Sene Stays Positive in Face of Adversity
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 01/26/2012
By Jeff White
jwhite@virginia.edu

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In a five-on-five drill Wednesday at John Paul Jones Arena, UVa assistant coach Jason Williford caught a pass in the paint and went up for a shot. Sophomore forward Akil Mitchell swatted the basketball away, and Williford tumbled to the court, where the former Virginia standout lay for a few moments before wearily getting to his feet.

Seated nearby, Assane Sene tried not to laugh.

"That was a foul," Williford said to Sene. "You saw it, right?"

Sene stayed silent, but his smile betrayed his answer. Asked later about the play, Sene said, "Coach Willy, he's funny. I just think that he was tired and called that a foul, but there was no foul."

Six days after having surgery to repair a fracture in his right ankle, Sene returned to practice Wednesday, and as usual he was in a good mood. He's a long way from the returning to the court -- UVa hopes to have him back in the lineup in early March -- but the 7-0, 239-pound senior's presence at JPJ lifted the spirits of his coaches and teammates, who gravitated to Sene during practice breaks.

"I'm feeling better," Sene said, extra-long crutches at his side. "Go to practice, watch my boys doing their work. It's great to be back in here watching them."

Sene, a native of Senegal, started the Cavaliers' first 17 games this season, 15 of which they won. Game No. 17 was last Thursday night in Atlanta, where Sene injured his ankle late in the first half when he landed awkwardly after challenging a shot by a Georgia Tech guard.

"To be honest, right when it happened, I knew that it was something serious, because I've sprained my ankle before," Sene recalled Wednesday.

"That night, we put ice and stuff on it, but I couldn't put any weight on it. And when I went home that night and I was in my bed, I was like, 'No, man, I don't think this is only a sprain.' "

X-rays taken last Friday morning revealed a fracture. Later that day Dr. David Diduch, the team's orthopedic surgeon, inserted several screws and a plate into Sene's ankle.

"I didn't want to waste any time," said Sene, who's expected to be sidelined about six weeks.

This is his first serious injury, but "it could have been worse," Sene said. It could have been season-ending, he knows. And so he remains upbeat as he embarks on his rehabilitation.

"I just put everything in God's hand and just stay strong, because that's the only thing I can do right now," Sene said. "Because crying or thinking about it or whatever, it's not going to make it heal quicker, right?"

At 9 p.m. Thursday, No. 19 UVa (2-2, 15-3) hosts ACC foe Boston College (2-3, 7-12) at JPJ. This will be the Wahoos' second game without Sene. The first was a 47-45 loss to visiting Virginia Tech on Sunday night.

With Sene watching from a seat behind the home bench, the 'Hoos missed 31 field-goal attempts against the Hokies, including 13 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Sene, who leads UVa with 15 blocked shots, is averaging 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds this season. Those aren't All-ACC numbers, but Sene contributes in ways not always apparent on the stat sheet, especially at the defensive end, and he might well have made a difference against VPI.

"It's always hard to watch," said Sene, who has started 65 games as a Cavalier. "When you're a basketball player, you always want to play, you don't want to watch. On the bench watching, I learned a lot. But most of the things that I learned are about my teammates, seeing how I can help them to win without me, because I'm going to be out for a little bit. And after I watched the game, I saw things that I need to share with them."

With Sene out, Virginia coach Tony Bennett has only three post players: Mitchell, Mike Scott and Darion Atkins, all of whom are listed at 6-8.

Scott, a fifth-year senior, is a candidate for ACC player of the year and leads the Cavaliers in scoring and rebounding. Sene, not surprisingly, directs most of his suggestions to Mitchell, who made his first ACC start against Virginia Tech, and Atkins, a freshman. Mitchell and Atkins are probably the team's most athletic players.

"I talk to them a lot," Sene said, "because they're young, so they definitely need me to tell them what I've seen and stuff. So I've been talking to them since [the Virginia Tech game], and I think that's going to be help them."

Neither Mitchell nor Atkins distinguished himself against the Hokies. In 25 minutes, Mitchell totaled 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal. Atkins grabbed 4 rebounds in six scoreless minutes off the bench but missed his only shot from the floor.

"Anything we can get out of them from an offensive standpoint is big for us," Bennett said Monday on the ACC coaches' teleconference.

Virginia Tech's starting power forward, 6-7 sophomore Jarell Eddie, is a dangerous 3-point shooter who operates primarily on the perimeter, so Bennett went with a smaller lineup for much of the second half Sunday night.

BC's starting power forward, 6-8 freshman Ryan Anderson, has attempted 59 3-pointers this season. Don't be surprised, then, to see Bennett surround Scott with four perimeter players again at times Thursday night.

"It's just a game-time decision and a personnel-based decision," Bennett said. "We haven't done that a lot this year, because when we've had Assane ... we've had a pretty good [frontcourt] rotation. But with our numbers being shortened, you have to consider that at times. It just depends on who's in the game, what's going on, really, at both ends of the floor."

Virginia basketball vs. Boston College: Short-handed Cavs look for novel ways to score
By Steve Yanda, Published: January 25

CHARLOTTESVILLE – A quarter of the way through ACC play, roster limitations have forced the Virginia men’s basketball team into much the same position as it found itself at this point last season, when the team struggled to find ways to score.

Senior center Assane Sene’s fractured ankle, illnesses suffered recently by the Cavaliers’ top two scoring guards and the team’s overall shooting struggles have complicated matters. So when Virginia (15-3, 2-2 ACC) hosts Boston College (7-12, 2-3) on Thursday night, expect to see an emphasis placed on garnering quality looks. That, the 19th-ranked Cavaliers have realized, is one of the few things they can control.

“We have to be all-hands-on-deck and ready to do anything because our numbers now are down and there are three interior guys,” Coach Tony Bennett said. “We just have to be fluid with the situation. . . . Nothing’s out of the realm” of possibility.

With the return of fifth-year senior forward Mike Scott, offensive production was supposed to be easier to come by this season. And when Scott’s teammates are hitting shots, it is. Scott often draws considerable attention from opposing defenses, which enables open looks for the four other Virginia players on the floor.

But in the Cavaliers’ past four games, they have shot 40 percent from the field and 22 percent from three-point range. Consequently, defenses have been free to harass Scott even further.

During a 47-45 loss Sunday to Virginia Tech, Virginia shot a season-low 32.6 percent from the field and made 1 of 14 three-point attempts. It wasn’t just that the shots weren’t falling, the Cavaliers realized upon reviewing film of the game; it was that the shooters weren’t being put – or putting themselves – in the best position to take the shots.

Sophomore forward Akil Mitchell said the Cavaliers were taking wide angles en route to setting screens, which allowed Virginia Tech’s defenders ample opportunity to drop below the screens and quickly resume covering the Virginia ballhandler.

In practice Tuesday, assistants Ron Sanchez and Jason Williford implored Mitchell, Scott and freshman forward Darion Atkins to take sharper angles while setting screens. At 7 feet, Sene could set an imposing screen. But after fracturing his ankle Jan. 19, he will be out until at least early March.

“If your man has to help [defend the ballhandler], then you’re open,” Mitchell said. “So if you set a good screen and you roll hard, you separate and you’ve got a wider-open shot.”

For large stretches of the second half Sunday, the Cavaliers implemented the four-guard lineup they used frequently last season when Scott was out with an ankle injury. And for the most part, it was effective. Virginia’s guards found more space to penetrate into the lane and took advantage of such opportunities.

Their problem was in finishing around the basket and at the free throw line. The Cavaliers made less than half their free throws (6 of 13) in the second half against Virginia Tech.

It didn’t help Virginia’s cause that fifth-year senior guard Sammy Zeglinski was not at full strength because of a flu bug he’d caught days earlier. And while Zeglinski is over the illness, he passed it along to his roommate, sophomore guard Joe Harris, who sat out practice Tuesday. Bennett said he is hopeful Harris will play Thursday.

The coach also noted that Boston College starts two post players who stand at least 6-8, so he’s not sure how often Virginia will be able to utilize a four-guard lineup. But given their experience in the look, the Cavaliers will not hesitate to do so, if need be.

Bennett “has been doing the four-guard lineup since he got here,” junior guard Jontel Evans said. “His first game here against Longwood he started four guards. It’s nothing new. It’s just something new to the new guys. But it’s nothing new to us. We don’t find it difficult to run. It’s kind of helpful, actually.”

Will U.Va. use four guards tonight?
By: MICHAEL PHILLIPS | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: January 26, 2012

CHARLOTTESVILLE --
Virginia played its first game without center Assane Sene on Sunday, and the Cavaliers turned to forward Akil Mitchell to fill the role inside.

Coach Tony Bennett ditched that plan at halftime, returning from the locker room with a four-guard approach. It's what the team did last year when Mike Scott was out with an injury.

It remains to be seen, though, whether that is a viable long-term option in the ACC. Bennett said that the lineup will be adjusted on a nightly basis, but U.Va.'s scholarship guards are stretched thin.

Starters Jontel Evans, Joe Harris and Sammy Zeglinski all played at least 30 minutes against Virginia Tech on Sunday, and Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench for 25 more.

The only other player at Bennett's disposal is Paul Jesperson, but the freshman has played in just a handful of games this year.

At the forward position, though, Scott and Mitchell are backed up by Darion Atkins, a freshman who has shown promise in limited action this year.

"Being a freshman, he'll have to keep adjusting, but I think there will be more opportunities for him," Bennett said Monday. "In (Sunday's) game, with the matchups how they were, we went a little more toward the four guards in the second half specifically, so that was more of a game-by-game thing."

Against Boston College tonight, the Eagles will bring a more traditional look than the Hokies. BC has a 6-foot-8 forward and a 7-0 center.

That would indicate that Mitchell will need to step up his contributions, a big leap for a sophomore who hasn't had to carry such a heavy workload.

"You can't all of a sudden change who you are," Bennett said. "Like you said, Assane's not in the lineup, so you have to play to your strengths and do the things you have to do."

Virginia also would benefit from an offensive infusion. In Sunday's loss, the Wahoos shot just 7 percent from the 3-point line, an effort unlikely to be duplicated.

Perhaps the biggest adjustment without Sene in the lineup will be the lack of noise that he contributed. Sene is one of the team's biggest talkers.

"He's kind of the anchor on defense, always talking and helping guys out," guard Joe Harris said. "It was a little weird not having him out there, but obviously we're going to have to adjust, and I think we will."

How that adjustment will look is yet to be determined, but with ACC play in full swing, it will have to arrive quickly.

Sene injured his ankle last week against Georgia Tech and had surgery on Friday. He's expected to be out for up to six weeks.

Note: NCAA rules allow a team to make an offseason trip to play teams in other countries once every four years. Virginia will take advantage of that in August with a week-and-a-half trip to Europe.

With Scott, Sene and guard Sammy Zeglinski all departing, the trip will offer Bennett additional practice time with what is likely to be an inexperienced team.

 

Will Mitchell and Atkins step up for Virginia?
By: WHITELAW REID |
Published: January 25, 2012

When it was announced last Friday that starting center Assane Sene would miss six weeks following ankle surgery, it was assumed that Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins’ roles would increase. Ditto for the duo’s production.

However, in Virginia’s first game without Sene against Virginia Tech on Sunday neither of those things occurred.

As the season goes on for undermanned UVa — which has only eight healthy scholarship players — that will clearly need to change.

“Anything we can get out of them from an offensive standpoint is big for us,” said Bennett, whose 19th-ranked team (15-3, 2-2) hosts Boston College tonight at 9 p.m. “We’ll look for that without changing who they are.

“We’re [not] trying to make it like, ‘Go to work like Mike [Scott] does.’ It’s got to be within their game.”

In the loss to the Hokies on Sunday, Mitchell replaced Sene in the starting lineup. It was his first start of the season and just the second of his career.

In 25 minutes of action (about seven more than he had been receiving as a reserve), Mitchell finished with just two points and a rebound. He had come into the game averaging 3.5 points and 4.1 rebounds.

“You can’t all of a sudden change who you are just because Assane’s not in the lineup,” said Bennett, when asked about Mitchell’s production. “You still have to play to your strengths and do the things you have to do.”

Bennett said the fact that Mitchell spent a good portion of his time chasing the Hokies’ Jarell Eddie around on the perimeter lessened his rebound opportunities, “but that’s a strength of his and we need him to continue to have a nose for the ball on both the offensive and defensive glass.”

The freshman Atkins, who came into the game averaging 9.3 minutes, played only six minutes against Tech, all in the first half. His final stat line: no points and four rebounds.

“In that game, with the matchups and kind of how they were, we went a little more toward the four-guard [lineup] in the second half,” Bennett said. “That was more of a game-by-game thing and I think there will be more opportunities for him.”

Offensively, neither Mitchell nor Atkins are the kind of players who will have plays run for them. The onus for them is to get their points on offensive rebounds when they can (getting back on defense is always paramount in Virginia’s system), score in transition, and hit open shots within the offense when the chances present themselves.

“I’m not going to do anything different as far as the way I’ve been playing,” said Mitchell, when asked about his move into the starting lineup. “I just want to try and give the team a little bit more energy — just stay focused on defense and maybe be a little more aggressive on offense, but nothing too huge.”

In the offseason, Mitchell, with the help of his father, changed the form on his jumper, creating a higher release point. In October the 6-foot-8 sophomore spoke excitedly about possibly being able to knock down 3-pointers. However, he has yet to attempt a 3 this season and most of his points have come on the interior or in transition.

“He’s still young and he’s improving,” Bennett said, “and I think he’s improved from the start of the year as well.”

Mitchell sounds like a guy who wants to take better advantage of his new role.

“It’s everybody’s dream to start in the ACC since you’ve been a kid,” he said. “I’ve really been looking forward to this opportunity.”

Dunks

All three of Virginia’s losses this season have been by a single possession, and in two of the games, UVa had the final shot to win or tie...Virginia leads the all-time series with BC, 7-6, including a 3-2 edge in Charlottesville. However, BC won both meetings last season...UVa will have a quick turnaround as it plays at N.C. State on Saturday night.

Squad seeks to ground Eagles
No. 19 Cavaliers look to regain footing after stumbling offensively, succumbing to Hokies during narrow loss
BY SAM CASSCELLS, STAFF WRITER on January 26, 2012

Having had four days to recover from Sunday’s disappointing 47-45 loss to Virginia Tech, the No. 19 Virginia men’s basketball team looks to return to its winning ways tonight against Boston College at John Paul Jones Arena. Should the Cavaliers (15-3, 2-2 ACC) defeat the visiting Eagles (7-12, 2-3 ACC), they would match their win total from the entire 2010-11 season.

Boston College has lost two straight games by double-digit margins, and coach Steve Donahue knows the key to returning to the win column tonight against Virginia starts with containing senior forward Mike Scott. Scott’s average of 16.6 points per game makes him both the conference’s fifth-highest scorer and, as Donahue said, a threat to opposing teams.

“I think everybody’s tried similar things,” Donahue said in a teleconference. “You’ve got to give him a whole lot of attention. You can’t let him get easy touches, [and] you’ve got to think about bringing other guys over.”

During Sunday’s loss, the Hokies demonstrated a successful recipe for shutting down the preseason All-ACC post player, which at times included triple-team coverage and held Scott to a mediocre 10 points. Scott credited Virginia Tech for its defensive intensity and expressed a desire to try to find greater space in the paint if faced with similar defensive strategies in the future.

“[Virginia Tech] was aggressive,” Scott said. “They trapped and triple-teamed me and did a pretty good job.”

If the Eagles manage to replicate the Hokies’ success against Scott, Virginia coach Tony Bennett expects the rest of the Cavaliers to step up and fill the offensive void. Against Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers shot a mere 32.6 percent from the field and went 1-for-14 from behind the three-point line.

“In the three losses we’ve played, we’ve had very cold shooting nights, and that’s played a role in it,” Bennett said. “We learn from it and hopefully come out more efficient offensively and continue to battle defensively like we need to.”

While Virginia has struggled offensively in recent games, the Eagles, who rank last in scoring offense in the ACC, haven’t found an offensive rhythm all season.

Donahue said his team has yet to find a stable offensive identity — a possible pitfall for a squad which sports a 1-6 road record.

“I don’t know if we’re at a point where we can figure out how to take advantage of different situations,” Donahue said. “We’re still trying to get to know ourselves, and we’ve got to do what we do well.”
Sophomore guard Joe Harris hopes that in re-establishing their own offensive success, the Cavaliers can right the ship tonight.

“Obviously you never want to lose any game, but then losing the rivalry game, it’s tough,” Harris said. “But we’re going to bounce back and still shoot the ball with confidence.”

Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m.

Magnificent 7: QB Johns ready to compete
By: JAY JENKINS |
Published: January 25, 2012

Living just 10 minutes away from the Pennsylvania house that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan grew up in, few would have been shocked had Matt Johns elected to follow that path to Boston College to play football.

During the initial visit to the Ryan’s alma mater, the three-star quarterback was even leaning in that direction and his senior season at Central Bucks South High was months away.

Everything changed, however, after one simple request from his parents en route to a waterfront vacation in Duck, N.C.

“When I went to Boston College I was like, ‘this is it,’” Johns said. “My parents said, ‘let’s go visit Virginia.’ We actually went down and spent a day with the coaches and got to talk with them and then I had a little sit down with Coach [Mike] London.

“After that point, there was no No. 2 school.”

On Wednesday, Johns will make it official as he sends in his National Letter of Intent to play college football for London at Virginia. The Cavaliers’ recruiting class for 2012 is currently ranked No. 15 nationally by 247sports.com, No. 24 by Scout.com and No. 26 by Rivals.com and all three services have the 26-player crop ranked among the top five in the ACC.

Johns and fellow quarterback recruit Greyson Lambert (Wayne County High/Jesup, Ga.), who has already signed and enrolled earlier this month at Virginia, are a large reason for the lofty rankings for the Cavaliers.

While signing in a class with another quarterback would scare off many, Johns welcomes the competition and understands it makes Virginia a deeper program at a vital position that has rising juniors Michael Rocco and Ross Metheny and rising sophomore David Watford on the depth chart.

“No matter what program you are at, no matter what school you are at, no matter what level you are at — Division I, Division I-AA, Division II, Division III — you have to compete. The is no, ‘Oh, you are coming here and you have the job.’

“I have never expected that at any point playing football, so every practice you have to go out there and compete and that’s what I want. I don’t want something that is going to be handed to you. You have to earn that level of respect from the players and coaches.”

Johns, listed at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, was in the same spot during his sophomore season at CB South High behind an acclaimed quarterback that was eyeing college scholarships.

Johns admits at that point that he “wanted to play college basketball.”

Fate provided a different path to college.

“The first couple of games my sophomore season he didn’t play as well as he should have at quarterback and I got a shot to play and the first time that I went in I threw a touchdown pass and from that point on I started,” said Johns, who passed for 2,098 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for seven scores this season.

Life on the football field changed for Johns prior to his junior season and with four semesters left in school he still envisioned playing basketball at some level following graduation.

With a vacancy at head coach, CB South High hired 10-year Princeton offensive coordinator Dave Rackovan to lead its program.

“Once he came in, he was teaching me things that I had never thought of before when stepped onto the football field,” Johns admitted. “Just the intensity that he brought, the first practice of my junior season I knew I wanted to play college football. That day I knew this is what I want to do.

“I kind of kept that in the back of my mind and had a fun season.”

It was fun for Johns’ pass-catching options, too, as he threw for 1,856 yards and completed 128 of his 244 passes (52.5 percent).

“At the end of the season it kind of became reality when schools came and started talking to me and from that point on I just pursued it a lot and worked a lot on my game,” the signal caller said. “It think it paid off my senior season.”

CB South went 8-4 and advanced to the second round in the playoffs without consistent results from its defense.

The team advanced as far as it did in the tradition-rich state of Pennsylvania, known for developing quarterbacks, because of Johns.

“Matt conducts himself better than most quarterbacks on the field and off the field,” said CB South senior tailback Dan Brown, who recently committed to Lehigh. “He does everything you could ask of any football player. He puts in all the extra time in the weight room and he is always the last one in there. He is always the first one in the team meetings.

“When you are on the field, he is just a perfectionist and will not leave the practice field until we get everything right. The winning spirit just rubs off on you.”

Johns is excited to get the next chapter of his life started at Virginia and got a better feel for what that will entail this past weekend. With a host of commitments joining him, Johns finally took his official visit.

“Every time I came to Virginia I liked it more and more, no doubt, but I think this is the first time that I spent the whole weekend there and I was with some of the players,” Johns said. “It started to feel like home. It was weird how that feeling started to settle in because it was not something I felt before. It was definitely exciting.

“This time it felt like I was part of the team.”

As Navy joins Big East, ACC looks to finalize divisions at winter meetings
David Teel
8:14 p.m. EST, January 25, 2012

Conference realignment continues to affect schools of local intrigue, most recently this week's announcement that Navy will become a football-only member of the Big East starting in 2015.

More on Navy's future storied rivalries with Houston and Boise State, and how the Midshipmen's service academy comrades have fared in conferences, in a moment.

First, a glance forward to next week's ACC winter meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In between poolside margaritas — on the rocks, with salt, barkeep! — league and school officials could well finalize football divisions for the 14-team alignment created by the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

When the Orange and Panthers extricate themselves from the Big East remains uncertain — 2013 or '14 — but ACC commissioner John Swofford and others have indicated that the newcomers will most likely be plugged into the current divisions.

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So Syracuse to the Atlantic and Pitt to the Coastal, or vice-versa.

If I'm a fan of Virginia or Virginia Tech, both Coastal members, I'd prefer the Panthers in the division because a road trip to Pittsburgh every other year is easier than the hike to Syracuse. Plus, Heinz Field parking is far better for tailgating than the Carrier Dome. That said, the dome, though an eyesore, protects spectators from the elements.

Placing Syracuse in the Atlantic also would give the Orange a yearly divisional game against Boston College. Those programs clashed annually, with two exceptions, from 1961-2004.

So if the ACC opts for Syracuse to the Coastal, don't be surprised if Virginia Tech's annual Atlantic crossover opponent is changed from Boston College to Pitt. That shift would free the Eagles to become crossovers with the Orange.

But such machinations seem unnecessary. Assign Pitt to the Coastal and Syracuse to the Atlantic and move on to matters such as basketball, where the conference schedule is expanding from 16 to 18 games.

There the issue will be permanent partners, those rivals a team plays twice annually. Presently, each of the 12 schools has two partners — for Virginia they are Maryland and Virginia Tech; for Tech they are Virginia and Boston College.

One scheduling model that works for 14 teams increases the number of partners to three. Under that plan, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest could all play one another twice every regular season, as they did until the ACC's 2004-05 expansion.

But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski prefers trimming partners to only one, and his logic is compelling. Such a model would send Syracuse and Pitt to more ACC venues more often, introducing them to more fans.

Navy's transition to the Big East will be far less complex given the football-only component. Both parties understand other Midshipmen teams such as basketball are far better suited for their present home in the Patriot League.

Unlike Army and Air Force, its annual rivals for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, Navy football has never competed in a conference. The Mids can only hope their experience is more like the Falcons' than the Cadets'.

Army played in Conference USA from 1998-2004, losing 41 of 50 league games. Granted, the Cadets back then would have struggled in most any conference, but the program appears better suited as an independent.

Conversely, Air Force has belonged to the Western Athletic or Mountain West since 1980, and the Falcons have appeared in 18 bowls in the past 30 seasons. They have shared three conference championships, the most recent in 1998.

The Big East also pursued Air Force, but academy officials opted for a more geographically sane home.

Navy is joining a Big East that will offer more television exposure and revenue but will scatter from Rutgers to South Florida to Houston to Boise State to San Diego State.

Good thing the Navy has access to jets.

Ratcliffe: George Welsh remembers his lifelong friend Joe Paterno
By: JERRY RATCLIFFE |
Published: January 25, 2012

Sitting in Joe Paterno’s office in the late summer of 1989, I asked the legendary coach about his relationship with then-Virginia head football coach George Welsh.

Didn’t think JoePa would ever stop talking. Paterno appreciated good coaches and raved about Welsh, whom he met in 1963 when they both worked under Rip Engle at Penn State. Paterno eventually replaced Engle as head coach and kept Welsh on the staff.

Two things I distinctively remember about that day. Paterno told me that Welsh had the most uncanny ability of any coach he ever worked with to recognize prospects with true talent. He also told me that I needed to lose weight, which I did, though most of it is back more than 20 years later.

Welsh has been tied loosely to Paterno ever since they began working together 48 years ago, and with good reason. When Welsh coined the phrase that his teams would play “Virginia football,” it was a borrowed expression from “Penn State football,” meaning a physical style with a power running game on offense and a knock-your-block off attitude on defense.

Going on to become a Virginia legend and a College Football Hall of Fame coach, Welsh was truly saddened over the events surrounding Paterno the past 10 weeks, from JoePa’s firing to his death last Sunday.

Little wonder that Welsh wanted the set the record straight on how his lifelong friend died. Several folks from the gridiron world, like Matt Millen, Lou Holtz and others, commented that Paterno died of a broken heart.

“Joe didn’t die of heartbreak,” Welsh said Wednesday. “That’s ridiculous. Lou Holtz was wrong and Matt Millen was wrong. I want to emphasize that Joe didn’t die of a broken heart. No way. He’s much too strong for that. I think that Joe was smart enough to realize this was his last year of coaching.”

Welsh noted that Tom Bradley, who took over the Nittany Lions on an interim basis when Paterno was fired, pointed out that in his opinion, the 85-year-old coach was sick all fall. Paterno died of lung cancer.

“I remember that Joe was really sick a few years ago in the summer and people asked then if he was going to make it through the season,” Welsh said. “Maybe that’s when it started.”

Welsh believed that the Penn State University trustees did Paterno a “disservice” by firing him for not reporting former assistant Jerry Sandusky to police in connection to the child sex charges that Sandusky has faced.

On Wednesday though, Welsh’s thoughts about Paterno drifted back to the days when the game wasn’t big business. Coaches worked for meager salaries, shared cramped office spaces, and were a closer-knit group than nowadays.

“When Joe took over [Penn State] in 1966, he was gracious enough to keep me on,” Welsh said. “He didn’t have to. I had been helping out the defense but still scouting some.”

Welsh said he didn’t think the Penn State people were crazy over Paterno hiring “a Navy guy like me.” They preferred keeping things in the family and because most of the remainder of the Lions’ coaching staff was old goats at the time, Paterno’s wife, Sue, and Welsh’s wife, Sandra, became inseparable.

“They were both relatively young and could relate to one another,” Welsh said.

Eventually, the Paterno’s and Welsh’s became godparents of one another’s children (the wives did this of course).

Welsh stayed on until 1972 when he returned to Navy to become head coach, but over those years he essentially took Joe’s old job of coaching the quarterbacks and running backs when Paterno took over the program. There were only three coaches on offense those days, a receivers coach, a line coach and the QBs-running backs coach.

“Joe came to me one day early on [when Engle was still head coach] and said, ‘I found out you’re only making $7,000 a year. I’m surprised you came here for that,’” Welsh remembered. “I had told Rip that the figure was equivalent to my Navy salary before I got into coaching. I was just happy to have a job.”

The Welsh’s were struggling big time financially, and so when Paterno went to Engle and secured a 30 percent raise for Welsh, it was more than appreciated.

Those were the good old days.

“We used to go out as a staff every Thursday night with our wives to relax, get a drink and eat,” Welsh recalled. “Everyone on the staff, whether you could afford it or not. Usually we’d have a couple of beers and a hamburger. It was a social thing and I really enjoyed it.”

On the football practice field, there was no time to relax. Welsh said that while Paterno was a great human being, he was Lombardi-like as a head coach.

“I mean he was tough,” Welsh said. “Frankly, he could be brutal to his players. They didn’t like him until they graduated and then they appreciated him.”

Paterno’s way of doing things would be impossible today in Welsh’s estimation. JoePa called all the offensive plays. He would call Welsh in the press box and ask what defense the opponents were running and Paterno would call the play accordingly.

What impressed Welsh was that even though Paterno was essentially the offensive coordinator, that he still wanted to influence the defensive staff.

“The three of us (offensive staff) would sit in the offensive meeting room on Monday’s but we would never see Joe until Tuesday,” Welsh said. “He spent all day Monday with the defensive staff. He would give me a sheet of paper on Monday morning’s and say, ‘This is what I think we ought to do [offensively]. We worked from that and had our own suggestions.

“But we never had a game plan until Wednesday,” Welsh said. “That’s how simple it was.”

Still, Welsh hung his hat on all those principles he learned and took them to Navy and Virginia, where he became the winningest coaches at both schools. That’s where he learned how to practice, learned the offensive system, how much a team should hit. That’s where he learned “Penn State football.”

Over the years, Welsh added his own ideas, things that Paterno didn’t like to do, like run the option and expanding the passing game, things that JoePa did later in his career.

“Back then, Joe wasn’t too crazy about the idea of a drop back passing attack,” Welsh chuckled. “He was like Woody Hayes, who said that when you pass, three things can happen and two of ‘em are bad.”

Paterno went on to become the winningest coach in major college football with 409 victories, coached five undefeated teams, won two national titles and won 24 bowl games.

Most every coach in America marveled at how Paterno could keep going and outlasted Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, who was forced into retirement, just weeks after his 80th birthday.

“I don’t think there will be anybody else to last like Bowden, who I also have great respect for, and Paterno,” Welsh said. “They were the last of the breed in my opinion. Nobody can do what they did anymore.”

What separated Paterno from all the rest? What made him such a great coach? Welsh has his ideas of why.

“What set Paterno apart was that he had great energy and understood both sides of the ball. I don’t know many coaches who did that,” Welsh said. “He had the guts, the courage to change and adapt when he felt like he needed to.

“I think the difference in him and the rest of us was his nervous system,” the former Cavaliers coach said.

Nervous system, George?

“Yes, his nervous system. We used to sit in the locker room at Beaver Stadium, which in those days was so small,” Welsh remembered. “I used to get nervous before games. Saturday’s killed me all those years. I would sit there and sip a Coke, look over and see Joe eating a couple of hot dogs. I thought, ‘Oh my God, how does he do that?’ I don’t think he ever got nervous. So, that’s how he was able to last.”

Paterno would also go home at noon and take some film with him, just to get away from the phones and the office for a while, then return for practice.

“Maybe that was the secret,” Welsh said. “Maybe I should have done that, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”

Wednesday was a sad day for Welsh, college football and Penn State. JoePa was Penn State, just like Bear Bryant was Alabama and John Wooden was UCLA.

“My last thought,” Welsh said, “is you wonder why God didn’t let Joe live for a couple more years. He had five children and 17 grandchildren. I’m sure he would have enjoyed them.”

Just like the Bear, JoePa died with his boots on. The last of the breed. There won’t be another.

Virginia Falls On The Road at Georgia Tech, 63-53
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 01/25/2012

DULUTH, Ga. - The Virginia women's basketball team dropped an Atlantic Coast Conference contest on the road Wednesday (Jan. 25), falling 63-53 to Georgia Tech at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
The loss dropped UVa's record to 15-7 overall and 3-5 in league play. Georgia Tech, receiving votes in the Associated Press top 25 and ranked No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, improved to 15-6 (5-3 ACC).

Virginia's leading scorer was senior guard Ariana Moorer (Woodbridge, Va.) with 14 points. Moorer added four rebounds and four assists.

Ataira Franklin (Bowie, Md.), Lexie Gerson (Fort Washington, Pa.) and Telia McCall (Marietta, Ga.) each added eight points for the Cavaliers. Simone Egwu (Odenton, Md.) scored seven points.

Georgia Tech led 34-30 at halftime after an evenly played first period.

Georgia Tech opened the second half on a 6-1 run and took a 40-31 lead on a jumpshot by Dawnn Maye with 16:51 left. That basket prompted a timeout by Virginia, and after the break the Cavaliers scored four unanswered points to pull to within 40-35.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Moorer at the 11:27 mark later in the half cut the margin to four points. The Yellow Jacket lead was cut further on a jumper by Franklin with 9:28 left that made the score 49-46 in favor of Georgia Tech.

From that point, Georgia Tech put together a 8-2 run and took a 57-48 lead on a putback by Metra Walthour with 7:42 left in the game.

Virginia did not counter the Yellow Jacket run nor get any closer down the stretch.

Virginia was out-rebounded, 48-28.

Georgia Tech's leading scorer was Sasha Goodlett with 14 points and the center added 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Up next, Virginia returns home to John Paul Jones Arena to face Florida State at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 29). Virginia field hockey players Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese will be honored, as the game is part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day at Virginia.