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Unassuming Smith helping UVa's chances
By Andrew Joyner  / Daily Progress staff writer
February 9, 2003

 

At first glance, the tattoos on the right forearm of Virginia sophomore swingman Devin Smith look like Chinese symbols. Are they letters that signify some inspirational message? Hardly. According to Smith, they don’t mean much at all and certainly aren’t Chinese.
“They don’t mean anything. They aren’t letters or anything. I just really like the way it looked,” said Smith with a slight smile.
If his body art might lack a certain substance, his on-court play in his first season at Virginia has had several substantial moments.
Smith scored 17 points, including 14 in the second half courtesy of four 3-pointers as Virginia toppled No. 8 Maryland 86-78 on Thursday at the Comcast Center. In Virginia’s other biggest win of the season to date, Smith had 15 points and a key 3-pointer in the final minutes as Virginia downed Kentucky 75-61 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational in November.
Smith, who transferred to Virginia from Coffeyville Community College last April, is averaging 10.4 points a contest entering today’s game against N.C. State. While the adjustment from junior college to the ACC has had its peaks and valleys for Smith, he has a knack for saving his best performances for crucial moments. The games against Maryland and Kentucky are just examples.
Smith has reached double-digits nine times this season and Virginia is 7-2 in those games. He had 17 points in a 85-75 win over then-No. 17 Wake Forest on Jan. 23 that ended a three-game slide for the Cavaliers.
Gillen has often described Smith as a mellow, laid-back player who does not seem to get rattled by much of anything. Perhaps that skill, more than just his 3-point shooting, is Smith’s greatest on-court asset. On Thursday, Smith seemed undaunted by the situation at Maryland as he started connecting on treys that fueled Virginia’s comeback and eventual victory.
“You have to have the courage to take those kind of shots. If you miss, you miss. He’s got guts. He’s not afraid. … We just need to put back-to-back games together when he plays well,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen.
Consistency has been a particular ailment for Smith during the season. The 17-point games against Maryland and Wake Forest were Smith’s only double-digit efforts in the last eight games. Entering the Maryland contest, Smith had made just five of his 17 3-point shots and in two of his ACC games had been limited to one point (against Clemson) and two points (against Georgia Tech).
“It’s kind of hard to adjust and play consistent every night. We have a well-balanced team so someone different is going to step up each night,” Smith said.
The adjustment to which Smith refers is significant given that though he is a sophomore in terms of eligibility, the rigors of the ACC and Division I basketball are as new to him as they would be to a freshman. At Coffeyville, nearly every trip was a bus ride in which Smith’s team was often accompanied by the Coffeyville women’s team. The teams would play doubleheaders and the return to Coffeyville later that night.
“It’s a whole lot different. So far it’s been everything I’ve expected. … When I was at Coffeyville, we’d leave the day of the game in vans and return that night. The travel is a whole lot different and a whole lot better,” Smith said.
Smith has also rarely been close to 100 percent physically in his time at UVa. A bothersome left knee required surgery upon his arrival in Charlottesville and the healing process has been a little slow. During the recovery, Smith also got out of basketball shape, which caused Gillen to say “[Smith] is eating like he’s going to the electric chair.”
Smith is on the mend now, though he suffered a bruise to his right knee against Florida State on Jan. 29, and he is much closer to the desired playing shape and weight.
“I didn’t say much about the knee because I didn’t want for it to be that I was babying it or anything. It bothers me sometimes but I just fight through it and keep playing,” Smith said. “Every now and then it will swell up but it’s all right.”
Virginia likely will need a healthy and hot-shooting Smith today against N.C. State. The Wolfpack have beaten Virginia five straight times and UVa’s quest for the NCAA tournament is contingent on it holding serve in its remaining games at University Hall.
“They play very well us. They’re athletic and they seem to shoot the ball well against us. We have to improve our defense against them,” Gillen said. “Some teams have trouble against certain teams. … They’ve had the upper hand against us and we have to improve.”

 

 

Gillen's group is playing like a team finally
By Jerry Ratcliffe  / Daily Progress sports editor
February 9, 2003

 

Pete Gillen said something after last weekend’s 20-point loss at Georgia Tech that has been sticking in my mind ever since. Over the last week, having had several discussions with coaches about numerous topics, what Gillen said kept popping up, keyed by something in conversation with those various coaches.
The Virginia coach reminded everyone that his team was comprised of several new faces and some of those faces are still young in terms of ACC basketball experience. Playing on the road in the ACC, particularly in a year when the league is so balanced, isn’t an easy adjustment. Heck, playing together takes time.
When the Cavaliers host N.C. State this afternoon at University Hall, it will mark the second trip through the ACC in the conference’s round robin format. Finishing 4-4 through the first half was a good accomplishment, considering that six of the nine teams won at least four games the first time through.
Making a run?
Having stunned 8th-ranked Maryland on the road Thursday evening should give the Cavaliers the confidence to finish strong down the stretch, particularly with only three conference road games remaining. Virginia is unbeaten at home and could very well stay that way. After all, the Cavs are 47-6 at home in regular season games over the past four years.
It could be that Gillen’s team is gradually getting to the point where they are coming together, knowing what their teammates are going to do in certain situations. This is a factor that is sometimes grossly overlooked.
Consider that guards Todd Billet and Majestic Mapp have only played together for a few games. Neither played a single game for UVa last season. Two of the team’s best outside shooters, Devin Smith and Derrick Byars, didn’t play for UVa last season. Nor did the hustling Nick Vander Laan, who played well in the middle at Maryland.
It takes time for a team to become familiar, comfortable and cohesive, so that all the parts work as one. The Maryland game was a great example of a true team effort. Everyone contributed. Gillen matched Terps coach Gary Williams’ intensity as he continuously barked orders from the bench.
Welcome relief
Winning that game not only took a load of pressure off Gillen and his team for their lack of success on the ACC road, it should have brought the team together for a run at the NCAA Tournament.
Could it be that the Cavaliers are beginning to peak at just the right time? Most coaches would rather have their team playing its best basketball in the latter half of the season, down the home stretch. Perhaps that’s what is beginning to occur for UVa.
Virginia has won three of its last four games and is one of the ACC’s best shooting teams of late. In league play, the Cavs are shooting 47 percent from the field and almost 41 percent from the 3-point line.
The team saw what it could do at Maryland when it shot the ball well and protected the ball in the final 12 minutes of the game. While the team committed 20 turnovers in the first 28 min
utes against the Terps, Billet and Mapp and others got their act together for the stretch run and didn’t commit a single turnover during the comeback, the final 11:47 of the game. Billet had only one turnover the entire second half, while Mapp and off guard Jermaine Harper didn’t commit a single turnover the final 20 minutes.
Billet also sacrificed a little of his potentially lethal offense in order to play solid defense against Maryland point guard Steve Blake, holding him to 12 points and only 4 of 10 shooting. Blake also had an uncharacteristic six turnovers.
“[Billet] kept Blake from dominating the game,” said Gillen. “I thought a big part of the victory was making Blake earn his points.”
Meanwhile, Billet also racked up eight assists, double his season single-game high.
Smith, who had been banged up for a short stretch of games, showed why Gillen coveted him so much, with a shooting exhibition from beyond the arch that would have made Curtis Staples envious. Byars has also shown recently that he’s not a freshman any more.
Mapp made sharp, crisp passes and like the heady point guard he is, knew how to exploit holes in Maryland’s defense and also knew how to get to the free throw line, where he made 9 of 10 chances.
“I wanted to be a leader, so I wanted the ball at crunch time,” said Mapp.
How refreshing is that for Cavalier fans?
Thursday night was what many of us expected from this Virginia team from Day One. But we forgot that sometimes it takes a team a while to get used to one another.
Good guard play, decent defense, good inside/out play. Plenty of depth (UVa’s bench outscored Maryland’s bench 43-18). That’s what we thought this team was capable of and maybe, just maybe this team is beginning to hit its stride.
Today’s challenge is a little different. N.C. State isolates some of its better players against Virginia for scoring purposes and in the past, the Cavaliers haven’t responded. For UVa to defend its home court today, against a team that whipped the Cavs here last season, and whipped them on the road a month ago, it is going to require a great defensive effort.
Billet was shut down the last time, but more importantly in UVa’s loss in Raleigh was the fact that Travis Watson was handcuffed most of the night. Gillen was furious after the game, pointing out that his big man was hacked, held, tag-teamed all game long.
Watson was held to only four points in the first half of that game as the Wolfpack steadily built a lead on the Cavaliers and destroyed UVa’s confidence. Surely, Coach Herb Sendek will sic Levi Watkins on Watson again today to see if Watkins can hold Watson down again.
With six of the league’s teams within two wins of another, the ACC race is wide open, up for grabs, just as predicted as the conference heads into the second half of play. We suspect that the team that best comes together over the next five weeks, the team that peaks at just the right time, will finish on top.
Who wants it the most?
It’s there for the taking.

 

 

Will Cavaliers solve Pack of problems?
U.Va. brings out best in N.C. State
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 09, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Now that Virginia has ended its nine-game skid in ACC road games, it can focus on snapping another losing streak that's grown uncomfortably long.

U.Va. has dropped five in a row to N.C. State. No other ACC team has a current streak of more than two over the Cavaliers. Virginia hasn't beaten State since winning 88-81 on Jan. 6, 2001.

"Some teams have trouble with some teams," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said.

The Cavaliers' last victory over the Wolfpack came at University Hall. That's the site of their meeting today, which bodes well for U.Va. (4-4, 13-7). The Wahoos are 9-0 at home, and they're coming off their most impressive performance of the season.

Virginia, which had lost its previous nine ACC road games, shocked eighth-ranked Maryland 86-78 on Thursday night before a sellout crowd at the Comcast Center. The Cavaliers hit 12 of 22 3-point attempts and outrebounded the Terrapins 40-36.

Equally impressive was Virginia's work when the reigning NCAA champions had the ball. Oft-maligned for playing uninspired defense, U.Va. held the Terps to 41.8-percent accuracy from the floor.

"I think it gives us some confidence," Gillen said. "It shows that if you can beat Maryland up there in a very hostile environment, on a given day you can beat most teams. Hopefully, we can continue to build on that."

N.C. State (5-3, 12-6) has lost its past two ACC road games, falling 75-60 at Maryland on Jan. 30 and 73-58 at 14th-ranked Wake Forest on Thursday night. The Cavaliers shouldn't take too much comfort in that fact. Something about Virginia has seemed to bring out the Wolfpack's best in their recent games.

In last season's ACC tournament, State shot 72.2 percent from 3-point range, making 13 of 18 attempts, and embarrassed U.Va. 92-72 in the first round. In Raleigh, N.C., last month, Herb Sendek's club made 9 of 10 from beyond the arc and dismissed Virginia 75-63.

"They play very well against us," Gillen said. "They're very athletic, and they shoot the ball very straight against us. Part of that is our defense has to improve."

N.C. State's spread offense, similar to the one for which Princeton became renowned, can baffle defenders, as the Cavaliers can attest. But it's not all about X's and O's, according to Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser.

"People talk a lot about Coach Sendek's offense, and I think it is excellent," Prosser said. "He coaches it very well, and they run it exceedingly well. But I think the biggest problem is they have very good players.

"If you could have ham-and-eggers running that offense, the offense wouldn't be very effective. But when you have as talented kids as State has, therein lies the rub."

The Pack's most celebrated player is 6-6 sophomore Julius Hodge, the ACC's second-leading scorer. But Marcus Melvin has hurt the Cavs, too. Melvin stands 6-8 and weighs 235 pounds, but he's as comfortable on the perimeter as in the post and poses a matchup problem for many opponents.

Melvin averages 13.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals. He's shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range.

"I think he's a first-team all-league player," Gillen said. "He plays [power forward], but he's really a [wing]. I think he's one of the top five players in the conference."
 

 

Duke planning a second-half charge to top of ACC
Blue Devils to face Tigers today at home -- Wolfpack on road against Cavaliers

By Bill Cole
JOURNAL REPORTER
 

With its confidence restored and its point guard back in good standing, Duke will try to move closer to the top of the ACC today when it begins the second half of the conference season.

And while Duke tries to build on its home winning streak, N.C. State will hit the conference road for the second consecutive time and try to end to its woes away from Raleigh.

Duke is scheduled to play Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 6:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised by Fox Sports. N.C. State is to visit Virginia at 4 in a game that can be seen on the ACC's network.

Duke is 15-3 overall and 5-3 in the ACC, one game out of first place. After losing three of five games, Duke produced an effort that Coach Mike Krzyzewski called outstanding while beating North Carolina 83-74 on Wednesday.

Point guard Chris Duhon of Duke makes his bid to return to the starting lineup after playing as a reserve against North Carolina. Duhon played 37 minutes, handed out 10 assists and made only two turnovers one day after Krzyzewski said that Duhon wasn't playing well.

Duhon's shooting is still off target. He missed 7 of 12 shots from the field and five of seven 3-point attempts, but Krzyzewski said he couldn't find any fault in Duhon's all-around play.

"Obviously Chris was great," Krzyzewski said. "He was such a good leader in setting things up and communication with the bench. It was by far his best game.

"I don't know if he's putting too much pressure on himself. We told him, `Just relax and have fun. Let things come natural.' It's mostly him, but whatever it is he responded well. That one shot he made, that little scoop, was a huge bucket for us."

Clemson, 12-6 and 2-6, snapped a four-game losing streak with a two-point win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday, but another losing streak is still intact. Duke has beaten Clemson 14 consecutive times.

Clemson hasn't won in Cameron since Jan. 4, 1995 in Krzyzewski's last game that season before being sidelined by back surgery. The win over Georgia Tech boosted the team's spirits, but Coach Larry Shyatt said his team has to improve and play consistently to avoid struggling in the second half of the ACC season.

"In '69 I won the 'Worst Worrier' award at Cleveland Heights (Ohio) High School," Shyatt said. "I worry about everything. And I'm paid handsomely to do so.

"Our guys are so terrific in the classroom. They're terrific in terms of emotion and attitude and work ethic, and they've been pretty doggone consistent in squeezing a lot out of what we have, so I haven't worried about that part.

"Last year I sensed we had a problem from within. I have no sense of that whatsoever this year, and it would be a huge surprise because I feel these guys like it here and like the future and just want another `W' soon."

The Wolfpack will carry records of 12-6 and 5-3 into its game against the Cavaliers. Coach Herb Sendek said he wouldn't mind a duplication of his team's conference record in the second half of the season because he thinks that 10 ACC wins will put a team near the top of the conference.

Only one of the Wolfpack's ACC victories came away from home, however, at Florida State. Thursday's loss at Wake Forest was N.C. State's second consecutive loss on the conference road by 15 points and left only modest time to prepare for the next trip.

Sendek said he doesn't think his team is developing a mental block about playing on road in the ACC. The cause of the three conference losses was outstanding opposition, not a fear of playing in unfriendly arenas, according to Sendek.

Sendek also said that his team must play better in order to solve its problems. "We have to put together an entire 40 minutes," Sendek said. "We did some positive things (at Wake Forest) but we weren't able to sustain the level of play that you need to come away with a quality win on the road."

N.C. State thumped Virginia in early January by double-teaming Travis Watson inside and holding him to eight shots. The win was N.C. State's fourth consecutive over Virginia, including a decision last season in Charlottesville that snapped a 13-game losing streak in University Hall.

Coach Pete Gillen of Virginia said he's baffled by his team's struggles against N.C. State in the past two seasons. Virginia won at Maryland on Thursday in one of the ACC's shockers to improve to 13-7 and 4-4.

"They do a good job; they shoot great against us," Gillen said of N.C. State. "I don't know what they shot from 3s up here last year but it was unbelievable. Obviously our defense has got to get better.

"Some teams play well against other teams. We've certainly got to find some answers. I wish I knew the correct one."

 

 

Virginia seeks equilibrium vs. Wolfpack

By ROB DANIELS, Staff Writer
News & Record

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The Virginia Cavaliers are breathing on their own again after Thursday's shocking win at Maryland. Now N.C. State's job is to send them back to the stress-filled netherworld in which they've been residing for most of the past year.

The Cavs (4-4 ACC, 12-7 against all of Division I) have been the league's least stable team lately, having been through a 1-3 start to conference play and three suspensions to two players. The most recent disciplinary action was last week's indefinite removal of starting point guard Keith Jenifer from the clubhouse. UVa responded by wiping out a 12-point second-half deficit at Comcast Center and beating the Terrapins 86-78.

Virginia knows it has to make the Maryland win relevant by beating the Pack (5-3, 12-6), to which it has lost five straight. That's State's longest active winning streak against anybody in the ACC and UVa's longest ongoing run of failure against a conference opponent.

"It can turn this season around or make it worse," guard Devin Smith said of the win in College Park. "We have to sit down and know what we can accomplish if we actually play defense for 40 minutes, show character and play as a team."

The Cavs haven't known what it feels like to be over .500 in the league since last Feb. 16, the day before a 92-70 defeat at Wake Forest began a season-killing run of six losses in the final seven games. A win today would allow this up-and-down bunch to see the light.

While UVa needs to protect its home court more than State needs to steal one here, the Pack is also aware of the benefits of a victory today. The club is counting victories as it seeks a second straight NCAA tournament bid, and if it claims one on a hostile floor, it can go 3-1 at home the rest of the way and feel pretty good about its chances. If it doubles its first-half victory total in league play, it's in with no worries.

"If we had 10 wins in the ACC, that would be real positive for us," coach Herb Sendek said. "It certainly won't be an easy accomplishment.

"We are always cognizant of where we stand; we're not oblivious to that. Right now the only thing we can do anything about is the day at hand."

 

 

The gift and the curse
AL FEATHERSTON : The Herald-Sun
afeatherston@heraldsun.com
Feb 9, 2003 : 12:20 am ET

RALEIGH -- Which is harder to explain: N.C. State’s recent inability to beat Wake Forest or the Pack’s easy dominance of Virginia?

"I don’t know, I guess it’s just how it happens," the Wolfpack’s Marcus Melvin said. "We go in with the same type of focus against both of them. We lose a lot of close games to Wake Forest. As for Virginia, we go in to play hard. We have the same focus as we do every other game. I guess it just turns out that we win by a large margin."

N.C. State’s 73-58 loss at Wake Forest on Thursday night was the Pack’s seventh straight loss to the Demon Deacons. On the other hand, Herb Sendek’s team will travel to Virginia today looking for its sixth straight win over the Cavaliers. The five consecutive Wolfpack victories have been by an average of 13.2 points.

"Yeah, they’ve played well against us," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "They shoot the ball very straight against us. And Herb does a great job. I really don’t have an answer. Hopefully, we can change that on Sunday. But they do a good job. They shoot great against us. I think up here last year, I don’t know what they shot from 3, but it was unbelievable. They just shoot the ball very well. Obviously our defense has to get better. They play great against us.

"Some teams just play well against other teams. We certainly have to find some answers. I wish I knew why ... they’ve always played us tough."

The odd outcome of the two N.C. State rivalries is hard to explain. It’s not like the Pack’s long losing streak to Duke, which ended last month. The reason for that one is simple — Duke was clearly better than N.C. State during the course of the streak.

But N.C. State, Wake and Virginia have enjoyed similar success during the last two or three seasons. The Cavaliers can beat Wake Forest, splitting last year and winning this year’s matchup in Charlottesville. So why can’t the Cavs beat a team that can’t beat the Deacons?

"Certainly some teams match up better with other teams," Sendek said. "Certainly you match up better with some teams than you do others in a given year. There’s a measure of validity to that.

"Another part of it could be just circumstances. You’re not looking at a large sample set when you’re talking about six or five or four games. You’re not talking about 20, 30, 40 games. You’re talking about a relatively small sample set. And there are so many variables in the equation. One of those games may have been played when one team only had one day to prepare in between. Another game might have been played when a key player was injured.

"For example, I know that last year when we played Virginia at home, they had just returned from Missouri. I think Travis Watson was really banged up. They had a couple of guys not feeling well and a short window to prepare for us. So there are a lot of circumstances that go into it."

Both N.C. State (12-6, 5-3 ACC) and Virginia (13-7, 4-4 ACC) will be coming off short turnarounds when they meet today at 4 p.m. in University Hall in Charlottesville. On the same night that Wake Forest was beating the Pack (again), Virginia was pulling off the biggest upset of the ACC season, overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit to win at Maryland.

"Virginia really shot the ball well against Maryland," Sendek said.

Indeed, the Cavaliers hit 12 of 22 3-pointers against the Terps. In an earlier 12-point loss at N.C. State, the Cavs hit just 4 of 22 3-pointers. After the game, Gillen complained that his big men, Watson and Elton Brown, were abused by the Pack’s physical play in the post.

Sendek is concerned about his team’s inability to play 40 strong minutes on the road. The Pack put itself in position to win at Maryland and at Wake Forest but collapsed down the stretch in both games.

"That’s the game of basketball," he said. "In this league, you can play pretty well for significant stretches and still not come away with a win."

N.C. State’s road woes are hardly unique. Home teams have a 28-8 edge in ACC play. Virginia’s victory at Maryland was the first home loss for one of the league’s top six teams.

But if the Pack is going to win on the road, history would suggest that University Hall is the place. A year ago, N.C. State upset No. 4 Virginia on its home floor.

The Pack players will take a lot of confidence into the game.

"As far as Virginia goes, the way they play defense is the reason why we take care of them," junior Scooter Sherrill said. "With our offense, it’s hard for them to guard us."

NOTES — Sendek’s team is 5-3 in the ACC at the halfway point, and the Wolfpack coach said he wouldn’t mind matching that in the second half of the regular season: "I think if we have 10 wins in the ACC, that would be a real positive for us," he said. "That won’t be easy." ... N.C. State leads the series 74-49 after winning nine of the last 12 matchups. ... Julius Hodge lost the ACC scoring lead when he was outscored 24-13 by Josh Howard. Howard now leads Hodge 19.2 to 18.8 in the ACC standings. ... Virginia’s Watson leads the ACC with 10 double-doubles. N.C. State as a team has just six — four by Hodge (who does have the ACC’s only triple double) and two by Melvin. ... In his last four games, Josh Powell has averaged 13.5 points while shooting 75.8 percent from the field. ... Virginia has not used the same starting lineup in any two games this season. So far Gillen has come up with 12 different starting lineups in 20 games.

 

 

Gonzalez Has Manhattan On A Roll
By Chris Wallace
Date: Feb 8, 2003

The Manhattan Jaspers have been able to stay out of the national spotlight for the most part so far this season. But if things continue like this, that's going to change very quickly. Led by former Virginia assistant coach Bobby Gonzalez, Manhattan is off to an 18-3 start (pending today's home tilt with Canisius) and has won 14 games in a row. OBI had a chance to catch up with Gonzalez this week to get his thoughts on a number of topics.

Bobby Gonzalez spent just one year in Charlottesville under Pete Gillen, but he was a very popular man during his short stay. The fast-talking New York native was known for his recruiting prowess, his funny stories and his inability to sit still. In fact, Gillen used to say on a regular basis that Gonzalez could make coffee nervous. In his fourth year as the head coach at Manhattan, Gonzalez has himself a pretty good team. The Jaspers have beaten Seton Hall and St. John's, and they also won the ECAC Holiday Festival in December. Manhattan sits at 11-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and has one of the most unheralded players in the country in guard Luis Flores, a junior who averages nearly 25 points per game. The following is a Q&A that OBI did with Gonzalez earlier this week to get his thoughts on the Jaspers and more. We hope you enjoy.
OBI: Your basketball team has had an outstanding season and is just a couple of points away from having just one loss. You're also on quite a winning streak right now. Tell us a little bit about the Jaspers.

Gonzalez: Basically, we are a few points away from being (22-1), losing at the buzzer and in overtime to Yale and at the buzzer to St. Peter's, but quite honestly I don't know if we would be (on this winning streak) if we didn't lose those games at the buzzer because I think it helped us get some toughness and develop our identity and once in a while when you have adversity you grow from that.

OBI: In New York City, getting the attention with as much basketball is going on is tough. How big was winning the ECAC Holiday Festival for your team and your program?

Gonzalez: It was definitely huge because last year was the first time we had won the ECAC Holiday Festival in 28 years. And for us to come back and repeat this year with St. John's and North Carolina and big teams like that being involved was just an incredible accomplishment. We became only the fifth team in the 50-year history of the Holiday Festival to repeat as champs. And the other part of it is that it's a huge thing here in New York City, it's a very big, well-traditioned tournament. It's always special playing in the Garden so that was a great accomplishment for our guys.

OBI: A lot of mid-major teams have been media darlings at one time or another. Gonzaga, Creighton, Butler and even your friend and former co-worker Tommy Herrion at the College of Charleston to name of few. No one's really talking about Manhattan too much just yet. Would you rather be getting more national attention or is it nice to stay off the radar screen?

Gonzalez: We're starting to become an item now because of (the winning streak) and we recently beat Seton Hall, our second win over a Big East opponent. But to answer your question, I would much rather do it quietly and stay off the radar screen and get to March and sneak up on people.

OBI: You're in your fourth year as a head coach. What were the biggest adjustments you had to make and when did you really begin to feel comfortable in your new role?

Gonzalez: Pete Gillen really did a great job in preparing me to become a head coach. I think the difference in going from an assistant to a head coach is like working for a company and then owning the company. Just the responsibility of being in charge of everything, the overall delegating to assistant coaches and secretaries. You've got to deal with the fans, the alumni and the media, and you've got your 13 players and their families. It's a lot of responsibility and a great challenge. But I'm feeling more and more comfortable with each year that goes by and I'm growing into the role of being a head coach and a leader. It obviously helps when you're getting good players and having success. So it's going very, very well right now.

OBI: In Luis Flores, you probably have one of the best players in the country that people don't know about. Tell us about him and what kind of player he is.

Gonzalez: In Luis Flores, we definitely have one of the best players in America that people don't know about. He's a very underrated player. He's a Dominican kid from uptown Washington Heights who transferred here from Rutgers University. He's a very special player. He was preseason player of the year in our conference as a junior and I think that he's going to end up hopefully being the postseason player of the year if he stays on the track that he's on. He's a wonderful kid. He's a 6-foot-2 strong guard who's a very gifted scorer and definitely the leader of our team.

OBI: You spent a number of year as an assistant to Virginia coach Pete Gillen, including one year in Charlottesville. What is your relationship with Gillen like today and do you keep up with how the Cavaliers are doing?

Gonzalez: I spent six years with Coach Gillen, one at Xavier, four at Providence and one at the University of Virginia. I speak to Pete at least once a week sometimes twice a week, and we usually check in with each other after wins, after losses. It's interesting in that I had a great relationship with Pete while I worked for him in the six years I was with him because we were very similar. We laughed a lot and we were both nervous, obviously hyper, and we shared a lot of things. We had a great relationship when we were working together, but it's funny now that we're peers so to speak -- even though I still look up to Pete and he's older than me and has more experience and I still go to him for wisdom and advice -- now that I'm a head coach we actually probably have a better relationship now because I can relate to things that he would explain to me as an assistant. I'm going through the same things myself so I can lean on him for advice. We have a tremendous relationship, just a wonderful relationship, one of a friend and a confidant. It's going very well. Certainly, I do keep up on the Cavaliers. I'm a little biased with guys like Travis Watson, who I helped recruit, and Majestic. But certainly I'm pulling for the Cavaliers always. I watch all their scores and follow their team very closely.

OBI: Gillen has come under fire as of late at UVa with the fans and members of the media. What is your reaction to that?

Gonzalez: First and foremost, I don't think fans, alumni or media or anybody have the right to question Coach Gillen in any manner. You're talking about a man that went to the NCAA Tournament in seven out of nine years at Xavier and he's has had huge success everywhere he's been. He came to a Virginia program that was basically in the dumps when he took over. He's turned the program around and is having great success and has brought in great players. He gets the kids to play hard and he is a man of integrity. He's never had a violation or a rules question in his entire career and his kids graduate. He's a great bench coach and I think that everybody that follows college basketball knows that Coach Gillen is a proven winner. I think it's just the nature of the business today. Everybody, when you lose a game, has a nervous breakdown and they want to throw you in the river and they want to question everything you do and then when you win a game, you're a hero. Coaches are making big money and they should be subject to be questioned, but it's just ridiculous and outrageous. They are very fortunate and lucky to have Pete Gillen, and they should appreciate what they have. They should thank their lucky stars that they have a coach of the magnitude of Pete Gillen. I can't say enough about Pete as coach and as a person. It's just absurd to me that he would even come under question. I don't care if he loses 100 games in a row, they should be happy that Coach Gillen is there. That's all I have to say about that.

OBI: What were some of the things you learned from Gillen that have helped you the most as a basketball coach?

Gonzalez: He taught me how to be extremely meticulous, turn over every rock and don't miss a trick with preparation. Be very detail-oriented and respect every opponent whether it's a team that is 0-20 or a team that's 20-0. Coach Gillen taught me to really be thorough and I think that's the main thing I think I learned from him.

OBI: Where can the Jaspers make their biggest strides from here until the end of the season as you try to win the MAAC crown and get into the NCAA Tournament?

Gonzalez: We have three freshmen in our top seven and soon no longer are they going to be freshmen. We still have upside and we're still growing as a team. We just need to stay fresh and try to finish strong. Chris, I hope I answered your questions thoroughly and to the best of my ability.

 

 

Cavaliers To Entertain Wolfpack
By Chris Wallace
Date: Feb 9, 2003

Having gotten the road win it so desperately needed at Maryland on Thursday night, the Virginia men's basketball team will try to get another monkey of its back this afternoon. North Carolina State comes to University Hall (Raycom, 4 p.m.) having won five straight against the Cavaliers, often looking like world-beaters in the process. So can the Cavaliers break the drought against Herb Sendek's team?

There may not be a more frustrating team to play against in the ACC than N.C. State. On offense, the Pack spreads things out and uses the majority of the shot clock in an effort to shorten the game. But they inevitably seem to mange to get a good shot, many coming from beyond the 3-point line. On defense, they grab and hold and bump and generally prevent most teams from getting into any kind of rhythm. Add to that the presence of one of the league's most unpopular players in Julius Hodge -- who is also unquestionably one of the conference's best -- and playing State is simply no fun for opposing players, coaches or fans, especially UVa fans.
Sendek certainly has had Virginia's number as of late, which has made for a remarkable turnaround. Prior to the Pack's 81-74 win in Charlottesville a year ago, N.C. State had dropped 13 straight at U-Hall and 22 of the previous 24. The recipe for success against UVa as of late for the Wolfpack has been to play physical defense and make a lot of 3-point shots. In a 75-63 win at home in early January, State made 9-20 from beyond the arc and refused to let the Cavaliers get the ball to their interior players. The result was a lot of open 3-point shots for Virginia, but a 4-22 performance from beyond the arc was too much too overcome.

When you start with a plan for playing N.C. State it has to start with Hodge, who along with Wake Forest's Josh Howard is a favorite for ACC player of the year honors. The 6-foot-6 sophomore does it all. He scores nearly 19 points per game, he leads his team with better than six rebounds per game and he serves as State's primary ball-handler. Hodge is without question one of the toughest defensive matchups in the ACC and one of the league's toughest competitors. Virginia (13-7, 4-4) may give Jason Clark -- who missed the first contest with a sprained ankle -- a shot at Hodge, while Derrick Byars is another guy who will likely draw that assignment during the course of the afternoon. The Cavaliers are also likely to mix in some zone.

But the Pack (12-6, 5-3) is more than just Hodge. Marcus Melvin, a 6-8 deadly 3-point shooter who has killed Virginia the last two years, is another tough matchup. Melvin averages 13 points per game and often gets wide open looks as big men from opposing teams are unable to stay with him. Josh Powell, a 6-9 sophomore who averages 12 points per game, is another offensive threat and the Pack's only true interior scorer. Additionally, starting guards Scooter Sherrill and Clifford Crawford each average nearly 10 points per game. Sherrill is a dangerous 3-point shooter while Crawford, who has been on a tear as of late, gets his points from all over the floor.

But aside from those five players, Levi Watkins is the only other player on the roster who averages better than 10 minutes per game. State is not very deep and not very big, quite the opposite of Virginia. But the Wolfpack plays their system as well as any team in the conference, and that's the main reason Sendek's team has overcome all of its deficiencies. The Pack leads the ACC in 3-pointer made per game and they also average nearly 10 steals per game. Those steals lead to easy baskets, something N.C. State needs as it is not a team that scores easily in its half court offense because of the lack of a strong inside game.

Virginia needs to take care of the ball to have its best chance today. In addition to not giving the Pack easy baskets, it will give UVa more attempts against a State defense that ranks last in the ACC in opposing field goal percentage. Additionally, the Wolfpack is the league's worst rebounding team and the Cavaliers will have to really try to punish their guests on the glass. Finally, realty says that how the game is called by the referees will play a role in the outcome. If the game is called closely, State will have a hard time dealing with Virginia's interior players and foul trouble could become a problem. Speaking of fouls, if this one comes down to a free-throw shooting contest in the late stages, the Wolfpack is the ACC's best at better than 75 percent as a team.

It's a huge game for both teams as they try to move up the ladder in the conference race. The Pack has not been good on the road this year and Virginia has yet to lose at home this season. But numbers similar to those didn't seem to matter much in College Park on Thursday. If Virginia comes to play, especially at the defensive end, it should win this game. But there's something about seeing those UVa uniforms that seem to bring out the best in N.C. State. I can assure you that no Virginia fan is taking this one for granted.