U.VA. NOTES: Shooting woes continue
By Staff Reports
Published: January 22, 2009

Shooting woes continue
Every game seems to bring a new problem for men's basketball coach Dave Leitao. His big men are playing well, especially sophomore forward Mike Scott, but his guards, except for Calvin Baker, suddenly can't shoot.

In U.Va.'s past two games - losses to UNC and Maryland - guards Sammy Zeglinski (1 of 12), Mustapha Farrakhan (5 of 22) and Sylven Landesberg (3 of 19) are a combined 9 of 53 from the floor. Baker is 10 of 16 in that stretch.

In Virginia's 84-78 loss at Maryland on Tuesday night, Scott scored in double figures for the seventh straight game and 10th time this season. With 16 points and 10 rebounds, the 6-8, 233-pound Chesapeake resident posted his sixth double-double of the season.

Scott is averaging 11.9 points and 8.9 boards and leads the ACC in offensive rebounding (4.2 per game). He's 69 of 123 (56.1 percent) from the floor but isn't listed among the ACC leaders in that category. To be eligible, a player must average at least five made field goals a game, and Scott is at 4.6.

Monarchs' star considering Cavs
Offensive coordinator Mike Groh's departure from his father's staff hurt Virginia's chances with Meadowbrook High's all-Group AAA offensive tackle, Morgan Moses.

But the addition of Latrell Scott to Al Groh's staff has boosted the Cavaliers' stock with the 6-7, 345-pound Moses, whom Rivals.com ranks among the top 50 prospects nationally in the Class of 2009.

Moses took an official visit to U.Va. last weekend, and his host was QB Jameel Sewell, a Hermitage High graduate. Other schools Moses is considering include UNC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech.

Scott, a former Lee-Davis star who's known for his recruiting prowess, recently was hired to coach wide receivers at U.Va. He'll recruit the Richmond area for the Cavaliers.

High school stars coming to town
Near the top of Leitao's wish list in the Class of 2010 is guard Mychal Parker, a 6-5 junior at Miller School in western Albemarle County. Parker and several other U.Va. recruiting targets will be in Richmond on Jan. 31 for SlamFest VIII - five boys basketball games at Benedictine High.

The schedule: Miller vs. Christchurch, 1:30 p.m.; Norfolk Christian vs. Henrico, 3 p.m.; Atlantic Shores vs. Deep Run, 4:30 p.m.; DeMatha vs. John Marshall, 6 p.m.; Courtland vs. Benedictine, 7:30 p.m.

Like Parker, JM junior Travis McKie has a scholarship offer from U.Va., which also is pursuing sophomores Michael Gbinije (Christchurch), James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian) and Trey Davis (Henrico), as well as several DeMatha underclassmen.

Promising lacrosse defenseman sidelined
The men's lacrosse team is likely to be without sophomore Matt Lovejoy this season.

Lovejoy suffered a high-ankle sprain in 2008, and the ligaments haven't healed, so surgery is scheduled, coach Dom Starsia said. Lovejoy would have been the Cavaliers' fourth close defenseman this year, behind starters Matt Kelly, Ken Clausen and Ryan Nizolek.

Starsia said he expects Lovejoy to take a medical redshirt, which would leave the New Hampshire resident with three seasons of eligibility, starting in 2010. With Lovejoy out, long-stick midfielder Mike Timms would move to close defense if one of the starters isn't available, Starsia said. - Jeff White

 

The sounds of silence
Jeff White
Jan 22, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – As I cleared some of the clutter from underneath the desk in my home office the other day, I came across a U.Va. basketball story that ran in The Times-Dispatch on Feb. 25, 2001.

That night, ninth-ranked Virginia would pound No. 2 North Carolina 86-66 in front of a sellout crowd at University Hall. The crowd included students who’d started camping out outside U-Hall nine days earlier for tickets to the game.

Imagine that the next time you gaze around John Paul Jones Arena and see the all the empty seats in the student section – and elsewhere.

My story, under the headline Rising from the Ashes, looked at the remarkable rebuilding job Pete Gillen and his staff had done at U.Va. Gillen, of course, had been hired in March 1998 to replace Jeff Jones. Gillen’s tenure would end unhappily at U.Va.—he resigned under pressure after the 2004-05 season – but in ‘01-02 his program’s future could not have looked much brighter.

One quote struck me as I re-read the piece.

“When we got here, there was apathy,” Gillen said. “[Fans] weren’t even angry. It was like, ‘Who cares?’ “

Eleven years later, apathy seems to have struck the U.Va. fan base again. Anyone who’s tuned in to Cavalier Call-in recently would have to agree.

Virginia lost Tuesday night at Maryland. The next night, Dave Leitao was on the air for 55 minutes with play-by-play man Dave Koehn, who hosts the U.Va. coach’s weekly radio show. Nobody bothered to call in with a question for Leitao – or even a comment—for the second time in two weeks. The first came after U.Va. suffered its third straight loss to Virginia Tech.

For more proof that apathy is in, check the crowds at home games. In Leitao’s first two seasons as the Wahoos’ coach, his teams typically played to capacity or near-sellout crowds at the JPJ, which seats nearly 15,000. Attendance dipped in 2007-08, though, and it’s down dramatically this season, as is the buzz in the building during most games.

Virginia, according to the school, has averaged 9,945 at its 10 home games this season. That’s misleading. That figure represents tickets sold, not fans in the seats. Several times this season the Cavaliers have played in a half-filled arena, and that won’t change unless they start winning.

Their next opportunity comes Saturday. Virginia (1-3, 7-8) hosts Florida State (2-2, 15-4) at 4 p.m. Good seats, as the saying goes, are still available.
 

Virginia looks to spear Seminoles Saturday
Three consecutive conference losses leave reeling Cavaliers in desperate search for answers as FSU backcourt looms large
Ernie Washington, Cavalier Daily Gameday Editor
Published: Friday, January 23 2009

Freshman guard Sylven Landesberg was held to just 7 points in the team’s loss to Maryland Tuesday.
The Virginia men’s basketball team is learning that life is not easy in the ACC as it prepares to face its fourth consecutive ACC opponent that has a realistic shot at making the NCAA Tournament. Though Florida State is coming off a 75-69 loss to Miami on the road, the Seminoles are 15-4 on the season and possess a deep roster with nine players who have played an average of more than 14 minutes per game.

Virginia coach Dave Leitao said he believes the Seminoles’ success starts in the backcourt.

“They’ve got good guards,” Leitao said. “They’ve always had good guards and they’ve got good defenders.”

One player who has stepped up his game recently is senior guard Toney Douglas, an Auburn transfer who is leading the team in scoring and averaging 19.5 points per game. Virginia junior guard Solomon Tat noted that the Cavalier defense must play better than it did against Maryland Tuesday in order for Virginia to shut down Douglas and the rest of his team.

“I was a little bit upset,” Tat said about the Cavaliers’ defensive effort against the Terrapins. “I think all my teammates were upset with all the easy buckets that we gave them.”

Though Douglas is the only Florida State team member averaging double figures, that does not mean the Seminoles are to be taken lightly. Freshman forward Chris Singleton is the team’s second leading scorer ­— averaging 9.1 points per game — as well as the team’s leading rebounder. Joining Singleton in the paint is fellow freshman center Solomon Alabi, who was forced to redshirt last year because of injuries. Alabi ranks second on the team in rebounds, leads the team in blocked shots and has yet to foul out this season. Virginia sophomore forward Mike Scott acknowledged that Virginia’s big men must deal with a Florida State team with several inside weapons.

The Cavaliers need to come up with a strategy to get off to a strong start in tomorrow’s game; their valiant efforts to fight back from poor starts against both Maryland and Virginia Tech were not enough to claim victory.

“I don’t really have an answer right now,” Scott said. “If I did, we definitely would be doing it. I don’t know why we just wait until we’re down to play harder.”

The Cavaliers might be able to get ahead against Florida State if, from the start of the game, they use some of the techniques employed late in the Maryland and Virginia Tech matchups.

“When you do defend and rebound, it gives you a chance to get some early offense,” Leitao said. “I thought we were able to do that [in the second half against Maryland] and drive the ball early in possessions and get good things out of it.”

As with any young team, there are plenty of lessons to be learned. For Virginia to be effective tomorrow, the freshmen backcourt duo of Sylven Landesberg and Sammy Zeglinski must adjust to the extra attention ACC coaches are starting to give them as well as to the heightened level of play featured in one of the nation’s toughest conferences. If the underclassmen pair can find a way to adjust to ACC basketball, Virginia will have a chance to come out of tomorrow’s game with a victory.

“Other people who weren’t playing well have to step up, and a couple of them have,” Leitao said, noting that Landesburg, Zeglinski and the rest of the Cavaliers must adjust “to a higher level of coaching, a higher level of preparation and a higher level of execution by our opponents.”

 

Tucker excels in Virginia’s loss
By Jay Jenkins
Published: January 22, 2009

Jamil “The Thrill” Tucker played the best game of his college career in Virginia’s 84-78 loss at Maryland on Tuesday night.
For the first time, Tucker wasn’t only spotting up and shooting 3-pointers. The junior finally had a game where he showed his full arsenal.
Tucker put the ball on the floor and beat defenders off the dribble. He scored tough inside buckets. He crashed the offensive boards. He even played a little defense.
The 6-foot-9, 241-pounder finished the game 7 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, for a career-high 21 points. He also had three rebounds, a block and a steal in his 26 minutes of action.
“Getting better is something that he’s been able to do,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “He’s older. He has a little bit more of an understanding of what we’re trying to do.
“But, as usually is the case, I’m still trying to raise the bar for him because there’s a lot more left in him that we can try to get out. What we see from a productivity standpoint is good. What I’d like to see overall from everybody — including him — is that we play much more solid in all the important areas.”
Great Scott
Tucker wasn’t the only Cavalier who played well in defeat. Sophomore Mike Scott had 16 points and 10 rebounds — his sixth double-double of the season.
Scott also nailed all 10 of his free throw attempts. He’s now shooting 79 percent from the line.
Swiss-cheese D
Virginia’s problems on defense are what cost them against Maryland. UVa allowed the Terrapins — who came in as the worst shooting team in the ACC — to shoot 53.7 percent from the field. That was the best shooting performance by a Cavalier opponent since Liberty scorched the nets at a 56.6-percent clip in its upset win on Nov. 25 at John Paul Jones Arena.
Sammy struggles
When asked what was going on with freshman guard Sammy Zeglinski — he’s just 3 of 19 from the field in his last three games and played a season-low 19 minutes against Maryland — Leitao gave a succinct response. “Not playing well,” he said.
Sylven woes
Zeglinski isn’t the only first-year player who’s been struggling. Leading scorer Sylven Landesberg had his second straight poor outing against Maryland. He was just 2 of 10 from the field for seven points, although he did grab a career-high 11 rebounds.
“He’s got to adjust to [a] higher level of coaching, [a] higher level of preparation, [a] higher level of execution by our opponents,” Leitao said. “I think that’s something Sylven has not done as of yet offensively, and so what happens is that the other areas of his game where he’s not yet as strong are more glaring — defensive breakdowns and things like that because he’s not scoring as often.”
Riding the pine
Tuesday night certainly wasn’t what Jeff Jones could have envisioned when he spurned Maryland at the recruiting altar for Virginia two years ago.
The sophomore, who has scored just four points in his last six games, received his third DNP of the season against the Terrapins.

 

Devvarman honors highlight big tennis weekend
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 23, 2009

Virginia’s trip to Illinois last January was one of its most electric of the season. Playing in front of a packed house, UVa staved off defeat at several junctures and wound up defeating the Illini.

Tonight, the schools square off again, and the atmosphere — with two-time NCAA champion Somdev Devvarman’s jersey being retired beforehand — figures to be just as electric.

“We’d love to pack the house,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland, whose squad went 32-1 en route to the NCAA Tournament semifinals last season. “It’s an opportunity for us to play in front of our great fans who have supported us year after year. We led the nation in attendance last year and would love to continue that momentum so they can continue to give us a great home-court advantage.”

In last year’s meeting, Illinois had a team match point against Virginia. The Cavaliers, however, prevailed, 4-3.

“We had a great match with them,” said Boland, whose team is ranked fifth (Illinois is No. 15). “We were able to come out on top in an incredibly difficult environment. They packed the house and we would certainly like to return the favor as they come into our home courts.”

Boland’s lineup will feature returning players Dom Inglot, Michael Shabaz, Sanam Singh and Houston Barrick, among others. Boland may also give a couple of his highly touted newcomers a shot against the Illini.

“We have more depth than ever,” Boland said. “We have a lot of options. I believe we’re playing at a high level already.”

Virginia defeated William & Mary 7-0 in its season opener on Tuesday.

“For our first team match, it was an outstanding performance,” Boland said. “I think we’re ahead of schedule for our fitness and everything else at this point.”

Of course, not having Devvarman — arguably the most dominant player in the history of college tennis — will be an adjustment. But at least Virginia will have his support from the stands this evening.

Devvarman, who has already risen to No. 155 in the latest world rankings, will receive a plaque during a pre-match ceremony. Then he will have a banner bearing his name hung at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

“He’s so well-deserved of the honor, and I’m sure there will be an opportunity for fans to say hello and honor him for all his accomplishments,” Boland said. “I think it should be a wonderful evening.”

 

U.Va. aims to smash Illinois, Notre Dame
Home matchups against ranked opponents Friday, Sunday will put Cavs’ winning streak to test
William Hrachovina, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer
Published: Friday, January 23 2009

Senior Dominic Inglot earned a victory at the No. 1 singles spot in the Cavaliers’ season-opener against William & Mary Tuesday. This weekend, the No. 5 Cavaliers will host Illinois and Notre Dame at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Virginia men’s tennis team will have its hands full this weekend as it hosts two nationally ranked opponents: No. 15 Illinois Friday and No. 30 Notre Dame Sunday.

Although the Cavaliers lost three of their starting players from last season, they are currently ranked No. 5 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason poll — a drop from last season’s No. 1 ranking. The team has started its season on a good note, though, with a 7-0 win against William & Mary Tuesday that ran the Cavaliers’ regular-season winning streak to 35 matches.

Following an impressive performance last year, when Virginia went undefeated in the regular season and made it to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Georgia, the Cavaliers are looking to improve and return to the NCAA Tournament.

One of the team’s key players this year is sophomore Michael Shabaz. Shabaz finished with an overall 18-8 singles record during the 2007-08 season, including an impressive 8-1 conference record. Coming off a strong fall season, in which he beat several ranked opponents, he is currently ranked No. 11 in the ITA singles poll. In last Tuesday’s match against William & Mary, he finished with a win in singles play as well as a doubles victory while paired with senior Dominic Inglot.

Though the Cavaliers are without some of the players who contributed to last season’s success, Shabaz said he and his teammates believe this year can be just as good.

“Obviously, you can’t replace certain guys like Somdev [Devvarman], who was awesome,” he said. “At the same time, we feel that [the No. 5 ranking] is a good start and we’re looking to climb up.”

Usually, it is difficult to improve on the accomplishments of previous seasons, especially when key players graduate. So far this year, however, Virginia coach Brian Boland has been impressed with the progress his team has made.

“This is probably some of the most improvement I’ve seen out of a group, collectively, in my entire coaching career,” Boland said. “In terms as a team, they really do work hard. They want to get better; they’re really coach-able.”

When the team members work with each other to achieve a common goal, it leads to true accomplishments, Boland added.

“I really just want to see the team develop individually and collectively as a team — come together and push each other every day in practice, and the results will take care of themselves,” he said.

The players are trying to do what it takes to make this season just as successful as the last.

The team is “definitely working harder,” Shabaz said. “We took a different kind of approach to this season with practice, and guys were busting each other. We started doing individuals in the morning and we started practicing as a team in the afternoon. I think just the discipline — day in and day out with practices and stuff — definitely helped me.”

Under Boland’s direction, the Cavaliers continue to work on overall improvement by focusing on specific individual skills.

“I’m sure everything will come together in the end when we really peak,” Boland said.

Even though the Cavaliers expect to return to the NCAA Tournament, they try not to let the fanfare of rankings, streaks and records get in the way of progress.

“It’s not such a bad thing,” senior Dominic Inglot said of the Cavaliers’ No. 5 rank compared to last season’s No. 1. “People won’t be expecting us to do as well as I think we can do. It takes a lot of pressure off us, but yet we have the confidence in ourselves and the team’s ability to do well.”

 

Cavs host marquee opponent
By Jay Jenkins
Published: January 23, 2009

The arms were waving in the air several times.

Virginia assistant coach Curtis Loyd, known for his animated persona on the sidelines, was pleading for crowd noise inside a recent late-game moment at John Paul Jones Arena.

Loyd received his wish from an energized fanbase as the Cavaliers’ opponent struggled to communicate on offense, which eventually sent a 12th straight visitor to a loss in the venue. It served as a sign of the renewed support for one of the hottest teams in the nation.

Virginia, ranked No. 16, has won 10 of its past 11 games and seen attendance figures gradually increase as the schedule reaches a host of marquee opponents.

One of those foes will be in town tonight — Virginia (15-3, 2-1 ACC) entertains No. 22 Florida State (16-4, 4-0) at 7 p.m.

A season-best crowd is expected, something that comforts Virginia coach Debbie Ryan.

Virginia enters the contest ranked fourth in the ACC in attendance, averaging 2,931 fans through 10 home dates. Last season, the Cavaliers finished No. 36 nationally in attendance and was one of just 40 national programs to average over 3,000 fans per game.

While a far cry from the figures the Cavaliers boasted two decades ago inside University Hall with legendary players such as Dawn Staley and Tammi Reiss leading a high-powered offense, local interest has returned at a greater level.

“I think it has been awesome the way that the fans have embraced us the way that they have,” Ryan said. “They have done a great job of embracing us and really putting us in a position to win, especially when we are at home.

“That can pick you up quite a bit. I think our players have enjoyed the way that they have treated them and gotten behind them.”

With various promotions in place for various contests, Ryan has been told that her team is currently the best entertainment in Central Virginia.

“We are by far the best bargain,” she said. “You can bring the whole family for less than you can go to a movie. You can’t go to the movies for that and have dinner.”

Given Florida State’s improved play since losing to No. 1 Connecticut on Dec. 21 by 12 points, the second-closest losing margin against the Huskies, Ryan knows that a home-court advantage will improve the Cavaliers’ odds.

“I think Florida State is an excellent basketball team,” Ryan said. “They are very, very athletic, they have a lot of players back and they have a great inside-outside combination. They are going to be very tough.”

Virginia enters with momentum following Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory over rival Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers trailed by seven points before closing out the game on a 19-6 run that secured a 75-69 win.

“It was a rivalry game so you know you are going to have a battle,” Virginia guard Monica Wright said. “You are going to have a battle. You are going to be fighting after loose balls and it is going to be very physical. It was what we expected.”

During the final minutes of the win, senior forward Lyndra Littles and Wright dominated, scoring 17 of the team’s final 19 points.

“Obviously, they are the two that we are going to go to,” Ryan said. “They are our go-to players.”

In conference games, Littles and Wright rank 1-2 in scoring, averaging 22.7 and 22.3 points per game, respectively.

“One day it is going to be one and another day it is going to be the other,” Ryan said. “It is just a real luxury to have players of this caliber to be able to draw from when the game is on the line. They just have so much experience.”