Gillen may reshuffle deck again
A lack of production at shooting guard and small forward suffocates the Cavaliers in a home loss.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

CHARLOTTESVILLE - In a continuing search for his best combination, Virginia men's basketball coach Pete Gillen used his 13th different starting lineup Saturday night.
It might not be his last.

A third straight lackluster performance on offense had Gillen reassessing his decision to move shooting guard Todd Billet to the point.

Eighth-ranked Duke jumped to a 17-point first-half lead and handed the Cavaliers their first home loss of the season, 78-59, at University Hall.

"Our perimeter guys have got to help us a little more," Gillen said. "If our two and three spots are scoring, then we can afford to have Todd at the point. If they're not, we've got to move him off the ball."

Sophomore Jermaine Harper got his first start of the season at the No. 2 spot, or shooting guard, and played respectably. His chief responsibility was to shadow Duke freshman J.J. Redick, who finished with 15 points after getting 34 in the first meeting between the teams.

Harper also contributed eight points in a season-high 25 minutes, but the Cavaliers got almost nothing out of small forwards Devin Smith and Derrick Byars, who were a combined 3-for-16 from the field.

Virginia (14-9 overall, 5-6) doesn't have many options if it wants to move Billet off the ball. Sophomore Keith Jenifer, the Cavaliers' starting point guard in 14 of the first 16 games, has not played since his suspension Feb. 3 for "conduct detrimental to the team," according to a school release.

Jenifer was in attendance at the game Saturday night but does not sit with the team, does not practice with the team and faces a March court date on a misdemeanor charge of assault-and-battery.

The Cavaliers won their first two games after Jenifer's suspension, getting major contributions from junior point guard Majestic Mapp, but Mapp followed that with a nightmarish week in which he did not score from the field and had nine turnovers in a combined 29 minutes against North Carolina and Duke.

The Tar Heels scored the first 10 points against UVa and it was more of the same Saturday night, when the Blue Devils led 6-0. For the third game in a row, the Cavaliers struggled with their entry passes into the post.

"You can only hold your position for so long once you get one of those big bodies leaning on you," said UVa sophomore Elton Brown, who finished with 18 points. "You're only open for a second. It's not as easy as it looks."

Said Billet, "You look and you look and then you throw the pass. We're really telegraphing that pass as a team. You want to try and get the ball inside but not if it's going to cost you 10 turnovers."

The Blue Devils, who had lost four straight ACC road games, set an early tone with the shot-blocking of 6-foot-9, 245-pound freshman Shelden Williams. Williams, who had blocked one shot in his previous five games, had four in the first half against Virginia.

Counting seven turnovers and five blocked shots, UVa got the ball to the basket on only 11 of its first 23 possessions. Virginia has not scored as many as 30 points in the first half of the last three games and four of the last five.

Virginia senior Travis Watson finished with 10 rebounds -- his seventh straight game in double figures - but was 3-of-8 from the field. Watson, one of two ACC players shooting better than 50 percent from the field, is 6-of-19 from the field in the past two games and 26-of-67 over the past six.

"I never would have guessed that Travis would not get double-figure points against us," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, victimized by Watson for a season-high 26 points in the Blue Devils' 104-93 victory over UVa in Durham, N.C. "He's a kid who everybody in the league would like to coach."

Watson wore a headband for the second game in a row to protect his left eye, which required eight stitches Tuesday after he caught an elbow from Nick Vander Laan in practice. Watson played 26 minutes Saturday, 11 in the second half, when Gillen elected to keep him on the bench as the game got out of reach.

While Duke (17-4, 7-4) kept alive its chances for a regular-season championship, Virginia will be looking at a must-win situation Tuesday at 8 p.m. against visiting Clemson.

"We wouldn't have beaten many teams in the ACC tonight," Gillen said.


 

It’s Clark for the defense when U.Va.’s biggest court cases arise
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 18, 2003

Coming soon, to a high-scoring ACC player near you: The long arms of Virginia’s Jason Clark.
In the past month, Clark, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Virginia Beach, has shadowed the likes of Wake Forest’s Josh Howard, Florida State’s Tim Pickett, Georgia Tech’s B.J. Elder, and N.C. State’s Julius Hodge.

He held Hodge to three first-half points, harassed Pickett into 7 for 18 shooting and limited Elder to six points.

Increasingly, when the defense-impaired Cavaliers need a stop, it’s Clark they turn to.

He’s been happy to oblige. ''I’ve always been the type of player to do whatever it takes for my team,’’ Clark said.

That was the case on the Boo Williams AAU team, where Clark willingly took a back seat to such players as Elton Brown, J.J. Redick and John Gilchrist. ''He did the things nobody else wanted to do,’’ Williams said.

It was also the case at Hargrave Military Academy, where Clark played with eight other Division I players during his senior year.

''It was fine, not being in the spotlight, because my teams were winning,’’ said Clark, who averaged 20 points a game at Kellam High before transferring to Hargrave.

That’s not to say Clark did not possess considerable ability of his own. In fact, in two years at Virginia, he’s fairly oozed potential, with his long frame, aggressive style, and quick feet.

Last year, his teammates gave him the ''Promising Prospect’’ award. Coach Pete Gillen said Clark had as much potential as anyone on the team.

What Clark lacked was identity, a defined role. He seems to have found it, on the defensive end. ''We want to improve defensively, and he’s a good defender,’’ Gillen said. ''He’s a high-energy guy.’’

Tendinitis in his knees limited Clark’s minutes early. It’s something he’s played with since high school, and prefers to keep to himself.

''He’s a tough kid,’’ Gillen said. ''He wasn’t going to tell us he was hurt.’’ Clark has started six of Virginia’s last seven games, beginning with Wake Forest, where he held Howard in check in an 85-75 win.

''When I got the start, I pretty much knew what they expected me to do,’’ Clark said.

Up next was Pickett, a 6-3 guard. Clark held him to three first-half points on 1-for-8 shooting. His biggest challenge was Hodge, a slithery 6-6 forward capable of scoring inside and out. Hodge made just 6 of 15 shots, and many of those came with Clark out of the game.

Clark finished with just three points. But then again, he’s not one to look for his shot — or take a bad one. Although he is averaging just 4.9 points per game, Clark is shooting a stunning 72 percent on the season, 75.8 percent in ACC games.

''We have too many good offensive players for me to be forcing my shots,” he said.

Clark’s content to get his points off the offensive boards, or in transition. Against Florida State, he opened the game by scoring off a Todd Billet miss. Clark was fouled in the process, and converted a three-point play. On the next possession, he stole a pass at midcourt and threw down a resounding dunk.

It was all great fun, but what Clark really wants to do is bag his first career 3-pointer. He’s waiting for just the right moment to step behind the arc, and let it fly.

After playing so selflessly all these years, who could begrudge him that?
 

Cavs facing key test
U.Va. entering must-win zone
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 18, 2003
CLEMSON AT U.VA.
TODAY: 8 p.m. ON THE AIR: TV - WTVR-6 (ATT9, CC3); radio - WRVA (1140), 7:30

CHARLOTTESVILLE - NIT or NCAAs? The Virginia Cavaliers' postseason destination won't be determined until next month, but their preference is clear.

To avoid a second straight trip to the NIT, the Cavs probably can't afford to stumble again at University Hall, where No. 8 Duke destroyed them Saturday night. U.Va. (5-6, 14-9) has three home games left, starting tonight against ACC rival Clemson (3-7, 13-8).

"We have to win that one," coach Pete Gillen said late Saturday.

The Cavaliers, 10-1 at U-Hall, have ACC road games remaining against 10th-ranked Wake Forest and Florida State. Wake is unbeaten at home, FSU has beaten Duke and Georgia Tech in Tallahassee, and Virginia has struggled on the road under Gillen.

All of which makes tonight's game pivotal for a team that in all likelihood must finish at least 8-8 in the ACC if it hopes to advance to the NCAA tournament. Had the Wahoos beaten Duke at U-Hall for the third straight year, their postseason prospects would be considerably brighter today. But they never slowed the Blue Devils and now find themselves in "must-win" territory.

"It does reduce the margin [for error]," junior guard Todd Billet said. "Our eyes should be wide now. We should take each game as a must-win approach."

In five seasons under Gillen, Virginia has notched numerous memorable victories at University Hall, beating Duke and North Carolina and Wake and Purdue and Missouri and Maryland there, among others. Rarely have the Cavaliers looked as lifeless at home as they did Saturday night.

"We would not have beaten many teams in the ACC tonight, no question," Gillen said.

Sophomore center Elton Brown had his customary defensive lapses, one reason Duke freshman Shelden Williams scored a career-best 20 points. But Brown also made 7 of 12 shots from the floor and scored 18 points, an effort his coach praised.

"Our other guys just didn't play well," Gillen said. "I can't explain why. They just didn't have it tonight: weren't sharp, didn't make shots, didn't do the things that they usually do."

Virginia is 7-3 when sophomore small forward Devin Smith scores in double figures. The junior college transfer had seven points off the bench against Duke. He missed 9 of 11 shots from the floor, including 5 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Freshman Derrick Byars, who started ahead of Smith, scored two points. Sophomore shooting guard Jermaine Harper, in his first start of the season, had eight points, but four came after Virginia fell behind 70-50 with 4:27 left. Senior forward Travis Watson missed an open dunk to start the second half and finished with six points, nearly eight below his average.

"We had some shots, we had some looks, we just couldn't make the shots," Gillen said.

Making shots wasn't a problem when Virginia visited Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum last month. The Cavs shot a blistering 59.2 percent from the floor - and still managed to lose. Inept defense proved their downfall. The Tigers shot 55.4 percent and prevailed 78-77 on two free throws by sophomore forward Olu Babalola with 5.7 seconds remaining.

Virginia has lost two straight since beating N.C. State at U-Hall on Feb. 9. Slow starts doomed the Cavaliers in each defeat. They had 28 points at halftime against UNC last week and 22 at the break against Duke. UNC bolted to a 10-0 lead. Duke quickly went up 6-0 and led 18-7 at the 10:50 mark.

"That was a big blow," Brown said. "The same thing happened in the UNC game. Coach Gillen told us, "I know we're at home, but that's not a guaranteed win.'"

If Gillen's players didn't believe him then, they probably do now. A raucous crowd filled U-Hall for the Duke game, but the "crowd doesn't play a second in the game," Billet said.

"It's the guys that are on the court that are going to make it happen, and we didn't make it happen."
 

NCAA may stir howls from league losers
JOHN MARKON
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Feb 18, 2003
Contact John Markon at (804) 649-6892 or jmarkon@timesdispatch.com

Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood, this year's chairman of the NCAA Basketball Selection Committee, made a remark two weeks ago that appeared to fall to earth without making a sound.

If Livengood sticks by his words, however, there won't be a mute button large enough to squelch the protests from fans and coaches around the country when playoff bids are extended next month.

Livengood, participating in a public forum on the selection process, was asked if he favored dispensing at-large tournament invitations to teams with losing records in their own conferences.

"No," he said. "In my mind, that's very hard to justify."

The NCAA, of course, has justified it several times in the past. Even though it doesn't happen all that often, it's probably the one perk awarded to the big-time, prime- time conferences that digs deepest under the skin of everyone else in Division I.

This year, however, some of the highest-profile programs and coaches in the game could well be caught on the wrong side of the Livengood Line. Among the at-large candidates currently at or under .500 in conference play are Indiana, Texas Tech, Alabama, DePaul, Virginia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

Before the squealing starts, let's take a closer look:

How often does it happen?

Rarely. Only 10 at-large bids have been awarded to intraconference losers over the past 10 years.

Who tends to get the bids?

All 10 went to high-profile leagues, four to the ACC, three to the Big Ten and one each to the SEC, Big East and Big 12. The absence of the Pac-10 from this welfare line probably makes Livengood's position more easily understood.

How well do the sub-.500 teams tend to play?

Not as badly as you might think. Penn State (2001) reached the round of 16 as did Purdue in 1999, when the Boilermakers whacked their first- and second-round opponents by an aggregate 31 points before taking a 22-point loss to Temple. Of the other eight "lucky losers," three of them won a first-round game while five checked out on opening day.

If this "rule" had been used in the past, would it have kept out any team that could have won the tournament?

Almost certainly not. Even everyone's favorite NCAA long-shot champions, the eighth-seeded 1985 Villanova Wildcats, had a winning record (9-7) in Big East play.

Is it a good idea?

Personally, I'd make it a guideline rather than a rule. With 65 teams in the tournament, you might want to consider one spot for a team that may have proven its worth in December but flattened out in January or February when a key player may have been unavailable.

The 1999 Purdue team, for example, was 14-4 against non-Big Ten opponents and did have some injury problems during conference play. It happens. Indiana and North Carolina both hit the skids when important players were injured this season.

Without dramatic extenuating circumstances, however, it's hard to see how any team that can't bat .500 in its conference has earned any kind of right to play for a national title. You'll hear some crying if Livengood has his way in the committee room, but some of us won't be listening.