Highly rated linebackers pick UVa
Cavs claim bonus prize in recruiting

Virginia Tech gets a commitment from receiver Michael Hinton of Hargrave Military Academy.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   Virginia was hoping for a football commitment Monday from a nationally acclaimed outside linebacker and got two of them.

    Although an announcement from 6-foot-2, 215-pound Jermaine Dias from Hackensack, N.J., had received most of the buildup, a commitment from 6-7, 240-pound Vincent Redd from Elizabethton, Tenn., could have a similar impact.

    Redd, rated the No.13 outside linebacker in the country by rivals.com, picked the Cavaliers after taking visits to Virginia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina and Tennessee.

    Dias' visits were to UVa, North Carolina, Maryland and Boston College. He was rated 74th among the nation's top 100 prospects by SuperPrep, which had him as the No.8 linebacker.

    Dias played at Hackensack High School, alma mater of ex-Cavaliers linebacker Randy Neal, who held the UVa record for tackles in a season before it was broken by Angelo Crowell in 2001.

    "I took [Dias] down to Virginia last spring," Hackensack coach Ralph Dass said, "and I expected coach [Al] Groh to know his name, but he knew everything about him.

    "Other schools like to tell kids from New Jersey, 'You go down south, you've got to be careful because they take care of their own,' but he's [Groh] shown he plays the best people."

    It was the 21st commitment for UVa, which is awaiting word on a couple of in-state prospects, including safety-wide receiver Chase Anastasio from Robinson High School in Fairfax. Anastasio, also considering Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, has called a news conference for today at 2:30 p.m., when he will announce his choice.

    Virginia Tech received an oral commitment from Michael Hinton, a 6-foot-3, 195 defensive back from Hargrave Military Academy who is projected as a wide receiver by the Hokies.

    Hinton enrolled at Hargrave following his senior year at Cummings High School in Burlington, N.C., because, at 19, he was too old to play in North Carolina this year. He was timed in 4.4 seconds for 40 yards at a Hargrave "combine" in early December.

    Florida State and N.C. State were among the schools recruiting Hinton, who will join fellow Hargrave defensive back Corey Gordon at Tech.

    Hinton had 21 tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interception this year at Hargrave, where he shared time in the secondary with a group of Division I prospects.

Gillen suspends Jenifer

FROM WIRE, STAFF REPORTS

   Virginia sophomore guard Keith Jenifer was suspended indefinitely by coach Pete Gillen on Monday for conduct detrimental to the team.

    Jenifer, who started 14 of the Cavaliers' first 16 games before coming off the bench for the last three, leads the team with an average of 5.5 assists. He averages 5.6 points per game in about 32 minutes.

    A message left at Gillen's office was not returned Monday night, and an official in the sports information office said he could not elaborate on the cause of the suspension. Gillen said in a release that Jenifer will not play or practice during the suspension.

    Gillen moved shooting guard Todd Billet to the point Jan.23 against Wake Forest. Jenifer's suspension could mean more playing time for guard Majestic Mapp, who recently returned to action after missing more than three years because of knee injuries.

LBs choose Virginia
Tech lands N.C. defensive back
BY MIKE HARRIS AND JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS Feb 04, 2003

With the national signing day for football looming, Virginia and Virginia Tech added to their recruiting classes yesterday.

Two players committed to U.Va. - linebackers Jermaine Dias (Hackensack, N.J.) and Vince Redd (Elizabethton, Tenn.), who was thought to be leaning toward Tennessee.

Tech's latest commitment - its third in four days - is from Michael Hinton (Burlington, N.C.) of Hargrave Military Academy. The 6-2, 195-pound Hinton plays defensive back and wide receiver.


Hinton is the second Hargrave player in the Hokies' recruiting class. The other, defensive back Corey Gordon, has already enrolled at Tech.

Hargrave coach Robert Prunty said last night that Hinton played free safety for his squad after playing receiver in high school.

"Michael said to me that whatever Tech wants him to play, he'll play," Prunty said. "I think Michael is going to be a big-time player for them. He'll fit that system of Frank Beamer's well. They're getting a great kid with great work habits."

Hinton will enroll at Tech in September, Prunty said. He has met requirements to be eligible next fall.

Dias, ranked No. 8 nationally among linebackers by SuperPrep magazine, chose U.Va. over North Carolina. The 6-2 220-pounder also had scholarship offers from such schools as Maryland, Boston College, Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.) and Michigan, said Ralph Dass, Dias' coach at Hackensack High.

"He can do so many things, and that's what Coach [Al] Groh likes about him," Dass said. "He has magic hands and magic feet, and he has a great nose for the football."

Hackensack High also produced former U.Va. linebacker Randy Neal. Neal ranks seventh in career tackles at Virginia, where he played from 1991 to'94.

Dias, who has qualified academically, was a four-year starter at Hackensack. During his career, the Comets won two Group 4 state championships and were runners-up once. Dias twice was named all-state. He had 18 sacks as a senior.

Defensive coordinator Al Golden, a New Jersey native, led the Cavaliers' recruiting effort, "but Coach Groh really sold it to me," Dias said. "He was very persistent."

The 6-7, 250-pound Redd, who won't turn 18 until September, is rated his state's No.2 prospect by the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Redd also visited Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Arkansas and South Carolina. He'll accept a football scholarship from U.Va., but plans to play basketball there, too.

At middle linebacker, Redd made 110 tackles for Elizabethton High in 2002. The Lawrence Touchdown Club honored him as East Tennessee's player of the year.

The NCAA signing period begins tomorrow. Two of the state's top prospects plan to announce their choices today, another tomorrow. Tech is in the running for all three, Virginia for two of the three.

Today's announcements will come from:

Xavier Adibi of Hampton's Phoebus High. A linebacker, Adibi is rated the state's No. 1 prospect by the Roanoke Times and TechSideline.com. His finalists are Tech and Tennesee.
Chase Anastasio of Fairfax's Robinson High. Anastasio, who has played multiple positions on both sides of the ball, is ranked No. 5 in the state by the Roanoke newspaper and No. 6 by TechSide line.com. He'll choose from among Tech, U.Va. and Notre Dame.
Tomorrow, defensive end Chris Ellis of Hampton's Bethel High will announce his decision. His finalists include Tech and Virginia. Both the Roanoke Times and TechSide line.com rank Ellis fourth in the state.

Also tomorrow, another U.Va. target, defensive end Turk McBride of Camden, N.J., is expected to pick a school. McBride, whom the Cavaliers are recruiting as an outside linebacker, is ranked No. 7 nationally among defensive linemen by SuperPrep.
 

Cavs' Jenifer suspended
Guard in altercation with student
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 04, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Embattled point guard Keith Jenifer has been suspended from the University of Virginia basketball team.

A three-paragraph news release U.Va. issued last night said Jenifer "is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. He will not practice or play in games during the suspension."

Virginia coach Pete Gillen couldn't be reached for comment. On his radio show last night, however, Gillen said Jenifer, a sophomore who lost his starting job last month, will remain suspended "until we get more information on the situation. . . . More information has to be brought forward to see exactly what happened."

Gillen didn't elaborate, but a source said Jenifer recently had an altercation with another U.Va. student near campus. Charlottesville police last night declined to release details about the incident, saying more information would be made available today.

This is the second suspension for Jenifer, who was held out of U.Va.'s first exhibition game in November for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Jenifer, who turns 21 next week, came to U.Va. from Hargrave Military Academy, where he played for the postgraduate team. He's a native of Baltimore, where he attended Towson Catholic High.

With Majestic Mapp sidelined last season with a knee injury, Jenifer was thrust into a leading role. He played in all 29 games, starting 15 of the last 18. He was second on the team in assists but shot 37.8 percent from the floor and made only two 3-pointers.

This season, Jenifer is averaging 5.6 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds, and his assist-to-turnover ratio - 2 to 1 - ranks fourth in the ACC. But he's shooting only 33.3 percent from the floor and 55.1 percent from the foul line.

He's hit 10 of 26 attempts from 3-point range, but none in the past five games. Overall during that stretch, Jenifer has missed 15 of 18 shots from the floor.

Jenifer's last start came Jan.21 against Virginia Tech, which embarrassed U.Va. 73-55 in Blacksburg. Gillen shook up his lineup before Virginia played Wake Forest two nights later, and the Wahoos responded with an 85-75 victory at University Hall.

ESPN2 televised that game, and its cameras repeatedly showed Jenifer, apparently unhappy over his demotion, on the bench.

Many U.Va. fans have been clamoring for Mapp to play more, and that's likely to happen in Jenifer's absence. Virginia (3-4, 12-7) plays ACC leader Maryland (6-1, 14-4) tomorrow night in College Park.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Feb 04, 2003

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Virginia football coach Al Groh's immediate priority, he said yesterday, is recruiting. Once the Cavaliers' class is in place - the NCAA signing period opens tomorrow - Groh will focus on filling the vacancy on his staff.

Bill Musgrave, offensive coordinator at U.Va. in 2001 and'02, left last month to take that position with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. If the Cavaliers, 9-5 in 2002, remain among the ACC's better teams, Musgrave isn't likely to be the only Groh assistant to receive an attractive job offer.

"We have a lot of energetic, ambitious, talented coaches," Groh said. "A circumstance such as this is a natural result of those qualities."

During his two seasons in Charlottesville, Musgrave became known as one of the game's bright young assistants. His work with Matt Schaub helped the junior quarterback garner the ACC's player-of-the-year award in 2002, and Musgrave's play-calling baffled many opponents.

Still, Groh said, the Cavaliers' offense will look much the same in 2003 as it did in 2002.

"This is the way we play," he said. "This system doesn't belong to any one person. It never did. . . . This is the way I want the team to operate on offense, and this is the way we will continue to do things around here."

Groh expected other teams to come after his offensive coordinator, and so, he said, planned for Musgrave's eventual departure. However, Groh believes Jacksonville ignored protocol in its pursuit of Musgrave.

"It could have been handled better," said Groh, who didn't elaborate. "If the Jaguars were dealing with another NFL team, it would have been handled differently."

HOMECOMING: Billy Campbell, a freshman walk-on on Virginia's basketball team, is the son of former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell. The younger Campbell's father, mother and sister were among the crowd Saturday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, where Georgia Tech whipped Virginia 80-60.

A 6-0 guard, Billy Campbell is a graduate of Atlanta's Paideia School and a nephew of former American University coach Ed Tapscott. Campbell has played in three games this season, the most of any of the Cavs' four walk-ons.

UNCHARTED TERRITORY: Sophomore forward Jason Clark has made 70.2 percent of his field goal attempts (40 of 57), the highest mark by a U.Va. player who's taken more than four shots this season.

The 6-8, 234-pound Clark has started two games on the wing but has yet to attempt a 3-pointer. He didn't pull the trigger from beyond the arc last season, either.

"I've been thinking about that, too," Clark said with a smile. "I might pull it in practice and see what Coach [Pete] Gillen thinks. If he takes it the wrong way, I might have to wait till next year."

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: Virginia placed Schaub and safety Shernard Newby on the ACC's all-academic football team for 2002. To be eligible, a player must have earned a 3.0 grade-point average for the fall semester or have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

Schaub, a fourth-year junior from Chester, Pa., is an economics major. He posted a 3.15 GPA during the fall.

Newby earned a bachelor's in sociology in December 2001. The former Surry County High star, who's pursuing a graduate degree from U.Va.'s education school, had a 3.0 GPA during the fall.

IN THE CAGE: The U.Va. men's lacrosse team, expected to contend for the NCAA title this season, played its first scrimmage Saturday, whipping Navy 10-4. Two freshmen started for the Cavs: midfielder Kyle Dixon and attackman Matt Ward, who's taking over for Conor Gill.

In all, U.Va.'s touted freshman class produced three goals: one each from Ward, Dixon and midfielder Matt Poskay.

All-America candidate Tillman Johnson played superbly in goal. Johnson, a junior, made 11 saves while allowing three goals in little more than a half. - Jeff White
 

Keith Jenifer charged with assault, suspended
Coach Pete Gillen announces indefinite suspension for sophomore guard following charge of assault and battery
Melissa Silverman
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen announced yesterday that sophomore guard Keith Jenifer has been suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team." He has been charged by local police with assault and battery.

Jenifer will not participate in games or practices for the duration of the suspension, the length of which has yet to be decided.

Jenifer has started 14 games this year for the Cavaliers (12-7, 3-4 ACC), and has played in all 19 games. He has led the team in assists 17 of the 19 games. and is the team's season leader in assists with 104 (5.5 assist per game). Jenifer has averaged 5.6 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game this season.

The loss of the guard comes at a crucial point in the season, with the Cavaliers slated to face Maryland, NC State and Duke within the next two weeks.

Jenifer also was suspended for Virginia's first exhibition game of the season, along with teammates and fellow sophomores Jason Clark and Jermaine Harper, for violating team rules. The Jenifer returned to action for the next exhibition game, scoring four points and dishing out four assists in a 73-57 victory over the One World All-Stars.

Jenifer was faced with the challenge of increased minutes at the point guard position while Harper served an additional suspension. The guard struggled early in the season, shooting 0-7 from the field in the Cavalier's season opener, a win over Long Island.He went on, however, to show consistent improvement until the Cavaliers' Jan. 21 loss to Virginia Tech. Jenifer dished out seven assists while committing six turnovers in the defeat, and lost his starting spot to junior Todd Billet. Billet and red-shirt junior Majestic Mapp likely will combine for most of Jenifer's minutes while he is suspended.
 

For $300, UM may get more trouble than it bargained for
Mike Preston
Originally published Feb 4, 2003
Mike Preston

IF THE UNIVERSITY of Maryland wants to become a national football contender, the Terps have to up the ante to buy players.

Maryland is only offering about $300.

That's why the NCAA is investigating the Terps' football program, for being cheap and stupid and for trying to exploit a young, black, poor athlete. Maryland tried to lure one of the nation's top players with chump change.

What's next, food stamps? How about some gold jewelry?

Where's the money?

According to a statement released by the university yesterday, the school is investigating an allegation that one of its assistant coaches improperly gave the money to Victor Abiamiri, a Gilman School defensive lineman.

The Terps didn't even offer market value.

If St. Vincent-St. Mary High school basketball star LeBron James gets a $50,000 Hummer H2 with three TVs through a privately financed deal, shouldn't the Terps have at least offered Abiamiri an old, beat-up Pinto? James gets two throwback jerseys valued at $845, so why didn't the Terps counter with Boomer Esiason and Randy White bobblehead dolls?

James wears custom suits and more gold chains than Mr. T, yet the Terps didn't even open a credit line for Abiamiri at Brooks Brothers.

Shame on the Turtles.

If you are going to get caught, at least go down living large, not at bargain-basement prices.

"Based on the information that has been collected and shared with the NCAA, we believe that the alleged violation is secondary in nature and that there would be no institutional ramifications arising from this review," the university said in a prepared statement. "Additional comment will be forthcoming when the review is complete in about two weeks."

The alleged offense may be secondary in nature, but the Terps' athletic department is embarrassed. Three hundred dollars may have brought this program a lot of trouble.

Nobody wants the NCAA bloodhounds sniffing around his program because you never know what they might uncover. They now will interview current and former players to see how they were recruited, and they'll interview new recruits to see if any other money - or food stamps - was exchanged.

There could be fallout in other ways.

Even without Abiamiri or Gilman quarterback Ambrose Wooden, the Terps still have a possible Top 20 recruiting class. But what happens now? Will the other recruits stay? Or will they go? It's hard to predict how parents will respond, much less a fickle 18-year-old.

All of this over $300.

The pressure had to be immense on Rod Sharpless, the assistant coach who apparently gave Abiamiri the money. He has been one of the most respected defensive coaches in the country during the past decade. The guy bleeds Maryland red. He played in College Park in the early 1970s. Even when he coached at other schools, he always talked about returning to Maryland and returning the Terps to the glory days.

According to a source at Maryland, Sharpless gave Abiamiri more than $300 in cash, but the youngster returned it. After learning of the payments, head coach Ralph Friedgen confronted Sharpless.

It's hard to see Friedgen knowing about the money beforehand. He has usually been upfront and honest. He's an honorable man. But there isn't any sympathy for Sharpless. Regardless of the outcome, he has done what so many other college scouts have done in similar situations.

Sharpless, an African-American, exploited a poor black athlete by dangling money in front of him. It's standard procedure. Offer tennis shoes, a leather jacket, a new suit. The amount of $300 may not seem like a lot to some, but it's a fortune for others. The money probably was offered to seal the deal.

College scouts had fallen in love with Abiamiri and Wooden. One pro scout recently said that Wooden had "NFL" quickness, which puts him in a rare class coming out of high school. Maryland needs these caliber players to become a national power, and Sharpless couldn't afford to have other colleges signing either one out of his own back yard.

But it has become more than just a lost recruiting battle now.

Since the incident, Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow has had a parade of lawyers in her office to map out strategy on how to address the matter with the NCAA. The Gilman coaching staff, administrators and their lawyers huddled yesterday.

This incident comes at a time when the football program had reached a new high. The Terps won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship two seasons ago and earned an Orange Bowl bid against Florida. This past season, despite lower expectations, Maryland finished with an 11-3 record, handily defeating Tennessee in the Peach Bowl. In two years, Friedgen has guided the Terps to an overall record of 21-5 and national acclaim.

But the record became stained yesterday. It's unclear where this thing is headed, but nothing is worth an investigation. It has become an integrity issue now, worth a lot more than just money.

Worth a lot more than $300.
 

James becomes a farce to be reckoned with
2-4-03
By MARK HEISLER, Los Angeles Times
News & Record

If you want to know who's to blame in the LeBron James mess, as an ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor bleated Saturday morning, the short answer is: "Who isn't?"

Let's start with ESPN, which is hardly a detached innocent in this story, after it jumped into the hype with both feet, adding telecasts of James' games as fast as it could count the bumper ratings and secure the rights, pooh-poohing the debate about propriety.

The problem is, ESPN was just doing what it does, as was everyone else: networks, cable companies, agents, the media, relatives and friends. This means no one will feel responsible, nothing will be done to make sure this can never happen again, and some day, it'll happen again, but worse.

This wasn't a tragedy, because in the end nothing will have been hurt except some feelings. James will still go No. 1 in this spring's NBA Draft, the money tap will open legally and all of this will be a messy moment in time.

What this was, was a farce.

If you can tell me how the world got so crazy that two "retro" uniform tops could be valued at $845 in the first place, I'll tell you how we can turn this thing back around.

In the meantime, all the principals in this story are going to be bashed for the sins of all of us.

Here they are, in what I would argue was reverse order of actual responsibility.

LeBron James -- He's poor, he's 18, the world spreads itself out before him like a banquet table and starts passing him the delicacies and he's supposed to know better?

Gloria James -- As outrageous as she was, she's just a mom, if a particularly exuberant one who yells, "What've you got for me, playa?" to Nike's Phil Knight at Magic Johnson's charity game last summer. She delivered LeBron when she was 17, never had anything and, it's abundantly clear, is still a child herself.
One also wonders what kind of a world this is when an unemployed mom can give her child a $50,000 Hummer (with not one, not two, but three TVs), then produce papers showing it was purchased with a proper loan, which someone made, despite the fact she had no collateral. This makes it OK with the Ohio prep ruling body ... which then busts the kid for jerseys.

Coach Dru Joyce and the St. Vincent-St. Mary's High administration -- They didn't do James any favors by scheduling games all over the country, but if you haven't noticed, the days when high school teams just went by bus and the only televised games were in the state tournament are long over.
Among the stops on James' tour de farce was a date at the Greensboro Coliseum, when he helped make history. The 16,220 people who plunked down money for tickets gave his date with Reynolds the biggest crowd to witness a high school basketball game in North Carolina.

Teams have been crossing the nation to play for years. A Florida school, Miami Christian, just crossed the country three times in three weeks. They played in Hawaii, went home, flew back to Los Angeles to play Fairfax High, went home and returned to Los Angeles a week later to play Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei.

But no one had ever seen a hype like this one, and the St. Vincent-St. Mary people just got sucked in.

The entourage -- This is a big favorite. Who can resist trashing a bunch of "yes" men, teenaged and older, with dollar signs in their eyes?
As if someone expected them to pass up the gravy train when it stopped in their neighborhood? All stars these days are surrounded by sycophants, otherwise known as friends, relatives, personal assistants, agents, bodyguards, et al, or as they're known on the street, "my peeps."

I find it hard to indict the peeps, however, since everyone else acts as if they want to be in the entourage, selling the stars everything at cost: cars, suits, furniture, etc.

The media -- It was a show people wanted to see, which is what the networks are in business to provide. It was a legitimate, if revolting story, so the media couldn't duck it, which, of course, just made it bigger and more revolting.
Imagine the "SportsCenter" anchor asking his correspondent in Akron, bundled up and standing in the snow outside the high school, if Joyce believes the media are to blame.

Now, imagine the shot you don't see -- a whole line of camera crews and supporting personnel from the other networks -- lined up outside St. Vincent-St. Mary's, as if it were the White House.

The bird-dog industry -- These are your basic AAU coaches, tournament organizers and newsletter publishers. Once, they existed to service the college game (in which even the most honorable men, such as Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski, wrote fawning letters to 15-year-olds) by identifying young prospects. Then the best players started bypassing college to go directly to Go and collect their millions, making the business that much crazier and more corrupt.

The sneaker companies -- Now here are some guys who, as Desi said, got some 'splaining to do. Not that they ever do.
You'd think they could operate their billion-dollar businesses without running around bribing every prep star and his high school with their equipment. Not that you should hold your breath waiting for reforms. The companies have been exposed in scandal after scandal, but if they ever slowed down, it wasn't because of shame but the economic downturn.

As this story shows, they're still around and more irresponsible than ever. Had James said he would sign a $20-million deal last summer, they would have fought one another to take him up on it. Had he demanded that Knight and adidas' Sonny Vacarro fight a duel to see who got him, they'd have asked, "To the death?"

Thankfully, James is such a singular talent, we're not likely to see anything like this soon.

With that in mind, Westchester (Calif.) High boys' basketball coach Ed Azzam said, "I don't know if it sends up a red flag."

More like a white one.

This story wasn't as much a revelation to Azzam and his nationally ranked team as it was to people who think of high school ball as what it was, circa 1965 or 1975.

Like most powerhouses, Westchester goes out of state to play games, too. The Comets were in Las Vegas and Houston in December and they'll be in Trenton, N.J., next week for the Prime-Time Shootout, where James' reputation exploded a year ago.

The bad news is, the sports world has run off the tracks.

The really bad news is, it's not coming back, either.

 

UVa And Jenifer Need To Part Ways
By Chris Wallace
Date: Feb 3, 2003

If you're a Virginia basketball fan and you follow the program closely, you have probably been expecting this day to eventually come. On Monday, UVa coach Pete Gillen suspended sophomore point guard Keith Jenifer indefinitely. During the suspension, Jenifer will not be allowed to play or practice with the team.

No excuse was given for the disciplinary action taken by Gillen. The fifth-year Virginia coach simply stated on his weekly radio show that the suspension stemmed from an incident on Saturday night that was being further investigated. But again, if you follow the program closely, this unfortunately comes as no surprise.
Jenifer's off-court antics have been the subject of internet rumors since practically the day he arrived in Charlottesville. Reports of excessive recreational fun were among the mildest of the charges levied at Jenifer by Cavalier fans. His scuffle and verbal interchange with Gary Williams drew national attention last year. Earlier this season he was suspended for an exhibition game for a violation of team rules. In yet another unflattering moment Jenifer was caught by ESPN cameras hitting Indiana's Tom Coverdale below the belt in the Maui Invitational Championship game. He is widely regarded by opposing fans around the ACC as a "punk."

Is that a fair assessment? I can't say. But that reputation took its most damaging blow in an editorial written to The Daily Progress in Charlottesville. In the editorial a Virginia alum chronicled walking on the Corner on homecoming weekend with her husband and another couple. The author then claimed that her group was verbally assaulted by Jenifer, who she referred to as a "bully." Ah, there's nothing like good PR.

Gillen defended his player, but Virginia fans had seen enough. As they saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire. In the eyes of many the Baltimore native had become an embarrassment to the University. Cries for action were made, yet none was taken. Until now. I don't know what happened on Saturday night. I have heard some reports but nothing concrete enough for me to print. I do, however, have to believe that this action was the result of more than one situation.

What hasn't helped matters with the fans has been Jenifer's less than stellar play on the court. Despite signs of improvement, KJ has never shown any consistency as a shooter, and he is prone to turnovers and poor defense. Additionally, he has convinced nobody that he's a leader on the floor. All told, not good qualities for a point guard. And while it may be wrong and many fans would choose to deny this, Jenifer's off-court reputation has been intensified by his poor play on the court. Anyone who believes that Jenifer would be just as harshly criticized for his behavior if he played like Allen Iverson is kidding themselves. Save your breath, I'm not buying it.

But the realty is what it is. And the coldest, harshest realty of all is that it is time for this relationship to end. Virginia basketball and Keith Jenifer need a divorce. Call it irreconcilable differences and let's get a lawyer on the horn. It's time to end this. Jenifer needs to move on and UVa needs to move on. It's the best thing for all involved. I truly believe that.

Whether or not Pete Gillen believes that is another thing. But my guess is that we may have seen Jenifer in a Virginia uniform for the last time. I may be wrong and I haven't been told so by anyone who might know for sure, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's sad when things like this happen, but this action in this instance is a must.

When you're in the public eye the way an ACC basketball player will be, you have to understand that people are paying attention to you. I guess Jenifer never figured that out. And while the situation is sad, I don't feel sorry for him. A basketball scholarship to a school like Virginia is invaluable, but Jenifer wasted the opportunity. KJ made this bed and now it's time for him to remove the sheets and pack them up. And it should be Gillen helping him pack.