White: Wahoos Roll On
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 01/16/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At game's end, there was no outpouring of emotion from the UVa players this time, just the satisfaction of young men whose faith in themselves and their new coach had been justified again.

Virginia rallied to beat No. 20 Georgia Tech in men's basketball Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena, and the final horn set off a celebration among Tony Bennett's players.

In the same building, UVa dominated No. 23 Miami from start to finish Saturday night. The Cavaliers came in as the ACC's first-place team, and they looked the part in a 75-57 romp before 11,413 fans at JPJ.

"One of the things that Coach Bennett preaches to us is humility," senior center Jerome Meyinsse said. "Don't get too high, don't get too low. Georgia Tech was a big win, but we knew we had to come out and play hard and play tough, and we were in for another battle tonight. We all came out focused, and it showed tonight on the court."

Bennett said: "I wasn't sure how we'd respond to a little prosperity, and that was a good step."

Virginia (3-0, 11-4) responded like a team that has no desire to relinquish its lead in the ACC.

"The guys showed some good energy," Bennett said. "They were tired, but they fought through it. You just want to outlast your opponent. Sometimes if you guard hard, you screen hard, as the game wears on, hopefully you can see an edge."

The crowd -- the largest for a men's game at JPJ this season -- loved it. Fans were in their seats by tipoff, which isn't always the case, and they provided the homecourt advantage the Wahoos have lacked at times this season.

"It was jumping in there tonight," Bennett said. "That atmosphere -- I don't know what the attendance was -- but it was loud, and that energizes you.

"It was nice to see that many orange shirts. You could kind of feel it when you walked in. It was a lot warmer in there. I know I was sweating."

Sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski said: "That was ridiculous. I don't remember it being that loud in a long time. It was awesome. I didn't want the game to end. The crowd, the whole night was so loud. They really fueled us tonight."

Miami (1-3, 15-3) couldn't wait to get out of the Commonwealth. The 'Canes won 15 of their first 16 games, but they've been blown out twice since then. Miami lost 81-66 at Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.

"It's been a tough trip," Hurricanes coach Frank Haith said.

For the 'Hoos, who host UNC Wilmington (6-11) on Monday night, the victory was their seventh in a row, their longest winning streak since 2006-07. They're 3-0 in the ACC for the first time since 1994-95, when they won their first four conference games. They also improved to 3-0 against ranked foes this season.

"What I want to stress about this Virginia team is they have very good players," Haith said, "and Sylven Landesberg is an outstanding player, and I knew coming into this season that UVa would be good because they have the players."

Haith might have known that, but his opinion was not widely shared. The Cavaliers finished 10-18 in 2008-09, their final year under Dave Leitao, and they were picked to finish 11th in the ACC this season.

Fifteen games in, with most of the same players, Virginia has surpassed its 2008-09 victory total.

"I think they're a year older and a little more mature, and they're hungry, with good character," Bennett said. "They want to do well."

Landesberg said: "Winning is a lot of fun. Last year was tough. We had a lot of tough losses. We're showing a lot of maturity this year, being able to pull close wins out and being able to execute at both ends of the court."

A 6-6 swingman from Queens, N.Y., Landesberg was the best story -- and often the only positive story -- for the Cavaliers in 2008-09, when he was named ACC rookie of the year. Support is coming in waves this season from players such as Zeglinski, Meyinsse, Mike Scott, Mustapha Farrakhan, Will Sherrill, Jeff Jones and Jontel Evans, one of Virginia's two freshmen.

Zeglinski played a magnificent all-around game Saturday night, totaling 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and no turnovers in 26 minutes.

Evans made his first career start, and he's likely to stay in the first five. The 5-11 point guard from Hampton is UVa's best on-the-ball defender, and Evans hounded whomever he covered Saturday night.

He ended the first half in dramatic fashion, tracking down a loose ball and lofting a rainbow jumper that dropped through at the buzzer to make it 33-21, Virginia. He finished with 4 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, no turnovers and a career-best 7 rebounds.

"I feel like I'm starting to pick things up in the practice. I feel like I'm getting better," Evans said. "I'm buying into [Bennett's] system. If you just do what the coaches say, good things will come. That's what I'm trying to do. Just do what the coaches want me to do. Just follow direction.

"If they tell me something, just say, 'Yes, Coach. No, Coach.' Not talking back. Just trying to be a good player, a good teammate and everything."

For the first six games of UVa's winning streak, Calvin Baker started. But Miami's guards worried Bennett, and so he turned to Evans.

"He can really ignite our defense," Bennett said, "when you have a point guard who can set your defense and bring that kind of energy and make it hard on the ball-handler.

"And he wasn't even going down the floor like he usually does to pick up the ball, but he was meeting it. And I told him before the game, I said, 'You have to make sure that guy knows it's going to be a war against you.'"

Virginia scored the game's first six points, bringing the crowd to its feet and prompting a Miami timeout 106 seconds in. The Cavaliers' offense sputtered later in the half, but it picked up after intermission, and Bennett was happy to see his players' shots falling.

"But I'd like to talk about that first half defensively," he said. "That, I thought, was what I'd been waiting to see. Offensively we weren't great, but I thought defensively it was one of our better performances, just in terms of how active we were, stopping them in transition and making them work. That's what I want to keep seeing."

Miami shot 21.7 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The 'Canes heated up, relatively speaking, in the second half, but overall they hit only 17 of 54 (31.5 percent) from the floor.

Bennett's players are taking more pride in their defense, and few things make him happier.

"When they get beat, you see them looking at you and saying, 'That was my fault,'" he said. "Not in a way like, 'My bad,' like everybody says, but 'I knew I shouldn't have let that happen, I'll get it next time.'"

The ACC's best 3-point-shooting team was true to form Saturday night. Led by Jones, a 6-4 junior, UVa made 6 of 14 from beyond the arc. Jones was 3 for 3, and his final trey, which pushed Virginia's lead to 67-51 with 3:18 remaining, seemed to double the noise level inside JPJ.

"I just stay ready. I'm focused on the task at hand," Jones said. "My role is to come in and be a spark off the bench, be a scoring threat. And that's what Coach Bennett told me.

"I think that's important about this team: Everybody knows their role. And that's important. Whenever everybody knows their role, it makes everything much easier. Everybody's confident out there. Everybody's playing free and confident."

Farrakhan said: "We're just rolling on to the next game. Just trying to stay humble and keep working hard."

 

Postgame Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/16/2010
Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

On the turnaround from last season to the present:
“I think they are a year older and a little more mature, and they’re hungry with good character. They want to do well. Our first two games in the ACC, you go to that point and it could have gone either way. Momentum is a strong thing and I think they are riding it certainly, but I’d like to talk about that first half defensively. That is what I was waiting to see in the first half. I thought that offensively we weren’t great, but defensively it was one of our better performances in terms of how active we were stopping them in transition and making them work. That’s what I want to keep seeing.”

On the intensity of the team:
“We have to be ready. It was jumping in there tonight; that atmosphere was loud and that energizes you. Again, I thought we won the x-factor, the hustle factor that’s so important and it was nice to see that many orange shirts – it was a lot warmer in there; I know I was sweating. I think our kids felt that and that certainly helps. We play in 40 hours and I told them good win, good start, stay humble and lets just keep trying to get after it. Tomorrow we will take a look at what we need to do to get better.”

On the defensive performance:
“I just liked the first half. I thought we were active, I thought we were hard to score against. We rebounded well. When they made shots, it was some at the line in the first half and they had to earn everything they got and I thought it was solid. I think it was one of our better halves for sure. The second half wasn’t probably quite as solid; I thought we had some trouble on the ball screens. But they did a good job adjusting – it’s a talented team. I didn’t know how we would respond coming off that big win. I wasn’t sure because Miami came off a hard loss to Virginia Tech. I know they were hungry and Coach Haith does a good job with them --they have an inside-outside attack. I think our guys were ready, I think they could shoot. They knew they were good inside and they were active.”

On the decision to start Jontel Evans:
“He can really ignite our defense. When you have a point guard who can set your defense, bring that kind of energy, and make it hard on the ball handler – and he wasn’t even going down the floor like he usually does to pick up the ball– but he was meeting it. I told them before the game, ‘you have to make sure that guy knows it’s going to be a war against you.’ When your defense is set like that and they have to make their first entry pass a few feet further out, it just helps our defense and I felt like everyone was on the same page whether it was a post trap or rotations, they were scrambling but they were solid.”

On the consistency shown by Mustapha Farrakhan:
“He is really trying to play within himself. I think he hit a nice shot on the baseline. We got up 13 or 14 and I kept thinking, ‘if we can just get a stop and come down we really could stretch it.’ We actually had some breakdowns when it was a quick shot or a force or a miscommunication and defense and they would cut it to nine and they kept hanging around. That was probably the one part I was disappointed in. Regarding Mustapha, I think he has been playing more within himself. He is a pretty complete guy when he gets his outside shot going. He is quick off the dribble and he is looking to make the extra pass. I am really challenging him to use his quickness defensively to bother the ball and keep people in front. I think there is getting to be some pride in their defense. When they get beat, you see them looking at you saying, ‘that was my fault;’ not in a way like, ‘my bad,’ but ‘I knew I shouldn’t have let that happen. I’ll get it next time.’ I think he is embracing that.”
________________________________________

Miami Head Coach Frank Haith

On Virginia’s overall performance:
“Virginia played very well today. What I want to stress about this Virginia team is they have very good players and Sylven Landesberg is an outstanding player and I knew coming into this season that UVa would be good because they have the players. We missed some shots early in the game and we didn’t get our offense going. There were several times we cut it to a 10-point deficit and then when we had a chance to get under that we didn’t execute very well and then Virginia would hit a big shot on the other end. You have to give them credit for how well they played and how well they executed.”

On Virginia’s ACC start:
“Virginia was young last year and I felt they would be good this year. They have good personnel and they are playing very confidant as a team right now. They shoot the ball incredibly – coming off screens. Sammy Zeglinski is a good player, Jeff Jones is a good player, (Mustapha) Farrakhan is a good player - all those guys are players.”

On Miami’s slow start:
“When you have a young team and things don’t go well early and you have offensive lulls, you start to press – you start to take tougher shots and we don’t execute as well. That is where we need to get better. Particularly when you’re on the road and things are not going your way – we have not got to that point where we have learned to do that. Then Durand (Scott) got nicked up and I wasn’t going to play him anymore in the second half and he is a guy who is important for us in getting us going offensively.”

On Virginia’s defense:
I think UVa did a great job playing defense. Teams have done that to Dwayne (Collins) before in terms of doubling in the post and I thought he rushed some things – shots – turned the ball over. UVa did a nice job of creating that. But we missed a lot of open looks. We can shoot the ball, but we didn’t make a lot of shots tonight.”
 

Postgame Notes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/16/2010
VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Notes
Virginia 75, #23 Miami 57

Team Notes
• Virginia increased its winning streak to seven, the longest since a seven-game streak in 2006-07
• The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the ACC for the first time since 1994-95 (when they started 4-0)
• Virginia is now 3-0 vs. ranked opponents this season
• The Cavaliers defeated ranked opponents in consecutive games for the first time since 2006-07 (won at #19 Clemson 64-63 and def. #8 Duke 68-66 in OT)
• The Cavaliers’ 12-point halftime lead was their largest against an ACC opponent since Feb. 24, 2008, when they led NC State 38-18 at the half
• Virginia had nine turnovers, its 10th game this season with 10 or fewer turnovers
• The 18-point victory was Virginia’s most lopsided win over a ranked opponent since a 78-60 win over No. 10 Arizona at University Hall on Nov. 21, 2004

Individual Notes
• Sylven Landesberg (18 pts) scored in double figures for the 15th time this season (every game) and the 38th time in his career
• Mike Scott (10 pts) scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and the 30th time in his career
• Sammy Zeglinski (10 pts) scored in double figures for the 11th time this season and the 21st time in his career
• Zeglinski made two 3-pointers, the 10th consecutive game he has made at least two 3-pointers
• Mustapha Farrakhan (13 pts) scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and the 11th time in his career
• Jontel Evans made his first career start

Player Career Highs
• Jontel Evans had a career-high seven rebounds
 

Cavaliers continue red-hot streak
Tony Bennett's squad ups its win streak to seven games.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- As the Miami men's basketball team learned so painfully this week, January is not a good time for Floridians to come north.

Three days after No. 23 Miami was blown out at Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes took another pummeling Saturday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Resurgent Virginia held Miami to five field goals in the first half and captured its seventh straight victory, 75-57, before a season-high crowd of 11,413.

"It was jumping in there tonight," first-year UVa coach Tony Bennett said. "It was loud and that energizes you. I think we won the 'X' factor. It was nice to see that many orange shirts and you could feel it when you walked in [the arena]."

With a third victory in their last three games against ranked opponents, the Cavaliers (11-4, 3-0 ACC) surpassed their victory total from a 10-18 season in 2008-2009 and held onto their spot atop the ACC standings.

"Virginia's a team that no one's talking about," Miami coach Frank Haith said, "but I knew coming into the season that this was going to be a good [Cavaliers'] team because they've got good players. They totally just killed us today."

Miami (15-3, 1-3) had fallen behind by 35 points in the first half Wednesday in Blacksburg and it was more of the same Saturday as the Cavaliers jumped to a 12-1 lead in the first five minutes.

"I thought it was an interesting matchup," Bennett said. "Here we came off a big win, beating a ranked [Georgia Tech] team and they came off of a performance that they weren't happy with.

"I told our guys, 'They're going to come out swinging and they're going to fight you. You're just going to have to meet it and let's try and win this thing with our defense.' "

Virginia led 33-21 at the half, and the only reason Miami was that close was 10 Virginia personal fouls that enabled the Hurricanes to attempt 14 free throws (and convert 10).

Miami shot 21.7 percent from the field in the first half and 31. 5 percent for the game, compared to the Cavaliers' 51.8 percent.

"The first half, defensively, was what I've been waiting to see," said Bennett, whose Washington State teams were known for their defensive prowess.

Showing little regard for superstition, Bennett made a change in his lineup, giving 5-foot-11 freshman Jontel Evans his first start.

"He's probably the best we have [defensively] at coming to meet the ball," Bennett said. "I thought their guard corps was very good, and I thought it was important to set the tone in guarding the point guard and that's Jontel's strength."

Evans made only one field goal, a high-arcing prayer that beat the halftime buzzer and gave Virginia a little more momentum going into intermission.

Evans played 24 minutes and finished with four points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Evans did not have a turnover and neither did guard Sammy Zeglinski, who tied Evans for team rebounding honors and also contributed 10 points and six assists.

Zeglinski, a redshirt sophomore who is listed at 6 feet, was coming off a team-high, eight-rebound night Wednesday in an 82-75 win over Georgia Tech.

"In our system, the guards have to come back and rebound," Bennett said. "Our big kids are going to fight to put bodies on people, but you've got to come back and spear rebounds. We call it 'gang rebounding.'

UVa sophomore Sylven Landesberg led all scorers with 18 points, but three other Cavaliers were in double figures and a fourth, Jeff Jones, was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and to finish with nine points in 14 minutes.

Zeglinski entered the game as the ACC's leading percentage 3-point shooter but now trails Jones, who is 22 of 45 (48.9 percent). Zeglinski is 36 of 74 (48.6 percent).

Zeglinski was appreciative of Haith's kind words for a UVa team that was picked last in the ACC in the preseason, "but it's fine with me if we stay under the radar," he said. "We like the underdog mentality."

Sports columnist Aaron McFarling: At UVa, fun is back in style
By Aaron McFarling

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- You've got to love his energy. Positive. Encouraging. Almost -- dare we say it? -- cheerful.

The tall, foreboding man in the dark suit that used to stalk these sidelines has been replaced by the 1975 version of Carlton Fisk. At least that's who first-year Virginia coach Tony Bennett looked like to me Saturday. Not only did he squat about 700 times during the Cavaliers' 75-57 victory over No. 23 Miami, but he also waved those arms over his head after almost every big play his team made on offense.

Get back! Defend! Keep hustling!

Occasionally, Bennett would sit in his folding chair. That never lasted long. Someone would drive or shoot, and Bennett would pop up to his feet, almost like a fan expecting something good to happen.

And something good is happening here. Under Bennett, the Cavaliers are playing with confidence, style and poise. After beating their second ranked conference opponent in a row, they're 3-0 in the ACC -- owners of the only unblemished record in the league.

"Momentum is a strong thing," Bennett said. "And I think they're riding it, certainly."

The Cavaliers won Saturday because four of their players scored in double figures. They won because the Hurricanes -- statistically, among the better 3-point gunners around -- continued to struggle from the field, a funk that started Wednesday night in Blacksburg. The Cavs won because they defended well early and took care of the ball late.

And they won because of Bennett, whose done exactly what you'd hope a new coach could do -- change the culture of a downtrodden program.

Former coach Dave Leitao had his share of success early, but he had only one motivational technique during his tenure in Charlottesville: Screaming.

Check that. He had two motivational techniques. He also frowned.

That works for some people. But there comes a time when guys need to remember they're playing a game, and that time had come for these Cavaliers.

Bennett's upbeat personality has filtered down to these players, most of whom were part of last year's team that finished with UVa's worst record in decades. The next step is for that enthusiasm to imbue the fan base.

The Cavs took a good step in that direction Saturday. After fewer than 9,000 showed up to John Paul Jones Arena for the victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday, a festive crowd of 11,413 showed up Saturday, erupting as UVa built an early 12-1 lead.

"It was jumping in there tonight," Bennett said. "It was loud, and that energizes you."

But Bennett doesn't lack for energy either way. He'll get on an official when he needs to, but he doesn't overdo it. He's particularly animated when the Cavs are on defense; at one point Saturday, he pantomimed the defensive stance he wanted guard Sammy Zeglinski to take on the sidelines. Sammy followed his lead.

The concerns that UVa would be slow and boring on offense under Bennett seem unfounded. The Cavaliers didn't run often against Miami, but when they did, the fast break looked well-rehearsed and crisp, typically leading to easy baskets.

Despite this start, not much is going to be easy for UVa this season. But the journey looks like it's going to be a lot more fun than it's been the past two years.

Let's just hope Bennett's knees hold up through all that squatting. He'd assumed that position again just before the half, when UVa enjoyed one of its finest moments.

With the game clock about to hit zeroes, freshman Jontel Evans fired up a high-arcing prayer that splashed through the net. All around Bennett, UVa's reserves leaped and shouted and high-fived each other.

Still squatting, Bennett turned toward the bench. And then he smiled.

Nice change of pace around here, don't you think?

Cavs roll to 7th straight
By Norm Wood | 247-4642
January 17, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE - When Miami's team jet finally hit the gray skies over the Virginia landscape Saturday night, there couldn't have been a single tear inspired by pleasant memories shed by any of the passengers — not after this horrid trip.

U.Va. (11-4 overall, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) got off to its first three-game winning streak to open the ACC slate since the 1994-95 season with a 75-57 victory against No. 23 Miami, which also lost Wednesday night at Virginia Tech. It was U.Va.'s seventh consecutive victory overall, matching its longest winning binge since the 2006-07 season, and kept the Cavaliers in sole possession of first place in the ACC.

Just to offer further evidence of coach Tony Bennett's defense-first approach, U.Va. held Miami (15-3, 1-3) to 32-percent field-goal shooting with significant assistance from first-time starter Jontel Evans, a freshman guard who graduated from Bethel High.

"I just liked the first half," said Bennett, whose team committed just nine turnovers. "I thought we were active. I thought we were hard to score against. I thought we rebounded. … (The Hurricanes) had to earn everything they got, so I thought it was one of our better defensive halves."

U.Va. connected on 52 percent of its shots from the floor, including 61 percent in the second half. Guard Sylven Landesberg led the Cavaliers with 18 points on 8-of-14 field-goal shooting.

After defeating No. 20 Georgia Tech on Wednesday night, U.Va. also has a two-game winning streak against Top 25 opponents for the first time since '06-07, when it defeated No. 19 Clemson and No. 8 Duke.

Despite being U.Va.'s smallest scholarship player at 5-foot-11, Evans led the team at halftime with five rebounds.

U.Va., which has won more games this season than it did all of last season (10-18), led 31-21 as Evans brought the ball up for the Cavaliers' final possession of the half. He lost the handle trying to pass out to the perimeter, but gathered the loose ball and fired a high-arching, fall-away shot with one second left that found nothing but net.

Evans finished with four points on 2-of-5 shooting. He tied guard Sammy Zeglinski for the team lead in rebounds with seven, adding four assists and no turnovers in 24 minutes. Evans entered the night averaging 2.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.4 minutes per game.

"(Assistant) coach (Ritchie) McKay came up to me (Friday) and said, 'You're starting now, so you need to be more vocal,' " Evans said. "That's when I knew I was starting. It just caught me off-guard. I was kind of nervous starting. This was a dream-come-true, starting at point guard in the ACC, but it was fun (Saturday night)."

Miami, led by guard James Dews' 13 points, missed 18 of its first 22 field-goal attempts. With Miami trailing 12-1, forward Adrian Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 14:03 left to give the Hurricanes their first successful field goal after seven misses.

It was the continuation of a general theme on Miami's short trip. In its 81-66 loss at Tech, Miami opened the game by misfiring on 16 of its first 20 shots. Miami made a combined 10 of 46 shots (22 percent) from 3-point range against Tech and U.Va., including 4 of 19 against the Cavaliers.

Bennett said Evans' defensive presence was a big reason why Bennett decided to shake things up despite the winning streak and insert a freshman in the starting lineup.

"He can really ignite our defense when you have a point guard who can set your defense and bring that kind of energy and make it hard on the ballhandler," Bennett said. "He wasn't even going down the floor like he usually does to pick up the ball, but he was meeting it. I told him before the game, 'You have to make sure you let (Miami point guard Durand Scott) know it's going to be a war against you.'"
 

Bethel High graduate Jontel Evans gets first career start for U.Va.

Coming in to Saturday night, freshman guard Jontel Evans had established himself as a valuable contributor off the bench for coach Tony Bennett in U.Va.'s first 14 games.

Against Miami, Evans got a chance to show his chops from a spot in the starting lineup for the first time in his college career. He entered the night averaging 12.4 minutes to go along with 2.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

He played 13 minutes in the first half. At 5-foot-11, he's the smallest scholarship player on U.Va.'s roster, but he led the team with five rebounds in the first 20 minutes. He also finished the half with a memorable basket.

Though he shot just 1 of 3 from the floor and scored two points in the half, his only successful field goal came with one second on the clock to put U.Va. up 33-21. He lost control of his dribble and got the ball tipped away as he tried to kick it back out to the perimeter. Gathering up the loose ball, Evans turned and fired a high-arching teardrop that found nothing but net.

Posted by Norman Wood

Another slow start costs Miami Hurricanes in the end
BY MANNY NAVARRO
mnavarro@MiamiHerald.com

Slow starts aren't just killing the University of Miami these days. They are becoming chronic.

Three nights after coming out totally flat in the first half at Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes repeated the feat Saturday night at Virginia. And it cost them yet another Atlantic Coast Conference road game.

Riding the back of sophomore guard Sylvan Landesberg and a solid defensive effort, the Cavaliers emerged with an easy 75-57 victory to improve to 3-0 in conference play and dropped the 23rd-ranked Canes into a tie for last in the ACC and all but out of The Associated Press Top 25 rankings.

``When you have a young team and things don't go well early, you start to press,'' UM coach Frank Haith said. ``We started to take tougher shots. When we do that, we don't execute as well. That's where we need to get better at. Particularly on the road. We haven't learned how to do that yet.''

Virginia, picked to finish 11th in the ACC in the preseason, had a lot to do with that. The Cavaliers (11-4, 3-0), who knocked off 20th-ranked Georgia Tech on Wednesday, kept the Canes in their shooting funk.

After shooting just 27 percent in the first half Wednesday in Blacksburg, UM shot worse during the first 20 minutes Saturday (5 of 23, 21.7 percent). But instead of being down by as many as 35 points, like it was to the Hokies, UM went into the half down only 33-21.

This time, though, there was no second-half rally to make it respectable. Virginia worked UM inside and out and kept the Hurricanes, who came in with more three-pointers than any team in the ACC, from hitting any big shots to make it close.

Malcolm Grant pulled UM to within 55-46 on a jumper with 7:51 remaining. But when Grant was given an open three-point look from the wing, he couldn't connect.

When Virginia's Jeff Jones buried a three-pointer from the wing with 3:21 to go it extended Virginia's lead to 67-51 and buried the Canes for good.

Landesberg, one of four Cavaliers in double figures, finished with a team-high 18 points. James Dews led UM with 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Dwayne Collins added 11 points and nine rebounds. Reggie Johnson, making his first start, had six points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

``Momentum is a strong thing,'' Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. ``And we're certainly riding it.

``But I want to talk about our first half defensively. It was one of our better performances in terms of stopping their transition and making them work. It was jumping in there tonight. I don't know what the attendance was, but I felt the noise helped us win the X factor -- that hustle factor and I think our kids felt that.''

The Hurricanes (15-3, 1-3) were off to their best start in 50 years just a week ago. But they didn't lead once in either game this week in Virginia.

Three-point shooting and defense were big problems. UM, which came in shooting nearly 39 from three-point range on the season, finished 4 of 19 from three-point range Saturday and 10 of 46 on the trip. Ranked second in field-goal percentage coming, UM shot a season-low 31.5 percent.

Wednesday's loss to Virginia Tech was their previous low.

``We just have to stay positive and learn from our mistakes,'' Grant said. ``There is a lot we need to correct.''

Virginia goes to 3-0 in ACC with 75-57 win over No. 23 Miami
By Zach Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 17, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Suggesting that Virginia won because of its defense becomes redundant, because one will seldom find Tony Bennett-coached teams win any other way. As Bennett makes his first rotation through the ACC, opponents encounter a team and a playing style unlike others in the conference.

For that reason, each passing victory provides legitimacy to the Cavaliers. The latest came Saturday night against No. 23 Miami, a 75-57 win that could be featured in the instructional videos that Bennett's father, Dick, promotes. The Hurricanes shot 31.5 percent from the field -- nearly 17 percentage points below their season average -- and spent the first half stymied by Virginia's defense. They were held to less than 60 points for the first time this season.

"I thought we were active, I thought we were hard to score against, we rebounded well," Bennett said of a first half when Miami was held to 21.7 percent from the field. "They had to earn everything they got."

Saturday was a major measuring point for Virginia (11-4, 3-0), which avoided a letdown after beating No. 20 Georgia Tech on Wednesday. Virginia's residence at the top of the ACC standings remained impervious after topping a Miami unit that had every reason to arrive at John Paul Jones motivated.

The trip to the commonwealth was forgettable for the Hurricanes (15-3, 1-3). They lost to Virginia Tech on Wednesday, moved on to Charlottesville and stayed two days near Virginia's campus only to lose on Saturday night.

"I thought it was an interesting matchup because we came off a big win over a ranked team and they came off of a performance I'm sure they weren't happy with," said Bennett, who warned his team before the game about Miami's need for a win.

Then, Bennett added one more message: "Let's try to win this thing with our defense."

Nearly every move Bennett made came with defense in mind, including starting freshman guard Jontel Evans for the first time. Evans is the Cavaliers' best on-the-ball defender in the back court, which was what Bennett wanted in the first unit.

Evans learned of his new role during Friday's practice while being named to the "orange" team with the other starters, and associate head coach Ritchie McKay told him to become more vocal because he is now a starter.

A standout high school running back, Evans is built more like a football player than a basketball player. He led the team with suffocating defense, fought his way to seven rebounds and often came up from piles with the ball, including the loose ball that allowed Evans to hit a buzzer-beating jump shot to end the first half.

Fans "leave messages on my Facebook saying my defense is great and I'm a spark plug," Evans admitted. "I see it. I see the effect it has on other teams, and what it brings to my team."

The defense has mixed with an evolving offense that is hitting stride with a balanced repertoire, headlined by star guard Sylven Landesberg (18 points) and a supporting cast fitting within defined roles.

Mike Scott is the interior scorer, providing Virginia with 10 points on Saturday. Jeff Jones has become the sharpshooting guard that the Cavaliers need off the bench, evidenced by his three three-pointers Saturday. Mustapha Farrakhan gives the Cavaliers a slasher, and he scored 13 points against Miami.

"You can see, we're putting numbers up," Landesberg said. Virginia has averaged 74 points per game during its seven-game winning streak, dispelling the notion that Bennett runs a boring offense.

Virginia has opened the ACC at 3-0 for the first time since 1994-95 and defeated consecutive ranked opponents for the first time in three seasons.

But just as Virginia needed to avoid a letdown after the victory over Georgia Tech, Monday's game against North Carolina Wilmington presents a challenging nonconference detour to break up the momentum of the conference schedule. The matchup was originally scheduled for Dec. 19 -- while the Cavaliers were on a two-game losing streak -- before a snowstorm postponed it until this week. Now, it comes during a winning streak when Bennett must unexpectedly guard his team against an inflated ego.

"I hope our guys understand who they are," Bennett said. "Like I told them, 'If you're locked in and alert and competitive, you'll compete with most people. But if you take things for granted, you become below average pretty quick.' And they can't let that happen."
 

Finding direction on an unexpected path
By JOHN FEINSTEIN
Sunday, January 17, 2010; D09
CHARLOTTESVILLE

This really wasn't the way Tony Bennett had it planned. It isn't that he didn't love basketball. The game has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember, which tends to happen when you're a coach's son. The gym is as much a part of your boyhood as your mom's kitchen table. Growing up while his dad, Dick, was coaching high school ball, then National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ball and then Division I ball, he was the classic gym rat, the kid who makes himself a great shooter by spending hours and hours alone with a ball and a backboard.

Bennett would have been something straight out of "Hoosiers," if he had been in Indiana instead of Wisconsin. But coaching wasn't in his blood. Playing was what he was about.

"When I was a kid, the last thing in the world I thought I'd ever do was coach," he said, relaxing in the Virginia coaches' lounge at John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday after the Cavaliers had upset 20th-ranked Georgia Tech. "I loved being a player. I guess in my mind I was going to play forever -- go from college to the NBA and just stay. I saw close-up what a roller-coaster ride coaching was for my dad and for my sister Kathi [who won a Division III national title at Wisconsin-Oshkosh and later coached at Indiana] and I said, 'That's not for me.' Then I got hurt and things changed."

To put it mildly. As a kid, it certainly never occurred to Bennett that he would be coaching in the ACC at the age of 40, having already been a national coach of the year two years earlier. Now, 15 games into his first season at Virginia, Bennett has people noticing him and his team, which is 3-0 in the ACC (11-4 overall) after Saturday's 75-57 rout of Miami. No one would have been surprised if the Cavaliers had started conference play 0-2, given that they had to play at North Carolina State and then come home to play a Georgia Tech team that has been ranked most of the season

Except Virginia started 2-0 and found itself the only unbeaten team in ACC play after tacking Wednesday's 82-75 victory over the Yellow Jackets onto a come-from-behind win in Raleigh the previous Saturday.

"We really shored up on defense in the second half," he said after the Cavaliers had pulled away to win in the final minutes. "That's probably the best team we've played so far. We made them earn what they got. And we made the kind of hustle plays you have to make to win a game like this."

If nothing else, Bennett has learned to sound like a coach even though he's only been in the business for 10 years -- the last four as a head coach. He was a truly gifted player, scoring 2,285 points in four years at Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he played for his father. As a junior in 1991, he led the Phoenix to its first NCAA tournament appearance, and his career .497 shooting percentage from three-point range is still the best in NCAA history.

All of which led Bennett exactly where he wanted to go -- the NBA. He was picked in the second round by the Charlotte Hornets and started what he was hoping to be a 15-year career in 1992. Except his body wouldn't let him play that long. There were knee problems -- six surgeries. Then, in 1995, he had developed plantar fasciitis in his right foot and never regained his quickness. He kept trying, going to Australia and New Zealand to play, but was never the same.

"My body just couldn't hold up over the long haul," Bennett said. "I backed up Muggsy Bogues in Charlotte and averaged about 14 minutes a game. But when I got hurt, I was never the same."

He did some coaching in New Zealand because it was a way to stay in the game, then came home in 1999 to decide what to do next with his life. By then, his dad had moved on to Wisconsin and had taken the Badgers from near the bottom of the Big Ten to near the top -- and into the NCAA tournament. He asked Tony if he'd like to volunteer as a coach for a year while he figured out what to do next. Tony thought working with his dad would be fun, even though playing for him had frequently been anything but fun.

"He was on me all the time," he said, smiling but clearly serious. "I mean it was brutal. It was so bad that after my sophomore year I thought about transferring. My dad's a fiery Italian and he really got after me at times. It made me a better player -- I know that and I knew deep down he loved me -- but it was hard. I had to remind myself more than once, 'He really does love you.' But there were some tough moments. In the end, though, it all worked out."

Coaching was different and Tony Bennett's timing was perfect. He ended up as part of Wisconsin's joyride to the 2000 Final Four. "It was all fun that year," he said. "Who knows if I'd gotten on board when times weren't as good, maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. But after that year, I was pretty much hooked."

He was hooked enough that even when his father suddenly retired three games into the next season, too drained and exhausted to go on, he stayed on the staff, first under interim coach Brad Soderberg and then under Bo Ryan. When his father came out of retirement in 2003 to coach at Washington State, Tony went west with him. His dad retired again in 2006 and Tony succeeded him.

"Dad left me in a great position," Bennett said. "He took the bullets those three years and when he left we had some good players in the program. That gave me a great chance to succeed because of the work he had done."

He succeeded quickly -- 26 wins his first season and 26 more his second season, capped by a trip to the round of 16. Even though the Cougars lost several key seniors from that team and dropped to 17-16 a year ago, Bennett had been noticed -- not as a player and not, for those who can't help but bring it up, as a singer.

"I'm named after my Uncle Anthony," he said. "But I actually did meet Tony Bennett. When I was in college, the Packers had a player named Tony Bennett. One year the other Tony Bennett came to Green Bay for a concert. I don't know how but our PR guy and the Packers PR guy set something up for the two of us to go to the airport and meet Tony Bennett when he flew in. There were reporters and cameras everywhere. We each gave him a signed ball. Someone asked him if he'd ever met anyone else named Tony Bennett. He said, 'Yeah I have, but she spelled her name T-O-N-I.' "

Can Coach Bennett sing? "Not a lick."

Clearly though, the coach's son who just wanted to play can coach. Which is why Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage called him after Dave Leitao was bought out of his contract after four seasons last March. Bennett and his family (he and wife Laurel have two children) were very comfortable in Pullman, Wash., and the program was on solid ground. Bennett was aware of Virginia's recent history: two NCAA tournament bids in 12 seasons, one NCAA tournament victory since Jeff Jones took the Cavaliers to the round of eight in 1995.

"I knew there hadn't been a lot of recent success, but I also knew the tradition," Bennett said. "I'm well aware of what the ACC is about and what kind of a challenge it is to get to the top of this league on a consistent basis. But I think Virginia's a special place. If we succeed, we have a chance to prove there are places where you can combine quality education with quality basketball. There are other places like that, I know that, and they're the ones that are about the right things in college basketball. I loved Washington State. But this was a challenge I thought I had to take a shot at."

It's very early, but so far so good. Five high school seniors whom Bennett is excited about signed in November. Virginia started 3-0 in the ACC for the first time in 15 years. John Paul Jones Arena is full of life and Tony Bennett has Virginia fans singing his praises.

Which isn't even close to how he planned it. He's not complaining, though, not even a little bit.

Cavs put on a show at Miami’s expense
By Michael Phillips
Published: January 17, 2010
Updated: January 17, 2010
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CHARLOTTESVILLE -- This was something that hadn't been seen in a while. John Paul Jones Arena, filled to the rafters -- not for a big-name musician or Duke basketball, but for the Cavs.

More than 11,000 people came, buzzing with anticipation as to whether or not they finally had a winning team to support. Just seconds later the answer came as Miami was forced into an early timeout. The arena erupted, carrying the ACC's best team to a 75-57 victory.

"It's been a long time since I've heard them like that, probably back to my first year," senior Jerome Meyinsse said. "The crowd was behind us from before the tip."

It was a night where nothing could go wrong. The Wahoos sprinted to a 12-1 lead, the 'Canes missed their first eight shots, and a student picked at halftime hit a half-court shot for free rent.

"The energy the fans have brought the last few games is amazing," guard Sylven Landesberg said. "If they keep doing what they're doing, and we keep doing what we're doing, we feel like we're unbeatable at JPJ."

Coach Tony Bennett, it must now be noted, has not lost an ACC game. At 3-0, the Cavs are the toast of the national media, getting shout-outs this week from Dick Vitale and Andy Katz. It seemed improbable just a month ago, as they fell short against a mediocre Auburn team. But in the ACC this season, parity rules -- and that's a good thing for the Cavs.

They proved that point out of the gate last night against the No. 23 'Canes, who will fall out of the rankings after losing to Virginia Tech and Virginia in the same week. Last night Miami made just three of its first 18 shots, despite using screens and picks to get open looks.

Bennett subbed out his starters midway through the first half, causing the Cavs to struggle for a bit. But the 'Canes seemed to be equally insistent on not getting themselves back into the game, stymied by the defense and finishing with their lowest point total of the season.

"Offensively we weren't that great," Bennett said of the first half. "But I thought defensively it was one of our better performances."

The second half featured more productive offenses, and the crowd started buzzing again as freshman Jontel Evans fed Landesberg for an NBA-style dunk to extend the lead to 14.

Evans picked up his first start of the season, getting the nod over senior guard Calvin Baker. He continued the evening's trend of everything going right as he nearly turned the ball over at the end of the first half, recovered, and tossed up a shot that almost scraped the ceiling before swishing.

He found out he was going to be the starter Friday, when assistant coach Ritchie McKay told him in the middle of practice that "You're a starter, so you've got to be more vocal now."

"It kind of caught me off guard," Evans said. "I tried to play it cool, but inside I was jumping for joy.

"I was kind of nervous at the start -- it was my dream come true to start in the ACC -- but it was fun."

Miami cut the lead to single-digits with seven minutes remaining, but U.Va. had one final run to put the game away. Sammy Zeglinski and Jeff Jones each hit 3-pointers, and Landesberg offered up an emphatic dunk to extend the lead. The Cavs have momentum right now, and during that first time out, Bennett told them to ride it.

"I think you just have to know, hey, use the energy, good or bad, but let it come to you," he said. "I could see it, our guys were revved up and bouncing."

Surprising Cavaliers getting it all together
By Paul Woody
Published: January 17, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE When the Virginia Cavaliers play defense, there is no such thing as an uncontested shot.

When one of the Cavaliers misses a shot, the rebound is not automatically ceded to an opponent. When a ball is loose and rolling on the floor, the scrum of Cavalier players diving to the court is so thick it's not clear whether the game is basketball or rugby.

Combine that effort with timely shooting, guards who rebound and have excellent court awareness and what do you get?

For starters, you get a 3-0 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference and sole posses sion of first place in the ACC.

That a team is 3-0 in the ACC is no surprise. That the Virginia Cavaliers are 3-0 in the ACC is in the "man bites dog" and "financial executives admit fault, return money" category.

"The rest of the country is finding out what we knew from the beginning," said Cavaliers center Jerome Meyinsse.

And that is?

"There is some fire here at Virginia," he said.

The Cavaliers caught fire with their defense last night, beating Miami 75-57. Virginia turned Miami from Hurricanes into a tropical depression.

Miami made 21.7 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half and finished the game shooting a 31.5 percent.

Combine that with the Hurricanes' 34 percent shooting against Virginia Tech Wednesday night, and the weather is not the only thing that has been cold about Miami lately.

"I want to talk about our defense in the first half," Cavaliers' coach Tony Bennett said without prompting. "That's what I've been waiting to see.

"Offensively, we weren't great, but I thought defensively, it was one of our better performances in terms of how active we were, stopping them and making them work."

All good points.

But a few words need to be said about the performance of guards Sammy Zeglinski and Jontel Evans. They were the Cavaliers' leading rebounders with seven each. Evans, a freshman, made his first start of the season.

Zeglinski, a sophomore, also added 10 points, six assists and no turnovers. His timing on the two 3-pointers he made was excellent. His court awareness was superb.

One of the passes of the night the Cavaliers had several came when Zeglinski hit Mustapha Farrakhan on a back door cut that resulted in a driving layup for Farrakhan and a trip to the foul line. Had he made the free throw, it would have been the perfect play.

"It's just the offense," Zeglinski said. "I understand the offense. And I saw Mustapha's man was overplaying him, so I dribbled right at him. He [Farrakhan] made a great cut and a great finish."

"I was trying to control the tempo in the second half. I knew we had a nice cushion, a nice lead and I didn't want things to go too fast up and down and give them an opportunity to get back in the game. So I demanded the ball and tried to slow things down when they were trying to heat us up a little bit."

Heated is a good way to describe the effort the Cavaliers give for 40 minutes each game.

No player typifies that performance better than Meyinsse. He is not the most artful player, but he is an effective player. He wrings every ounce of ability and several extra ounces of effort from his 6-9, 233-pound frame. He had four rebounds and six points in 22 minutes last night.

If he does not get the offensive rebound he had just one against Miami he does everything he can to keep the ball alive.

If someone taps the ball outside the paint, it's all but guaranteed that Meyinsse will launch himself headfirst in an effort to give his team one more possession.

This from a player who did not get off the bench for the final 10 games of the 2008-09 season.

"We feel very confident, and with confidence comes more effort," Meyinsse said.

But how can those little guards outrebound the big guys?

"They don't have anybody to box out," Meyinsse said, smiling. "Mike [Scott] and I are in there tussling with those 240-pound guys and they can just come in and swoop the rebound.

"As long we get the rebound, and they don't get the offensive rebound, I'm happy. Coach Bennett stresses all five guys rebound. If we can keep teams off the glass and limit them in transition, we have a chance to win."

The Cavaliers have more than a chance. They have more victories in the ACC than anyone expected at this point of the season.

That winning feeling
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 17, 2010
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On Friday, Virginia Executive Associate Director of Athletics Jon Oliver talked about getting fans back into John Paul Jones Arena via a new $10 ticket promotion. The idea: to bring back the building’s raucous atmosphere from the 2006 season. That season, UVa lost just one game at home.

Well, the promotion hasn’t yet begun, but on Saturday night at JPJ, no such assistance was needed.

A crowd of 11,413 rocked the arena from the opening tip and watched Virginia defeat No. 23 Miami, 75-57. UVa won its third straight ACC game for the first time since the 1994-95 season, when the program started 4-0.

The win was Virginia’s seventh straight and its second consecutive against a ranked opponent.

“It was jumping in there tonight,” said Virginia coach Tony Bennett, referring to the electric JPJ environment. “I don’t know what the attendance was, but it was loud.”

Led by Sylven Landesberg’s game-high 18 points, Virginia (11-4, 3-0 ACC) had a well-balanced scoring attack. Mustapha Farrakhan (13 points), Mike Scott (10) and Sammy Zeglinski (10) all scored in double figures, while Jeff Jones chipped in with nine points — he was 3 of 3 from 3-point range off the bench.

James Dews led Miami with 13 points.

“They’ve got very good players,” said Miami coach Frank Haith. “Sylven Landesberg is an outstanding player. I knew coming into this season that this team was going to be very good.

“You’ve got to give them credit with how well they played and how well they executed.”

In the first half, Virginia created all of the separation that it would need.

Miami missed its first eight shots, committed four turnovers and didn’t make its first field goal until six minutes of the game had elapsed.

Virginia’s ferocious Pack Line defense was the cause.

“That was what I had been waiting to see,” said Bennett, who called the team’s defensive performance in the first half its best of the season.

Landesberg added: “Coach Bennett always preaches to know who you are. We know we’re not the most athletic team and we might not be the most talented team, but we feel like our defense is the reason why we’ll be able to win games.”

Offensively, UVa came out on fire. The Cavaliers hit six of their first 10 shots in building an early 12-1 lead.

Miami tried to claw back. The Hurricanes (15-3, 1-3), after a Dews 3-pointer, cut the lead to 23-16 with just under four minutes left before the break.

However, Virginia closed on a 10-4 run to take a 33-21 lead into the locker room. The highlights of the spurt were a Farrakhan coast-to-coast 3-point play and a Jontel Evans rainbow jumper at the buzzer that was launched so high, it seemed as if it was going to hit the JPJ roof.

Surprisingly, Evans got the starting nod over senior Calvin Baker. The freshman from Hampton finished with four points, four assists and seven rebounds. “He can really ignite our defense,” Bennett said.

Just about everyone contributed to the win. With the game well in hand, Bennett inserted seldom-used senior Solomon Tat and freshman Tristan Spurlock.

“We’ve got a good group of guys and we all want the same thing — to keep winning,” Landesberg said. “We keep going into practice the same way and approaching the games the same way — to not take anything for granted.”

Virginia hosts UNC-Wilmington on Monday in a game that was postponed because of snow last month.

“This will be our third game in five days,” Bennett said, “so we’ll have to be ready.”
 

Cavs build win streak on doing the little things
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: January 17, 2010
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Virginia, the ACC’s hottest basketball team — that’s not a typo — just got hotter.

The Cavaliers, riding the league’s longest winning streak at seven straight games, enjoyed a case of Saturday Night Fever and hammered 23rd-ranked Miami, 75-57.

“I didn’t know how we would respond coming off that big win [over No. 20 Georgia Tech on Wednesday], but I think our guys were ready,” said UVa coach Tony Bennett.

Miami must not have seen it coming as the Cavaliers nearly blew the visiting Hurricanes out of the gym. It was the first time in three years that UVa has knocked off ranked teams back-to-back.

What a great feeling it must be for Wahoo Nation to wake up this morning sitting atop the ACC standings at 3-0, the only team unbeaten in conference play.

Insert your own Hallelujeh chorus here.

Fundamental success

One thing is clearly evident about this 11-4 Virginia team: it is well coached. Given the opportunity to pound his chest a bit after last night’s win, Bennett was asked why this team has been able to do so much more than last year’s with essentially the same roster.

Bennett, who is as modest as he is good-looking, not unexpectedly swung all the credit to his players.

“I think they’re a year older, a little more mature, and a little hungrier,” UVa’s first-year coach said.

But there’s no question this team is well-coached in every aspect of play.

Checking the boxes

While building this win streak, the Cavaliers have done what all good teams do. Just take a look:

- Play solid defense. Check. Virginia is No. 3 in the ACC in scoring defense, giving up 60.1 points per game.

- They take care of the basketball. Check. The Cavs rank third nationally in the fewest turnovers a game (10.2) as compared to last year when they ranked No. 242 in the country.

- Free-throw shooting. Check. UVa is second in the league, behind only Duke, which is known for its prowess at the line.

- Take good shots. Well, nobody’s perfect. The Cavs rank ninth in the league in field-goal percentage, a little better than a year ago. But they do lead the league in 3-point field-goal percentage and did nothing to diminish that thought last night against Miami by going 6 of 14 from Bonusphere.

Perhaps the key to the whole deal is that Bennett has gotten these guys to buy into the value of playing good defense.

From the opening tip, Miami knew it was in for a rough night because of UVa’s aggression on defense. It didn’t hurt that Bennett started freshman guard Jontel Evans, known for his ability to put pressure on the opposing point guard.

As a result, the Hurricanes connected on a mere 5 of 23 shots in the first half, exactly the kind of defensive effort that the defensive-minded Bennett said he had been waiting for. The ‘Canes knew it was going to have to earn everything it got.

Let’s don’t get carried away, though. Miami, 15-3 overall, 1-3 in the ACC, might have been one of America’s most overrated teams. The Hurricanes, off to their best start in 50 years, feasted on a menu of cupcakes that would make a fat man smile before they entered league play.

Still, the season-high crowd of 11,413 delighted at the Wahoo win, and don’t think Bennett didn’t notice.

“It was jumping tonight,” the UVa coach beamed. “You could feel it when you walked in.”

The Cavs get a chance to extend the string to eight on Monday night when UNC-Wilmington comes to town.
 

Groh, Grantham land new jobs
Former Virginia wide receiver Derek Dooley is new head football coach at Tennessee.
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

Former Virginia head football coach Al Groh is the new defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.

There was a lot of coaching news pertaining to 'Hoos and Hokies on Friday, just none of it coming out of Blacksburg or Charlottesville.

Virginia and Virginia Tech coaching products -- and, in both cases, graduates -- made national headlines when Georgia Tech introduced Al Groh as its new defensive coordinator and Georgia tapped Todd Grantham for the same position there.

Another ex-Cavalier, Louisiana Tech athletic director and football coach Derek Dooley, was introduced Friday night as the head coach at Tennessee.

"How about that?" Grantham said. "Did anybody ever think that Vince Dooley's son would be coaching at the University of Tennessee."

Dooley was not interviewed for the vacancy at his alma mater that was filled by Mike London, but was the last man standing after a succession of Tennessee targets turned down that job.

Grantham, 43, is a Pulaski native who was a standout player at Pulaski County High School and for Virginia Tech, where he spent six seasons as an assistant coach (1990-95).

For the last 11 years, Grantham has worked in the NFL, the last two as defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys.

Grantham will spend the weekend in Minnesota, where Dallas visits the Vikings for a 1 p.m. Sunday kickoff, and will remain with the Cowboys for as long as they remain in the playoffs.

"My whole focus is on the game," said Graham via cellphone. "When Jerry [Jones] first approached me, Jerry and Wade [Phillips], about me coming here, I made a two-year commitment to them.

"I'm one of those, if you make a commitment like that, you need to see it through. With the success we've had -- winning the NFC East and winning a playoff game -- there's no way I would leave now."

Grantham has been away from the college game for 11 years, including three years as defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2005-2007). The 2007 Browns team won 10 games.

"It is the graduate school of coaching," said Grantham of the NFL "I always wanted to get back in college, particularly as a head coach. In pro football, you work with the GM and the owner and they're responsible for getting you the players. In college, you're the owner and the GM."

Bill Parcells had a famous line about that: "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries."

That was Parcells' parting shot when he resigned as coach of the New England Patriots following a 1996 Super Bowl loss to Green Bay.

Parcells is now the president of the Miami Dolphins and Miami was seen as a logical destination for Groh, an associate of Parcells at several earlier spots.

The Dolphins had announced earlier in the week that Paul Pasqualoni had been dismissed as defensive coordinator.

"I actually was all set on this circumstance before the Dolphins thing ever came up," said Groh in a cellphone conversation. "This fit all the criteria at the start of the week and fit all of the criteria at the end of the week, so I just said, 'Let's go ahead and do it.'

"When I left [a Miami interview], it was with the understanding that they had some more people to speak to. People seem surprised that I wasn't going to coach with Bill again, but actually Bill's not very close to the coaching. It's not as if I'd be working with Bill."

One of the best aspects of Groh's new job is the autonomy he will get under head coach Paul Johnson, who does not have an offensive coordinator.

"He's proven his ability to move the ball at three different places," Groh said. "He calls all the [offensive] plays and that's a lot to take on. He expressed to me that he's looking for somebody to whom he can entrust the defense."

Groh, who is going to work at his fourth ACC school, will face Virginia every year.

"Certainly, there are some feelings involved, but you develop a professionalism about it," Groh said. "It will be an interesting situation, but I've had experience with this before. We were with the Patriots for four years, playing against the Jets twice a year. We went to the Super Bowl [in '96] and five days later we were headed to the Jets."

Groh was also pleased to report that Louisville is close to announcing that his son, Mike, will be joining Charley Strong's new staff as quarterbacks coach. Mike Groh was a Virginia assistant for eight years, the last three as offensive coordinator, before he resigned following the 2008 season.

Louisville announced Thursday that another Al Groh assistant, four-year offensive line coach Dave Borbely, would be joining Strong.

As for Virginia, London confirmed that former All-ACC defensive lineman and seven-year NFL offensive lineman Ron Mattes has been offered a position as an offensive assistant, most likely with the linemen. All that waits is school approval.

Mattes, a former assistant at James Madison, said he would agree to begin as a graduate assistant "but, for me to get back into it, I would need to have a significant role."

London also has interviewed Elisha "Cadillac" Harris, currently the coach at Indian River High School in Chesapeake after head coaching stints at Green Run High School and Elizabeth City (N.C.) State.

Harris said he has not been offered a job.