Jenifer disliked by many
This is Jenifer’s second suspension from the team since November and by
gauging the pulse of the Wahoo Nation, there seems to be a general delight
that KJ may be gone for good. During this columnist’s 20-year career in
Charlottesville, I cannot recall another UVa athlete who was as universally
disliked as Jenifer.
Sportswriters don’t and sometimes can’t print everything they know about
certain athletes or situations. But they can print their opinions.
As far as Jenifer goes, enough is enough.
Show him the gym door, wish him luck in his career, but let him work out his
problems elsewhere. Why take a risk on having to defend yet another incident
down the road?
It’s not like Virginia is going to miss a kid who was recruited to be a backup
point guard in the first place.
Several coaches who I know and respect their opinion, think that Jenifer
doesn’t belong in the ACC as a player, let alone the character issue. While he
has a decent assist-to-turnover ratio, Jenifer brings little else to the
table.
Poor performer
He is a poor shooter (below 40 percent for the season and his career) and
that’s an unforgivable sin for an ACC point guard. Opponents take great
advantage of that weakness by leaving him open, daring him to shoot, while
sagging back to defend more dangerous scorers. Jenifer hasn’t made a field
goal in the last four ACC games.
On a struggling team that is searching for its identity and in dire need of
leadership, particularly when things begin to come unglued, Jenifer isn’t the
answer. The point guard is the basketball equivalent of a football
quarterback.
When things get dicey, the team needs a leader at the point. Gillen will turn
to juniors Todd Billet and Majestic Mapp for that leadership during Jenifer’s
“indefinite suspension.”
Certainly the team will be in better hands with either of those two guards in
every aspect of the game, both on and off the court.
When a Virginia fan wrote a letter to the editor of this paper earlier this
year describing a horrifying experience involving Jenifer at the “Corner,” it
should have served as a warning sign. Instead, the coaching staff chose to
ignore it, even defended Jenifer.
And this is what they got in return.
I would never speak for Gillen, but I would take my chances on getting this
team to where it wants to go with Billet and Mapp any day before I would put
things back in Jenifer’s hands again.
Otherwise, the risk is much greater than the reward.
ACC NOTES
Feb 05, 2003
COURT CASE: On his radio show Monday night, Virginia coach Pete Gillen said
point guard Keith Jenifer would remain suspended from the team "until we get
more information on the situation."
Gillen didn't elaborate, but the "situation" in question was an altercation
between Jenifer and another U.Va. student, Karl Brimmer, according to
Charlottesville police. They fought early Sunday - before 1 a.m. - at the Corner
near Virginia's campus, Capt. Bryant Bibb said yesterday.
Jenifer, a sophomore from Baltimore, has been charged with misdemeanor assault
and battery. He's scheduled to appear Feb. 28 in Charlottesville General
District Court.
An officer arrived when the fight was in progress and separated Brimmer and
Jenifer. Police planned to take no further action, Bibb said, but Brimmer later
obtained a warrant, alleging that Jenifer had struck him in the face. It's not
clear who started the fight.
Jenifer, who lost his starting job last month, turned himself in to police
Monday. U.Va. announced that night that Jenifer had been suspended indefinitely
for "conduct detrimental to the team."
This is Jenifer's second suspension. He missed U.Va.'s first exhibition game in
November for violating team rules. Gillen later said that suspension stemmed
from an academic issue.
EXPANDED ROLE: Virginia (3-4 ACC, 12-7) plays at Maryland (6-1, 14-4) tomorrow
night. With Jenifer out, Majestic Mapp will spend less time on the bench. Mapp
has averaged only 9.8 minutes since returning last season from the knee injury
that caused him to miss the previous two seasons.
"The leg's still not 100 percent, but he's certainly going to play more," Gillen
said yesterday.
Mapp's longest appearance this season was 17 minutes in U.Va.'s Jan. 23 win over
Wake Forest in Charlottesville.
LEADING MEN: In preseason balloting, Duke guard Chris Duhon was the media's
choice as ACC player of the year. He'd be fortunate to finish in the top five if
voting were held today. The top player-of-the-year candidates are probably Wake
Forest's Josh Howard and N.C. State's Julius Hodge.
Howard, a senior forward, is second in the ACC in scoring (18.9 ppg), third in
steals (2.2), third in rebounding (8.2), third in blocked shots (1.5) and
seventh in free-throw percentage (83.3).
Hodge, a sophomore guard, leads the ACC in scoring (19.2 ppg). He ranks fifth in
steals (1.9), eighth in rebounding (6.4), eighth in assists (4.0) and ninth in
free-throw percentage (80.2).
Wake (5-2, 15-2), which has won 12 straight at home, plays host to N.C. State
(5-2, 12-5) tonight. The Wolfpack has lost six in a row to the Demon Deacons.
HIGH PRAISE: Thirty years after John Kuester left Richmond for Chapel Hill,
N.C., another Benedictine High guard is headed for the ACC. Vernon Hamilton has
signed with Clemson.
Kuester, now an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, saw Hamilton play
at the Adidas ABCD Camp last summer.
"I was very impressed with him," Kuester said recently. "I think Clemson got a
steal."
HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL: Between them, Maryland and Wake Forest have four ACC road
wins. Their seven counterparts are a combined 3-22 in conference road games.
The top six teams in the ACC standings - Maryland, Wake, N.C. State, Duke,
Georgia Tech and Virginia - are a combined 21-0 at home in conference play.
PARTY TIME: Duke has lost three games this season, all on the road to Maryland,
N.C. State and, three nights ago, Florida State. In each case, Blue Devils coach
Mike Krzyzewski said, the home team's fans stormed the court to celebrate.
"It's good for our sport," Coach K said. "I'm happy that people are happy that
their team won."
TOUGH TASK: With a victory tonight, North Carolina (2-5, 11-9) would become the
first ACC school to win 500 conference games in basketball. Unfortunately for
UNC, its opponent is ninth-ranked Duke (4-3, 14-3), and the game is at Cameron
Indoor Stadium.
Carolina leads the series 122-90, but Duke has won 10 of the team's past 11
meetings. Moreover, the Tar Heels enter on a four-game losing streak.
Still, UNC coach Matt Doherty said, his team's recent struggles shouldn't
diminish one of college basketball's storied rivalries.
"There was a time when I played that [the Blue Devils] weren't very good," said
Doherty, a former Carolina starter, "but it still a rivalry."
IRONMAN: Clemson point guard Edward Scott is averaging 38.3 minutes per game,
the most of any ACC player. Next is North Carolina freshman Raymond Felton
(35.2). Scott, a senior, has played the full 40 minutes in eight of the Tigers'
17 games.
- Jeff White
UM working to limit fallout on recruiting
Maryland aims to keep 2003 football class intact after possible violation;
Coaching staff 'very proactive'; Assistant's resignation, self-reporting seen as
key to softening NCAA blow
By Kevin Van Valkenburg, Lem Satterfield and Christian Ewell
Sun Staff
Originally published February 5, 2003
COLLEGE PARK - The University of Maryland has been working to keep its football
recruiting class intact after acknowledging it is conducting a review of a
possible recruiting violation, which sources say involved an assistant coach
giving a little more than $300 to a prominent Gilman School player.
The university also has taken measures to minimize any potential penalties from
the NCAA. Maryland expects to complete an investigation within the next two
weeks before passing its findings to the NCAA, which can then issue a ruling
based on the school's information or choose to look into the matter further.
Several recruits who have orally committed to play for Maryland said yesterday
that they had been contacted by members of the coaching staff and made aware of
the situation. On Monday, a source in Maryland's athletic department confirmed
that linebackers coach Rod Sharpless resigned after allegedly giving cash to
Victor Abiamiri, who is considered one of the country's top high school
defensive ends.
Abiamiri, who sources said eventually returned the money, announced yesterday
that he will sign with Notre Dame.
One Terps recruit said he read about the incident on the Internet and later
heard from Maryland. "I got a call from Coach [Gary] Blackney and one from Coach
[Ralph] Friedgen," said Andrew Crummey, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive lineman
from Van Wert, Ohio, who has orally committed to the Terps. "They wanted to let
me know they had a secondary violation and were conducting an investigation, but
that it wasn't indicative of their program. ...
"I was impressed by their honesty. I think they were very proactive. I was
shocked when I heard about it, but it doesn't change my commitment at all."
Maryland's coaching staff also wanted to make sure another school didn't try to
talk a recruit out of signing with the Terps because of the possible violation.
That's exactly what several schools tried to do with Dunbar (D.C.) recruit
Vernon Davis, one of the top tight end prospects in the country who committed to
Maryland last week, according to his high school coach.
"[Other] schools called," said Craig Jefferies, Davis' coach. "Virginia and West
Virginia called, and his grandmother had a bunch of calls. They all tried to say
bad things. They tried to compare it to the situations at Alabama [banned from
bowl games for two years for recruiting violations] and they tried to give the
worst-case scenario of what could happen and exaggerate the punishment. ... I
was disappointed, especially with Virginia."
Jefferies said Davis, who chose Maryland over the University of Florida, was
standing by his commitment to the Terps.
"[Davis] didn't question his decision at all," Jefferies said.
Michael Jefferson, the father of Gwynn Park's Wesley Jefferson, said his son
wasn't contacted by any other schools and that he was still headed to Maryland.
Signing Jefferson, a 6-2, 231-pound linebacker, reportedly was Maryland's No. 1
priority behind Abiamiri.
"It didn't change his opinion," Michael Jefferson said. "I didn't think it was a
big deal."
None of the recruits contacted by The Sun said Sharpless or any other Maryland
coach offered money to sign with the university. "No one offered me anything at
any point," said Dan Gronkowski, a quarterback from Williamsville, N.Y.
While it's possible Maryland continued to recruit Abiamiri for several days, a
source suggested the football staff stopped recruiting him before the beginning
of this week. Maryland's athletic department, unsullied by NCAA violations since
the school's men's basketball program suffered sanctions in 1990, brought in
representatives from the suburban Kansas City law firm Bond, Schoenick and King
to conduct the investigation.
The law firm specializes in assisting schools in their NCAA investigations,
including widespread academic fraud in the Minnesota men's basketball program in
the late 1990s. Maryland's probe is not expected to unearth infractions of that
scale, but the school still viewed the hiring of the firm as important.
"We wanted to be as accurate and professional as we could be," one source said.
While some athletes like Chris Wilson - a former highly rated Catonsville High
prospect whom Sharpless recruited but eventually chose Penn State - hadn't yet
been contacted by the law firm as part of the investigation, the initial
feedback to the school indicates the violation was an isolated incident.
With Sharpless' resignation, by stopping its recruitment of Abiamiri, and by
reporting itself to the NCAA, Maryland is hoping it would receive minimal
sanctions for the alleged infraction.
"We value integrity very highly in all endeavors at the University of Maryland,
from the classroom to the athletic fields and beyond," said George Cathcart,
Maryland's director of university relations. "We are quite proud of our record
in recent years in complying with NCAA regulations. The athletic department is
conducting an investigation of an alleged infraction now, and if athletic
officials determine that a violation has occurred, they will take appropriate
action."
Conrad Bolston, a defensive tackle recruit from St. John's (Washington), said he
was comfortable with the way the university handled the situation.
"I made it clear to them I'm still coming," he said. "Coach [Mike] Locksley
called me and asked me if it had any effect on my outlook on the program. I said
no, because the program itself did the right thing."
LeBron James asks court to block state ruling
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
By TOM WITHERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AKRON, Ohio (AP) - LeBron James' attorney asked a court Tuesday to block a
ruling that barred the high school basketball superstar from playing the rest of
the season.
The 6-foot-8 senior, expected to be the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft, did
nothing wrong when he accepted two "throwback" sports jerseys, lawyer Fred Nance
said in documents filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
"All LeBron did was receive a gift from a friend as congratulations for his
academic achievements," Nance said. "Had LeBron wished to capitalize on his
fame, the recompense could be in the millions of dollars.
Judge James Williams set a hearing for Wednesday. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary,
which is No. 1 in the latest USA Today rankings for the fourth straight week,
next plays in the Isles Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, N.J., this weekend.
On Tuesday, James said in an interview with former NFL star Deion Sanders on
CBS' "The Early Show" he was sorry he took the jerseys.
"If I had known I was violating anything, I would've never done it," James said.
"I would've never jeopardized my eligibility. I would've never jeopardized my
team."
James, saying he has a 3.5 grade-point average, thought the store was rewarding
him for his schoolwork.
He was declared ineligible Friday by commissioner Clair Muscaro of the Ohio High
School Athletic Association for accepting jerseys worth a combined $845 from a
Cleveland clothing store.
The OHSAA found that the store gave James the Gale Sayers and Wes Unseld jerseys
for free, in exchange for James posing for pictures to be displayed on the
walls.
Muscaro ruled that James broke an amateur bylaw "by capitalizing on athletic
fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value."
Nance said in the court filing that James returned the jerseys when he learned
the gift was controversial and might threaten his amateur status.
James sat out the first game of his career Sunday. The Fighting Irish have four
games left before playoffs.
If the court blocks the ruling, James would be cleared to play pending an appeal
by the OHSAA. James was expected to appeal his suspension to the athletic
association.
Nance accused the OHSAA of being frustrated that the school is capitalizing on
James' fame by playing in a larger arena, receiving fees from playing in
tournaments across the country and contacting a cable network to televise the
games.
Steven Craig, a lawyer for the OHSAA, said, "The commissioner is obligated to
interpret and enforce the bylaws as written. That is what he feels he's done in
this case and stands by his decision."
A message seeking comment on the court action was left with the school.
School officials have said they will abide by the OHSAA's ruling and not contest
James' exclusion for the rest of the season.
Nance also asked the judge to reinstate a victory in a game that the team
forfeited after the association found James ineligible.
The filing said that because the jerseys involved personal conduct in which
sports were not involved, only the school _ not the OHSAA _ had the authority to
determine whether James broke state amateur rules. The school had not made that
determination, the filing said.
Muscaro also did not discuss the case with James or the school before finding
James ineligible, the filing said.
If James appeals the agency's ruling, he must do so in writing. The appeal would
be heard by a seven-member board of control _ not including Muscaro _ on Feb. 13
in Columbus.
OHSAA spokesman Bob Goldring said the appeal could be heard earlier if the panel
decided to have an emergency meeting.