Virginia awaits chance to avenge home loss
Trip to Chapel Hill threatens late season resurgence; Gillen stresses defense
Barney Breen-Portnoy, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

The Virginia men's basketball team (13-9, 4-7 ACC) has been following a script of late that may seem very familiar to Cavalier hoops fans. In a manner similar to last year's February run to the NIT led by Todd Billet, this year's Virginia squad has emerged from January's ashes to embark on a three-game winning streak that has brought the Cavaliers to the cusp of respectability.

There must be something in the February air, or perhaps coach Pete Gillen simply performs at his best when the pressure rises.

Gillen's team now faces, however, what may be its toughest challenge yet. Tonight, the Cavaliers travel to the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., a mecca of college basketball.

Gillen has to be scratching his head of red hair while trying to devise ways to slow down a Tar Heel offensive attack that scores more often than Colin Farrell. Despite a recent upsurge in defensive intensity from these Cavaliers, this road contest against the Tar Heels poses a daunting obstacle to the extension of Virginia's winning streak.

"You have to take pride in your defense," Virginia point guard Sean Singletary said. "That's what we've been doing, rotating and giving it 100 percent. That's why we've been winning."

Since the two teams' last meeting in Charlottesville on Jan. 29, a 110-76 drubbing of Virginia at the hands of the Tar Heels, the Cavaliers have implemented a new offensive system based on utilizing a three-guard combination, usually Singletary, and sophomores T.J. Bannister and J.R. Reynolds. The other two positions on the floor are occupied by a rotation of seniors Devin Smith and Elton Brown and sophomores Jason Cain and Gary Forbes.

With three of the team's best ball-handlers on the court, the system limits turnovers and promotes a stronger defensive effort. The Cavaliers have been better able to set the tempo of the game by controlling possession of the ball until the shot clock dwindles. This keeps games closer, as it slows down quicker teams and gives them fewer possessions to score. Players conserve more energy, thereby enabling second-half runs such as those seen in the victories over Florida State and Virginia Tech.

"We're playing this new style to play better defense," Gillen said. "If we play fast, some of our fast-paced guys get tired and then they can't play defense. If we play tag, we're not going to outscore teams in the ACC."

In the victories over N.C. State and Florida State, the field-goal percentages of the Wolfpack and the Seminoles fell drastically in the second half. The Seminoles did not score after the 3:54 mark in the second half on Feb. 9, and Virginia capitalized on this by slowly chipping away at the lead before Brown pressured FSU's Von Wafer into traveling. Brown's defensive effort set up the possession that ended with Smith's game-winning three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left.

"Our offense isn't always going," Smith said. "So if we're getting the stops, we'll still be in the game. We know that that's how we have to win."

Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg noticed the difference between the Virginia squad his team beat 79-73 in Blacksburg on Jan. 27 and the Cavaliers who defeated the Hokies 65-60 last Saturday in U-Hall. The Cavaliers committed 22 turnovers in the loss compared to only nine in the recent victory.

"With the personnel they have, it was a good decision," Greenberg said of Gillen's shift in strategy. "It's paying dividends for them."

Pete's annual hot seat cools

Pete Gillen's annual "Save My Job" campaign hits a critical fork in the road tonight when his Cavaliers, riding a three-game winning streak to the outside fringes of the NCAA bubble, travel to Chapel Hill to face the No. 4 Tar Heels.

Last Feb. 13, Gillen's seat was about as hot as could be with Virginia sitting at 12-9 (2-8 ACC). But the fiery Irishman led Virginia to four wins in their last six games, relying on last-second heroics from Todd Billet to beat then-No. 15 Georgia Tech, as well as Clemson and then-No. 12 UNC. The Cavs also upended then-No. 11 Wake Forest in this stretch, saving Gillen's job and giving the Cavs momentum into this season.

After last season, Gillen met with Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, who announced that he would retain Gillen.

He didn't seem to regret it in the fall of 2004 as the Cavs opened 8-1, even spending a brief stint in the Top 25. But then injuries hit, Jason Clark's grades left him ineligible and the Cavs took their seemingly-annual ACC swoon.

Fast-forward eight losses and Gillen's seat became so hot he couldn't even sit down. Many clamored for him to be fired mid-season after his team lost by 34 to UNC and by 19 at sub-.500 Providence.

Still, Littlepage stated two weeks ago that no decision had been made, and it became apparent that Gillen's job was tied almost directly to the team making the NCAA tournament.

So, as of 11 days ago, moving companies were circling Gillen's house, and I was skeptical that the Cavs could win another game. Then Gillen got crafty.

After seven years in the ACC, he figured out that his Cavaliers would not be outscoring anyone, especially with J.R. Reynolds struggling to put the biscuit in the basket.

So he decided to slow the game down. First, he went small with three guards usually on the floor. Second, he limited Elton Brown's minutes in an attempt to maximize his hustle. Third, he installed what I like to call the "Princeton Offense without Cutting or Good Shooting." Gillen calls for motion, the team dribbles the ball around for 15 seconds and then tries to score. It ain't pretty, but it limits scoring and Virginia is 3-0 with it, so who knows?

Right now, Virginia sits at 4-7 in the ACC and 13-9 overall. Somehow, they have the ninth-best strength of schedule in the country with an RPI of 46, their biggest win being an upset of then-No. 10 Arizona.

Virginia will probably need nine ACC wins (including the ACC tourney) to go dancing and save Gillen's job.

Wins at home over Maryland and N.C. State are a must, as is a road bout in Tallahassee with Florida State. That gets seven wins. They need to get at least one win in the ACC tournament. The critical ninth win can come from three possible avenues: at UNC tonight, at fifth-ranked Wake Forest a week from Sunday or in the second round of the ACC tourney against either UNC, Wake or Duke depending on final standings.

Let's just say the odds are against Gillen. He is 2-4 in Chapel Hill, 1-5 in Winston-Salem, and 1-6 in the ACC tourney. Plus, his seven Virginia teams are just 1-20 playing ranked ACC opponents on the road, the sole win coming in a 2003 miracle over then-No. 8 Maryland.

On the plus side, Gillen should have one more weapon on his side tonight than he previously had at his disposal: anger. His team should be irate about the way they were embarrassed at home two and a half weeks ago by UNC. They didn't lose -- they got smacked around. So Virginia should come out playing for the most anyone can ever play for: pride. The question remains if that will be enough.

I'd love to see Gillen succeed. He is an outstanding ambassador of the program and is well-respected by all of his peers, many of whom have come to his defense during the Cavaliers' skid. I happened to be at BW3's last week for his weekly radio show and saw the way he interacted with young children. There is no doubt he is a great man.

Maybe there's a chance that he didn't lose the players and did finally figure things out. Maybe his offense will work and the Tar Heels will be flustered. On the contrary, maybe Littlepage already made his decision about next year and Gillen will be gone.

Either way, I find myself in a familiar position these past two Februarys. Weeks after pushing the Cavaliers away, I find myself clinging to hope -- hope that something good might happen. I liken this program to that ex-girlfriend who broke your heart yet every year she flirts with you just enough to give you a flicker of hope. Your heart catches on, and you can't do anything to restrain yourself, no matter hard you try. All over again, you fall for her.

Such is my affection for Virginia basketball. I'm hopeless, grasping that this might be the time it turns around, even though that would defy logic.

There are some people who do not want Gillen back, and at times I have thought it may be against the long-term interests of the program, but I just cannot bring myself to root against Virginia -- especially against Carolina.

Cavs aim to avoid repeat of UNC blowout
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
February 16, 2005

Thanks to marketers at ESPN and Nike, tonight’s Virginia-North Carolina contest is a Turn-Back-the-Clock event complete with retro, 1980s-style uniforms.

Of course, about the last thing Virginia wants to do is turn back the clock to the last time these teams played.

That was just two-and-a-half weeks ago when North Carolina throttled the lifeless Cavaliers, 110-76. The contest was never in doubt and the truest example of what a real good team can do to a reeling team if the situation presents itself.

Virginia coach Pete Gillen admitted as much after the game saying how his team was definitely struggling, tired and flat entering that contest and how his players may also have been slightly intimidated.

Now, the Cavaliers enter tonight’s game the winners of three straight contests and Gillen does not think the rematch will necessarily be a repeat.

“I don’t think that will happen again. They have a phenomenal team and have great players. I think last time, they played great and we played poor. We put our heads down and got discouraged,” Gillen said. “We weren’t fresh. No matter what happened though, we would have gotten whacked because they played great. I don’t think we will be intimidated [today]. We will play hard. I don’t know if it will be good enough but I don’t think that the same thing will happen again.”

Virginia’s three-game winning streak has coincided with 180-degree change in offensive philosophy. The Cavaliers are now implementing a methodical spread offense that often exhausts every possible second of the shot clock. It is designed to both limit turnovers and thus limit possessions for the opponent.

“We had to make some changes. … Nothing is permanent. We’re just trying to do things to give our kids the best chance. You always have to evaluate things,” Gillen said. “There is no panacea but each game we just try to find the best way to give our kids a chance to win.”

UNC coach Roy Williams, who is suffering from a sinus infection as much of his team is suffering from flu-like symptoms, says that as of Monday he had not fully scouted the Cavaliers’ new offense. In their return from a game Sunday at Connecticut, that responsibility was given to an assistant coach.

Of course, one might say that after you beat a team by 34 points just two weeks ago, a scouting report is hardly necessary. Williams, as would any other coach, of course disagrees.

“We know that we have them on an upswing. I think in this league, the players are mature enough to understand that each game is different. The point swings can be huge in this league,” Williams said. “Some times you catch a team when it is struggling and at a bad time and the next time they are playing well.”

Whether it comes to fruition is only determined in time, but Virginia’s style will probably be a tad frustrating for the Tar Heels even more so than the previous three opponents.

The Tar Heels favor an uptempo style and average an ACC-best and national-best 90.6 points per contest. Much of that is based on forcing turnovers and turning them into transition baskets. The Tar Heels do it at a clip of 20.1 forced turnovers a contest.

Thus, at least in theory, North Carolina will attempt to speed up the Cavaliers this evening. The Tar Heels will not want to be mired in a game in which it allows the Cavaliers to possess the ball for much of the shot clock.

At least one Cavalier believes that their current style could definitely frustrate the Tar Heels, at least a little.

“If I was playing against it, I would call it frustrating,” senior Elton Brown said. “We will take a lot of energy down there. … If we slow it down, I’m sure they will get frustrated. They strive on fastbreaks.”

Cavaliers get another shot at Tar Heels
U.Va. looking to play at higher level second time around vs. UNC
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Feb 16, 2005

Less than three weeks after one of the most humbling losses in its 100-season history, the University of Virginia basketball team gets a chance to redeem itself against mighty North Carolina tonight in Chapel Hill.

"Out of the frying pan and into the inferno," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said Saturday afternoon after his team edged Virginia Tech at University Hall.

The fourth-ranked Tar Heels "should be in the Atlantic Division of the NBA," Gillen said.

UNC played like a professional team Jan. 29 at U-Hall, where it made Virginia look like a bunch of schoolboys.

Twelve minutes into the game, Carolina led 35-10. At halftime, the score was 62-26. With 5 minutes remaining, it was 98-48; at the final horn, 110-76.

"When we played them here, that wasn't us at all," said Virginia center Elton Brown, whom UNC junior Sean May dominated in Charlottesville.

"We didn't play our game. Our emotion wasn't there, nobody could hit a shot. It was just like we were walking dead."

Virginia (4-7, 13-9) has shown signs of life recently. Three nights after losing to UNC, the Cavaliers fell at Providence. But since then they've won three straight to climb into a tie for eighth in the ACC.

"I think they're feeling a little better about themselves," Gillen said of his players.

After the loss at Providence, Gillen installed a spread offense that's slowed the pace and helped Virginia's defense. The Cavs are likely to need all the help they can muster tonight against UNC, which averages 90.6 points.

"We just got to play our style and not get in a run and gun with them," Brown said.

The Tar Heels (8-2, 20-3) are stocked with future NBA players, and Gillen believes the visitors' talent awed some of his players at U-Hall.

"We were very poor, and we put our head down. We got a little discouraged," Gillen said.

"I don't think we'll be intimidated [tonight]. I think we'll try hard. I don't know if it'll be good enough, because they're certainly a phenomenal team, but I don't think that same thing will happen again."

Each team will wear retro uniforms, with designs from the 1980s, tonight.

ACC to try instant replay
The conference will use the Big Ten's experiment as an example.
BY NORM WOOD
247-4642
Published February 16, 2005

The Atlantic Coast Conference has decided to do a little experimenting of its own with instant replay in the 2005 football season after seeing how it worked for the Big Ten last season.

A panel of faculty representatives from ACC schools approved use of instant replay at the conference's winter meetings in Greensboro, N.C., according to a statement released Tuesday. The ACC will base its system on the Big Ten's model and consider variations permitted under NCAA guidelines.

"It is a good idea," said Craig Littlepage, the University of Virginia's athletic director. "Based on what we've learned from the Big Ten, it has been a success, though it hasn't been as comprehensive an experiment as what they do in the NFL. The concept is to get the plays called correctly, and instant replay can help do that."

The NCAA's football rules committee voted last Wednesday to allow all conferences and schools to use instant replay in 2005. The Big Ten was permitted last season to experiment with instant replay in all games televised at conference stadiums.

Instant replay was used by the Big Ten in 28 of 57 eligible games. A total of 21 out of 43 reviewed plays were overturned. A technical adviser sat in the press box last season and informed on-field officials if questionable plays arose requiring the use of instant replay.

"The system that was used by the Big Ten this past season received very positive reviews and had minimal effect on the flow and length of the games," ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a released statement.

A phone call to Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer was not returned. U.Va. coach Al Groh refused to comment.

Plays that were subject to review in the Big Ten last season involved the number of players on the field, in-bounds or out-of-bounds plays, scoring plays (breaking the plane of the goal line) and passing plays (rulings on receptions or incompletions). Most plays involving penalties - such as pass interference, personal fouls, excessive celebration, roughing, holding and false starts - were not subject to review.

One critical play in the ACC last season that might have been overturned occurred Oct. 9 in North Carolina's 30-24 victory against North Carolina State. Wolfpack running back T.A. McLendon appeared to score a game-tying touchdown on a 3-yard run in the final minute.

A referee even signaled McLendon had crossed the goal line, but the touchdown was negated after the officials met on the field and ruled McLendon didn't cross.

The ball was placed at the 1-yard line. McLendon fumbled on the next play. UNC recovered the loose ball and ran out the clock.

UNC went on to finish the regular season 6-5 and lost in the Continental Tire Bowl. Meanwhile, N.C. State finished 5-6, one win short of bowl eligibility.

While the ACC has taken a proactive move, it might be joined by other conferences. The Southeastern Conference might also give instant replay approval in March, according to comments made by SEC commissioner Mike Slive in an Associated Press story.

Many smaller conferences might not be able to use instant replay because it will be cost prohibitive. If video equipment isn't provided via a television network, colleges will be responsible for providing it for instant replay.

Cavaliers suddenly defensive
Winning with defense? Virginia? It's bizarro world, but after changing philosophies the Cavaliers have won three games in a row.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published February 16, 2005

Seven years ago, Pete Gillen brought his up-tempo style to Virginia basketball. "Chuck 'n duck," he called it, and the premise was to outgun, if not outlast, your opponent.

It was entertaining, but eventually the Cavaliers' scoring ability lost pace with their lazy approach to defense. Instead of winning high-scoring games, they began losing them.

"We're no longer able to outscore people," Gillen said. "We're not that type of team anymore. We have to win with defense."

This realization led Gillen, a lifelong chuck 'n ducker, to a radical change in thinking. For the past three games, the Cavaliers have slowed the tempo with the ball in order to have more energy without it. The goal is to defend fewer possessions and, thus, allow fewer scoring opportunities.

So far, entering tonight's game at fourth-ranked North Carolina, it's working.

Before its trip to N.C. State on Feb. 5, Virginia had given up an average of 88 points on 49-percent shooting in its last 10 games. Since switching to a slower pace, the Cavaliers have held their last three opponents - N.C. State, Florida State and Virginia Tech - to 59 points on 39-percent shooting.

The last time Virginia (13-9, 4-7) had held three consecutive ACC opponents to 62 points or fewer? The 1985-86 season, when Terry Holland was coaching.

"It's finally clicked in our heads that as a team, you can't win without defense," freshman point guard Sean Singletary said.

Why it took this long is anybody's guess. From the 1999-2000 season to 2003-04, Virginia was outscored 79-76 on the average in ACC games. This season, the Cavaliers gave up at least 89 points in four of their first eight conference games. Virginia followed a 110-76 loss to North Carolina with a 98-79 loss at Providence, which at the time was 0-7 in the Big East Conference.

"We had gotten killed by North Carolina and Providence, so we had to make some changes," Gillen said. "It's no panacea, but each game we're trying to figure out what's the best way to give our kids a chance to win."

Before, Virginia was usually exhausted and trailing by double digits midway through the second half. But in their last three games, the Cavs have won by making plays in the closing minutes. In a 64-62 victory at N.C. State, U.Va. came back from a three-point deficit with 3:01 left to win on Singletary's last-second stickback.

In a 56-55 win over Florida State, Virginia outscored the Seminoles 6-0 in the final 3:54. And in beating Virginia Tech 65-60 Saturday, the Cavaliers scored on 16 of their final 19 possessions and didn't turn the ball over in the game's final 131/2 minutes.

"It's keeping our legs fresh," forward Devin Smith said. "It's making a difference."

Though the Cavs haven't cracked 65 points or shot better than 47 percent in their past three games, they've been more careful with the ball. And fewer turnovers mean fewer transition baskets the other way. In a six-point loss at Virginia Tech last month, the Cavs had 22 turnovers. In last week's five-point win, they had nine.

"Their style of play is such that they're still running," Hokie coach Seth Greenberg said. "It's just if they don't have (numbers), they shorten the game and take care of the ball."

With a decent RPI at No. 44 (collegerpi.com), Virginia probably needs three more wins to have a shot at an NCAA at-large bid. For that to happen, the Cavaliers will need to keep winning with defense. And there's still a ways to go.

"Obviously, we have tons of work to do before we can say, 'Hey, something good is happening,'" Gillen said. "We have a lot more steps ahead before we become a real good team."

UNC meets resurgent Virginia today
By NEIL AMATO : The Herald-Sun
namato@heraldsun.com
Feb 16, 2005 : 12:23 am ET

Virginia has taken baby steps since it last played North Carolina, relying on a baby-faced point guard and a revamped offense to win three straight ACC games.

The Cavaliers have a mountain to climb tonight, visiting the No. 4-ranked Tar Heels at the Smith Center (7 p.m., ESPN).

Virginia fell to 1-7 in the conference on Jan. 29, the day UNC stormed into University Hall and ripped the Cavaliers 110-76. Next for the Wahoos was a 19-point loss at Providence.

Since then, however, Virginia has climbed back to 13-9 overall, 4-7 in the ACC and a respectable 44th in the Ratings Percentage Index. The key to the Cavaliers' winning streak is simple, according to swingman Gary Forbes.

"It's just playing defense," he said. "We just didn't have a lot of intensity. We didn't have the fire we should have had."

The flame was doused by UNC just 19 days ago, as the Tar Heels led 62-26 at halftime. In conference play since then, Virginia has yet to give up more than 62 points in a game.

Part of that numerical reversal is change of pace embattled coach Pete Gillen called for; part of it was the Cavaliers realizing their season, which started with six wins including one over No. 10 Arizona, was fading fast.

"We have character kids," Gillen said. "I'm proud of their effort. We have tons of work to do before we can say something good's happening. ... You need more than character to win games. You need talent. We have talent. We have to put our character together with our talent and play well. We've taken tiny steps forward, but we have a lot more steps to go."

Another part of Virginia's improvement is the growth of freshman point guard Sean Singletary, the kid with braces who has just one turnover in his last 70 minutes of action.

That statistic will be tested tonight by the Tar Heels (20-3, 8-2 ACC), who forced Connecticut into 22 turnovers in a 77-70 road victory Sunday afternoon.

Point guard Raymond Felton will guard Singletary, who was 2 of 9 in 27 minutes in the first meeting against UNC. Though the freshman knows he has more to learn, he is comfortable in the ACC's fraternity of point guards. Other guards talk to him, and he's willing to listen.

"A lot of the guards in the league, when we were going through a losing streak, they just told me to keep my head up," Singletary said. "[Maryland's] John Gilchrist told me, 'Just continue to be a team player and keep your team together.' "

Singletary kept his team from overtime to start the winning streak, putting back his own miss in the final seconds of a 64-62 win in Raleigh.

Since then, the Cavaliers have beaten Florida State and Virginia Tech. None of the wins came against Final Four candidates, but the victories have given Virginia a ray of hope heading into their final five regular-season games.

"It takes hard work to get to where [North Carolina is]," Singletary said. "We can become a great team with hard work and discipline."

Turn back the clock

Virginia and UNC will wear 1980's-style uniforms tonight as part of a promotion by ESPN and Nike. ESPN's announcers will wear '80s clothes, and fans are encouraged to take part in a best-dressed contest. Singletary tried on one of the Nike-supplied uniforms Monday night.

"They weren't that retro," said Singletary, who was born in 1985. "They look kind of new."

But the unis will have the v-neck look, with the side notches on the shorts. And pregame music will have a decided '80s bent. Think Bon Jovi, Violent Femmes and one-hit wonders such as Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Uniform agreement
UNC players won't be coming up short in throwback uniforms
By A.J. CARR, Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL -- Raymond Felton says he's glad to wear one of those V-neck jerseys from the 1980s for North Carolina's throwback game tonight against Virginia at the Smith Center.

Several of his teammates are looking forward to donning the retro attire, too -- as long as it goes no further than the jerseys.

You won't see Felton and company in those short shorts Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins wore in the early '80s.

"No, I couldn't do that," the junior point guard said.

TODAY

WHO: Virginia at UNC

WHEN: 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN

BACK IN 1981 ...

* The Iranian hostage crisis ends after 444 days with the release of 52 Americans held in Tehran.

* The first space shuttle, Columbia, blasts off from Cape Canaveral.

* President Reagan is shot by John Hinckley Jr.

* Sandra Day O'Connor is named the first female Supreme Court justice.

* Lady Diana Spencer weds Prince Charles.

* "Chariots of Fire" wins the Academy Award for best picture.

* Indiana wins the national title, defeating UNC 63-50 in the final.

(WORLD ALMANAC, ACC MEDIA GUIDE)

How about it, David Noel?

"Nah, nah, not those little shorts," he said, smiling.

The longer shorts, though based on the 1980s look with the tar-heeled foot on the side, will be the one obvious concession to today's players on this "retro night" organized by UNC, Nike and the ESPN cable television network.

Virginia also will wear its old uniforms; ESPN commentators Mike Patrick, Len Elmore and Doris Burke will suit up in their '80s attire; the network telecast will use graphics from that era; and the university is encouraging fans to dig their old clothes out of mothballs.

A best-dressed winner will get a shot at a new car.

Nike is supplying the uniforms, and replicas may eventually be available for sale to the public, UNC associate athletics director Norwood Teague said.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Felton, whose collection of about 50 throwback jerseys includes replicas of those worn by Michael Jordan, Walter Payton and Joe Montana.

Noel said he likes the old jersey, noting that it's a "little looser" and links this team to the past.

As for style, North Carolina's current uniforms with the argyle look on the sides get a higher rating than the old ones from Starr StellaMaris Ilzhoefer, a Charlotte fashion designer who participated in the Bravo network's "Project Runway" fashion series.

"I like the argyles," she said. "I think of tradition. That's a good thing for Carolina to reflect."

They were designed by Chapel Hill native Alexander Julian before the 1992 season. Julian said Tuesday, however, that the pants have stretched beyond the length he originally designed, and has proposed shortening them -- though not all the way back to the short shorts style of the '80s.

"If they made them wear those shorts [tonight], the players would be shocked," said Julian, taking a break during a business trip in Las Vegas. "It's time to trim the fit. They are two, three inches longer now. I didn't do that."

Julian said he has talked with Carolina coach Roy Williams about shortening the shorts and gotten a positive response. By the way, Julian's designs are now worn by Williams, who could be seen in the 1980s in a decidedly less fashionable, plaid sports jacket as an assistant to Dean Smith on the Carolina bench.

Before UNC approached Julian, he had designed the original uniforms of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets and received a pound of North Carolina barbecue per week for a year. Owner George Shinn "got rich, and I got fat," he said.

Julian presented 30 possible designs to Carolina, made the argyle style in Michael Jordan's size, and let him model it first. Jordan liked the look and feel. Smith and the players did, too.

"It's most important for the players to feel comfortable, mentally and physically," Julian said. "Having something that makes them feel cool is comfortable. Center court is center stage."

And short shorts are definitely not cool, StellaMaris Ilzhoefer said, describing the 1980s-era uniforms as "too sporty" and lacking a "particular flair for fashion." She described the short shorts as "hilarious" and less functional than today's baggy boys.
 

UNC will return home tonight to take on resurgent Virginia
By Bill Cole
JOURNAL REPORTER

North Carolina's return home today after a stretch of road games appears to present a bigger challenge than it did just three weeks ago.

The Tar Heels will face Virginia in the Smith Center tonight at 7, and the Cavaliers will arrive as one of the ACC's hottest teams. In a turnaround engineered by Coach Pete Gillen, Virginia has won its past three games and has climbed out of the conference cellar.

UNC belted Virginia by 34 points in Charlottesville at the end of January, but Coach Roy Williams is expecting a much tougher game in the rematch, even on his home court.

"I think in this league, you hope your kids are mature enough to understand that," Williams said. "The point swings can be huge in this league, depending on how your team is playing at that specific moment. Sometimes, teams are just struggling at one point and you catch them at a bad time, and when you come back around they're playing really well."

UNC is 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the ACC. Virginia has improved to 13-9 and 4-7. UNC will be celebrating "80s Retro Night," and both teams will wear the style of uniforms that they wore in the 1980s.

The Tar Heels played their past three games on the road and six of the past eight. With six games left in the regular season, four at home, UNC will try to overtake Wake Forest for first place in the ACC and the top seed in the conference tournament.

"It's important to us to try and win the ACC regular season," Williams said. "That's one of the goals that we set at the beginning of the season. If you're in a conference, you want to be the conference champion. In this conference, if you have a chance to be conference champion, that means you're really, really good."

Virginia's season got worse after its loss to UNC. A 19-point beating on the road four days later to a Providence team that was winless in Big East Conference play convinced Gillen that drastic changes were necessary.

Gillen reworked the starting lineup. Elton Brown went out and Jason Cain went in at center. Gillen decided to play point guards Sean Singletary and T.J. Bannister at the same time along with shooting guard J.R. Reynolds. Devin Smith, a small forward, moved to power forward, and Gary Forbes left the starting lineup.

"This style was created more to help our defense," Gillen said. "If we play fast, our guys get tired, and we can't play defense. We just play tag. We can't outscore people in the ACC because we're not talented enough."

Gillen then had his team spread the floor and play a deliberate offense. Virginia beat N.C. State on the road and then topped Florida State and Virginia Tech at home. One win was by one point, another by two and the other by five, but close shaves are better than blowouts any time, Singletary said.

"You can say it's this or that, or that there's more energy, but the reason we're winning is that we're all giving effort," Singletary said. "Regardless of what offense we're playing, this is all about effort."