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UVa's quest for road victory fails
By Andrew Joyner  / Daily Progress staff writer
February 2, 2003

 

ATLANTA — It’s an interesting question: Which will happen first, the discovery of the Holy Grail or a Virginia win in an ACC road game?
After Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, it unfortunately might be too close to call.
Behind 25 points from Marvin Lewis and 22 from Chris Bosh, the Yellow Jackets sent Virginia to its ninth-straight ACC loss with a 80-60 decision — UVa’s biggest margin of defeat this season.
Virginia (12-7, 3-4 ACC) was held to 36.5 percent shooting and committed 19 turnovers, which the Yellow Jackets (11-7, 4-3 ACC) converted into 25 points. Virginia managed only eight points off of Georgia Tech’s 15 turnovers.
Todd Billet had 19 and Derrick Byars had 11 for Virginia, whose last ACC road win came here on Jan. 22, 2002.
“The story of the game from my perspective was turnovers. Georgia Tech scored 25 points off of turnovers,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen, whose team was outrebounded by Georgia Tech, 42-38, and saw the Jackets get four offensive rebounds on missed free throws. “We led early and it was bing, bang, boom. We committed some turnovers and the roof caved in.”
Unlike some of its beginnings to road games, Virginia led 14-7 with 14:31 left in the first half when the Jackets erupted for a 24-7 run that was fueled by Virginia’s inability to control the basketball.
“I don’t think we’ve been an effective pressing team this season. … Today we did a much better job extending the pressure, getting out in the passing lanes and really make their ballhandlers work 94 feet,” said Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt.
The Yellow Jackets’ spurt gave them a 31-21 lead, which they then extended to a 36-23 advantage on a jumper by Luke Schenscher with 2:13 left before halftime.
Todd Billet, who finished with 19 points, connected on a 3-pointer to at least briefly halt Georgia Tech’s momentum as the score was 38-28 at intermission.
Not aiding the Virginia cause in the first 20 minutes or the whole game was senior forward Travis Watson. Watson finished with just four points and 11 rebounds. The four points was his lowest output since scoring two points against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 19 in a game in which he was limited to 15 minutes because of a sprained ankle.
“Travis Watson is a great player but he didn’t have his typical game. He just didn’t have it tonight,” Gillen said.
Virginia made a slight push to cut the Georgia Tech advantage in the beginning of the second half but as usual for the Cavaliers on the road, it was a Sisyphus-like task.
Derrick Byars, who was Virginia’s only other double-digit scorer with 11, connected on a 3-pointer with 15:16 left that made it 47-39. That eight-point deficit, however, would be Virginia’s smallest of the second half.
The Jackets responded with a 9-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by the 6-10 Bosh that made it 56-39.
The agile Bosh was consistently able to beat the Cavaliers from just about anywhere, as he connected on nine of his 15 shots from the floor.
“He might be the best freshman in the country. He’s a great player,” Gillen said.
If it wasn’t Bosh that was beating the Cavaliers, it was Lewis.
The junior guard, who hit a memorable 3-pointer to beat Virginia at University Hall last season, was at it again from behind the arc as he made 5 of his 10 3-pointers. Each time, those treys seemed well-placed.
When Virginia cut the Tech lead to 57-45 on a Billet trey, Lewis nailed a 3-pointer with 11:17 left that pushed the advantage back to 15.
“Marvin Lewis just killed us against either the man or zone [defenses],” Gillen said.
Virginia was able to get within 10 the rest of the way but could get no closer as Georgia Tech kept pushing the lead higher and higher as it improved to 10-0 at home this season.
The only real excitement in the game’s final 10 minutes was an altercation between Jarrett Jack and UVa center Nick Vander Laan with less than a minute to play. The two players jostled and then Vander Laan was ultimately assessed both a foul and technical foul on the play. The Jackets converted the ensuing four free throws to account for the final margin.
Despite his stat line, Watson gave perhaps the best response when asked, for likely the umpteenth time, about his team’s continual road woes.
“I don’t know. You’re the reporter. I’m sure you are sick of asking about it,” Watson said.

 

 

UVa can't find any answers
By Jerry Ratcliffe  / Daily Progress staff writer
February 2, 2003
ATLANTA


Oh-for-four. That’s Virginia’s record on the treacherous ACC road where wins don’t come easy.
The Cavaliers, seemingly invincible in the protective bubble of University Hall, just can’t seem to get it together once they leave the city limits.
On Saturday, Coach Pete Gillen’s team ran into more trouble on the road in an 80-60 loss to Georgia Tech. Of UVa’s seven losses this season, the 20-point blowout was by far the widest point margin. Even Indiana, Michigan State and Duke didn’t lower the boom on the Wahoos as bad as the Yellow Jackets.
Mounting questions
Gillen, faced with the same questions after each mounting road loss, has run out of answers. The Cavs have now lost nine straight ACC road games and the prospects of reversing that trend don’t look promising.
Virginia plays at defending national champion Maryland on Thursday at the Terps’ new Comcast Center where they are 10-1.
Gillen doesn’t think his team is cursed, jinxed or just unlucky on the road. He isn’t calling any witchdoctors to reverse the voodoo. Neither can he explain what has happened to his team when it hits the road.
“No, I don’t think we have a mental block,” said Gillen after watching his team slip to 12-7 on the season and 3-4 in the ACC. “[Georgia Tech] is good ... undefeated at home. I’m disappointed we didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing.”
Tech coach Paul Hewitt was somewhat sympathetic. His Jackets are 10-0 at home, 0-6 on the road.
“We haven’t been out of character [on the road],” said Hewitt. “I would be more concerned if we were totally out of character.”
Gillen couldn’t make that same claim. The Cavs are Jekyll & Hyde when it comes to home and away.
Giving it away
The Cavaliers committed 19 turnovers, which led to 25 Georgia Tech points. They shot less than 40 percent from the field for the first time since winning at Rutgers in a more hostile environment on Dec. 21. Travis Watson, the team’s leading scorer, was held to a mere four points in a 2-for-8 shooting performance.
The Cavaliers didn’t do much right at the Thrillerdome and Gillen grasped for an explanation afterward.
He pointed out the turnovers, he made reference to Georgia Tech’s size and athleticism that negated UVa’s inside presence. Gillen credited Tech as being a good basketball team. He reasoned that he is using four players significantly who are getting their first taste of ACC road warfare this season: a freshman, a junior college transfer and two Division I transfers.
“I’m disappointed. We’ve got to dig down and work harder,” said Gillen. “I still believe in our team.”
Statisticians will cut Gillen a little slack in the fact that the league’s top six teams are a col-
lective 20-0 at home heading into today. Fans don’t understand how a team can be so good at home and as Bill Walton would say, so h-o-r-r-I-b-l-e on the road.
Georgia Tech focused on shutting down Watson and sharpshooter Todd Billet. The Jackets figured they’d take their chances on the rest of the Wahoos beating them.
Not a bad strategy.
Hewitt rotated fresh bodies on Watson all day, 7-foot-1 Luke Schenscher, 6-8 Ed Nelson and 6-9 Theodis Tarver. Nelson, in particular, was determined to shut Watson down, telling Hewitt at one point: “I’m not going to let 35 score.”
How prophetic.
“A lot of times, I didn’t touch the ball,” said Watson. “When I did, I got double-teamed. I just tried to become a decoy for others.”
Ask any Cavalier coach or player about the road dilemma and no one can come up with a valid answer to the slump.
Billet doesn’t totally buy into the fact that the team has so many new faces on the roster.
“Yes and no,” said Billet. “You don’t want to use that as a crutch. We have shown we’re capable of playing well on the road [at Duke]. We have to keep repeating that. Playing on the road shouldn’t do this to us. The game we won [at Rutgers] was against a more hostile crowd.”
There’s really no logical reasons why there should be such a polar effect when the Cavs hit the road.
Maybe Pete should call up that witch doctor and talk things over. Anything to avoid Oh-for-Eight.

 

 

UVa board discusses Greek life, new arena
By KATE ANDREWS  / Daily Progress staff writer
February 1, 2003

 

The University of Virginia is well on its way toward a basketball arena set to replace University Hall, officials said Saturday. Fund-raisers have secured $52.5 million in financial commitments from individual donors, and the university expects about $7 million more from “very, very solid” verbal commitments, said Barry Parkhill, associate director of athletics. The building is expected to cost $128 million, excluding such extras as premium seating, said Leonard W. Sandridge Jr., executive vice president and chief operating officer. The answer to the big question — which seats donors will receive — will take a while to answer, Parkhill said. In the meantime, Parkhill and a committee of donors are going to concentrate on fund raising. “We need to get, in terms of present value, something that’s in the 80-plus million number,” Sandridge said. Part of that focus will include garnering corporate donations, Parkhill said. Saturday’s Board of Visitors meeting shone the spotlight on Greek life as well as sports. An alumni group is beginning a study of UVa’s fraternities and sororities. About 30 percent of undergraduates belong to a Greek organization, officials said. Two focuses are behavior and safety standards in the houses, said Eli Green, a member of the Young Alumni Council, which is conducting the study. “The alumni feel they will be the impetus for a lot of the change that will occur, and needs to occur, in the Greek system,” Green said. Preliminary goals include increasing alumni involvement with Greek organizations and making sure the fraternity houses, many of which are aged, are structurally sound. “I think we’re on the right track here,” said Charles L. Glazer, a member of the Board of Visitors. But fellow board member Warren M. Thompson raised a hot topic — the controversy over three fraternity brothers who wore blackface makeup to a Halloween party, sending UVa into racial turmoil. “It’s a shame that the incident of blackface and the bad press have towered over the good things,” Thompson said. The board later enacted a resolution praising student accomplishments while stating it “does not condone the unfortunate actions of a few students who have neglected the feelings of others with their thoughtless acts.” For three members of the board and UVa’s rector, the meeting likely was their last. The terms of members Elizabeth A. Twohy, Elsie Goodwyn Holland and T. Keister Greer, as well as that of Rector John P. Ackerly, will expire Feb. 28. Gov. Mark R. Warner is expected to name their replacements before the board’s next meeting in April. All four received resolutions for their efforts over the years, with Ackerly’s tribute ending the meeting. “I honestly believe the entire UVa community owes Jack an enormous debt of gratitude,” said William G. Crutchfield Jr., a fellow board member. Ackerly, in turn, thanked the board for its unselfishness and dedication. “I think Thomas Jefferson had a great deal of wisdom when he referred to us as visitors,” Ackerly noted. “That meant we weren’t supposed to stay here indefinitely.”

 

 

Wanted: Travel agent for Cavaliers
UVa loses another road game in the ACC, extending the streak of such losses to nine.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

ATLANTA - In a meeting between teams with unbeaten records at home, Virginia was wearing the wrong-colored jerseys Saturday.
That wasn't the Cavaliers' only problem.

Virginia shot poorly, couldn't handle the ball, got progressively worse on defense and eventually lost its cool in an 80-60 loss to Georgia Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

It was the ninth straight ACC road loss for the Cavaliers, whose last previous conference victory on the road was at Georgia Tech more than a year ago.

"I don't think we have a mental block," UVa coach Pete Gillen said. "These guys are a very good team. They're undefeated at home. They would have beaten a lot of teams today."

Conversely, the Cavaliers (12-7, 3-4) would not have beaten many teams on a day when they shot 36.5 percent from the field, committed 19 turnovers and watched Georgia Tech (11-7, 4-3) shoot 53.8 percent in the second half.

"We face pressure at home and it doesn't give us that much trouble," UVa forward Jason Clark said. "I don't know why, when we get on the road, that suddenly we can't handle the ball."

Twelve of the turnovers came in the first half, when the Yellow Jackets rallied from an early 14-7 deficit to take a 38-28 halftime lead. The Cavaliers had two chances to cut the deficit inside 10 points with seven minutes remaining, but Majestic Mapp and Todd Billet missed 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.

The final margin was the largest of the game for the Yellow Jackets, who made four straight free throws and were awarded possession after a technical foul on the Cavaliers' Nick Vander Laan with 46.3 seconds left.

Billet and freshman Derrick Byars combined for eight 3-pointers and were UVa's only double-figure scorers, with 19 and 11 points, on an afternoon when leading scorer Travis Watson was limited to four points and 11 rebounds.

Watson also had a team-high five turnovers and sat down for nearly six minutes midway through the second half, possibly the longest benching of his career for nonfoul-related reasons.

"He didn't have it," Gillen said. "He's a great player, but he didn't have a good game."

The Yellow Jackets got a game-high 25 points from junior Marvin Lewis in raising their home record to 10-0.

"Somebody gave me a stat before the game," Gillen said. "I'm not using this as an excuse, but the top six teams in the conference were 19-0 at home [in the ACC] going into today's game. Now, it's 20-0. What that means, I don't know. You figure it out.

"It's a fact: We have guys who have never played at home or on the road in the ACC. Four of our top eight or nine have not been playing any games at all - at home or on the road - in the ACC."

Georgia Tech freshman Chris Bosh had never played against the Cavaliers, but it didn't bother him. Bosh, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound post man from Lancaster, Texas, made nine of 15 shots from the field and finished with 22 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

"He's a great player, he's a superstar, he may be the best freshman in the country," Gillen said.

An NBA mock draft Web site recently projected Bosh as the No.4 pick this spring. Bosh, a left-handed version of Kevin Garnett, has given no indications that he will turn pro after one season.

The Yellow Jackets' third double-figure scorer, freshman point guard Jarrett Jack, had 12 points and seven assists.

Keith Jenifer, who did not start but received the most playing time of three UVa point guards, fouled out after 20 minutes of playing time and did not score.

Tenth man Majestic Mapp, a catalyst in back-to-back wins over Wake Forest and Georgia Tech in Charlottesville, played three minutes in the first half and did not reappear until 11:42 remained. Mapp couldn't summon any of his recent magic, but he was not alone.

UVa is 1-6 on the road this year and has lost 12 of its last 13 games on opponents' home floors, dating to last season.

"We've got to win ballgames if we want to get into the NCAA Tournament," Mapp said. "It's a big concern right now."

 

 

 

Jackets thrash Cavs
Virginia's woes on road continue
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 02, 2003
GA. TECH 80 VIRGINIA 60

ATLANTA - In the heat of an ACC road game, Virginia did what it's done so often away from University Hall under coach Pete Gillen: It melted.

Seven minutes into yesterday's game, the Cavaliers led by seven points. The game ended with them down by 20, their worst loss of the season. Georgia Tech ripped U.Va. 80-60 before 8,850 fans at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The Cavaliers have dropped nine straight ACC road games since beating the Yellow Jackets in this city Jan. 22, 2002. They've won only once in seven road games this season, at Rutgers on Dec. 22.

Virginia is 9-0 at U-Hall, but before playing there again, it must face defending NCAA champion Maryland at the Comcast Center on Thursday night.

"I don't think we have a mental block" about playing on the road, Gillen said. "I think we're playing hard. We're just not playing well. We're throwing the ball away. You got to take care of the ball."

With the victory, Georgia Tech (4-3, 11-7) remained unbeaten at home and took over fifth place in the ACC. Virginia (3-4, 12-7) fell to sixth. The conference's top six teams are a combined 20-0 at home in ACC play.

"For the most part, I guess, everyone's dominant at home," said Virginia point guard Majestic Mapp, who had two points, two assists, two turnovers and one steal in 15 minutes off the bench.

Maybe so, but even by U.Va.'s standards, this was one of their weaker efforts on the road. After playing solid defense in the first half - the Jackets were 14 for 36 from the floor - Virginia allowed them to make 14 of 26 (53.8 percent) shots after intermission.

The Jackets, meanwhile, baffled U.Va. with a full-court press that fueled a masterly defensive effort. The Cavaliers, who came in shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, hit only 36.5 percent yesterday.

"To hold a team like Virginia, with guys like Travis Watson and Todd Billet, under 40 percent, that's a great effort on our part," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.

Hewitt's club parlayed Virginia's 19 turnovers into 25 points. The Yellow Jackets had 15 turnovers, but they led to only eight points for the Wahoos.

In building its 14-7 lead, U.Va. turned over the ball two times. It had 10 turnovers in the final 13 minutes of the half. By halftime, Tech led 38-28 despite having shot only 38.9 percent from the floor.

"We had a 16-12 lead in the first half," Gillen said, "and then bing-bang-boom: turnovers, and the roof caved in."

Junior guard Marvin Lewis, whose 3-pointer with 1 second left lifted the Jackets to victory at University Hall last season, torched the Cavaliers again. Lewis hit five treys and scored a game-high 25 points. Freshman point guard Jarrett Jack added 12 points, seven assists and three steals.

Georgia Tech's Chris Bosh, however, might have been the most impressive player on the court. The 6-10 freshman totaled 22 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Bosh, who leads the ACC in field goal percentage, made 9 of 15 shots from the floor.

"He's a superstar," Gillen said. "He might be the best freshman in the country."

Virginia's only scholarship freshman, 6-7 forward Derrick Byars, made three treys and scored 11 points, by far his best performance in a road game this season. Billet hit five 3-pointers and led the Cavs with 19 points and four assists.

That ends the list of U.Va. players in double figures. All-ACC candidate Watson had a game-high 11 rebounds, but the 6-8, 255-pound senior struggled against the inspired defense of 6-8 Ed Nelson and his teammates. Watson missed 6 of 8 shots from the floor and finished with four points and a season-five turnovers.

"It's tough when our top guy, Travis Watson, doesn't have his typical game," Gillen said. "He didn't have it. He's a great player, but he didn't have a great game today."

Georgia Tech outrebounded Virginia 42-38. Four of the Jackets' 16 offensive boards came after they missed free throws. The Cavaliers have dropped six of their past seven games with the Jackets.
 

 

 

Lewis, Bosh control Cavs
John Hollis - Staff
Sunday, February 2, 2003
 

One of the ACC's better home teams played one of the league's worst road teams on Saturday afternoon, and the result was true to form.

Georgia Tech stayed unbeaten at home with an 80-60 victory over Virginia, which hasn't won an ACC road game since last season at Tech.

Guard Marvin Lewis scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Yellow Jackets, and Chris Bosh added 22 points and nine rebounds. An Alexander Memorial Coliseum crowd of 8,850 saw Tech improve to 10-0 at home. The Yellow Jackets have won their four ACC home games by an average of 17.8 points.

Tech (11-7, 4-3 ACC) shot 54 percent in the second half, 50 percent on 3-pointers.

"We can guard," Jackets coach Paul Hewitt said, "but when we put the ball in the basket the way we have been recently, I think we're pretty good."

"They're very good, very talented," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "They could have beaten a lot of teams today."

Virginia (12-7, 3-4) has lost six of its seven road games this season. The Cavaliers often appeared lethargic and indecisive on Saturday. They committed 25 turnovers and a number of egregious defensive lapses. The Jackets scored 25 points off turnovers, to Virginia's eight.

Tech freshman point guard Jarrett Jack scored 12 points and handed out seven assists. Eight Yellow Jackets scored.

Guard Todd Billet scored 22 points to pace the Cavaliers. Center Travis Watson, the team's leading scorer at just under 15 points per game, managed only four on 2-for-8 shooting.

Virginia led 14-7 behind six points from forward Jason Clark, but Tech went on a 19-5 run to take control of the game. Virginia trailed by as many as 17 points midway through the second half before pulling to 10 behind at 63-53 on Elton Brown's basket with 7:18 left. Bosh and B.J. Elder answered with baskets for Tech, and the Yellow Jackets pulled away.

The Jackets next play at Clemson on Wednesday in search of their first road victory.

 

 

 

Virginia vexed by Ga. Tech
The Associated Press
Published February 2, 2003

ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech finally may have a defense to match its offense, and that's bad news for the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Marvin Lewis scored 25 points and Chris Bosh added 22 as Georgia Tech improved to 10-0 at home with a 80-60 victory over Virginia on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets pressured the Cavaliers into 19 turnovers - 12 in the first half - and 37 percent shooting.

"We did a much better job extending the pressure, getting out in the passing lanes and really making their ballhandlers work 94 feet," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "I don't think we've been as effective pressing people this year. It's just been a steady building process."

The Yellow Jackets (11-7, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) won without much help from leading-scorer B.J. Elder, who scored only six points. He had finished in double figures in 16 of 17 games coming in, and was averaging 16.7 points.

But he finished 2-for-8 from the field against the Cavaliers and played only 25 minutes.

"I just wasn't able to knock shots down," Elder said. "Fortunately, the other guys stepped up and took up the slack."

Todd Billet had 19 points and Derrick Byars had 11 for Virginia (12-7, 3-4), which has lost four out of six.

"The story of the game, from my perspective, was our turnovers," Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen said. "Georgia Tech scored 25 points off of our turnovers. We had a brief lead ... in the first half and then just 'bing-bam-boom,' turnovers, and the roof caved in."

Travis Watson, averaging a team-best 14.9 points, sprained his right ankle early in the game chasing down an offensive rebound and was held to only four points.

"I sprained it bad," Watson said. "When I would shift my weight, the pain would shoot up my leg. I feel OK now."

He quickly returned after having the ankle re-taped but never got going before sitting out the final minutes. Watson had 11 rebounds.

"We wanted to deny Watson the ball," Lewis said. "The guards did a lot, but I give a lot of credit to our big men. Our big men played great. They banged and played hard. That's what you need against guys like Travis Watson."

Georgia Tech led by 10 at the break, and the margin was the same after Virginia's Elton Brown made a jumper with 7:22 left. The Yellow Jackets finished off the Cavaliers with 10-3 run after that, a spurt which included Elder's only two baskets of the game.

First, he hit a 3-pointer from the wing, then finished it off by tipping in a miss by Ed Nelson.

"No player is going to be on every night," Bosh said of Elder. "B.J. came through in the second half."
 

 

 


Irish brace themselves for life without LeBron
02/01/03
Tim Rogers
Plain Dealer Reporter

It was a typical St. Vincent-St. Mary practice except for one, gigantic missing ingredient.

LeBron James sat in the bleachers and watched his teammates - let's not call them former teammates just yet - go through a feisty 90-minute workout last night in preparation for tomorrow's game against Canton McKinley.

Even without James, the show will go on. It might not be as spectacular, but it will go on. The Irish have five regular-season games remaining and could play as many as seven games in the postseason. They plan to make it to all of them, with or without the kid regarded as the best high school player on the planet.

"Now we will find out just how good we are," said coach Dru Joyce II, three hours after hearing from the OHSAA. "I told a reporter that we will go on from here, and he asked me how we could possibly do that.

"Hey, this isn't death; nobody died. We will move on and we will move on together. What's important now is that the kids start believing in themselves. They have to start believing that they are capable of reaching the goals we set at the beginning of the season, without LeBron. I believe they are."

As Joyce spoke outside the private Roman Catholic school's gym, passengers in cars driving by shouted, "Leave LeBron alone!" and "It's all your fault!"

OHSAA Commissioner Clair Muscaro ruled yesterday that James, who expects to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft this spring, was ineligible for the rest of his high school career after he accepted a gift of two throwback jerseys valued at about $845 from a clothing store in Shaker Square.

With the ruling went the team's hopes of winning a mythical national championship. The Irish, also forced to forfeit Sunday's 82-71 victory over Buchtel, are likely to drop out of the top spot in USA Today's Super 25 national rankings - not because of the loss to Buchtel, but because of the loss of James.

After Joyce conducted a brief news conference outside the school's main entrance, James' Hummer H2 left from its customary spot alongside the school. Media members scrambled after it. James was not one of the occupants.

Instead, he sat in the bleachers near the Irish locker room, rising during an occasional break in the scrimmage to shoot a short jump shot or drop in a soft dunk.

He ate some fast-food and talked with teammate Romeo Travis, who is fighting the tail end of the flu and sat out practice.

It was a far cry from a normal SVSM workout, with the 6-8 James jokingly talking trash while extolling his teammates to play harder and think deeper and making monstrous plays at both ends of the floor.

When asked how James reacted to the penalty, Joyce said: " 'Bron is very good at not showing his emotions. But, I know he's hurting."

Joyce, in his second season as head coach, asked that members of the media refrain from interviewing James or his teammates.

"Believe me, they don't want to talk to the media," he said politely. "Not yet, anyway. Maybe later."

Earlier, Mike Jones, the father of junior guard Corey Jones, said: "It's a shame. You hate to see something like this.

"You hate to see these kids work so hard and to see their dreams of winning a national championship taken away.

"These are good kids, each and every one of them. And, that includes LeBron. He is a good kid."

Joyce said James would remain a part of the team no matter what.

"We will keep him involved with the team, and I'm sure he wants to stay involved," said Joyce, who has known LeBron since he was 10.

"If the ruling stands, I guarantee you that you will not see a bigger cheerleader than LeBron."

After practice had ended, James signed an autograph for a young female who had approached him almost apologetically.

You can take the star out of the game, but you can't take the game out of the star.

 

 

 

Cavaliers Run Down by Yellow Jackets
Virginia Loses by 20 on Road: Georgia Tech 80, Virginia 60
By John Manasso
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, February 2, 2003; Page D04

ATLANTA, Feb. 1 -- Not much separates Virginia's and Georgia Tech's men's basketball teams -- the deciding factor between the two is the site of the game. Both are unbeaten at home. Both are helpless on the road.

That trend continued today at Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum, where the Cavaliers allowed an early lead to slip away and fell to 1-6 on the road.

The Yellow Jackets, who improved to 10-0 at home, thumped their second consecutive ACC foe here with an 80-60 victory before 8,850.

As Virginia continues to battle its road demons -- it suffered its ninth straight ACC road loss -- an NCAA tournament berth begins to look more elusive. The Cavaliers (12-7, 3-4) dropped into sixth place in the conference entering Thursday's road game at No. 10 Maryland, the conference leader at 6-1.

Virginia turned over the ball 19 times -- 12 in the first half -- leading to 25 points by Georgia Tech.

"I thought the story of the game, from my perspective, was our turnovers," Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said. "We had a brief lead at 16-12 in the first half, then bing-bam-boom, turnovers and the roof caved in."

Georgia Tech's young team (11-7, 4-3), which is 0-6 on the road, won for the sixth time in eight games and for the second time in a row coming off Wednesday's 88-68 home victory over North Carolina.

Germantown's Marvin Lewis scored a game-high 25 points, making 5 of 10 three-pointers for Georgia Tech, and much heralded 6-foot-10 freshman Chris Bosh scored 22 points, making 9 of 15 shots.

The Yellow Jackets seemed to feed off the crowd, which grew louder as the game progressed.

Meantime, Virginia often looked passive and was never closer than 10 points in the second half.

Frustration boiled over in the final minute as Virginia's Nick Vander Laan received a technical foul for shoving a Georgia Tech player.

Virginia also was hurt by a sub-par night by senior forward Travis Watson. Watson, who has averaged 16.2 points in conference games, netted four on 2-of-8 shooting, but had 11 rebounds.

Gillen mentioned the size and athleticism of the Yellow Jackets' interior defenders, 7-1 Luke Schenscher and Bosh. But Watson said he is used to that kind of competition in the ACC.

"A lot of times, I didn't touch the ball," Watson said. "When I did, I got double-teamed and I'd pass it. I was trying to be a decoy for other players."

Virginia built an early 14-7 lead, then seemingly forgot how to score. After Watson made his first basket with 11 minutes 29 seconds left in the half to put Virginia ahead, 16-12, the Cavaliers failed to make a field goal until Derrick Byars pulled them back within five with 4:10 left before halftime. Byars collided with Geogia Tech's B.J. Elder late in the game and ended the game with his shoulder iced. Gillen said he "popped it out, but it popped back in."

Trying not to make excuses, Gillen cited Virginia's youth as a factor in its poor road record and pointed out that its other losses have been more competitive than this season-worst effort.

"Somebody told me a stat before the game -- this is a stat, not an excuse -- that the top six teams in the ACC were 19-0 at home coming into this game," he said. "Now they're 20-0."