No. 10 UVa derails against N.C. State
By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — In a game it had to win, No. 10 Virginia found every
possible way to lose on Wednesday night at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
N.C. State, playing without suspended freshman swingman Julius Hodge, received
25 points from Anthony Grundy and a season-high 20 from reserve guard Scooter
Sherrill as it handed the Cavaliers their fourth straight loss, 85-68.
Sherrill, playing the bulk of the minutes in Hodge’s place, had not scored
more than five points in the Wolfpack’s last four games and had reached double
figures just five times prior to Wednesday.
“I thought tonight’s game was a real team effort. Probably as much of a
total team effort of any we have had this season,” N.C. State coach Herb
Sendek said. “Scooter was tremendous tonight. He was just sensational.”
Virginia, which has now lost four straight for the first time since dropping the
final four games of Gillen’s initial season in 1998-99, did next to nothing
that could be labeled as sensational or tremendous.
The Cavaliers (14-6, 4-5 ACC) committed 20 turnovers for the second straight
game and had just 10 assists; they allowed N.C. State to shoot 50.9 percent from
the floor while shooting just 39.4 percent themselves, including a woeful 1 of
12 from 3-point range. Comparatively, N.C. State had 19 assists and 13 turnovers
and nailed nine of its 20 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers also played the final 11:08 without leading scorer Roger Mason,
who had collected four fouls and one technical at that point as he fouled out
for just the fourth time in his career but second time in as many games.
Basically, N.C. State (17-6, 6-4 ACC) just out-everythinged Virginia on
Wednesday as the Cavaliers suffered their worst loss since a 102-67 loss at
Maryland last March.
“I thought we were out-toughed and out-scrapped tonight by N.C. State. They
were more desperate than us,” Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. “We got
out-worked.”
Travis Watson was truly Virginia’s lone bright spot as he scored a career-high
29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Watson, who was questionable for this game
after a hip-pointer and left-foot injury limited him to just 13 minutes against
Missouri on Sunday, connected on 15 of his 17 attempts from the free-throw line.
Marcus Melvin added 16 for the Wolfpack (17-6, 6-4 ACC), which beat Virginia
81-74 in Charlottesville on Jan. 5, it was the third straight win over Virginia
(14-6, 4-5 ACC) and gave them their first season sweep over Virginia since the
1987-88 season. Coincidentally, those last three wins by the Wolfpack over the
Cavaliers all occurred with UVa ranked in the top 10.
The Cavaliers received 12 points from Mason before he fouled out and 10 from
freshman forward Jason Clark. Senior forward Chris Williams, the team’s
second-leading scorer, had just two points as he missed all five of his attempts
from the field, an effort that certainly was not helpful with the absence of
Mason in the second half.
“He wasn’t aggressive enough. He was just one of the guys that didn’t play
as well as we needed him to,” said Gillen, who started Clark and Jermaine
Harper in place of normal starters Williams and J.C. Mathis to begin the second
half.
Virginia, which notoriously has had poor starts in ACC road games over the past
three seasons, led 18-14 with 10:16 remaining in the first half. The Wolfpack,
however, proceeded to sprint to a 15-2 run over the next 10 minutes. When Grundy
swished a jumper with 4:01 before intermission, the Wolfpack had opened a 29-20
advantage.
“We just lost our poise,” Gillen claimed.
That was certainly visible when Mason received what was believed to be the first
technical of his career with 4:28 remaining before the halftime as he claimed he
was fouled on a 3-point attempt on UVa’s prior possession.
“I rarely do that,” Mason said, “and as the leader of this team, I can’t
let that happen.”
The Wolfpack eventually built a lead as large as 20 in the second half before
Virginia managed to whittle it down to as few as 11 before settling at the final
margin.
Gillen acknowledged that for the second time this season — the first being
after consecutive losses to N.C. State and Clemson to begin its ACC campaign —
his team finds itself at definite fork in the road.
“We’ve played well in our last three games. Duke, Maryland, and Missouri are
all tough,” Gillen said. “We’re at a crossroads — we’ve got to see if
we fold our arms or come out swinging.”
Added Mason: “We have to fix this. That is the bottom line.”
Groh gathers top talent
By JERRY RATCLIFFE
Daily Progress sports editor
What more appropriate night to shift the fortunes of Virginia’s football
future than last Nov. 17 when the Cavaliers hosted state rival Virginia Tech. It
was a major recruiting moment for Coach Al Groh, who was hosting some of the
Commonwealth’s most talented high school prospects.
Earlier in the day, Groh had come up with a brilliant strategy to use to capture
the group of prospects before kickoff. The strategy worked and today, the Wahoo
nation is celebrating the results as Virginia landed its best recruiting class
in school history.
“We had a lot of players in for the game, including some of the players who
had already committed to us and some who subsequently committed to us,” said
Groh on Wednesday afternoon. “Standing in that room was probably the majority
of players who comprise this class.”
Groh had written all the players names on the blackboard, dividing them into two
groups.
“Already on the bus,” said Groh. “And not on the bus yet. I told them,
‘Fill up the bus with the rest of you guys and this will be one of the
top-five recruiting classes in the country, the type of class that can be the
foundation of a national championship.’”
A total of 26 recruits signed national letters of intent with the Cavaliers on
Wednesday, a class that addressed many of Groh’s concerns about the program in
terms of size, speed and toughness. His prediction about the bus proved correct.
Tom Lemming, a nationally respected recruiting analyst, ranked Virginia’s
class the fifth-best in the country, while Rivals100 rated the class No. 7.
“I think this class will probably be the biggest class in terms of [physical]
size and also the fastest class we’ve ever had here,” Groh said. “I think
we’ve had made significant progress in terms of how we want the team to
look.”
But Groh cautioned that while UVa landed the majority of quality talent in the
state and reached outside the state for several more blue-chippers, the work
isn’t done. It’s just beginning.
“I don’t think this class can do it by itself. We need two more behind it
just like this one,” Groh said.
Among the class is four Parade All-Americans: D’Brickashaw Ferguson, a
dominating left offensive tackle from Freeport, N.Y.; running back Michael
Johnson of Newport News; and a pair of the best linebackers in the nation, Ahmad
Brooks of Woodbridge and Kai Parham of Virginia Beach.
More than half the class (14 signees) are from within the state border,
including a golden-armed quarterback, 6-foot-3, 217-pound Antonio Martinez from
Patrick Henry-Ashland and a massive defensive nose tackle, 300-pound Keenan
Carter of Potomac High in Dumfries.
Landing the linebacking tandem of Brooks and Parham was a major coup for Groh,
who praised the energy and effort of his entire coaching staff.
Brooks was named the USA Today national defensive player of the year and
selected the Cavaliers over Tennessee, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Penn
State. Parham, who was rated higher than Brooks by some recruiting services,
picked the Cavaliers over Tennessee.
“Both of them are great players,” Groh said. “We had a picture in our
minds of what type player we wanted on our team and decided to go for it.
There’s a great value in approaching these type of players and saying,
‘You’re our guy. We’re not recruiting four or five for your position …
you’re our guy.’”
Brooks, Parham and Johnson all committed to the Cavaliers on Monday, which sent
shock waves through the legions of fans who follow the team and in the coaching
offices at the McCue Center.
“There were a lot of guys running up and down the hall in the offices when
those calls came in,” Groh said. “It kind of looked like Mardi Gras going on
in that corridor. Those are three significant ‘gets,’ not only because of
their athletic ability but they also portray a sense of confidence that each of
them have in the plan we have to make this a championship team.”
UVa’s success in state was considered crucial after Virginia Tech had
attracted a majority of the major talent in recent years.
“We’re the University of Virginia,” Groh said. “This state should be our
home base. On top of that, it’s a substantial high school football state with
lots of athletes who are well-coached. We couldn’t ask for a better-based
state to be working from.
“It’s vital to be in the hunt for the best players in Virginia,” the coach
said. “It worked out well for us and the majority of the best players in the
state are coming to Virginia.”
Groh reiterated that he didn’t sign these talented players to take up space on
the sideline but intends to play many of them as true freshmen.
“A significant number of them will play next season,” Groh said. “The team
will get better when they start playing. We’re going to play these players
early but that doesn’t mean that instantly they will make themselves apparent.
At some point, I suspect we will be one of the younger teams in the nation.”
Because everything begins with the strength of the offensive and defensive
lines, something that was obviously deficient at UVa the past few seasons, Groh
put a heavy emphasis on upgrading the talent along the line of scrimmage on both
sides of the pigskin.
“There’s no way to compensate for [a lack of talent on the lines],” the
coach said. “You can compensate at other positions. But you have to have
linemen up there and we did put a particular emphasis on those spots. We’ll be
looking for more of those players in next year’s class.”
Groh said that he has always felt that Virginia could recruit with the big dogs
of the football world and obviously proved that on national signing day.
“I came here with the intention of competing first for the ACC championship on
a yearly basis and in doing so, put ourselves in position to compete for a
national championship,” Groh said. “I’m sure some people snickered when I
first said that, the same people who probably didn’t think we’d have one of
the top-five recruiting classes.”
Groh is getting the last laugh.
Cavs' bag best-ever crop of recruits After all the letters of intent had been signed and faxed and the analysts
had their say, the consensus on Wednesday, the beginning of the college football
signing period, was that the biggest recruiting hauls were made by the usual
powerhouse programs. With one notable exception.
There, alongside the likes of Texas, Ohio State, Miami and Tennessee, was the
University of Virginia, with a recruiting class rated among the nation's finest.
Never before has Virginia been in such rarefied company. Recruiting analyst
Tom Lemming rated Virginia's class at No. 5 in the nation. The Web site cnns1.com
had Virginia at No. 8. SuperPrep had Virginia ninth.
By most reckonings it was the ACC's top class and easily the best in school
history.
``We made big progress toward how we want the team to look,'' said coach Al
Groh.
The class was officially Groh's second, but last year's probably should have
an asterisk next to it because the coach, hired in December 2000, got a late
start.
Groh and his staff pledged to blanket the state, and Hampton Roads, as
Virginia had never done before. On Wednesday, he said he was able to sign nearly
all the players he targeted.
Headlining the class are four Parade All-Americans: linebackers Kai Parham of
Virginia Beach and Ahmad Brooks of Woodbridge, running back Michael Johnson of
Newport News and defensive tackle Kwakou Robinson of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Virginia also added a highly regarded quarterback in Anthony Martinez, a
quartet of fleet running backs and four linemen who are 290 pounds or more.
``We're going to be very willing to interject this young talent into the
lineup,'' Groh said.
Virginia played six true freshmen last season, and Groh said he expects a
``big number'' of the 26 players signed to play in 2002.
Groh's main goal was to make the Cavaliers, who were 5-7 last season, bigger
and faster. He appears to have succeeded on both counts.
Another goal was to re-establish Virginia's recruiting presence in its home
state. Fourteen signees are from the commonwealth.
``From my consideration, the majority of the best players in the state are
coming to Virginia,'' Groh said.
Brooks, Parham and Johnson were among the top players in the state. They all
committed within a two-hour period Monday.
``There were a lot of guys running up and down the halls when those calls
came in. It kind of looked like Mardi Gras,'' Groh said.
Recruiting analysis, of course, is an inexact science. The downside to such a
highly touted class is that it will raise expectations. Groh said he doesn't
mind. When he took the job, he said his goal was to compete for the ACC title
each year, and ultimately, the national title.
People scoffed. But then again, Groh said, ``The same people never would have
believed we could have a top-five recruiting class.''
Note: Groh said Virginia is ``very close'' to completing arrangements
for a 13th game next season. The game would be held in August, with Colorado
State the likely opponent.
By ED MILLER, The
Virginian-Pilot
© February 7, 2002
Virginia drops 4th straight; Cavs
now 4-5 in ACC
RALEIGH -- Tenth in the
nation, below .500 in the ACC.
That's the unlikely spot Virginia finds itself in, after dropping its fourth
straight game, an 85-68 decision to North Carolina State Wednesday night.
The loss drops Virginia to 4-5 in the ACC, and leaves the Cavaliers in fifth
place, 1 1/2 games behind the Wolfpack, in the conference standings.
``Overrated! Overrated!'' came the chant from fans at the Entertainment &
Sports Arena.
Virginia, 14-6 overall, did little to refute that assessment. The Cavaliers
never found any flow offensively, committing 12 first-half turnovers, 20 for the
game.
On defense, Virginia made stars of a pair of ordinarily quiet N.C. State
players. Guard Scooter Sherrill, who averages 5.3 points, had 20. Forward Marcus
Melvin, who averages 9.0, had 16. Anthony Grundy led N.C. State with 25.
``We gave them a lot of open looks,'' forward Chris Williams said. ``You
can't do that to a team on their home floor.''
Melvin and Sherrill more than made up for the loss of the Wolfpack's
second-leading scorer, Julius Hodge, who was serving a one-game suspension for
throwing a forearm in N.C. State's loss to Maryland Sunday.
``That was as much a total team effort as any we've had this season,'' N.C.
State coach Herb Sendek said.
As for Virginia, the Cavaliers were surprisingly flat for a team that had
dropped three straight and figured to be approaching the game with extra
urgency.
``We were outscrapped and out-toughed tonight,'' coach Pete Gillen said.
``They played harder. They were more desperate.''
And also more efficient. N.C. State used a three-guard lineup much of the
night and carved up Virginia with drives and backdoor cuts. Those plays became
available after the Wolfpack hit 6 of 11 first-half 3-pointers. Melvin, a
6-foot-8 sophomore, made 3 of 3 in the half.
Virginia led 18-14 10 minutes into the first half, but N.C. State (17-6, 6-4)
grabbed the lead with a 10-0 run and never surrendered it.
N.C. State stretched the lead to 20 early in the second half, but went cold
midway through the half, leaving the game there for the taking.
Virginia couldn't take advantage. Roger Mason Jr., who picked up his fourth
foul with 12:27 left, fouled out on a drive to the basket with 11:09 remaining.
It was his second major mental mistake of the game. Late in the first half, he
picked up a technical foul after arguing with an official.
``That was foolish of me,'' Mason said. ``I very rarely lose my poise. I let
the team down by doing that.''
With Mason out and Williams and Keith Jenifer shooting a combined 0 for 10,
Virginia's lone offensive option was center Travis Watson. Watson responded with
a career-high 29 points, but also had seven turnovers.
``It seems simple,'' Mason said. ``We've got to stop turning the ball over
and play better defense.''
Simple, but elusive. Virginia had 20 turnovers in a loss to Missouri Sunday,
while allowing the Tigers to shoot 47 percent.
``We have to turn this thing around right now,'' Mason said. ``There's not
that many games left.''
Virginia had not lost four in a row since the 1998-99 season. Asked if he
thought this team, which has been ranked in the top 10 all year, could lose four
straight, Williams shook his head.
``That probably was our problem,'' Williams said. ``We thought we were better
than we were.''
Mason didn't find the idea of a four-game skid so far-fetched.
``In the ACC, anything's possible,'' he said. ``If you don't play.''
By ED MILLER, The
Virginian-Pilot
© February 7, 2002
"Greatest Virginia class ever."
Those are the words national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, editor of Prep Football Report, used to describe his number five recruiting class in the country. And according to Rivals.com., this class includes three of the top 21 players in the country.
"We announced a class that most of the analysts in the country are rating in the top five," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It's a very exciting group."
Groh said he was looking for size, speed and a winning attitude in his recruits and he landed a potentially dominant group, even after Virginia posted a 5-7 season.
The centerpiece of the class is linebacker Ahmad Brooks, USA Today's defensive player of the year and a Parade All-American. Brooks, from Woodbridge, Va., called Tennessee his leader on Jan. 25 and told his father 20 minutes before his announcement that he was headed to Virginia Tech. When it came time to make his commitment at a Monday press conference, however, he announced that he was headed to Virginia.
"Ahmad is a marvelous player," Groh said of Lemming's defensive player of the year, who also was a second-team All-State running back.
Brooks will team up with Kai Parham to help form what should be a strong linebacking corps.
Parham, from Virginia Beach, is a Parade All-American and Gatorade's Virginia player of the year. Parham, who can bench press over 400 pounds, said he was torn between Virginia and Tennessee until he made his decision Monday on a live ESPN.com chat with Lemming.
Brooks and Parham, who made their decisions almost simultaneously, both run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. They instantly will upgrade the team speed on a defense that ranked 94th in the country against the run.
Groh also added three top defensive linemen. Parade all-American Kwakou Robinson of Brooklyn will team with Keenan Carter (Dumfries, Va.) and Braden Campbell (Slippery Rock, Pa.) to give Virginia a powerful line that allows Brooks and Parham to make plays.
The Cavaliers also signed two of Rivals.com's top 18 cornerbacks: No. 11 Marcus Hamilton from Clifton, Va. and No. 18 Stefan Orange from Culpepper, Va. The top two defensive backs in the state both stand over 6-feet-tall and run the 40 in under 4.5 seconds. Their size and speed will be a tremendous asset to the Virginia secondary next year.
"Through the recruiting process, [Virginia coaches] have been real loyal to me," Orange said. "I feel real comfortable" at Virginia.
Michael Johnson, ranked by Rivals.com as the second best running back in the country, will help bolster a rushing attack that ranked 101st in the nation. Johnson, who hails from Newport News, Va. has been clocked as fast as 4.24 in the 40-yard dash. He scored an eye-popping 52 touchdowns and finished with over 2,000 yards rushing as a junior.
"He's a dramatic player," Groh said. "He has great speed and great acceleration."
Another top-20 running back, Wali Lundy, will help form a talented backfield with Johnson and last season's leading rusher, freshman Alvin Pearman. Lundy was an all-state receiver in New Jersey as a junior but switched to running back as a senior and rushed for 2,038 yards and 38 touchdowns. He has been projected as a running back at Virginia, but also is a dynamic return man with 4.4 40 speed and what Lemming calls Barry Sanders-like ability.
Groh also signed top-15 quarterback Anthony Martinez and top-20 fullback Jason Snelling to his backfield. Martinez is a poised pocket passer with tremendous arm-strength. He has thrown the ball 74 yards and throws a 94 mph fastball as a pitcher.
"He's got a live arm and can really get the ball upfield with a lot of velocity," Groh said. "He's got physical toughness in the pocket and competitive poise under pressure."
Groh also said he focused on the lines and signed SuperPrep's third best offensive lineman in New Yorker D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
"He's a 6-7 offensive tackle with an 87-inch wingspan," Groh said. "He's a prototypical left tackle."
All in all, the Cavaliers signed 26 players, 14 of which call Virginia home.
"We're the University of Virginia," Groh said. "This should be our home base. It was vital that we got into the hunt for the very best players in Virginia."
Despite the high rankings, Groh said he feels that one recruiting class does not make Virginia an instant ACC contender.
"This is a class. This isn't the team," he said. "Our greatness is in our future."
RALEIGH, N.C. - According to both the ESPN Coaches Poll and the Associated Press, the Virginia Cavaliers are the No. 8 team in the nation.
But against N.C. State (17-6, 6-4 ACC) last night, the Cavaliers (14-6, 4-5 ACC) did not play like a top-10 team, losing to the Wolfpack, 85-68.
"I thought we were out-scrapped by N.C. State," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "They wanted it more. We got out-toughed, out-hustled and out-worked."
After the Cavaliers weathered an early Wolfpack storm to take a 18-14 lead, N.C. State went on a 25-10 run to close out the first half.
Before halftime, N.C. State connected on six three-pointers, opening up the court enough for the Wolfpack to put some breathing room between themselves and Virginia.
The Cavalier defense did little to stop the Wolfpack onslaught. N.C. State was able to force major mismatches against Virginia's man-to-man defense, bust their zone from outside and make little work of their press.
"Defensively, we gave them a lot of open looks," junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "You can't sit on a team like that."
Ten first half turnovers by Virginia, most of which were self-inflicted, proved too much to overcome as they could not get into any offensive rhythm.
In the second half the Cavaliers were unable to hold onto the ball. Virginia finished the game with 20 turnovers.
"We have to take better care of the ball," Gillen said. "We are throwing the ball away way too much."
N.C. State senior guard Anthony Grundy led the Wolfpack with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds. Scooter Sherill chipped in a career-high 20 points.
Virginia, as a team, connected on only one three-pointer in the entire game.
A lone bright spot for the Cavaliers was junior center Travis Watson, who led all scorers with a career-high 29 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Virginia was unable to get leadership from Mason. He ran into foul trouble, and the aggressive Wolfpack defense shut him down as an offensive threat.
"He was frustrated. They were physical with him," Gillen said of his junior guard.
Mason finished with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting before fouling out with more than 11 minutes remaining in the game. Mason also received a technical foul after missing a three-point attempt in the first half.
The letters NIT can stand for quite a few things. Not in touch. No intense teamwork. Not in tournament. Unfortunately for the Virginia men's basketball team, the last option is looking more and more realistic.
After being absolutely demolished by N.C. State last night and losing four in a row (including three ACC losses), the Cavaliers are beginning to look like anything but a NCAA tourney-caliber team.
It was the same old, same old at N.C. State for Virginia. Not having beaten the Wolfpack in Raleigh in over four years, the Cavaliers' performance looked awfully familiar. Bad pass. No defense. Bad shot. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
While Virginia was only down 12 points with nine minutes remaining, I had an overwhelming feeling that Virginia had no chance to come back on the road. I have been following Virginia basketball for almost 10 years and I have never seen such a talented team play so poorly.
There were passes at the post that looked more like something you would see in Mem Gym. Even I made more threes than Virginia, playing at the Dell last Friday (yes, I was covered).
In all seriousness, if the Cavaliers hope to have any chance to go to the post season tournament of choice, they really need to "come together" before the season slips away for good.
Virginia is a team that has lost four in a row, but they still are a team with immense talent. Roger Mason Jr. eventually will hit those threes; Chris Williams sooner or later will realize that he must be more aggressive and hoist up a three instead of driving senselessly into the lane.
The bottom line is that Virginia needs to play with their heads along with their hearts, something they obviously are capable of doing after the effort put forth at Duke or against Maryland. There is no doubt in my mind that this team will turn it around. The question is when. Will it be too late?
As Virginia coach Pete Gillen said in his post-game press conference, are the players going to give up or are they going to come out swinging? We will find out if the players let frustration linger from these four games when Clemson comes to town Sunday afternoon.
That is, if "frustration" is strong enough of a word.
Cavs Are Easy Prey For the Wolfpack
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, February 7, 2002; Page D04
RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 6 -- After losing at No. 22 Missouri on Sunday, the Virginia men's basketball team recognized the importance of tonight's game at North Carolina State. The Cavaliers said they needed to end a losing streak that had stretched to three games and improve their offensive execution with fewer turnovers.
But the song remained the same tonight in an 85-68 loss to the Wolfpack, the Cavaliers' worst defeat this season. The 10th-ranked Cavaliers turned over the ball 20 times, just as in the 81-77 loss to Missouri. They bent down to pick up loose balls instead of diving and lost for the second time this season to N.C. State.
"We've done all this talking that we're going to step up and do this and do that, but talk is cheap," said Virginia senior tri-captain Chris Williams, who had two points in the second-worst scoring night of his career.
N.C. State made do without freshman starter Julius Hodge, who was suspended for tonight's game after an incident in Sunday's game at Maryland, thanks to 25 points and seven rebounds from senior guard Anthony Grundy. Sophomore guard Scooter Sherrill scored 20 points.
Virginia (14-6, 4-5 ACC) shot 40 percent from the field, including 1 for 12 on three-point attempts, and got little offensive production from anyone except junior center Travis Watson. Limited to 13 minutes on Sunday because of a foot injury, Watson played 35 minutes and scored 29 points -- nine more than his previous career high -- even after the Wolfpack (17-6, 6-4) discovered it could swarm him without getting burned by his teammates.
Watson added 12 rebounds and three steals and hit 15 of 17 free throws. He committed a team-high seven turnovers, many after he began drawing multiple defenders.
"We can't ask any more of him," said junior guard Roger Mason Jr., who had 12 points before fouling out with just more than 11 minutes left. "They know he's a great player, and they didn't want him to get the ball. Sometimes we tried to jam it in and got some turnovers. It's tough for him; they were sending three or four guys at a time."
Virginia led 18-14 before falling into disarray midway through the first half. The Cavaliers scored only two more field goals before halftime, committing seven turnovers in six minutes -- including a stretch of four straight possessions. N.C. State, which shot 51 percent, closed the half with a 26-10 run and hit the locker room with a 12-point lead.
"We weren't playing the best defense, but we were making shots," Mason said. "When we stopped making shots . . . they went on a run."
Mason provided the best example of the frustration that enveloped the Cavs.
Five minutes before halftime, official Mike Wood gave him a technical foul for complaining that he got hit on a missed three-point attempt.
"That was pretty foolish of me," Mason said. "I very rarely lose my poise like that. As a leader of this team, I can't let that happen."
The second half was more of the same for the Cavaliers. N.C. State took a 52-32 lead 3 1/2 minutes into the half when Marcus Melvin (16 points) and Archie Miller hit back-to-back three-pointers. The Wolfpack made 3 of 9 three-point shots in the second half after hitting 6 of 11 in the first half, but their early success had an effect on the Virginia defense.
"When they hit threes well, their offense is going to work even better," Cavaliers Coach Pete Gillen said. "They executed very well. By hitting threes, they made us come out a little more and made us more susceptible to the back-doors and the layups."
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, February 7, 2002; Page D10
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Feb. 6 -- When he took the helm of the Virginia football program 13 months ago, Al Groh spoke of raising the Cavaliers' national profile. Today he took a step toward that goal, unveiling the most talented recruiting class in the program's history.
George Welsh, Groh's predecessor, typically brought in classes rated 25th or 30th in the nation by most recruiting experts. Today U-Va. received signed letters-of-intent from 26 players that comprise a consensus top-10 class. ESPN.com's Tom Lemming ranked the Cavaliers fifth and SuperPrep magazine had them ninth.
Groh and his assistant coaches reeled in nearly all the prospects they targeted, including linebackers, running backs, linemen and cornerbacks ranked among the best at their positions.
"We made significant progress in terms of how we want the team to look," Groh said. "We're going to need two or three more classes like this one. . . . We didn't win any games yet, but I think we got some people who can help us do that."
The class appears particularly strong on defense. Hylton inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks was selected by USA Today as the nation's best defensive player. Gatorade picked another U-Va. signee as the state's top player: inside linebacker Kai Parham of Virginia Beach.
"He and Ahmad together are really what we want the linebackers to look like," Groh said. "It's very exciting to think of them playing side by side."
Virginia picked up two cornerbacks rated among the nation's 25 best, Centreville's Marcus Hamilton and Culpeper's Stefan Orange.
The Cavaliers also loaded up with 10 offensive and defensive linemen, including Potomac's Keenan Carter and Kwakou Robinson and D'Brickashaw Ferguson -- two of the best players in New York.
"You've just got to have linemen up there, and they've got to be able to do what needs to be done," Groh said. "We did put a particular emphasis on those spots."
At the offensive skill positions, the Cavaliers added Michael Johnson of Newport News, who is rated as one of the nation's top running backs, and highly regarded quarterback Anthony Martinez of Ashland, Va.
"Of the nine ACC schools, only Florida State has a better geographical advantage than Virginia," said Dave Glenn, who covers ACC recruiting for the ACC Area Sports Journal. "[But] Al Groh's staff works harder on the recruiting trail than George Welsh's staff [did], period. Virginia has a lot of young guys with lots of energy who are pounding the pavement, meeting coaches, building bridges, developing relationships and it's paying off."
Many of the incoming recruits said a strong relationship with the Virginia coaching staff was a prime factor in their decision. The Cavaliers coaches also have NFL experience to entice aspiring young prospects.
"I really liked the coaching staff," Orange said. "They were the most loyal to me throughout the whole recruiting process. Coach Groh contacted me more than any other head coach did. I liked that. . . . The other schools, I heard from them every week, but Virginia was the one that stuck out in my mind."
Brooks's coach at Hylton, Bill Brown, agreed that the effort the Virginia coaches put in was key.
"I don't know that you could work any harder than what they did," Brown said. "I don't think they left any stone unturned. Al Groh was sitting in this office before he even knew about Ahmad Brooks because he was hitting these schools himself. Not just Hylton High School -- all these schools."
The Cavaliers hope the recruiting effort will pay off on the field in future seasons.
"I came here with the intention of competing for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship every year and, in doing so, to compete for the national championship," Groh said. "I'm sure there are some people who snickered when I said that, but those people probably didn't think we could bring in a top-five recruiting class."
Cavs' skid reaches 4
RALEIGH, N.C. - N.C. State's basketball players must look at the Virginia Cavaliers and wonder: How can these guys be in the top 10 if we're not even ranked?
The Wolfpack whipped U.Va. 85-68 in an ACC game last night at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The Cavaliers came in ranked No. 10 in The Associated Press poll. They were No. 4 when the Pack beat them 81-74 in University Hall on Jan. 5.
The red-clad fans in the crowd of 16,729 chanted, "Overrated . . . overrated," and no one in blue and orange would have disputed that. The loss was the fourth straight for Virginia (4-5, 14-6), its longest skid since 1998-99, Pete Gillen's first season as its coach. Not since the 2000-01 regular-season finale, when Maryland romped 102-67, had Virginia been beaten so soundly.
"We lost our poise," Gillen said.
The Cavaliers didn't look like an NIT team last night, let alone an NCAA tournament candidate. They took an 18-14 lead on a three-point play by junior center Travis Watson midway through the first half then promptly fell apart. As Virginia piled up turnover after turnover - it would finish with 20, three days after committing the same amount against Missouri - the Wolfpack took control with a 14-2 run.
State (6-4, 17-6) sank six 3-pointers in the first half - Virginia made none - and led 40-28 at the break. The Cavaliers trailed by 20 with 16 minutes remaining and never got closer than 11 points thereafter.
Watson, who played only 13 minutes against Missouri because of a sprained left foot, finished with a career-high 29 points - nine more than his previous best - and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, his 12th double-double of the season. He also had three steals and three assists but turned over the ball a career-worst seven times.
At least Watson battled till the end. Few of his teammates could say the same thing. Junior guard Roger Mason Jr. picked up a rare technical in the first half and fouled out with 11:09 remaining. Mason scored only 12 points, six under than his average.
"I let the team down," Mason said.
Senior forward Chris Williams, a two-time all-conference selection, missed all five of his field-goal attempts and scored a mere two points. Gillen benched Williams at the start of the second half, along with power forward J.C. Mathis, but if that was supposed to jolt Williams out of his lethargy, it didn't work. Williams was as ineffective as he'd been last month at Clemson, where he went scoreless for the first time in his college career.
"He wasn't aggressive," Gillen said. "You've got to be aggressive. . . . It's tough for us to win if a terrific player like Chris has a game like this."
The Wolfpack played without star freshman Julius Hodge, whom the ACC had suspended for hitting Maryland guard Steve Blake, but he wasn't missed. Senior guard Anthony Grundy totaled 25 points, and sophomore guard Scooter Sherrill came off the bench to score a career-high 20. Sophomore center Marcus Melvin snapped out of his shooting slump in emphatic fashion, making 5 of 6 attempts from the field, including 4 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Giving up 3-pointers is nothing new for the Cavaliers. In Virginia's past two games, its opponents have made 17 of 37 attempts from long range. Over the same span, U.Va. has gone 4 for 20. Its only trey last night came when freshman guard Jermaine Harper connected with 2:53 left.
First-year post player Jason Clark came off the bench to score 10 points, but classmates Keith Jenifer and Elton Brown had forgettable games. Jenifer, who starts at point guard, went scoreless and turned over the ball three times. Brown, who came in averaging 9.5 points, went scoreless for the first time as a Cavalier.
Cavs are in Top 10 but look like one-hit wonders
To paraphrase its contents: Please gather your belongings - your slapdash ballhandling, your flimsy defense, your monochrome attack, your road-show pratfalls - and vacate college basketball's Top 10. Leave the key at the front desk. Don't attempt to check in again till you prove you can beat somebody who matters.
N.C. State delivered that message with a shockingly easy 85-68 rout, but it just as well could've been Missouri four days ago or Maryland the game before that, when the Cavs wilted at money time and stared at the crossroads of a season.
They could've gotten back on track at Mizzou. They belched out 20 turnovers, were outshot from long range and fell by four.
They could've resurrected themselves against State. They cranked out another 20 turnovers, were shredded on defense by the Pack, trailed for the closing 29 minutes and never got closer than 11 after the break.
They're now 14-6, which doesn't sound horrible, but they boast only one high-grade victim - Wake Forest at home - and after looming get-well visits from Clemson and North Carolina, the remainder of their agenda reads at Wake, at Florida State, Georgia Tech home (the lone gimme), Duke home and at Maryland. Charlottesville, we have a problem.
They had plenty of snafus last night. U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said the Pack "outscrapped and out-toughed" his crew. He could've added "outsmarted," "outshot" and "out-steadied." Roger Mason was hit with a technical for squawking to the ref and drew his fifth foul midway through the second half on a foolish rush to the basket. Travis Watson was bullish down low but was three turnovers shy of a dubious triple-double. Senior Chris Williams played like a deer-in-the-headlights rookie. Freshman playmaker Keith Jenifer didn't scratch and is now 12 for 41 with 24 assists and 21 turnovers against ACC competition. And so on.
State suffered no such meltdowns by contrast. The Pack has no low-post game. Zip, nada, none. It was shy one weapon thanks to Julius Hodge's suspension. But it shook Anthony Grundy loose for 25 points and backup guard Scooter Sherrill for 20, and U.Va. never did locate its shooters or disrupt its dribble-drives or cutters without grabbing and drawing fouls.
"We really prepared for this game," Mason said. "We said we were going to take care of the ball and play good defense. We didn't do those things. They carved us up."
The evening began badly for the Cavs and soon got infinitely worse. On their first possession, they had Watson isolated in the low post. Potentially easy pickings. Except he and Jenifer miscommunicated on the entry pass, and the ball was off-target for a turnover. Marcus Melvin nailed a 3 at the other end for the Pack. The omens - bad and good - had been established.
How rotten would it get for U.Va.? Worse than Gillen probably could've imagined. Ahead 18-14, the Cavs immediately careened along on an 11-possession skid during which they committed seven turnovers - three apiece by Watson and Chris Williams - missed five shots and registered one basket, a high-post jumper from Watson.
That was U.Va.'s lone perimeter connection till a meaningless 3-pointer from Jermaine Harper three minutes from the end. The Cavs are last in the league in production and accuracy from bonusland. Another area that needs work.
"We're better than how we're playing right now," Mason said.
Don't tell it to the pollsters. As of now, they're not listening.
Harvest viewed as U.Va.'s best
When he took over last winter as football coach at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, Al Groh promised that he and his assistants would be tireless and relentless recruiters. He also said he saw no reason U.Va. couldn't attract big-time talent.
That wasn't idle talk. The proof came yesterday. The 26 players who signed letters of intent with Virginia yesterday form the most highly rated recruiting class in school history.
ESPN.com recruiting analyst Tom Lemming last night ranked the Cavaliers' class No. 5 nationally. It includes four Parade All-Americans, led by Hylton High linebacker Ahmad Brooks, USA Today's national prep defensive player of the year. The others are linebacker Kai Parham of Princess Anne, tailback Michael Johnson of Heritage-Newport News and defensive lineman Kwakou Robinson of Poly Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Robinson was rated the No. 1 prospect in New York. The No. 2 prospect, D'Brickashaw Ferguson of Long Island, also signed with the Cavaliers.
"Certainly it's a very exciting day," Groh said. "We brought some significant talent into this program."
The Cavaliers finished 5-7 in 2001, in part because of poor recruiting in the final years of George Welsh's tenure.
"This is one very good class," Groh said. "I think we're going to need two, maybe three more classes like this to have the team look the way we want it to look."
More than half of the recruits - 14 in all - are from Virginia, including Central Region standouts Anthony Martinez, a quarterback from Patrick Henry, and Jason Snelling, a running back from L.C. Bird. Three each come from New Jersey and New York, and six other states are represented with one player apiece.
Virginia landed five of the state's top 10 prospects as ranked by The Roanoke Times: No. 1 Brooks, No. 3 Parham, No. 6 Johnson, No. 9 Marcus Hamilton and No. 10 Stefan Orange.
"We're the University of Virginia, and this should be our home base," Groh said of his in-state emphasis.
The class includes two players - offensive lineman Robert Jenkins and outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock - who signed with Virginia last February. Jenkins qualified academically in 2001, but U.Va.'s admissions department steered him to junior college to bolster his transcript. The Cavs' coaches are optimistic that Jenkins will be admitted for 2002-03.
Blackstock, an all-Group AAA performer at Newport News' Heritage High in 2000, is repeating the 12th grade at Fork Union Military Academy, where he starred for the postgraduate team last season. Blackstock has qualified since enrolling at FUMA and should contend for a starting spot at U.Va. in 2002.
The Cavaliers wanted to add size and speed, and they suffered few setbacks in their pursuit of blue-chip talent. Two of their targets, quarterback Marcus Vick and lineman Jonathan Lewis, signed with Virginia Tech, but both had family ties to that school. Offensive lineman Randy Hand from Florida committed to U.Va. in December, then later changed his mind and became a Gator. Wideout Maurice Stovall chose Notre Dame over Virginia.
Otherwise, though, the Cavaliers generally got the players on their wish list. Virginia recruited only two inside linebackers - Brooks and Parham - and beat national powers for each one.
"These are the guys that will help us get done what we want to do with our defense," Groh said.
Groh didn't hesitate to play true freshmen in 2001 and he said it's likely that "a significant number of them will play next year. . . . The way we're going to get better is to put these players in the game, and that's our intention."
N.C. State knocks off
slumping Virginia
RALEIGH
N.C. State, despite playing without its prince of a freshman Julius Hodge, turned in a kingly performance last night in an 85-68 win against 10th-ranked Virginia.
Hodge, who was suspended by the ACC for last night's game after his forearm shiver to Maryland's Steve Blake on Sunday, was barely missed as the Wolfpack played one of its most complete games of the season. The Wolfpack broke a two-game losing streak and the heroes were many.
Forward Marcus Melvin, who started in place of Hodge, had one of his best games of the season with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. The steady Anthony Grundy, who shut down high-scoring Roger Mason, led the way for the Wolfpack with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
"I just wanted to pick up the slack and that's what I did tonight," Melvin said, referring to the absence of Hodge.
The rest of the Wolfpack also picked up large pieces of slack as its reserves scored a season-high 26 points. Scooter Sherrill led the way for the reserves with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
After the Wolfpack (17-6, 6-4 ACC) had forged ahead 40-28 at halftime, it extended the lead early in the second half.
By the time Archie Miller hit a 3-point shot with 16:30 left, the Wolfpack's lead had swelled to 52-32.
The Cavaliers tried everything to slow down the Wolfpack. Full- and half-court pressure didn't work and despite having an advantage on the boards all night, the Cavaliers were mostly all thumbs with 20 turnovers.
The Cavaliers have lost their past four games.
Coach Pete Gillen of the Cavaliers was blunt about his team's performance: "We were out-scrapped, out-toughed and out-hustled."
Once the Wolfpack took a 20-point lead, the best the Cavaliers could do was cut it to 11 points with 1:49 to play. By that time, the Wolfpack fans had already begun their chant of "Overrated."
Grundy said that in the absence of Hodge, the rest of the Wolfpack realized it would have to rise to the challenge.
"Marcus did a great job tonight and we've been missing Marcus for a while the last several games," Grundy said. "And to have him back was just something to see."
The only scare for the Wolfpack came with 5:37 left after Grundy sliced into the lane for a layup. After the basket, he fell in a heap, grabbing his left calf because of a cramp.
He was later taken to the locker room, but returned to the bench, much to the delight of the nearly 17,000 at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. Grundy got back into the game with 4:37 left and the Wolfpack still in front by 15 points.
Grundy said the treatment he received in the locker room worked to perfection. "They gave me some medicine, but it was real nasty but it helped," he said. "It felt a lot better after I drank the medicine and I came back to help the team."
The Wolfpack shot 51 percent and were 9 of 20 on 3-pointers.
Sherrill said that the Wolfpack didn't talk a lot about Hodge's absence. Hodge sat on the bench in street clothes as he watched his teammates pick apart the Cavaliers.
"I don't think anybody really talked about it, but we all knew everybody took it upon themselves to step it up," Sherrill said. "I knew I was going to play more because Jules was out so I had to step it up."
Coach Herb Sendek of the Wolfpack praised Sherrill's overall play, which included a solid showing on the defensive end.
And it was Grundy who did the most damage on defense, disrupting Mason at every turn. Mason, who tied his season low with just 12 points, picked up a technical foul in the first half after arguing that he was fouled on a 3-point attempt.
Mason, fourth in the ACC in scoring at 18.3 points a game, fouled out with 11:09 to play and was never a factor in the second half.
In the first half, the Wolfpack struggled early with its offense, but caught fire midway through. Sherrill, a fan favorite with the Wolfpack faithful, scored three straight buckets during a 20-4 run.
When the run started, the Cavaliers led 18-14, but when the Wolfpack surge was over it was in front 34-22 with 2:20 left in the half.
Melvin, who made three 3-point shots in the first half, made a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key that put the finishing touches on the run. Melvin also hit a six-foot hook shot later in the half.
Sendek had nothing but praise for his team.
"I thought tonight's game was a team effort," said Sendek, whose team solidified its spot in fourth place in the ACC. "In fact it was probably our best team effort all season."
| Virginia awaits
breakthrough victory By Gregg Doyel Special to ESPN.com |
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People say Virginia isn't consistent. People are so wrong. Listen, if the Cavaliers are playing Wagner, they're beating Wagner. If they're playing East Tennessee State or Howard, they're beating East Tennessee State or Howard. And if it's a big game, the Cavaliers generally are going to lose. See the consistency? Virginia fans have seen it ever since coach Pete Gillen replaced Jeff Jones in 1998. Gillen has transformed Jones' boring, often unsuccessful teams into an entertaining group that typically wins the games it should, and loses most of the games it could. Entering this season, Virginia had a 9-15 record against Top 25 teams under Guillen. Not bad, but not great, either. There have been exceptions, obviously. Gillen's first two groups of Cavs went 3-12 against the Top 25. Last season Virginia was 6-3 against ranked clubs and beat Duke and North Carolina -- when that meant something. And this season the Cavaliers have beaten No. 16 Wake Forest and also Georgetown, back when the Hoyas were No. 16 in the country. But, since then, Georgetown has gone 5-4 in Big East play and free-fallen out of the Top 25. The Hoyas didn't receive a vote in either poll this week. Really, Virginia hasn't won any more than Georgetown since beating the Hoyas 61-55 on Dec. 20. The Cavaliers entered the new year 9-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country. Since then they have gone 5-5, including a 4-4 record in the ACC after one turn around the league. Before league play began, Gillen could sense his then-unbeaten team might be in for a shock. He drew an analogy to a car driver who has been warned about a tree in the road and still runs into it. A month later, Gillen says the analogy was on target. "We crashed a lot of times," he said. "But we'll try to be like the Phoenix and rise from our own ashes. Hopefully we can bounce back. It's no disgrace being knocked down. It is a disgrace not to try to get back up." The Cavaliers' 14-5 record has led to a No. 8 rating by the coaches and No. 10 by the media, even though only one of Virginia's 14 victims received a single vote in either poll this week. Who, then, has Virginia beaten? Beyond Wake Forest, the Cavaliers have knocked off a who's who of ACC bottom-feeders: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Florida State. "Guys have to realize we're not there yet. We haven't arrived, or however you want to say it," said junior guard Roger Mason. "Things could get bad. They could get bad if we're not careful." Bad enough for Virginia to drop out of NCAA Tournament contention? No, probably not that bad. But it could happen. Virginia has an RPI rating of No. 28, and a mediocre finish to the regular season -- say, a 4-4 mark in the second half of the ACC schedule -- could lower its RPI to the high-30s danger zone. An 18-9 regular season followed by another first-round loss in the ACC tournament -- a fate that has befallen the Cavaliers in each of the last six seasons -- could be enough to push them off the NCAA bubble. Especially if the NCAA Tournament selection committee takes into account Virginia's quick exit last season as the South's No. 5 seed, when it lost in the first round to 12th-seeded Gonzaga. Still, Virginia has a believer in Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who says the Cavaliers "are one of the best teams in the country." That's debatable. This isn't: The Cavaliers haven't always had their full complement of players. While they do have veteran leadership in Mason, junior center Travis Watson and senior forwards Chris Williams and Adam Hall, the Cavaliers haven't been at full strength in weeks. Hall has barely played since suffering a broken foot late in the Jan. 15 victory against Wake Forest. In Virginia's most recent loss, 81-77 Sunday at No. 22 Missouri, Watson played sparingly because of foot and hip injuries. His replacement in the starting lineup, freshman Elton Brown, was sick. So were Mason and Williams. That's why you won't hear Gillen complaining about the Missouri loss. Especially with four freshmen (starting point guard Keith Jenifer, Brown, reserve wing Jermaine Harper and reserve center Jason Clark) playing significant minutes. "I'm proud of our guys," he said. Imagine his pride when the Cavaliers win another big game. The next chance is Wednesday against N.C. State, when Virginia will try to snap a three-game losing streak (to No. 1 Duke, No. 3 Maryland and No. 22 Missouri). "It's no disgrace losing those three games," Gillen said. "A lot of teams would have lost. We have to keep swinging, keep our spirits up. We've crashed, but hopefully we'll put our car back together again." |
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turned into a full-blown crisis Wednesday night because the Cavaliers
moped through an 85-68 defeat at North Carolina State.
Virginia can't blame this one on inexperience, sore feet or the flu: elements
that contributed to three previous defeats.
This one, the Cavaliers' fourth straight loss, is on the vets. Travis Watson,
Roger Mason Jr., and Chris Williams.
Watson's career-high 29 points? His immeasurable effort? He canceled those
assets with seven of Virginia's 20 turnovers. We know Watson is nursing a sore
foot and hip-pointer, but that doesn't account for bad hands and poor
judgment.
Mason's judgment was equally flawed. In less than 90 seconds midway through
the second half, he committed his fourth and fifth fouls to earn his second
disqualification of the season.
Mason also neglected to read this week's memo: The ACC is a Miss Manners
league. Coaches reprimanded for uncivilized behavior; a player suspended for a
stray elbow.
So referee Mike Wood wasted no time. When Mason barked about a no-call late in
the first half, Wood hit him with a technical foul.
Mason's T and a rash of turnovers lowlighted a 10-minute stretch during which
State outscored Virginia 26-10.
"I lost my poise and got frustrated," Mason said. "As the
leader of this team, I can't do that. I've got to be better than that."
So does Williams, the Cavaliers' No. 2 scorer. He managed two points
Wednesday, one in each half. He missed all five of his shots from the field.
Combine those three performances and it's no wonder Virginia trailed by 12 at
halftime and never drew closer than 11 during the second half.
"They played defense and we didn't," Williams said.
Indeed, Virginia allowed N.C. State open shots throughout. The Wolfpack made
nine 3-pointers and ran basic backdoor cuts that exposed the Cavaliers'
defensive flaws.
"Outhustled and outworked," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said.
Now Virginia sits at 14-6, 4-5 in the ACC. With games remaining against Duke,
Wake Forest and Maryland -- the latter two on the road -- the Cavaliers are
far from NCAA Tournament locks, their No. 10 standing in the Associated Press
poll notwithstanding.
Struggling teams invariably are the most intriguing, and as tipoff loomed,
Virginia and N.C. State certainly qualified.
The Cavaliers, once 9-0, arrived in Raleigh on a three-game downer. The
opponents, Duke, Maryland and Missouri, were reputable, but the defeats were
discouraging nonetheless -- especially the late collapse at home against
Maryland.
N.C. State, chasing its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991, entered
Wednesday on a two-game losing streak. Again, the opponents -- Wake Forest and
Maryland -- were reputable. Again, the defeats were discouraging -- especially
the Maryland rout, which turned chippy late.
Freshman wing Julius Hodge, the Wolfpack's No. 2 scorer, was the worst
offender, elbowing Terps point guard Steve Blake in the back of the head. ACC
commissioner John Swofford promptly suspended Hodge for Wednesday's game -- a
serious setback given his 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in State's 81-74
victory at Virginia last month.
But State responded well to adversity. Virginia did not. Hello, crisis.
If ever a team needed a home game against the conference's cellar-dweller.
Then again, last-place Clemson, which visits University Hall on Sunday,
drubbed Virginia by 16 last month.
"It's huge," Mason said of Sunday. "We gotta win. We don't have
a choice. It's no longer an option."