For Cavs, Cassell can be a hassle
By Jeff White
Published: January 10, 2009

-- From the last University of Virginia team to win in men's basketball at Virginia Tech, only two players remain: Mamadi Diane and Tunji Soroye.

Nearly three years have passed since that game, and three of U.Va.'s current starters never have played at Cassell Coliseum, an inhospitable place for any visiting team, but especially one from Charlottesville.

"You try to tell them as much as you can, but there's only so much you can," Diane, a senior swingman, said Tuesday night. "You can't really prepare them for that environment. You just tell them to stay strong, and hopefully they remember that throughout the game."

Don't expect the boos and jeers to rattle U.Va. swingman Sylven Landesberg today in Blacksburg. The 6-6 freshman from Queens, N.Y., has been remarkably poised -- and productive -- for a team that had to replace Sean Singletary, the heart of the Cavaliers for the previous three seasons.

Landesberg, at 18.3 points per game, is the ACC's third-leading scorer. Only one freshman in Division I has a higher average.

Landesberg, who was a McDonald's All-American at Holy Cross High, has scored at least 20 points seven times this season. He's also averaging 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

"He's magnificent," Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said. "He's a city guard. He understands how to play. He's got a great pace to his game."

Landesberg isn't the most athletic player on the court, but he has long arms and an uncanny ability to get into the lane and draw fouls. He's shot 96 free throws this season -- 58 more than sophomore forward Mike Scott, who's second among U.Va. players in attempts from the line.

"I kind of compare him to Paul Pierce," Scott said, "because he has that lazy change-of-pace game where it looks like he's going to slow up and then he just attacks the rim so well."

Rewind the tape to Dec. 28. It's Landesberg's first ACC game. He's on the road, against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He's nervous, right?

Maybe not. All Landesberg does that night is total 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, with only one turnover. U.Va. wins 88-84 in overtime.

Landesberg seriously considered Georgia Tech before committing to U.Va. Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt remembers Landesberg as a gym rat, a player determined to hone his skills at every opportunity.

The result is an old-school game built more on leaners and layups and mid-range shots than on dunks and 3-pointers. Landesberg is not a guy you'd want to play in H-O-R-S-E.

"His game has aged, if you will," Hewitt said. "If you put in that much time, it ages your game and you learn some little nuances that kids his age typically don't have, because they didn't spend as much time in the gym coming up."

Greenberg expects Landesberg to get his points today. A bigger concern for the Hokies may be junior forward Jamil Tucker (7.4 ppg), who's shooting 43 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

In four of the Cavaliers' five losses, Tucker has gone scoreless. In the victory at Georgia Tech, he sent the game into overtime with a trey and finished with 15 points, matching his career high.

"Their X factor is Tucker," Greenberg said. "When he scores, they win."
 

It’s all business for the Hokies
By Darryl Slater
Published: January 10, 2009

-- BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg needed just one moment earlier this week to send the message that he would no longer tolerate deviance from his rules.

During Tuesday's practice, the Hokies' first after Sunday's 69-44 loss at Duke, a player talked back to an assistant coach. Greenberg immediately told the player to go to the other end of the court and run a "17" -- a sideline-to-sideline sprint drill -- with strength and conditioning coach David Jackson.

J.T. Thompson, a sophomore forward, watched this transpire and realized Greenberg was serious about the contract he gave to his players this week.

He had them read and sign it, as he has in previous seasons. The contract, players said, addressed playing hard and listening to the coaches in practice without talking back. It also banned players from bringing cell phones to any team function.

Between Greenberg's words and actions, the Hokies understood him clearly.

"He won't tolerate some of the small stuff that he was tolerating," sophomore point guard Malcolm Delaney said.

Thompson said: "I know now to not even think about saying something because I ain't trying to run."

Greenberg realizes the importance of fully focusing his team for the next two months. The Hokies are 0-1 in the ACC, and games such as today's 4 p.m. home meeting with Virginia are ones they almost have to win if they want to make the NCAA tournament.

With four practices between the Duke game and today, Greenberg thought the time was right to become more stern.

"Just reminding them of the essence of the culture of the program," he said. "Making sure they don't compromise the culture of the program."

Greenberg said he wasn't disappointed with Tech's practices before the Duke game. But players said they noticed a much-needed change in practice this week.

Greenberg pitted his starters and contributors against each other more often, rather than having those players practice against the walk-ons.

"It's making practice a lot better than what it was before," Delaney said.

And there was much less chatter than in previous practices, players said.

"There's been times where people in practice are not really paying attention and goofing off," Thompson said.

Sophomore wing Dorenzo Hudson said: "Sometimes people had something to say back [to the coaches], and I guess he just got really fed up with it."

The new tone of practice will matter only if the Hokies can translate it into success in games. To that end, Greenberg is demanding more of senior wing A.D. Vassallo, his leading scorer, and sophomore forward Jeff Allen, his third-leading scorer.

Vassallo sat out the last 6:22 at Duke because he "didn't play with enough sense of urgency," Greenberg said.

The next day, Greenberg had "a long talk" with Allen in one of the coach's regular one-on-one player meetings. He told Allen what he wanted to see from him.

"He's got to play with greater energy," Greenberg said, adding that Allen practiced well this week after that meeting.

With 18 years as a head coach on his résumé, Greenberg understands a coach can change his tone but so often and can come down hard on his players only so many times.

Results, above all else, will prove whether his timing was right.

"You can't beat them over the head seven days a week, 12 months a year," he said. "You've got to pick your spots. I thought this was a good spot."

 

UVa's Landesberg on Virginia Tech's radar
The Hokies believe a key to getting the best of the Cavs today is stopping the UVa freshman guard.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Fortunately for Virginia Tech, its mission today in men's basketball is not to shut down Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg.

The object is to beat the Cavaliers.

Some of the best teams on UVa's schedule have had trouble stopping Landesberg, but that hasn't prevented them from winning.

Just the same, with Virginia coming to Cassell Coliseum, Tech coach Seth Greenberg had plans to call his brother, Brad, while en route to North Carolina on Friday night for a recruiting trip.

Seth also expected to call Xavier coach Sean Miller, whose Musketeers beat host Virginia 84-70 last Saturday.

Landesberg, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, had 25 points against Xavier. Earlier, he had hit the winning basket Nov. 21 in UVa's 68-66 victory over Brad Greenberg's Radford team.

Landesberg scored 2,149 points in a three-year career at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y., but not everyone was sure how his game would translate to the next level. He is not a prolific 3-point shooter (6-for-20) nor is he a majestic dunker.

"We loved him," said Seth Greenberg, whose Hokies (9-5 overall, 0-1 ACC) entertain the Cavaliers (7-5, 1-0) at 4 p.m. "My brother loved him. Brad just said he was one of those guys who knew how to score.

"How about the plays he made at Georgia Tech, where he just split guys? On one play we showed today, he split four guys. He crossed and then crossed again and laid it in front of the rim. His first step is very intriguing."

Landesberg had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Cavaliers' 88-84 overtime victory at Georgia Tech.

"I can't say I'm surprised," said Yellow Jackets' coach Paul Hewitt. "We recruited him for a long time and, arguably, it came down to us and them. It was a close decision. Obviously, I wish we had him.

"He's a very gifted scorer. I know one thing. He's one of the hardest-working kids that I ever got a chance to go see work out. In high school, he was in the gym six days a week and not for short stretches. That was basically a regimen he lived with from 10th grade on.

"You put in that much time and it ages your game."

Landesberg entered the week as the ACC's leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points, but he has not been a gunner. He was shooting 49.6 from the field before an 0-for-6 outing Tuesday in a 74-50 victory over Brown.

"Most of the time I look up, he's either laying the ball up or he's at the foul line," UVa coach Dave Leitao.

No ACC player has attempted more free throws per game. Landesberg has made 78 of 96 free throws on a team whose next most-prolific free-throw shooter, forward Mike Scott, is 28-of-38.

On an afternoon when his Xavier team did almost everything right, Miller failed in his attempt to keep Landesberg off the line, where he was 10-for-11.

"Sean fouled him on a 3-point shot, which was really crazy," Greenberg said. "I think your help [defense] has got to be early. You've got to 'gap' him and make him a jump-shooter, which is easier said than done because he's so long.

"He's got such a high basketball IQ. To me, that's what sets him apart. He'll split a ball screen but he won't force splitting a ball screen. He uses his big people in transition and sort of navigate his way to the rim."

Landesberg has scored 20 points or more in seven games and been named ACC rookie of the week four times, but, aside from the Georgia Tech trip, the Cavaliers really don't have an impressive win.

Shut down the other guys and Landesberg can't beat you by himself. That's what the numbers seem to suggest.

"Just contain him and not give [Sammy] Zeglinski or [Mustapha] Farrakhan any kick-out '3s'," Greenberg said. "If I had [now graduated] Deron [Washington], that would be a lot easier to do.

"Not many people have zoned them, which surprises me because that's a way to keep [Landesberg] off the line, but that's also a way for their 3-point shooters to go off."

Greenberg indicated that his search for answers might extend beyond his brother and Miller.

"I do that before every game, though," he said. "I try and find two or three guys who have played the team we're going to play, people I know, but he's been a tough match-up for everyone."
 

He's playground tough
After a youth spent in basketball boot camp, Sylven Landesberg is excelling at Virginia.
By Norm Wood | 247-4642
January 10, 2009

After all the 5 a.m. practice sessions with his father, and all the running from one New York playground to the next, Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg could be bitter. He could hate basketball.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Landesberg, a 6-foot-6 guard, enters today's game against Virginia Tech (9-5 overall, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) as the most dynamic first-year player in the ACC. He's third in the conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game and ninth in free-throw percentage at 81.3 percent. A product of the New York summer playground tournament circuit and the prestigious Catholic High School Athletic Association, Landesberg's basketball pedigree is second-to-none.

His father, Steven — ever the vigilant overseer, the drill sergeant, the maniacal organizer — provided the motivation for Sylven. The development of his game was a full-time job for Steven, and Sylven was a willing participant.

"I have to give all respect to my father," said Sylven, a native of Flushing, N.Y., one of the neighborhoods in Queens. "He was always there pushing me, even when people didn't believe in me. It was hard sometimes, but it was worth it. Growing up, I wasn't always the best player around."

Landesberg being anything less than the best player on any team is hard to imagine.

He scored a school-record 2,149 points in three seasons at Holy Cross High, making him the only player in the history of New York state high school basketball to eclipse 2,000 points in just three seasons. He broke the school scoring record that was held by Willie Dersch, a former player who went on to play at U.Va. In Landesberg's senior season, he led Holy Cross to its first City Championship since 1968 and was selected a McDonald's All-American.

Despite all his accomplishments, Landesberg was a relative unknown in national recruiting circles before his junior year of high school. That kind of anonymity was by design. Steven kept Sylven away from the AAU grind for the most part. Instead, Sylven played in summer tournaments on the playgrounds of New York. Steven called the AAU "more of a hype situation" than the playground scene.

"I think it's even better than AAU," said Steven of the summertime competition in New York. "In AAU, you could sneak up on somebody in Minnesota or Texas or California. They've never heard of you and they've never seen you. Playing in Queens, there's four or five tournaments going on at the same time, so we could literally walk from one to the next to the next ... We'd play against the same guys two or three times a day maybe. They're not afraid of us. We're not afraid of them. The competition was more intense."

Sylven started playing in summer basketball tournaments in all five boroughs before he was eight years old and continued through his high school years, playing at places such as the Crack Is Wack playground in Manhattan and O'Connell Park in Queens. He'd hop from park-to-park-to-park every day of the summer after his morning workouts.

Steven woke Sylven every morning at 5 to work on fundamentals. When the weather turned cold, Steven took 4-year-old Sylven into a garage at their apartment complex in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, where he would work on crossover dribbles, spin moves and inside-outside drills with both hands.

Some of the guys in their 20s at the local YMCA did the unthinkable: letting an 11-year-old Sylven play in the big-boy games. He could hold his own. Sylven often got the same kind of treatment from his elders on the playground courts.

By the time Sylven got to high school, Steven had made friends with janitors all over Queens. For a small fee, a janitor would give Steven and Sylven private access to gyms. It got Sylven ready for the summer gauntlet of tournaments.

"You just can't show any fear out there in those tournaments," Sylven said. "Back home in New York, once an opponent sees you're scared or that you're willing to back down, they're just going to take advantage of you. So, you've just got to be real aggressive."

After Sylven's sophomore year of high school, Steven retired from his job at a hospital and made the development of Sylven's game a full-time affair. Steven hired a personal trainer who Sylven worked out with three times a day, a weight trainer, a boxing instructor and a basketball-shooting instructor.

Steven, who also owned a small family fabric-converting business before it burned down, sold the family's apartment and bought a house closer to Holy Cross. The idea was to cut down on Sylven's two-hour roundtrip to and from school, so Sylven could spend more time in the gym.

"As far as the training was concerned, there was nothing he didn't want to do, except for getting up in the morning," said Steven, who played basketball at Baldwin High on Long Island, and then at Hofstra and Nassau Community College.

"When we first started when we was a little fella, he didn't like getting up. After a while, he knew that there was no choice. That was the choice. Every morning, we were going to get up and practice. It's just what we do. There's no sacrifice. You may say it's a sacrifice, but what are we sacrificing at 5 o'clock in the morning? An extra hour of sleep?"

Holy Cross coach Paul Gilvary instantly noticed how advanced Sylven's game was the first time he saw Sylven play as a ninth grader. Gilvary said Steven developed "a little bit" of a reputation among parents and players at Holy Cross for his tough training regimen. Even Steven admitted he now has more time to devote to his wife, Ingrid, and their 16-year-old daughter, Chelsea.

"I'd rather have a parent that was too interested as opposed to a parent who didn't care," said Gilvary, who added Steven and his wife, Ingrid, paid Sylven's tuition to Holy Cross at about $7,250 a year. "His dad provided every resource and every opportunity to become a better player, from driving him to gyms and workouts and games to providing him with a personal trainer to sending him to a school like this and paying for it instead of sending him to public school."

When it came time to choose a college, Sylven chose U.Va. (7-5, 1-0), turning down scholarship offers from St. John's, Georgia Tech, Texas and Kentucky. It has taken Sylven no time to get comfortable. He has shown a knack for getting to the basket and drawing fouls while shooting 48 percent from the floor. He has made it to the free-throw line 96 times, almost three times as many times as the next closest Cavalier (Mike Scott with 38 trips).

"He's got a little bit of Bryant Stith in him," said Xavier coach Sean Miller, comparing Sylven to the 6-5 Stith, who averaged 15.5 points per game in his 1988-89 freshman season at U. Va. "I know Bryant can really shoot the ball a little bit better, but Sylven can shoot it and I think he'll get better. He's a big, strong guard, and it's amazing how he can get fouled."

Sylven, who is averaging a team-high 32.6 minutes per game, has scored in double figures in 10 of his first 12 college games. He already has won the ACC's rookie-of-the-week award four times.

"I don't think a lot of people would expect that kind of start," U.Va. coach Dave Leitao said. "Obviously, I knew he was good. I knew he was going to play a lot and have an impact, but the numbers he's putting up in the early part of the season are obviously very, very pleasing ... Most of the time when I look up, he's either laying the ball up or at the foul line."

Now, the challenge for Sylven now is to maintain the gaudy numbers in the heat of ACC play. At least he has been well-prepared for that kind of pressure.

"It's definitely more than I expected," said Sylven regarding his fast start. "I wanted to make an impact, as big an impact as I could've coming in to my freshman year, but I never thought it would be this big. I'm just happy and still working hard to try to keep it up."

 

UVa takes on Tech
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 9, 2009

In coach Dave Leitao’s first three years at the helm, Virginia’s games against rival Virginia Tech have run the gamut.
There have been buzzer-beaters. There have been blowouts. There have been outcomes somewhere in between.
Dust settled, Leitao has a 4-3 record against the Hokies in his tenure.
In Leitao’s first season, Virginia won all three meetings, including a victory in the ACC Tournament. In 2006-07, UVa split a pair with the Hokies. Then, last season, the Cavaliers lost twice, both in overtime.
This afternoon, Year No. 4 of the rivalry commences when Virginia travels to Blacksburg.
“I’m sure that they feel it’s an important one for them, just coming off a loss to Duke,” said Leitao, referring to the Blue Devils’ 69-44 win in Durham on Sunday. “We feel it’s important to us, so it should be — as each one of the games that we’ve played thus far in the 3 1/2 years that I’ve been around — very close and come down to a possession here and a possession there, so we’ve got to be ready.”
In the season’s first two months, neither team has looked very imposing.
Although Virginia (7-5,
1-0 ACC) has already notched a league victory over Georgia Tech and is coming off a win over Brown, it has dropped three games at home, including ugly showings against Liberty and Auburn.
Meanwhile, Tech, before losing to Duke, had closer-than-expected wins over the likes of Charleston Southern, Columbia and Elon. In November, however, the Hokies took Xavier — a squad that completely dismantled Virginia last Saturday — to overtime, before losing by a point.
When Tech (9-5, 0-1) won last year’s OT affair versus Virginia in Blacksburg, it wore down the Cavaliers, who didn’t give Sean Singletary much help. A few weeks earlier in Charlottesville, Tech had won at the buzzer on a layup by Deron Washington in the extra session.
Virginia forward Mike Scott said both losses still sting.
“We don’t like them and they don’t like us,” said Scott, just after saying he was friendly with many of the Hokies. “We’re friends off the court, but once the ball goes in the air, there’s no friends.”
Scott said that Virginia was “taking a lot of notes” during Tech’s loss to Duke. In that game, Duke held A.D. Vassallo, Tech’s leading scorer, to just seven points.
If the Hokies have taken any kind of notes on Virginia, they would easily recognize the struggles that UVa has had on both offense and defense.
Nothing has seemed to come easy in Leitao’s motion attack. Virginia has had huge scoring droughts in almost every one of its games. Conversely, made baskets have come all too easy for opponents.
But the good thing about a spirited, somewhat evenly-matched rivalry game is that it can sometimes, at least temporarily, mask deficiencies all-around.
“Both teams want to win and it’s going to be exciting,” said Virginia sophomore Mustapha Farrakhan. “I’m up for it and I think our whole team is up for it.”
Added Leitao: “We’ve got 15 more [league] games. This is an important one because it’s one of 15. Obviously on the road, it’s not easy. You’ve got to steal as many of those as you possibly can, and this is an important one.
Dunks
Virginia leads the all-time series against Tech, 78-49, including a 26-15 edge in games played in Blacksburg. …Senior A.D. Vassallo leads Tech in scoring (18.1 PPG). …Freshman Sylven Landesberg, who had a season-low of four points versus Brown, continues to lead UVa in scoring (18.3). …Virginia will be looking to win its first two conference games since the 1994-95 season when it opened with wins at Florida State and N.C. State.

 

State pride missing in Cavs versus Hokies?
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: January 10, 2009

Scattershooting around the ACC, while expecting another down-to-the-wire, thriller-diller down in Blacksburg this evening when the Hokies and the Hoos mix it up …
With both of last year’s games decided in overtime, this one could be a nail-biter as well. But don’t expect the players from two teams to understand much about the state pride thing. There’s only five players total on the combined Tech and UVa rosters that hail from the state of Virginia.
The Hokies have three homegrown players from the Old Dominion, just slightly more than Puerto Rico (two Techsters hail from P.R.), while Virginia has even less, only two players from the state, matching the same amount of Cavaliers that hail from Nigeria.
Coach Dave Leitao’s Wahoos have already stolen one ACC win on the road, at Georgia Tech a couple of weeks ago, and a win at Virginia Tech would be a huge deal for the Cavaliers. At the same time, Hokies coach Seth Greenberg can’t afford to lose a home game, Tech’s first home date since Dec. 14.
Don’t expect the Hokies’ lopsided loss at Duke to have a negative effect on them when they take the court today. Tech’s 44 points against the Blue Devils were its fewest since 2000 when former Cav Ricky Stokes was in his first year as the Hokies’ coach. In fact, Tech will probably play harder than ever because the Hokies always get juiced up when the Wahoos come to town and because Greenberg has done a masterful job in the past of using such a defeat as a motivating factor for future games.
Hobbling Heels
Most of us were shocked at No. 1 North Carolina’s home loss to Boston College this past week, but there were underlying factors.
BC, which has since lost to Tommy Amaker’s Harvard team (so much for building momentum), took it to Carolina, played the Tar Heels more physically than any other team to this point and UNC coach Roy Williams wasn’t overly pleased with the way his team responded, or rather didn’t respond.
However, even though star center Tyler Hansbrough insists that his right shin and left ankle are no longer giving him problems, he clearly hasn’t been the same player that made him the national player of the year last season.
The big Tar Heel isn’t connecting on the off-balanced short shots after drawing contact from defenders, something he was famous for the past three seasons. He also seems to lack the explosive nature of his game around the basket.
Hansbrough blames some of his shortcomings on his conditioning, having missed four early games this season while nursing the injury bug.
“I think I’m getting back,” he said. “I think each game feels a lilttle better. My conditioning is getting there. The more I play, the better I feel.”
That’s not necessarily the case with guard Marcus Ginyard, who missed the first 11 games after surgery to correct a stress fracture in his left foot. Ginyard has played in the last four games, but clearly isn’t back to his old self.
Danny Green has taken Ginyard’s spot in the lineup and it seems that Ginyard has grown frustrated over not being able to clock the minutes he would like as a result.
Williams has always been cautious when bringing a player back and not rushing them into action before they’re ready.
Attention
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t like the way his players were performing against visiting Virginia Tech early in the second half of last weekend’s game and he let them know about it during a time out.
The result, Tech only scored nine points in the final 17:30 of the game in a 69-44 Duke cakewalk.
“He let us know that this is the ACC and it’s going to be a fight for 40 minutes,” said Duke point guard Nolan Smith. “We weren’t playing Loyola of Maryland anymore. It’s the ACC. It’s Virginia Tech. We had to bring it.”
Obviously, the Blue Devils did just that.
Oops
No sooner had Maryland coach Gary Williams spouted off about how his Terps deserved national recognition (meaning a Top 25 poll
appearance) than his team was stunned at home against Morgan State.
“At 11-2, hopefully we get some national recognition,” Willaims said. “If you look at the polls, I think we have as good a wins as a lot of those teams that are in the lower part of the poll. Hopefully someone will take notice.”
Unfortunately for the Terps, the most national attention they received were the shocking home loss shortly thereafter.
Quote of the week
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg on the Hokies’ league-opening loss at Duke:
“It’s one league game. You overreact to one league game on the road in this league, you’re a village idiot.”
Stat of the week
Wake Forest’s 13-0 start is the school’s third-best in school history, but the Deacs’ No. 4 national ranking is their highest since 2004-05 when they climbed to No. 1 for a short time.
Grant’s charge
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell is encouraged with the emergence of sophomore forward Jerai Grant, who has contributed some nice numbers in scoring and rebounding of late. Should Grant continue to improve it will allow Purnell to give Trevor Booker more rest or to provide a suitable substitute when Booker gets into foul trouble. Grant is also showing he can make clutch free throws, somewhat of a rare commodity around Tiger Town in recent years.
Free throws …
ACC fans are sure to mark Feb. 23 on their TV calendars, the date when HBO Sports airs its documentary entitled: “Battle For Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina,” which will chronicle perhaps college basketball’s greatest rivalry. … Note to readers: the ACC “Our League” page will return to The Daily Progress this coming week now that league play is in full swing again.

 

UVa Insider, The Column/Doug Doughty

An obvious place to begin today’s discussion is with Kevin Ogletree’s decision to make himself available for the NFL Draft and what it does to Virginia’s 2009 football team.

It opens a scholarship, for one thing.

That’s not being trivial.

If you took the 23 players who have committed to Virginia for 2009 and added them to the scholarship players who are eligible to return, the Cavaliers would be way over the Division I-A NCAA limit of 85.

Before coming up with an exact number, I’d need to have several questions answered:

What are Cary Koch’s chances of winning an appeal for a fifth year?

Is there any chance that defensive end Sean Gottschalk comes back?

At what point does linebacker-turned-outfielder John Bivens no longer count against football?

Is Chris Dalton going to join suspended teammates Jameel Sewell, Chris Cook and Darnell Carter in returning after a year’s academic probation?

Are we sure that Yannick Reyering won’t come back?

Which of the fourth-year juniors won’t return in 2009? Fence-sitters would include Kevin Crawford, Jason Fuller, Hall Simmons, Patrick Slebonick and Brandon Woods?

What’s up with Rashawn Jackson and his legal issues?

ONE THING THAT can be said with certainty is that Virginia will be at the 85-scholarship limit for the start of school in August? Everybody is. Just ask Virginia Tech.

I’d say that opinions are mixed on whether Ogletree will be on an NFL roster next season, but one thing that’s for sure is that he can’t return to Virginia.

His decision to sign with an agent, which could have waited for a few days, takes care of that.

UVa will be without both of its starting wide receivers, Ogletree and Maurice Covington (now, there’s a guy who should have been redshirted!). Combined, they had 91 receptions for 1,137 yards and six touchdowns last season.

The returning Virginia wide receiver with the most receptions in 2008 was Jared Green with 12, which makes for an interesting trivia question:

Which Virginia wide receiver with remaining eligibility has the most receptions in a season.

Actually, there are two answers, Staton Jobe and Dontrelle Inman.

Jobe, a walk-on, started 12 games and had 17 receptions for a UVa team that went 9-4 in 2007. Inman also caught 17 balls that year as a true freshman.

I asked Ogletree on Wednesday night if he had any regrets that he had missed the Gator Bowl season of 2007 and had caught more than 50 passes for a pair of Virginia teams, in 2006 and 2008, that went 5-7.

“I don’t think those teams went 5-7 because I was playing wide receiver for them,” Ogletree said.

I would agree with that.

JOBE HAD EXACTLY one reception this past season, mostly because he was playing behind Ogletree. No one would expect him to duplicate Ogletree’s numbers in 2009, but I think he becomes part of the mix.

Virginia employed three wide receivers most of the time last year, with Cary Koch operating out of the slot. Under the strictest interpretations of the rules, Koch would not get a fifth year because he saw game action during the second half of 2006, the season for which he is seeking a retroactive redshirt.

The NCAA has gotten a little more lenient under the Myles Brand administration and Virginia has a precedent – the fifth year awarded to offensive lineman Gordy Sammis in 2007. Sammis, too, had played during the second half of a season that subsequently restored (he was required to sit out the season-opening trip to Wyoming, but most of his teammates were also missing in action that day).

But, let’s say that Koch doesn’t come back. That leaves UVa with no returning starters at wide receiver and an offense that promises to be more wide-open under new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon. Former coordinator Mike Groh frequently employed four-wide formations, so you can expect more of the same from Brandon.

True, there are no returning starters in the wake of Ogletree’s departure, but there is no shortage of candidates. UVa will go into the spring with juniors Jobe and Inman; sophomores Green and Kris Burd, and redshirt freshman Javaris Brown.

Burd, who had seven receptions last year, already had been ticketed to replace Koch. Presumably, Green will replace Covington (or Ogletree) and Jobe and Inman will contend for the other spots.

But, those aren’t the only options. Brown (5-11, 180) is small but fast and is said to be tough. Dalton could return (that’s doubtful but he’s still listed on UVa’s database) and there is a chance that a returning player could switch positions (running back Max Milien).

HECK, MIKELL SIMPSON was a wide receiver at one point, but two players who can’t be counted out of the 2009 mix are a pair of recruits, Tim Smith and Tyree Watkins.

Smith had 73 receptions for 1,681 yards and 29 touchdowns for an undefeated Group AAA Division 6 championship Oscar Smith team that might have been able to give UVa a game. He is arguably UVa’s top recruit and he couldn’t be playing a position of greater need.

Watkins, a 6-2, 185-pounder from Camden, N.J., has indicated several times that he might be wavering but the Virginia situation couldn’t look any better for him than it does now, with a new coordinator and the sudden need for a go-to target.

 

Kyle Long situation sets up well for Virginia
Coles won’t be at Tech till June
By Doug Doughty

Word of Kyle Long’s departure from Florida State had barely hit cyberspace before speculation became rampant over his possible return to Charlottesville.

Actually, Long already was in Charlottesville when he was served for a warrant Sunday morning on a charge of driving under the influence.

Radio and newspaper accounts indicate that Long had a blood-alcohol ratio of .10 percent, a regrettable development for the Long family no doubt, but not the kind of offense that would prevent him from one day returning to college.

Long won’t be back at Florida State, the school with which he signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball, and, if the Long family wants him to concentrate on academics in a setting closer to his home, where would he be closer to home than Charlottesville?

He could spend the spring term at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, then transfer to a four-year college. An older brother, Chris, played football at Virginia for four years. A younger brother, Howie Jr., has signed a letter-of-intent to play lacrosse for the Cavaliers.

If Virginia had been willing to offer Kyle Long a baseball scholarship at the same time as Florida State, perhaps he would have stayed in Charlottesville. UVa baseball coach Brian O’Connor took a wait-and-see approach, at which point Long made the decision to pick baseball over football.

At the time, Long (6-7, 295) was the No. 1-rated prospect in the state, and he played football as a senior at St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville. I bet UVa football coach Al Groh would take Long right now, no questions asked.

But there is the sticky matter of ACC rules, particularly those pertaining to athletes transferring from one ACC school to another. Former Virginia Tech men’s basketball recruit Gus Gilchrist found it such a hassle to transfer to Maryland that he never played for the Terrapins, eventually transferring from Maryland to South Florida.

The ACC manual addresses the topic in Section VI-2 under the heading of Intra-Conference Transfer Rule. It is similar to the NCAA transfer rules in all but two areas:

The transfer loses a year of eligibility and he or she may not receive scholarship money for one year.

The second part of that would not be an issue for Kyle Long. His father is an NFL Hall of Famer, a Fox sports analyst and an advertising pitchman. The Longs probably could afford to pay Kyle’s way for two semesters.

Let’s say Kyle went to Piedmont this spring, then transferred to UVa in the fall. Even if he weren’t transferring to an ACC school, he wouldn’t be eligible to play football at a Division I-A school next fall. There is a one-year’s residency requirement for Division I football and basketball transfers (and the loopholes are closing for other sports).

Of course, this is all hypothetical because we don't know if Kyle Long even has an interest in playing football. He has given it up once, remember? But if the Cavaliers could have him for three years starting in 2010, who wouldn’t take it?

As for the Longs, they can take their time.

REPORTS THAT “GRAYSHIRTS” Ben Barber, Tony Gregory and Eric Martin will be enrolling at Virginia Tech for the second semester has raised questions about another 2009 Hokies’ recruit, D.J. Coles, who played this past fall for Fork Union Military Academy.

I’m told that the Hokies expected Coles to need two semesters at Fork Union before he met NCAA eligibility guidelines and did not have an opening for another grayshirt at this time. Barber, Gregory and Martin took the place of three fifth-year seniors who came off the rolls at the end of the first semester – Ryan Shuman, Sean Glennon and Orion Martin.

When Coles met NCAA standards more quickly than expected, there was no scholarship spot for him in January. The Hokies informed Coles’ mother that they wanted him to enroll in June for summer school and the family was fine with that.

Or, at least that’s the version I’m getting from a reputable source.

LOUISVILLE BECAME the 10th Division I-A program with multiple commitments from Virginians, landing Brandon Sharpe, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound from Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach.

Sharpe was not rated among the top 100 seniors in the state by The Roanoke Times in its Christmas edition.

Virginia Preps editor Zirkle Blakey brought the Sharpe commitment to my attention and observed that it “could be a real steal for the Cardinals.”

Here’s Blakey’s scouting report on Sharpe: “Did not play football until late, raw, but very athletic [also plays basketball] good grades ... great motor!”

I wonder if Sharpe could have slipped through the cracks during the period following former coach Jimmy Prince’s resignation last April. It only took a week for Ocean Lakes to replace Prince with former Hampden-Sydney defensive back Chris Scott. Even so, if college recruiters are anything like me, it’s a job to keep up with offseason changes.

Last week, I reported that 54 Virginians had made Division I-A commitments, although a later count this week came up with 53. There were two more in-state commitments this week, with Sharpe going to Louisville and Virginia Beach Kellam offensive lineman Hunter Steward going to UVa.

The Cavaliers, with 14 in-state commitments, had the equivalent of a swap this week with Steward, rated the No. 31 prospect in the state, taking the place of No. 38 Alex Owah, a previous Cavaliers’ commit who told the Daily News-Record in Charlottesville that UVa has rejected him for admission.

Following are the top 15 uncommitted players off The Roanoke Times Top 100:

2. Phoebus (Hampton) quarterback Tahj Boyd – Ohio State, Oregon

6. Meadowbrook (Richmond) offensive tackle Morgan Moses – Oklahoma, VT, UVa, prep school

11. Brooke Point (Stafford) defensive end Lanford Collins – Penn State, UVa, VT

37. Brookville (Lynchburg) offensive lineman Devin Bolling – VT leads

38. Harrisonburg running back Alex Owah – Marshall, N.C. State, prep school

40. Oakton quarterback Chris Coyer – Temple leads

51. Chantilly running back Torrian Pace – relative lack of interest mistifying

52. Gretna offensive lineman Bennett Fulper – reportedly has Maryland offer

59. Osborn (Manassas) “athlete” Jerrell McFadden – late reclassification from junior to senior

60. Dinwiddie quarterback Adam Morgan – offer from VMI

65. Ocean Lakes defensive back Shamarko Thomas – had I-A offers early

66. Edison (Alexander) linebacker Stephon Robertson – top 25 junior in 2007

68. Oakton linebacker Jack Tyler – Likely VT walk-on

71. West Springfield wide receiver Andy Stallings – monster numbers

73. Robinson defensive end Jordan Stanton – VT and UVa inquired about late-bloomer
 

Former UVa champ Devvarman wins again
The Associated Press
Published: January 9, 2009

CHENNAI, India (AP) - Ivo Karlovic of Croatia became the latest seeded player to lose at the Chennai Open, falling 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Indian wild-card Somdev Devvarman in a quarterfinal on Friday.

Third-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia overcame Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. He will next face eighth-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers, who beat Lucas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

The 202nd-ranked Devvarman reached his first ATP semifinal in his hometown tournament. He will play fifth-seeded Rainer Schuettler, who beat fellow German Bjorn Phau 6-2, 7-5.

“It was a huge mental game,“ Devvarman said. “I’m pleased at the manner in which I played my baseline game and managed to serve well. ... I saw Karlovic struggle. I was conscious of the fact that the heat would affect him more than it would bother me.“

Devvarman earned the match’s only break in the 10th game of the second set. The 23-year-old won NCAA titles in 2006 and ‘07 playing for the University of Virginia. He is the first Indian player to reach the Chennai semifinals since Leander Paes in 1998.

The hard-serving Karlovic described his performance as “amazingly bad.“

“It was a horrible display as I just couldn’t put the ball in court,“ Karlovic said. “I can’t remember when I last played like this.“

Cilic, the highest seeded player remaining after top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko pulled out with a heel injury and No. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka was knocked out in the opening round, broke Tipsarevic in the third game en route to winning the first set.

The seventh-seeded Tipsarevic bounced back to dominate the second before Cilic regained his composure in the third, capitalizing on his opponent’s errors to earn the decisive break in the ninth game.

“Janko started playing much better and got the mental advantage after breaking me early in the second set, while I went a bit down with too many errors,“ Cilic said. “I got my rhythm back and started serving well again in the third set, and that clinched the result for me.“

The 32-year-old Schuettler broke Phau twice to win the first set and then rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the second to beat his training partner.

“We’re good friends, have played each other often and even had a hit out this morning,“ said Schuettler, who was a finalist here in 1999 and a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year.

 

A Virginia Giant on and off the field
By Paul Woody
Published: January 9, 2009

-- Tiki Barber sits where he does now -- pretty much on top of the world -- because he sat so much in his first few seasons in the National Football League.

Barber, a native of Roanoke and graduate of the University of Virginia, played 10 seasons for the New York Giants.

He left at the top of his game. Then, he moved seamlessly into his new life, working for NBC on the Today Show and as a sports broadcaster and analyst.

The transition from professional athlete to the real world is not always smooth. Barber has made it look easy.

"Honestly, it comes from not being very successful at football early in my career," said Barber, who spoke at Collegiate School yesterday. "My first couple of years in the NFL, I got my first major injury in my life. I tore my PCL [posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee].

"It changed my game, and it took a while to adjust. I went from being a starter to being a third-down back and punt returner."

And that forced Barber and his business manager to consider life without football.

"My manager, Mark Lepselter, told me, 'Tiki, I want to divorce you from the game of football. I want you to be successful at it, but I don't want your life to be dependent on it.'

"I started doing media. Radio shows. Morning television on WCBS in New York."

Barber, 33, spent his off-seasons waking at 3:30 a.m. so he could work in morning television in New York. During the regular season, he continued his early-morning hours, rising again at 3:30 on his one day off, Tuesdays, to appear on the Fox News Channel.

"And, coincidentally, I started getting better at football," Barber said.

Barber went from being a role player early in his career to being a franchise player late in his career. He retired after the 2006 season with 10,449 yards rushing, tops on the Giants' all-time list. He also caught 586 passes, second-best for a franchise that has been in operation since 1925.

When he becomes eligible in 2011, he undoubtedly will be considered for membership in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"Maybe, maybe," Barber said.

He was at Collegiate yesterday for an afternoon and evening of activities revolving around the school's Centennial Campaign, a capital campaign with a goal of raising $54 million. He was calm, poised and unfailingly polite to everyone he met.

Barber is not just a former football player and television news star. He and his twin brother, Ronde, also a U.Va. graduate and a defensive back for the Tampa BayBuccaneers, are published authors. They have written three books for an elementary school audience -- Barber calls them picture books -- and two "chapter books" for middle-schoolers.

They have completed another manuscript for the older age group and have a contract for two more chapter books.

Yesterday, he read "By My Brother's Side," the Barber brothers' first book, to thirdand fourth-graders at Collegiate.

Barber has come quite a distance, literally and figuratively, from his single-parent childhood in Roanoke. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two young sons. He travels extensively and is in demand to make public appearances.

He is on the boards of several charities, and he and Ronde have made significant financial contributions to the University of Virginia.

It would be understandable if he wanted to cast aside his football days and be known for his broadcasting, writing and philanthropic work.

"A year ago, I would have told you, 'Yes,'" he said. "I would have hoped people would forget I was a football player and see me for what I want to be in the future.

"But what I've found is that a little bit of familiarity helps. People trust me because they know me. When I sit down to interview somebody, they feel completely comfortable. I don't think football will leave me. I just hope it will be an accent on all the things I try to do."