UVa in need of a big name wide receiver
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
February 4, 2004

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering if Virginia can land a wide receiver in its signing class today ...
While the Cavaliers have pulled together a solid class of football recruits, the baffling thing is that they haven’t gained a commitment from a name receiver. Two of the three final targets remained as we head into national letter-of-intent day today: New Jersey star receiver Dwayne Jarrett and the state’s top receiving prospect Eddie Royal of Westfield High in Chantilly.
Chicago-area wideout Bryant Creamer indicated to the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that he will sign with Illinois. Creamer picked the Fighting Illini over the Cavs and Wisconsin.
Jarrett, one of the nation’s top prospects, will announce his decision today between UVa, Southern Cal and Ohio State, while Royal, the No. 5 player on the Daily Progress Gold List, will announce his choice from among UVa, Virginia Tech and Marshall at a news conference this
morning.
For up-to-the-minute recruiting information, check the Progress online throughout the day at www.dailyprogress.com and click on the Gold List icon.
Big week for Pete
Could there possibly be a bigger stretch for Virginia’s basketball team than the next two weeks, when the Cavaliers play three of their next four ACC games at home?
It all begins tonight against Maryland, which is tied with the Hoos seventh place in the league. The winner picks up a good boost, while the loser could be in real trouble.
Gary Williams’ Terps and Pete Gillen’s Cavs are two of the younger teams in the league. Maryland’s 2-5 league record is its worst since 1993.
The Terps will be attempting to do something very difficult in the ACC this season, win on the road. So far this season, the home team has won 22 of 29 league games (four of the seven road wins are by Duke, two by N.C. State).
Freedom of bleep
Hats off to Williams for his classy appeal to Maryland fans Sunday, when he asked them to tone down their language. Terp fans had come under fire for their profane chants toward Duke’s J.J. Redick and obscene shirts aimed at the Blue Devils in a recent game.
UM officials requested the state’s attorney general’s office to review whether the First Amendment protected such vulgarity and the ruling was that it did.
Still, Williams spoke to the crowd at Comcast Center prior to the N.C. State game and said, “We have too good of a university, too good of a basketball program, too good of a place to play - our fans are as good as anybody’s in the country - we don’t need that small percentage to hurt what we’ve done the last 10 years both academically as a school and athletically as an athletic department.”
The fans took heed of the request, although some did spoof the whole thing with signs that read: “I disagree with that call,” and “Expletive.”
Williams believes he hears similar language around the country and has been especially miffed over some comments directed toward freshman D.J. Strawberry, the son of former baseball star Darryl Strawberry.

Who loves you, baby? Redick has suddenly become ACC fans’ favorite guy to hate, or at least taunt.
In Duke’s win at Georgia Tech on Saturday, the sophomore from Roanoke was targeted by Yellow Jacket fans with derogatory chants for the second time in four games. The Dukie is trying to laugh it all off.
“Well, Maryland hates Duke,” Redick said. “It didn’t bother me. It’s a big rivalry. I’m really not sure why it’s going on. It seemed to happen just this year, like everybody’s directing a lot of chants and whatnot toward me.”
Redick said it’s part of the fun of college basketball and the rivalries.
“The teams’ fans are going to dislike certain players and I’m one of those guys,” he said. “If I have the opportunity to meet any of those people, I’d be friendly to them and I’m sure they would get to know me and like me. I don’t really take it personally.”

Free throws ... Why is Duke so good? Defense. The Devils have held 24 consecutive opponents to less than 50 percent field goal shooting. ...Gillen is counting on incoming point guard Sean Singletary to boost his program next season and with good reason. Singletary dominated Villanova signee Kyle Lowry in a Philly showdown over the weekend, as the future Hoo scored 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished eight assists. ...Florida State got a big commitment Wednesday, but from a basketball player, when 6-9, 200 forward/center Jerome Habel of Bethesda, Md. (a top 55 prospect by Rivals, top 20 by Clark Francis) chose the Noles. ...Clemson had gone 12 straight ACC games without scoring 70 points until the Tigers unleashed on Carolina over the weekend. ...In that game, Clemson hit 84.6 percent of its 3-point tries, but made only 44 percent of its’ 2-pointers, leaving Coach Oliver Purnell to bemoan, “That’s shocking ... That’s crazy to me.”

 

Rivalry with Terps holds strong
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
February 4, 2004

As with its football counterpart, the basketball rivalry with Virginia and Maryland seems to be on an upswing in recent years.

The Cavaliers swept Maryland in two competitive games last year and has beaten the Terps in three of the last four meetings at University Hall.

With the new additions into the ACC next season, that rivalry should only strengthen. Virginia and Maryland have been designated as primary partners and will always play each other twice a season in the new alignment. If anything, the rivalry may increase.

“I think it’s a big rivalry. It’s certainly a big rivalry for us and the players. It’s a border state. I can’t really speak for Maryland,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen. “We are both outside of the North Carolina base there. Maryland always has a great team with a great coach. Gary Williams will be in the Hall of Fame one day. It’s a big game for us with Maryland being one of the marquee teams in the ACC.”

In a way, the test of a rivalry is in a game like tonight.

Both Virginia and Maryland are struggling at the moment with the Terps having lost four of their last five ACC contests and sitting 2-5 in the ACC, the same as Virginia. The Cavaliers have lost two straight ACC contests by an average of 16 points a contest.

“We are struggling a bit right now. It seems as if we’re playing good enough to lose. In four of the losses, we led in the last 10 minutes of the game. We have to learn how to finish. We haven’t done that yet and it’s costing us. The effort is there but we have to play a little smarter,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams.

Maryland has also been at the center of an off-court controversy involving its fans. During the game against Duke on Jan. 21, members of the Maryland student body directed obscene chants at Duke guard J.J. Redick. The issue has escalated to the point in which the school has asked the Maryland attorney general’s office for guidance on how it can control its student section without violating free-speech laws. Williams actually addressed the students before Sunday’s 81-69 loss to visiting N.C. State.

“We cannot have obscene chants. We cannot wear obscene T-shirts to games. We’re too good for that,” Williams told the crowd Sunday.

During Monday’s ACC teleconference, Williams didn’t attempt to defend his crowd’s actions but said such actions happen nearly everywhere in college basketball.

“Every place we’ve played on the road so far we’ve heard obscene things,” Williams said. “Things are yelled everywhere. I’ve heard everything on the road this year, especially some directed at [freshman] D.J. Strawberry, which I’m not real happy about. But nobody writes about that. They just seem to write about our situation here.”

Virginia and Gillen don’t quite have the time to worry about problems at the Comcast Center. The Cavaliers have lost back-to-back road games at North Carolina and Wake Forest that were competitive for just a few moments. Virginia now has home games against Maryland and then N.C. State on Sunday. Gillen admitted there is a certain impetus to perform well in these next two contests.

“It’s very important to try to win every game in the ACC but certainly home games are more critical. You want to defend your homecourt and hold serve,” said Gillen, whose team has lost 16 of its 17 ACC road games. “This is a very big game for us and I’m sure it’s a big game for Maryland but it’s a very big, big game for us. We have to get this one.”

 

UVa, Tech vie for Royal
Group AAA player of the Year Eddie Royal is the only uncommitted player on The Roanoke Times' list of the top 25 football prospect in Virginia.
By Doug Doughty

Receivers were the topic of conversation Tuesday as Virginia and Virginia Tech both tried to put the finishing touches on their football recruiting classes.

Both of the state schools were pursuing Westfield High School wide receiver and Group AAA player of the year Eddie Royal, who also was considering Marshall, where his brother plays on the football team.

On the eve of national letter of intent day, Royal was the only uncommitted player on The Roanoke Times' list of the top 25 football prospects in Virginia.

Tech was expecting to sign at least 13 players, not counting five players who enrolled at mid-semester. That group included Fayetteville, N.C., running back George Bell, rated the No.28 prospect in the country by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

Virginia was expecting to sign 18 players, not including quarterback Chris Olsen, a transfer from Notre Dame who enrolled in September. That number also does not include Andrew Pearman, a running back from Charlotte, N.C., who broke an earlier commitment to UVa and pledged himself to Hawaii.

Tech will not sign two players who remain committed to the Hokies, defensive back Rod Council from Charlotte, N.C., and tight end William Wall from Washington, D.C.

Tech is holding off on Council, the Charlotte-area defensive player of the year, after his arrest Sunday morning following a break-in at West Charlotte High School.

Wall will enroll at Hargrave Military Academy in hopes of improving his academic profile. He plans to enroll at Tech no later than the summer of 2005.

If Tech signs a previously uncommitted player today, it will be either Royal or Derrick McPhearson, an All-American wide receiver from DeMatha in Hyattsville, Md. McPhearson also is considering Florida.

In addition to Royal, UVa was continuing to pursue Dwayne Jarrett, an All-America wide receiver from New Brunswick, N.J., who has indicated that he favors Ohio State and Southern California. The Cavaliers were also holding out hope that Andrew Pearman would join his brother, Alvin, on UVa's roster.

Bryant Creamer, a wide receiver from Chicago, had not publicly eliminated the Cavaliers as of Tuesday afternoon but has notified the UVa staff that a family illness would make him likely to stay closer to home.
 

Time for a Character-Building Win
Losses Helped Terps, but Less Than Victories
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 4, 2004; Page D01

Against Florida State, back in December, they led 56-51. At Georgia Tech this month, it was 55-53. At Wake Forest last week, it was 64-62.

Sunday, against North Carolina State at home, the glimmer of hope was 48-47.

All were leads for Maryland's basketball team. All came with less than 12 minutes remaining. And all ended up in losses.

"I think our team gets happy when we get up," center Jamar Smith said. "But we have got to focus on just worrying about being happy when the game is over with."

When tonight's game at Virginia is over, there is only one way Maryland will be happy: with a victory. The loser of tonight's matchup between the Terrapins (11-7, 2-5 ACC) and the Cavaliers (12-6, 2-5) will complete the first half of the ACC season tied with Clemson for last place in the conference. Maryland has lost four of five, Virginia four of six. Fail to hold another lead down the stretch, and there will be major problems.

"There is a sense of urgency," freshman center Hassan Fofana said. "We have to win the [Virginia] game."

As rocky as things are, the Terps aren't being blown out, outclassed, dominated or destroyed. In each of their conference losses, they have been only a possession or two away. They simply aren't finishing games the way they need to be finished. So a group that hasn't been through any of this before is trying to simultaneously figure out why those leads evaporate, and learn how to prevent it.

"It's usually having done it before, the experience of finishing," Coach Gary Williams said. "It's just like anything else you do in sports. Once you've done it at a high level, you can recall that when you get into that situation again.

"A lot of times it's not conscious, it's subconscious. [Players think], 'Going to the foul line. Knock down a one and one. Done it before. No problem.' Well, some of our guys haven't done it before at the college level. That can be tough."

It has been tough on the Terps thus far. The schedule, Williams points out, hasn't worked in their favor, what with five road games and just three at home in the first half of the conference season. Still, there's little denying that Sunday's home loss to N.C. State put the Terps in a hole.

Instead of protecting home court and going to Charlottesville with momentum -- having held on to a lead and finished strong -- they arrive somewhat unsure of themselves.

"You have to be careful with each player," Williams said. "You don't want to hurt their confidence. You've got to make them understand that they're supposed to make those shots in the ACC. That's how it works.

"We missed nine layups against N.C. State. You've got to make them. Even if there's somebody there, if somebody goes up after it defensively, you still [have to] put the ball in the basket."

Williams has only rarely complained about his team's effort during these losses, and even then, only spurts of games that have rankled him. Against Florida State, the Terps trailed 18-4 to start. Against N.C. State, it was 13-2. Yes, the Terps eventually led both games, "but it takes a lot out of you to come back," Williams said.

"That's been this team's downfall," guard Chris McCray said. "We never prepare ourselves to play right away when the ball goes up in the first half."

When the ball goes up tonight, the Terps must be ready, for this is a critical stretch. The game at Virginia and Sunday's home date against Florida State are both winnable. How the Terrapins handle themselves in these two opportunities will tell much about their future.

"Anybody can act a certain way and carry themselves a certain way when you're winning," forward Nik Caner-Medley said. "That's easy to do. When you're losing, when you lose a few games, that builds your character as a team and as a person."

Still, no one at Maryland wants to build any more character that way. The program has been to the NCAA tournament for 10 consecutive years, and, as Smith said, "That's always in the back of your mind."

Yet the Terps also know that in order to get back in that hunt for the NCAAs, they must keep the trip to Virginia squarely in the front of their minds. Last year, the Cavaliers finished just 16-16, yet beat the Terps twice.

"We're in a situation now where we really need a win," Caner-Medley said. "I think that any added incentive will help us. We'll use it to our advantage."

Right now, they will take any advantage they can get. Williams said he likes the way his team responds in practice, despite the losses.

Confidence, though, can only last so long.

"If you're winning, you have great confidence," Williams said. "Now, you find out how tough you are."
 

Terrapins, Cavs share the pain
Freshman-laden clubs find themselves deadlocked for seventh place in the ACC
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 4, 2004
MARYLAND AT U.VA.
TODAY: 9 p.m. ON THE AIR: TV-WTVR-6. Radio - WRVA (1140), 8:30

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Less than two years after winning its first NCAA men's basketball title, Maryland finds itself out of the polls and tied for seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Terrapins, who play the ACC's other seventh-place team tonight at University Hall, have dropped two consecutive games and four of their past five.

"Right now we're not doing anything particularly well," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "We're just playing good enough to lose, it seems. We've led in each of the last four losses with 10 minutes [remaining] in the game. Unfortunately, the game is 40 minutes, not 30 minutes.

"We have to learn how to finish, and we haven't done that yet, so we're paying the price for that."

If Virginia coach Pete Gillen has a theory about why the Terps are slumping, he doesn't want to share it publicly. He has his own problems to address. The Cavaliers (2-5, 12-6) have lost two straight and four of their past six, and critics are calling for Gillen's dismissal.

"I'm trying to get out of my own office, walk out of here without tripping," he said. "I got no comment about Maryland. All I know is they have a tremendous team. They'll be fine."

Virginia has only one senior in its rotation - guard Todd Billet - and plays five freshmen regularly. Maryland has only one senior - 6-9 Jamar Smith, the ACC's leading rebounder - and relies heavily on freshmen and sophomores.

"Both teams are really young this year," Williams said, "and this isn't a great year to be young in the league."

In a disappointing 2002-03 season, U.Va. stunned the Terps in College Park and then completed the series sweep with a dramatic overtime win at U-Hall. The Cavaliers no longer have Travis Watson, but Williams is wary nonetheless.

"They're dangerous," he said, "because they can play well, and they have played well in some games and parts of games. . . . We've done the same thing. We've looked really good sometimes but haven't been able to sustain it for 40 minutes. So I think there's a lot of similarities between the two teams."

A major difference: The Terrapins, whose average margin of defeat is 8.3 points, haven't been blown out this season. Virginia has lost by an average of 17.3 points. The Cavaliers trailed by 28 in the second half Saturday before rallying late against Wake Forest's reserves at Joel Coliseum.

"We're losing to tremendous teams in tough environments, but that's the ACC," Gillen said. "That's the life we've chosen."

Virginia's most impressive effort this season might have been its 85-74 conquest of Iowa State at U-Hall on New Year's Eve. Derrick Byars contributed 20 points and eight rebounds against the Cyclones. The sophomore forward from Memphis, Tenn., didn't score in double figures again until Saturday, when he had 18 points against Wake.

"It was good to see him back," Virginia center Elton Brown said. "We're going to need him the rest of the season."

To avoid dropping into the ACC cellar, the Cavs need something else: a victory over Maryland tonight. Virginia, which entertains N.C. State on Saturday afternoon, is 0-4 in ACC road games and visits top-ranked Duke next week.

"You try to win every game in the ACC, but certainly home games are more critical," Gillen said. "You have to try to defend your home court. I'm sure it's a big game for Maryland, but it's very big for us. We have to get this one."

NOTE: On his radio show Monday night, Gillen apologized for a comment he made to a caller a week earlier. Gillen, in what he called a failed attempt at humor, advised the caller to "go root for the Hokies."

"It was inappropriate," Gillen said, "and I apologize for that. We got great fans. . . . When you're wrong, you're wrong, so I apologize."
 

Football schedule fosters optimism, creates Feb. buzz
Joe Lemire
Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

My colleague Mr. Crane is right -- February is such a tease. Pitchers and catchers will soon report to spring training, but the baseball season is still two months away. College basketball's schedule is heating up, but the conference tournaments and March Madness are still a month away. The Super Bowl is now over, leaving only the abominable Pro Bowl to remind us of professional football. As a quick aside, I must say how happy I am that New England again proved that, though our states are small, our heart is large.

Monday's announcement of Virginia's 2004 football schedule may not have grabbed front page headlines, but the combination of the schedule and today's recruit signings only leave us salivating for more from General Groh and Co. With 'Hooville lying mostly dormant despite tonight's battle with Maryland (a game in which our slim NCAA tournament hopes might rest in the balance), I've been having trouble getting my typical sports fix. So the best option available to me is to stare at our new football schedule, imagining an assortment of possible outcomes.

I love it. I love our new schedule. To the point of jealousy from the girlfriend. It meshes the right mix of difficulty (to appease the BCS), bye weeks (to prepare for big games) and home dates with exciting opponents. I selfishly want it all for my fourth year, and the football staff nearly delivered, save a disappointing single home game in the month of October (though a Thursday night home game against Clemson might be worth it).

What may be most important to note about the schedule is its soft beginning. I can't imagine Virginia's first-ever meeting with Temple being a challenging opener, even if it is held in Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls, by the way, went 1-11 a year ago.

The road match with Temple segways nicely into a three-game home stand against North Carolina, Akron and Syracuse. The Cavaliers have defeated the Tar Heels for the past two seasons and dismissed the Zips, 48-29, two years ago. Even the perennially strong Orangemen are coming off a disappointing 6-6 season.

What does this all mean? Confidence. I'll save you Groh's recurring sermon about confidence, but that's what Virginia will need for its young quarterback next season. No one knows who will be at the helm, and if someone does know, they don't want you to know that they know. Ya know?

We are left to speculate whether it will be junior Marques Hagans, transfer Chris Olsen or the darkhorse, redshirt freshman Kevin McCabe. The smart money's on either Hagans or Olsen, leading me heretofore to refer to our two-headed quarterbacking monster as "Marchris."

With the emergence of the running game (196 yards in Tire Bowl II) and the defense last season, there won't be much pressure on Marchris to take control of the offense and put up large numbers immediately. The soft start to the schedule with its three home games ought to put the Cavaliers at 4-0 entering the middle stretch of the season.

A well-timed bye week and Thursday game ought to give Marchris and the Cavaliers plenty of time to prepare for a tough two-game set against Clemson and Florida State. Even the Thursday kickoff with the Tigers gives Virginia two precious days of additional preparation for the team's most challenging game at Tallahassee.

Though Duke has improved, a road contest with the Blue Devils ought to be a throwaway win before entering a second bye week and the killer four-game finale to the schedule that includes home contests with Maryland and new ACC foe Miami before road bouts at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Optimistically, we can win three of those games. Realistically, maybe only two. But suppose I only predict two wins in the final four games -- that still leaves Virginia with a 9-3 record (counting a loss at Florida State). All three of those losses would be in-conference, which would mean another year of missing an automatic BCS berth but would finally crack Virginia into a Gator or Peach Bowl. A few loose balls or tipped passes going the Cavaliers' way might be all they need to finish even higher.

With Valentine's Day approaching, it's only appropriate that I've found a new love in my life -- the 2004 Virginia football season. Pitchers and catchers reporting to spring break should not be overlooked, but now I have both Virginia football and Red Sox baseball to occupy my mind with glorious fantasies during the deceptively long sports void of February.