mongrels ticketed North Carolina for No. 1 not only in the ACC, but also nationally. When the Tar Heels won their first 13 games, all by at least 13 points, the chatter morphed from complimentary to fawning.

And let's be clear. There's a lot to like about Roy Williams' bunch.

Led by turbocharged point guard Ty Lawson and last season's national player of the year, Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina's starting five is imposing. Freshman forward Ed Davis of Richmond, who reminds folks of former Tar Heel Brandan Wright (only better?), heads a bench that rivals others' first-teamers.

But to start yapping about an undefeated season in December and January is preposterous, and that's where reporters, pundits and fans treaded. If North Carolina '84, Georgetown '85, UNLV '91 and Duke '92 stumbled, so would these Tar Heels, especially in a season in which the ACC appears barbed-wire treacherous.

That said, Sunday's conference opener did not figure to cut them.

First, the opponent was Boston College, a last-place team in 2008 whose six previous games, all at home, were against Bryant, South Carolina Upstate, Providence, Maine, San Francisco and Sacred Heart. Second, the game was at the Dean Dome.

So what happened? Keyed by guards Tyrese Rice, Hakim Sanders and Reggie Jackson (64 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists combined), the Eagles led throughout the second half.

Moreover, the Tar Heels, No. 2 nationally in scoring behind Virginia Military Institute, shot a season-low 38.4 percent, 29.3 in the second half. North Carolina also missed a season-high 12 free throws.

Did Boston College expose some unforeseen flaw in the Tar Heels? Need we lower our opinion of Hansbrough and friends?

No and no. The Eagles slowed North Carolina's racehorse pace by grabbing 16 offensive rebounds and committing only 11 turnovers. They also harassed Hansbrough, Lawson and Green into a combined 12-of-38 shooting.

Hey, stuff happens.

As the upset went final, Duke and Virginia Tech were warming up for their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Text messages with the news buzzed throughout the capacity crowd, prompting students to break into trite, anti-Carolina chants.

The Blue Devils' subsequent rout of the Hokies is the only ACC game to date that played to form. In December, Clemson won at Miami and Virginia prevailed at Georgia Tech in overtime.

Conference victories figure to be difficult to come by for the Cavaliers, and to open successfully on the road was a significant step for Dave Leitao's young squad.

Virginia freshman guard Sylven Landesberg averages an ACC-best 19.6 points, but don't expect him to become the second rookie (Georgia Tech's Mark Price in 1983) to lead the conference in scoring.

Nothing against Landesberg. It's just that Hansbrough averages 22.8 points and is not listed among the league leaders only because of a statistical quirk — he has not played in 75 percent of his team's games, because he missed four with a shin injury.

Hansbrough will meet the 75-percent standard following Sunday's test at undefeated Wake Forest. The Deacons snapped Brigham Young's 53-game home winning streak Saturday and, in Jeff Teague, James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu, have the horses to challenge the Tar Heels.

Unbeaten Clemson doesn't lack for horsepower either with K.C. Rivers, Trevor Booker and Terrence Oglesby. But like the Deacs, the Tigers shouldn't waste a moment pondering perfection.

How long will Clemson and Wake — they collide Jan. 17 in Clemson — remain unblemished? Could North Carolina open ACC play 0-2? Might Virginia win at Virginia Tech on Saturday and move to 2-0?

If so, are we headed for football redux?

 

Pumping Iron
Jeff White
Jan 05, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The start of U.Va.’s winter conditioning program for football is looming, and with Matt Balis off to Mississippi State, Al Groh needs a strength coach.

Two possibilities, I’m told, are Brandon Hourigan and Aaron Hillmann. Each has a connection of sorts to U.Va.

Hourigan’s boss at the University of Richmond is former U.Va. defensive coordinator Mike London. Hourigan, a Massachusetts native, recently completed his third season as the Spiders’ strength coach for football. Richmond, of course, won the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision title last month.

Hillmann oversees the strength-and-conditioning programs for the 18 sports at Bowling Green State University, including football. U.Va.’s new offensive coordinator, Gregg Brandon, spent the past eight seasons at Bowling Green.

Hourigan, who played football at Plymouth State College, has a master’s from Clemson. He’s also worked at Northeastern, Arizona and Clemson.

Hillmann, a Missouri graduate, was Notre Dame’s assistant strength-and-conditioning coordinator from 1998 to 2001 before coming to Bowling Green. He was head strength coach for football at Connecticut from 1996 to ’98. Hillmann is a native of St. Louis.

 

Virginia adjusts again
By Jay Jenkins
Published: January 7, 2009

Debbie Ryan could only shake her head in disbelief.

In yet another truly baffling development, the Virginia women’s basketball coach saw her roster shrink in size yet again.

This time, the 15th-ranked Cavaliers discovered that defensive stopper Enonge Stovall, a junior, would not be allowed to enroll in school for the upcoming second semester due to academic woes.

It was just another chapter in an eye-opening list of wild and wacky happenings with the storied program.

Before the season started, would-be senior center Abby Robertson left the team for personal reasons and junior point guard Paulisha Kellum, expected to start, tore her anterior cruciate ligament in a preseason scrimmage at George Washington.

The Cavaliers (13-2) were also forced to play their first nine games without senior forward Lyndra Littles, who was not cleared to play during the first semester. Once she returned, Virginia was without the services of senior center Aisha Mohammed for a four-game stretch following minor knee surgery.

Yet miraculously, Virginia managed to complete the early-season, nonconference portion of its schedule with its best start in 17 years.

“It doesn’t surprise me because we have handled everything up front,” Ryan said. “We told them long before we told anybody else so they have adjusted ahead of time. I have tried to be very open with them and honest with them.

“They adjust a little bit quicker than the general public, basically. I think you have to be that way and this really just happened recently [with Stovall].”

Losing Stovall — a valuable defender who locked down Georgia guards in the waning minutes just three days prior — appeared to have a carryover effect on Monday as Virginia struggled out of the gate against St. Francis (Pa.).

In fact, the Cavaliers were trailing by seven with three minutes left in the opening half before a run that stretched into the second half sealed an eventual 16-point victory.

Credit a message delivered to the team before the game from assistant coach Angel Elderkin.

“Adversity develops unknown talent,” Elderkin wrote on a board in the locker room.

The message reached the players successfully, including guard Jayna Hartig, who scored nine points in 16 minutes of play. It was the second-best scoring performance of Hartig’s career.

“Coach ‘E’ talked about how adversity brings out new talents that maybe weren’t visible before,” said Hartig, a redshirt sophomore. “It brings out your character and I think that is what our team is going through.”

Ryan thought the message from her second-year assistant coach was well-timed.

“It is true. Adversity has a way of bringing out hidden talent,” she said. “It is true and I am not sure who said it, but it is really true. You can have a lot of adversity and you can find out about people that you never knew about.

“Somebody gets a chance, somebody steps up, somebody that is waiting in the wings. It is all about who wants it. It becomes a matter of who wants it.”

Replacing Stovall, Hartig said, will require a group effort.

“It probably won’t be one person,” she said. “It will be everybody making sure that we have the box outs, everybody making sure we have help-side [defense].

“If everybody picks up their defense a little bit, then we can help compensate what we lost.”

One of the players likely to see extra minutes is guard Kristen London. The senior scored two points and dished out two assists in 10 minutes Monday.

“Kristen London might be able to give us those kind of spots,” Ryan said. “She can rebound, she is athletic, she can be physical. She can do some of that.

“That’s really where we have to turn to, an energy player.”

Whether the additional playing time if given to Hartig, London or another player, Ryan is focused on finding out which Cavalier it will be as ACC play opens Sunday at home against Wake Forest at 2 p.m.

“I have no idea [who],” Ryan said. “I was asking them that [Monday night].

“I will find out.”