Defense and decision-making translate to playing time for U.Va. freshman Evans
By Dave Fairbank 247-4637
January 22, 2010

Good teammate and deferential freshman that he is, the first statistic that Jontel Evans eyeballs after a game is his turnover total.

It's a number that's charted and easy to find — fourth column from the right on a box score. If they listed something like "defensive stops" or a "harassment quotient" in the box score, he'd be drawn to that as well, before glamour stats such as points and rebounds and shot attempts.

Virginia's first-year point guard started the past two games and watched his playing time double as he followed coaches' directives.

"My role is simple," said Evans, a Bethel High product. "Play defense. Don't turn the ball over. Get guys open shots. Hit open shots. But my main role is two things: Play defense and don't turn the ball over."

Two of head coach Tony Bennett's non-negotiables are defensive emphasis and treating the basketball like a family heirloom on offense.

Evans has delivered in both areas and has provided supplementary help elsewhere as the Cavaliers (12-4, 3-0 ACC) prepare for Saturday's encounter at Wake Forest, which just dusted North Carolina.

In starts against UNC Wilmington and Miami, Evans totaled seven assists, four steals and zero turnovers in 54 minutes. In the past four games, beginning with an ACC-opening victory at N.C. State, his totals are 12 assists, six steals and only one turnover in 76 minutes.

That Evans scored just 10 points in those four games bothers him not at all. He pointed out that the Cavaliers have scorers such as Sylven Landesberg, Mike Scott and Mustapha Farrakhan.

"You always have to follow before you can lead," Evans said. "Coming in as a freshman, I'm still learning the ropes. The guys I named, it's their team. They've been here, they've got experience. That's what they do — they're scorers.

"I came here not looking to score, but to become a real, true point guard. Setting everybody up and running the offense. So it was easy for me to take that role. I've never been a guy who needed to score or was like: 'I need this or I need that.' Honestly, I just want to be on the court, so I'll do the little things like play defense and not turn the ball over."

While basketball has plenty of quantifiables, it was the intangibles that prompted the coaches to start Evans and increase his playing time.

"He's a tough guy, hopefully, to play against for an opponent," Bennett said, "because when he's locked in, he guards the ball well. That's, I think, his strength coming in. He can really put some heat on the ball, and that's a very good point of attack to set your defense."

Bennett also pointed out that Evans has "given us some energy. He's ignited our crowd, he's ignited us at times when he's been playing well."

Evans said that assistant coach Ritchie McKay told him that he had earned a starting spot two days before the Miami game, a surprising development given that he was playing approximately 10-to-12 minutes per game prior to that.

"I was jumping with joy inside, but I couldn't really show it," Evans said. "I had to play it cool. But inside, I was jumping with joy."

Evans has progressed quickly in Bennett's system. Evans, who also starred in football for Bethel, arrived at Virginia last summer a little heavy at 202 pounds. But 6 a.m. wake-up calls and 7 a.m. lifting and conditioning sessions with strength coach Mike Curtis melted away the pounds, and he is now a solid 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds.

"I really didn't like it at first," Evans said, "putting my body through all that pain, but it really helped out in the long run. It helped get me in shape, got my wind up."

Bennett and the staff told the players from day one that defense, decision-making and attention to detail would be the keys to playing time. Evans embraced the message and finds himself part of a five-guard rotation.

"We have some balance on our team," Bennett said. "We try to value practice, look at how guys are competing, look at chemistry, look at matchups and adjust accordingly. So, my hope is that he'll continue to improve and wherever that takes him, I can't tell you right now, but he certainly has a good opportunity, and hopefully he'll keep making the most of it."

The Cavaliers have won eight in a row and are among the best in the nation in limiting turnovers and in 3-point and free-throw shooting. Given that they were picked to finish 11th in the ACC, their early success is surprising to most folks outside the Cavs' locker room.

"I think we're capable of continuing it," Evans said. "We've just got to know who we are, know what we do best. Don't try to do anything out of character. Just keep doing the little things that we do, and I think the success can continue."

UVa and Wake Pack It In
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 01/21/2010
Jan. 21, 2010
9:28 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Google "Dick Bennett" and "defense," and you'll see how easy it is to learn about the system that Tony Bennett's father developed.

The search produces links to articles about the elder Bennett's famed Pack-Line defense, as well as advertisements for an instructional DVD that coaches around the country have purchased.

"I was kind of teasing my dad," Tony Bennett said Thursday. "I was like, 'Why did you ever make that tape?' I told him to keep that thing quiet, but he [spread the word]."

The Pack-Line is designed to limit penetration and shut down the post. The younger Bennett used it at Washington State, where he succeeded his father as head coach, and he's using it at UVa, where he was hired last spring.

"It's a defense, when played well, that's challenging to score against, to break down early," Bennett said. "You can't just attack it. You sort of gotta earn your looks."

The Cavaliers are not unique.

"A lot of people have incorporated concepts of the Pack defense, so I've seen it," Bennett said. "It's pretty popular, obviously."

Another team that's fully committed to the defense is Wake Forest, which happens to be UVa's next opponent. The ACC rivals meet Saturday afternoon at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Dino Gaudio adopted the Pack-Line after succeeding the late Skip Prosser as the Demon Deacons' coach, and Gaudio has quizzed both Bennetts on the nuances of the defense. His exchanges with Gaudio, Tony Bennett said with a chuckle, occurred before he took the UVa job.

Washington State's defenses during Bennett's tenure ranked among the nation's stingiest, but it's not an easy system to master. Defensive breakdowns have hampered the 'Hoos (3-0, 12-4) during their transition to the Pack-Line, though the team's performance has been much better in conference play.

Overall, though, Virginia ranks 11th among ACC teams in field-goal-percentage defense and last in 3-point-percentage defense.

"We have a saying that the defense never rests, and it doesn't," Bennett said. "You work at it, you work at it, and I think it gets better over time. But you never really arrive and say, 'Yep, we got it. Our defense is good. We don't have to address it daily. We don't have to pay the price and work at it in practice.'

"You have to keep grinding at it, keep working. Sometimes it'll look poor in a game. Sometimes there will be some stats that are alarming. But you just try to be as consistent at it and work at it, and there's a discipline to it in that daily work that just hopefully builds a level of soundess and toughness that's needed. And that's something that I think our guys have gotten better at."

Wake (3-2, 13-4) is well ahead of Virginia at that end of the court. The Deacons lead the ACC in 3-point defense and ranks third in field-goal defense.

Bennett watched the TV broadcast of Wake's rout of North Carolina on Wednesday night. The long, athletic Deacons are "playing [the Pack-Line] very well," he said. "Dino does a great job with it, and they have a good feel for it."

Even so, Bennett acknowledged, he's well-versed in the weaknesses of the Pack-Line, and so he has some ideas about how best to attack Wake.

-- Jeff White

Could the ACC champ be 10-6?

Duke and North Carolina lost last night. Badly. Both trailed for the final 31-plus minutes and saw their defenses shredded.

North Carolina State 88, Duke 74.

Wake Forest 82, North Carolina 69.

Rarely have the ACC's basketball powers looked so vulnerable on the same day.

With the conference's preseason favorites now saddled with a combined five league defeats, and with overachieving Virginia the only team without a conference loss, we got to wondering: Since the advent of the 16-game ACC schedule, has the regular-season winner even been 10-6?

The answer is no.

Since expansion of the conference schedule in 1991-92, the worst record for a regular-season champ was 11-5, that in 2007, when Virginia and North Carolina shared first place, with Virginia Tech, Maryland and Boston College a game behind at 10-6.

We're starting to think 10-6 may be good enough this year, which reminds us of the 2008 football season, when no team was better than 5-3 in conference play.

Sure, North Carolina was without its best player, forward Ed Davis (ankle), last night. But the Tar Heels (12-7, 1-3) have lost three consecutive conference games for the first time under Roy Williams and have serious backcourt issues.

Duke (15-3, 3-2) appeared to be the class of league before last night's trip to Raleigh. But N.C. State, which has lost home games to Virginia and Clemson, dismantled the Devils by shooting 58.2 percent (the previous high against Duke this season was 51 percent) and committing just nine turnovers.

Led by forward Tracy Smith's 23 points, all five Wolfpack starters scored in double-figures. They combined for 79 points.

Duke is 0-3 in true road games, the other setbacks coming at Wisconsin and Georgia Tech. The Devils never led against the Badgers but were tied with the Yellow Jackets three minutes from the buzzer. They're probably still the best bet to go 11-5 or better, with Georgia Tech (14-4, 3-2) on their heels -- Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors give the Jackets an NBA-caliber front line.

Virginia (12-4, 3-0) and Maryland (12-5, 2-1) are the only teams with fewer than two ACC losses, and neither appears capable of 11-5 or better. We'd be surprised if the Cavaliers won Saturday at Wake Forest, though the Terps could extend to 4-1 with home games Saturday (N.C. State) and Tuesday (Miami).

In the annual poll conducted at the ACC's media day, Duke and North Carolina tied for first. Virginia was picked 11th. Yet here we are in late January, and the Cavaliers have a three-game lead in the loss column over the Tar Heels, two over the Devils.

Question: Will Virginia finish ahead of either Duke or Carolina? Both?

Fire away.

Posted by David Teel

Taking care of business
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 21, 2010
Updated: January 21, 2010
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
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nowBuzz up!

One of the staples of a Tony Bennett practice is something known as a “sureness drill.” The idea of the drill is to make possessing the basketball so insanely difficult, that when the players get into an actual game, the defense from opposing teams will seem like a walk in the park by comparison.
In essence, it would almost be hard for a player to commit a turnover.
“We have guys hounding us and we only have one dribble to advance the ball through the full court,” explained Virginia guard Jontel Evans. “Then we do drills with four guys in a box and three guys hounding us, and we just can’t turn it over.”
If a player does commit a turnover, he is immediately substituted for and must run sprints.
In a way, Bennett is the basketball version of Ivan Pavlov. His “conditioning” has Virginia committing fewer turnovers per game than it has at any time in recent school history.
This year, Bennett’s Bunch ranks first in the ACC in taking care of the basketball. Virginia is averaging just 10.2 turnovers, easily ahead of Duke (11.7) and Maryland (11.8).
Even more impressive, UVa is ranked third in the nation (out of 334 schools) in the category — Houston is No. 1.
Today, taking care of the basketball has become a tired cliche uttered by coaches everywhere. But when Bennett discusses the subject, it’s clearly not lip service.
“We talk about trying to value every possession,” Bennett said. “I think it has been one of the important factors in us having a bit of success.”
Virginia’s newfound prudence is one of the big reasons it is sitting atop the ACC as it prepares to face Wake Forest on Saturday.
Last season, under former coach Dave Leitao, UVa ranked No. 242 (out of 330) in turnovers. In 2007-08, the Cavaliers were 139th. The year before, Leitao’s most successful at the helm — the Cavs were 95th.
Clearly, there is a correlation between taking care of the ball and winning.
“When he got here, from Day 1, he told us we have to value the basketball,” Evans said. “Last year, we didn’t do that, which is probably why we didn’t win as many games. This year, I think we value it more.”
Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski, who is having the best season of his career, says players are well aware of the fact that nothing bothers Bennett more than a careless turnover.
But didn’t Leitao despise turnovers, too?
“Not having anything to do with coach Leitao, but coach Bennett — just the way he relates to people and the way he delivers his message — he does a good job of getting it across,” Zeglinski said “He has some principles that if you violate, he’s going to jump all over you for it.
“But he just respects us as players. I think it’s also a maturity level of being here now for three years and starting to get it on the offensive end. We know we have to take care of the ball in this system to be successful.”
When he was at Washington State, Bennett’s teams were always very good at keeping miscues to a minimum. Last season, the Cougars ranked 14th nationally. They ranked third and fourth, respectively, the two previous years.
So how (other than Bennett’s Pavlov approach) is Virginia doing so well in taking care of the ball?
“They have very good guard play and they take you deep into the shot clock and set a ton of screens,” said Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, whose team was upset by UVa last week. “You have to be prepared to defend against the screens. And when you screen as much as they do, it should be more clean catches.”
Virginia had just seven turnovers against the Yellow Jackets.
“I think Sylven Landesberg and Jon Scheyer [of Duke] right now are the two best players in the league I’ve seen,” Hewitt said. “And Zeglinski’s a good ball handler. The kid Evans is a good ball handler. They’ve got a good corps of guards.”
Miami coach Frank Haith concurred.
“They have some screening actions and are very patient in what they do offensively,” Haith said. “But I think the biggest thing is their guys — they don’t gamble. They play solid and they don’t make home run plays. They execute their stuff, and that’s a good quality to have. Maybe more teams should do that.”
Bennett isn’t ready to pat himself — or his team — on the back, though. While pleased with the unit’s lack of turnovers, he says it’s a never-ending mission.
“It’s something you wish you could say that you’ve arrived and you don’t have to worry about it,” Bennett said, “but that’s not the case.”
Those “sureness drills” are probably here to stay.
 

Men's Basketball: The hidden advantages of scheduling

Although it might be considered blasphemy to lead with Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg on a Virginia blog (Greenberg, by the way, is a former U-Va. assistant), the Hokies' coach is fond of pointing out that a big part of success in the ACC depends on “who you play, when you play and where you play.”

In other words, no two games are created equally. A team on a Saturday-Monday turnaround responds differently than a team with four days' rest. A trip from Charlottesville to Blacksburg is different than a trip from Boston to Miami. A road game is different in early January when school is out of session and students are not on campus than one at Cameron Indoor Stadium in February when the Cameron Crazies have camped out overnight.

Why is this relevant to Virginia? Because a scheduling quirk might work in the Cavaliers’ favor on Saturday at Wake Forest.

The Cavaliers originally had this week off – a basketball version of a “bye week” – although the UNC Wilmington game, snowed out in December, was rescheduled for Monday. Wake Forest has already played twice this week – once at Duke, once at North Carolina.

So Virginia will have had four days between games – and six days between ACC games – while the Demon Deacons played the two teams predicted to finish No. 1 in the ACC preseason poll on the road in the same span. This is not lost on Wake Forest Coach Dino Gaudio, who emphasized that he’s not complaining about the scheduling but that he wants to see the schedule feature “game integrity.”

“I’m not as upset about having to go to Duke, and having to go to Carolina. That’s part of it,” Gaudio said. "And it turns in our favor toward the end of year, but it shouldn’t be that way for Wake Forest, either. We play Virginia on Saturday. We played at Duke on Sunday, at Chapel Hill on Wednesday and Virginia on Saturday. And I’m fine. Now, when you look at U-Va.’s schedule, I think they played last Saturday and play us this Saturday with whatever that is, eight days in between.

“If the [rescheduled game] was not the case, then that doesn’t make sense to me that we play three games in seven days and they have eight days off. I think it happens to us when we play Carolina the next time, but it shouldn’t happen to anybody. It shouldn’t happen to anybody.”

What are your thoughts? Is this is an advantage to the Cavaliers?

By Zach Berman
 

Cavs take ACC’s best record to Wake Forest
Aminu, high-powered Demon Deacon offense will test hot-shooting Cavaliers riding eight-game win streak
Meryem Karad, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Featured / Men's Basketball / Sports
January 22, 2010 0

Although it currently sits atop the ACC standings and is riding the momentum of an eight-game winning streak, the Virginia men’s basketball team may face its toughest test yet as it returns to conference action Saturday against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.

Virginia (12-4, 3-0 ACC) escaped a near upset against North Carolina, Wilmington earlier this week at home. Though the Cavaliers held as much as a 16-point advantage during the second half, the Seahawks scraped back, forcing turnovers and taking a four-point lead with 2:57 left. Sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg salvaged the team’s poor performance with a game-winning 15-foot jump shot with three seconds remaining to secure a 69-67 victory.

“We were sloppy — offensively we turned it over 11 times in the second half, so, just learn from it,” sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski said. “We’ve got ACC the rest of the way, so we’ll be ready.”

Part of the reason Virginia may be prepared for its next opponent is because of its prolific three-point shooting thus far. Through his first 16 games at Virginia, coach Tony Bennett has the Cavaliers shooting 41.5 percent from behind the arc. In fact, Virginia is the only team in the ACC shooting above 40 percent, ahead of both Duke (39.2 percent) and Maryland (39.0 percent), the next closest schools. The Demon Deacons rank first in the ACC in three-point percentage defense, however, meaning Virginia will need to attack the glass and get points in the paint to stay afloat. Bennett acknowledged that his team will need to put forth a better all-around effort moving forward.

“You are not just going to out-individualize people at our level,” Bennett said of his team’s close victory against Wilmington. “We were fortunate. We will learn from it. I am thankful for the win, but we realize that we have stuff we have to clean up and we can’t ever stop.”

Wake, on the other hand, is coming off an impressive victory over No. 24 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, surpassing the Tarheels on all sides of the ball. The 82-69 thrashing pushed the Demon Deacons to a 2-2 ACC record and a 13-4 overall mark.

The Deacon duo of freshman C.J. Harris and senior Ishmael Smith each scored 20 points Wednesday night to lead Wake Forest. Perhaps of more importance for Virginia, though, will be containing sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who leads the ACC in rebounding with 11.5 boards per game and ranks sixth in scoring with 17.3 points per game, just behind Landesberg. Aminu poses a dual threat with the ability to take his defender outside off the dribble and operate in the post, as well. A strong effort from junior forward Mike Scott and senior forward Jerome Meyinsee will be needed to limit Aminu’s production. Virginia’s front court faced a similar disadvantage against Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech but held its own in that contest in the team’s 82-75 victory.

Still, it remains to be seen whether Meyinsee and Scott can perform at the same level in a raucous road environment, and Wake Forest may pose an offensive threat the Cavaliers have yet to encounter.

During one 90-second span in the second half against the Tar Heels, freshman forward Ari Stewart made three consecutive three-pointers as Wake Forest turned a six-point lead into a 13-point advantage. Collectively, the Demon Deacons made 9-of-16 three-point attempts Wednesday night for a season-best 56 percent shooting.

Such an explosive offense, adjoined with home field advantage, does not bode well for a Cavalier defense that fell apart when defending UNC, Wilmington’s three-ball.

Nevertheless, Virginia does have plenty of weapons to counter Wake. Against the Seahawks, Meyinsee contributed a career-high 14 points and Scott also had 12. Landesberg, as always, will pose a matchup problem that few teams can handle.

“It will definitely be a tough game because we’ll be on the road” Meyinsee said, “We’ll come back strong and get a fight on Saturday at Wake Forest.”

White: New Ticket Option for Step Up to the Plate
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/21/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Good-bye, Memorial Gymnasium.
Hello, John Paul Jones Arena.
That switch, like the Cavaliers' 2009 trip to the College World Series, speaks to how far UVa baseball has come in recent years.
Step Up to the Plate is the program's signature fundraiser, and for its first seven years, the event was held at Mem Gym, where UVa players, coaches and fans heard such keynote speakers as Terry Francona, Tony LaRussa, Ryne Sandberg and Cal Ripken Jr.
Friday night, the festivities will take place at JPJ.
"We had really outgrown Mem Gym, although it was a great venue for it," Cavaliers coac Brian O'Connor said Thursday. "It served its purpose, but we got to a point where, in order to fit everybody, the tables had to be so crunched together. We were just limited by space.
"In JPJ, the tables won't be on top of each other. People will be more comfortable in the room, and I just think with the state-of-the-art audio-visual [capabilities in the arena], it's going to add a lot to the event."
The venue isn't the only thing new this year. With floor seats sold out, general-admission tickets are being offered for the first time. The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for ages 12 and under.
Fans with these tickets will be let in JPJ at 7 p.m. They'll be able to catch O'Connor's remarks and those of the main speaker, Dave Winfield, and a limited menu of food and drinks will be on sale at a concession stand.
Floor seats for adults cost $70 apiece, and youth tickets were $35.
"Once we got to a sold-out situation, the idea was brought forth to really provide anyone and everyone an opportunity to come and enjoy the evening," said O'Connor, who's in his seventh year at UVa, where his record is 265-104-1.
"To listen to a Hall of Fame speaker of the magnitude of Dave Winfield is an opportunity very few people have. We wanted as many people as possible to have the opportunity to support our program and enjoy the evening."
Virginia baseball never has been healthier. The Wahoos have made six straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, and they're coming off a season in they advanced to Omaha, Neb., for the first time in school history. UVa is the ACC's defending champion and figures to start the season ranked in the top 5 nationally.
Winfield, who played for six major-league teams, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility. He's now an executive vice president/senior advisor with the San Diego Padres, as well as an analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight show.
At the University of Minnesota, Winfield starred in baseball and basketball. He led the Golden Gophers to the College World Series in 1973 and was named the tournament's MVP for his pitching exploits.
The crowd at Step Up to the Plate is expected to include about 75 former UVa players, O'Connor said. That would be a record for an event whose popularity keeps growing.
"I just think there are so many people that have gone every year," O'Connor said, "and it's something that everybody really looks forward to, because it's such a fun night for everyone."
Tickets may be purchased by calling (800) 542-8821 until 3 p.m. Friday. They'll be sold at JPJ's main entrance starting at 6 p.m. Friday.

The dark knight
Jack Bird, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Sports
January 22, 2010 0

Out with the old, in with the new. Groh is gone, Mike London returns. After a nine-loss season, including one to FCS school William & Mary, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage decided he had had enough. But it wasn’t just the AD. Students, fans, media and even the players to some extent — from what I heard through the grapevine — were ready for change. Some insiders believe select alumni even took it upon themselves to raise the money to buy out the rest of Groh’s contract. So in case you were wondering just how badly the University wanted Al Groh gone, you have your answer: $4.33 million bad.

Just two years removed from a 9-4 season that included a bowl appearance and ACC Coach of the Year honors, Groh was run out of town on the horse he rode in on.

Pretty long way to fall. And quickly.

Now, it probably sounds like I’m about to set up a long diatribe about how firing Groh was the unfair and the wrong thing to do. But I’m not. I think a change was what the Cavaliers needed. But given the atmosphere at Virginia now created by the firing of Groh and the recent firing of Dave Leitao, I believe it’s important to examine exactly why we are ready for that change.

As early as I can remember — I can only remember four years back — Virginia fans have been hot and cold about Al. I remember seeing a group of people wearing “Fire Groh” shirts at the first Cavalier football game I ever attended. I’m not sure why they wanted him fired that year, I just know the next year was when our team went 9-4. What was it he didn’t do right four years ago that he did right three years ago? And what did he stop doing the last two years?

After a disappointing 5-7 season two years ago, the first shake-up happened. Groh’s job was already on the line at the end of the season, and as an apparent compromise to appease the restless fans and cure the anemic offense, then-offensive coordinator Mike Groh — son of Al Groh — was removed in favor of Gregg Brandon. Now this is just an assumption — but I’m guessing that was not a decision Groh came to on his own, but rather a not so subtle suggestion by Littlepage and the powers that be.

So this season was Groh’s last chance. His career at Virginia hinged on a gimmicky new offensive strategy run by a coach he was essentially forced (I’m guessing) to hire. And boy, did it not pan out. (See 26-14 in favor of W&M.) After a devastating loss to the Tribe, the Cavaliers limped through a few more games and finally notched their first win — despite a feeble offense. Meanwhile, their defense was praised for its ability to continually give their counterparts on the other side of the ball chances to win games.

In fact, as the season continued and Virginia slipped further and further into the depths of Division I, the perception was that defense was the one thing the Cavaliers were doing right.

Yet the criticism was being heaped on Groh. Everything was his fault. Everything. It wasn’t even clear that Groh was calling the plays on offense. The one part of the team everyone was sure he was in charge of was doing well.

When I saw the media try to get any blame out of him, though, they were woefully unsuccessful. Granted I only attended two post-games with Groh, but neither time would he discuss anything leading down the road of “it wasn’t my fault.”

During one such press conference, when asked his thoughts about Brandon, Groh curtly refused to answer the question and even went so far as to rhetorically pose the question, “Would I ask your editor to publicly comment on your performance?”

Groh just took it like a man — he let fans use him as the scapegoat. Never were Jameel Sewell’s interceptions or failure to convert in key situations the center of attention. Never were the offensive turnovers or poor touchdown-conversion rate in the red zone heavily criticized. Never Brandon’s inability to find consistent offensive production out of the experience of Sewell or the talented Cavalier running game. Or abysmal fan support.

I’m not trying to say that Groh is the man, or that none of this was his fault, or that he didn’t need to be fired. Sometimes, even a good coach has to be let go to get a fresh start. Sometimes a good coach doesn’t mesh well with the players or community (i.e., Dave Leitao). I just wanted to point out what the man did for us.

I recall a column my fellow senior associate wrote for our paper a while back: The Guy in the Glass. During the press conference following the Virginia Tech game, Groh read a poem.

“The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.”

Now I’m just speculating when I say I think Groh was trying to say the judgment of fans was unimportant to him relative to how he judged himself deep down. And if this is what he was trying to say, I get the implication. He bore the brunt of our awful season. While we were comfortably blaming him for all our woes, he took it, because he could.

Groh knows: You either retire a hero, or coach long enough to see yourself become the failure.

So Groh is whatever Virginia needs him to be.

Virginia needs its true heroes: the team. Coaches will always come and go, but the Cavaliers — our boys in blue — will always be there.

And in comes Mike London, 24-5 at Richmond, former FCS National Coach of the Year. Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.

We need to blame Groh — that’s what needs to happen. Because sometimes the truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes people need more. Those fans who sit through hours of hot sun or shiver through freezing rain. The any-weather fans that tailgate all day. The season-ticket holders. All those who bleed orange and blue. Sometimes fans deserve to have their faith rewarded.

The fans have to believe a change can happen, and so we have to believe it’s Al Groh’s fault. We have to hope Mike London can save our football team, and to believe it’s saveable, we have to believe it wasn’t our players, but our coach who’s at fault. And Groh let us do that. He may not be a good coach, but he is a hero.

So why is he leaving? Because we have to blame him.

Because he’s the hero Virginia deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll curse him because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a sideline guardian, a play-calling protector. A dark knight.
 

UVa Insider, the column (and some Tech stuff, too) - Doug Doughty

At least one of the theories given for the demise of the Al Groh coaching regime at Virginia was his inability to hold onto assistants.

While I have had some qualms with the way Groh ran his program, with his redshirting philosophy ranking near the top of the list, I never felt that he couldn’t keep a staff together.
When an Al Golden left for the head-coaching position at Temple or a Ron Prince for Kansas State, that shouldn’t have reflected poorly on Groh.

My feeling is that the coaching turnover at Virginia during Groh’s tenure was pretty standard for a nine-year period. It only looks bad when compared to the Cavaliers’ archrival, Virginia Tech, where continuity on the football staff is virtually unparalleled.

But for the sake of argument, here are the Tech-UVa numbers.

From his arrival prior to the 2001 season and ending with the 2009 season, Groh had 23 different assistant coaches.

Over the same period, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer had 14 assistants.

The full-time Virginia assistants (with years of service in parentheses) were Bob Price (9), Mike Groh (8), Mike London (6), Anthony Poindexter (6), Ron Prince (6), Al Golden (5), Danny Rocco (5), Levern Belin (4), Dave Borbely (4), Steve Bernstein (3), Corwin Brown (3), Bob Diaco (3), John Garrett (3), Wayne Lineburg (3), Kevin Ross (3), Mark D’Onofrio (2), Bill Musgrave (2), Gregg Brandon (1), Andy Heck (1), Bob Pruett (1), Latrell Scott (1), Bob Trott (1) and Chad Wilt (1).

The Tech assistants were Jim Cavanaugh (9), Bud Foster (9), Billy Hite (9), Bryan Stinespring (9), Charley Wiles (9), Tony Ball (5), Danny Pearman (5), Lorenzo Ward (5), Torrian Gray (4), Curt Newsome (4), Mike O’Cain (4), Kevin Rogers (4), Kevin Sherman (4) and Rickey Bustle (1).

To me, the great disparity is not between the total number of assistants but in the assistants that have been at the respective schools for the entire nine-year period.

Consider the assistants who have been at Tech for the entire period. They include the associate head coach (Hite), the offensive coordinator (Stinespring), the defensive coordinator (Foster) and the recruiting coordinator (Cavanaugh). That’s basically the big four assistants on any staff and the defensive-line coach (Wiles) ranks high on any priority list.

Over the same period, UVa has had four offensive coordinators – Musgrave, Prince, Mike Groh and Brandon. And, at least in recent years, the offenses haven’t been very good. The Cavaliers also had four defensive coordinators – Golden, London, Pruett and Diaco – although Diaco took off for Cincinnati before actually serving a game as UVa’s defensive coordinator.

Groh pretty much served as his own defensive coordinators and the UVa defenses were decent to good to very good at times during his tenure. As bad as the offenses were, it’s hard to blame that on a lack of continuity until this year, when the Cavaliers never really adjusted to Brandon’s "spread."

Clearly, Groh didn’t have the stability on his staff that Beamer has had in Blacksburg, but how many programs do? I can’t imagine there are too many coaching staffs in the country that have five of the primary assistants that they did in 2001.

A more apt comparison would be Virginia to Maryland or Virginia to Wake Forest, two other schools that made head-coaching changes in 2001. There’s been a ton of turnover on the Maryland staff and, the truth be known, the Terps might have fired coach Ralph Friedgen following a 2-10 season if they could have afforded it.

At Wake Forest, head coach Jim Grobe still has four of the assistants from his 2001 staff, including offensive coordinator Steed Lobotze and defensive coordinator Brad Lambert, both promoted after serving as position coaches on Grobe’s first staff, and recruiting coordinator Ray McCartnery.

Maybe that’s why Grobe has had greater staying power than Groh, but I think there are a lot of programs, including other ACC programs, that have had as much or more instability than Virginia. Of course, many of those programs have made head-coaching changes and, in some cases, multiple changes.

Stability is great but just don’t judge everything by Virginia Tech.
 

Cavs look to continue winning trend
By Jay Jenkins
Published: January 21, 2010
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There has been no need for Steve Garland to set his bedside alarm clock.
Nervously excited for a monumental weekend, Virginia’s fourth-year wrestling coach has felt fortunate to catch a three-hour nap this week.
There is a good reason — the 16th-ranked Cavaliers (12-3) open ACC dual action with North Carolina tonight at 5 and tangle with No. 14 Virginia Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Various promotions are in place and record crowds are expected for both matches.
“It’s a real big weekend
whenever we wrestle these two teams,” Garland said. “We have a lot of alumni coming back, so we are putting a lot of pressure on ourselves. I am certainly stressed. I have already started my traditional no-sleep-the-week-of bit.
“I am just so darned nervous and excited at the same time. All competitors hate losing and people say that and use that cliche statement loosely, but I loathe it. It literally keeps me up at night. All I can think about is winning right now.”
Virginia enters the weekend with its highest ranking in
program history, having upended American, Bucknell, Hofstra, Old Dominion and Michigan (twice) to highlight the campaign.
It was something that Garland expected a year ago before a plethora of injuries shook of the program’s lineup.
There was a torn ACL, a labrum surgery, a neck injury, a lateral collateral ligament tear and even torn cartilage in one wrestler’s ribs.
“Last year, on paper, we were supposed to have an even better year than what we are putting out this year, arguably,” Garland said. “Some people will say that … but the reason why we are doing better is flat out because we are healthy.
“We lost so many guys to massive injuries.”
While the reserves performed admirably a year ago, the team’s starting performers have noticed how a relatively healthy roster has helped.
“Knock on wood because you never know, but it has been
perfect,” said sophomore Derek Valenti, who is 17-5 on the season at 141 pounds. “You can’t ask for anything better. Everyone being healthy is great, but you always have faith in your back-ups and we call them the 11th man in the practice room.”
While the Cavaliers want revenge for a 23-9 loss at North Carolina (3-5-1, 1-2 ACC) last year, they’re also looking forward to to Saturday’s rematch with the Hokies (13-3, 1-0). Virginia lost to Virginia Tech, 21-18, on Jan. 9 at the Virginia Duals.
“We ended up losing kinda close [to Virginia Tech], so we have a chip on our shoulder right now,” Valenti said. “Everyone on our team is stepping up now and we are all looking forward to it. We are really excited for what is to come.”
Garland, a former Cavalier wrestler, said it could come down to bonus points, which include registering and avoiding pins on the mat.
Energy, which could be
boosted from the crowds at Memorial Gym, might also play a role.
“Last time, a couple of kids came out flat,” Valenti admitted. “The whole Virginia Duals, it was probably our best dual performance ever, but for some reason in the Tech match I came out flat. I know that. I didn’t wrestle to my potential. There were a couple of matches that could have gone either way and they didn’t go our way that time. We just have to learn from our losses.”
 

Cavaliers Head to Duke, UNC This Weekend
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/21/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams continue competition with two conference dual meets this weekend on the road. The Cavaliers will swim at Duke at 5 p.m. Friday in Durham, N.C., before participating in separate meets against nationally ranked North Carolina on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The men's meet against the Tar Heels is set for a noon start while the women's meet will begin at 3 p.m.
The Virginia women, ranked 11th in the latest CSCAA poll, are coming off a 163-123 victory over No. 23 Florida State. The ninth-ranked Cavalier men also defeated the 15th-ranked Seminoles 161-134. Both UVa squads have a 5-1 dual meet record and are 2-0 against ACC opponents.
"We had a really wonderful week of training down in Florida," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "The conditions were cold but that attitudes of the athletes - their daily performances, focus and intensity - was great. We left there very satisfied and please from a training perspective."
Duke swam last Saturday against South Carolina, where the Blue Devils split the meet. The women earned a 176.5-123.5 victory while the Duke men fell to the Gamecocks, 171-129. The Duke women's team is 5-3 in dual meets this season, including a 2-3 ACC record. The men's squad is 3-3 in dual meets with a 2-2 league mark.
"The combination of Duke and North Carolina on back-to-back days is an effort to mirror what it feels like to compete at the ACC Championships," Bernardino said. "Duke is probably one of the most improved teams in the country over the course of the last three years, for both the men and women. Coach (Dan) Colella has done a great job recruiting and bringing in some fine athletes into his program. We will be challenged right out of the shoot."
Both North Carolina teams, meanwhile, join Virginia in the latest CSCAA poll, with the Tar Heel men ranked No. 14 and the women No. 15. UNC is coming off dual meet victories at home against Clemson on Jan. 9. The North Carolina men earned a 181-110 win while the women defeated the Tigers 187-106. The UNC men's team is an unblemished 8-0 in dual meets this year, including a 4-0 mark against ACC opponents, while the Tar Heel women are 7-1, also with a 4-0 conference record.
"I personally believe it's not only one of the best swimming rivalries in the ACC, but it's one of the premier swimming rivalries in the country," Bernardino said of Virginia and North Carolina. "It's two very good teams that get excited to race one another and have a great deal of respect for the abilities that each other has in the water. It will be an intense, action-packed, very fast meet."
Both the men's and women's meets against North Carolina with be shown on the school's website at www.TarHeelBlue.com. Live results for the UNC meet will also be available.
 

Late basket lifts Virginia
From staff reports
Published: January 21, 2010
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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The road continues to be good to the No. 25 Virginia women’s basketball team.
The Cavaliers continued their winning ways on the road on Thursday, dispatching Boston College in the Conte Forum,
70-68.
Monica Wright paced Virginia with a career-high 39 points and Paulisha Kellum scored her only field goal of the night with 2.3 seconds to play to lift the Cavaliers past the Eagles.
With its second straight victory, Virginia improved to 13-5 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, creating a logjam in the middle of the league’s standings.
Wright’s 39 points ties for the second-highest scoring total in Virginia history. The last
39-point game was by current assistant coach and former All-American Wendy Palmer vs. Maryland on Jan. 25, 1995.
Wright also continued her climb up the ACC’s all-time scoring list and is now No. 8 with 2,206 career points.
It marked the 11th time this season that the senior guard eclipsed the 20-point plateau.
After two free throws by Wright with 35 seconds left to put UVa up, 68-66, Boston College’s Brittanny Johnson hit a lay-up with 16 seconds left to knot the score at 68.
With time winding down, Kellum drove the lane and hit the game-winning shot.
Chelsea Shine finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Telia McCall added six points and four rebounds. BC had four players reach double figures. Johnson and Mickel Picco finished with 13 points apiece.
Senator-elect Scott Brown was on hand to watch his daughter, Ayla, play for Boston College.
Virginia created some separation late in the first half, closing out the session with an 8-3 run to lead 34-30 at intermission.
Virginia, which plays two of its next three league games at home, returns to action on Sunday at home against Georgia Tech at 1 p.m.