Forbes emerging as a scorer
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
February 18, 2005

Virginia coach Pete Gillen insists that sophomore Gary Forbes’ role is as a defensive stopper.

Gillen might re-examine Forbes’ offensive abilities.

Forbes has scored 21 and 23 points, respectively, in Virginia’s last two games. In Wednesday’s 85-61 loss at North Carolina, Forbes was essentially the only player that could score as he dropped a career-high 23 points on the No. 4 Tar Heels.

“Nobody shot it well except for Gary,” said Gillen after his team shot just 38.5 percent against the Tar Heels.

Forbes started 17 games his freshman season but has started only three this season. While he seems comfortable in the role coming off the bench, Forbes is now averaging

9.6 points a game and over 11 in ACC contests. One wonders if Forbes now has to be considered more of an offensive option in a lineup struggling to score.

Gillen, however, clings to a different perception regarding Forbes.

“Scoring is not Gary’s main role. His main role is to defend, drive and set up other guys,” Gillen said. “We need our scorers to score.”

Given the current struggles of guard J.R. Reynolds, the question begs to be asked: When does scoring become Forbes’ role?

“He comes off the bench and some days he will score and others he will give us defense. … He’ll give us the different things that we need,” Gillen said.

To his credit, Forbes is staying away from politicking for more playing time or a starting role.

“I’m positive and staying fresh right now. The offense is coming my way but I would trade that in for some more victories,” Forbes said.

After going 0 for 5 from the floor (0 for 4 on 3-pointers) and being held scoreless against the Tar Heels, Reynolds is 5 of his last 33 from the field in his last four games and has misfired on all but one of his last 21 3-point attempts.

“He’s having a tough time. He’s a great shooter but he’s had some games in a row in which he is really struggling. We know he’s better than that,” Gillen said. “He’s doing extra shooting. We’ve been talking to him. He just can’t buy one right now. He’s doing some things technically wrong.”

Reynolds was benched and replaced with Forbes to start the second half Wednesday but Gillen claims that’s not the simple solution to his problems.

“We want him to keep shooting. It’s like baseball. If you are in a slump, you have to keep swinging. He’s doing the extra shooting and he has to keep at it,” Gillen said.

It would be somewhat unfair to just look at Reynolds’ struggles since he was far from the only one ailing against the Tar Heels. Leading scorer Devin Smith was 3 of 13 from the floor and T.J. Bannister was 1 of 5 with six turnovers.

“We didn’t shoot well at all and that compounded our problems. North Carolina just outplayed us tonight,” freshman guard Sean Singletary said. “North Carolina is a talented team but it seems like we just gave up as a whole.”

Gillen contract would make interesting reading
Signee Damadi picking up the pace
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

I’ve got a new stock answer when people ask me if seventh-year Virginia men’s basketball coach Pete Gillen will lose his job after this season.

“Probably.”

I say that only in partly in response to the Cavaliers’ recent three-game winning streak. The other part of it is, does anybody really know what’s written in Gillen’s contract? Or, what might have been rewritten after last season.

A Virginia fan in our office -- yes, there is one -- passed along a copy of the sabre.com column in which John Galinsky talked about the conflicted feelings that some UVa fans were experiencing. Galinsky also said he thought Gillen would be gone even if the Cavaliers should somehow sneak into the NCAA Tournament.

I don’t profess to have a lot of sources at UVa -- certainly, not as many as I’d like after 30 years -- but one of them told me last week that Gillen is not gone for sure, that it is now written in his contract that he will keep his job if the Cavaliers make the NCAA Tournament.

There’s something called a Freedom of Information Act that is supposed to make these contracts public record, but Virginia so far has rebuffed my efforts -- and the efforts of others -- to gain access to anything more than Gillen’s base salary. It is the UVa athletic department’s contention that FOIA requires that most of the details remain private.

So, the mystery continues. In a conversation last week with Providence Journal spotswriter Kevin McNamara, the Providence College beat man during Gillen’s four-year tenure and thereafter, McNamara told me that he had spoken to Gillen’s Providence-based agent, Dennis Coleman.

When asked about Gillen’s status, McNamara related, Coleman said, “Don’t worry about Pete Gillen.”

Gillen has six years remaining after this one on a contract that pays him $900,000 per year. According to the story I was getting in Charlottesville, Gillen had given up buyout in exchange for the opportunity to coach this season, but McNamara doesn’t think there’s any way that happened.

“Dennis Coleman is a tiger,” he said. “There’s no way he would leave that kind of money on the table. I don’t think they could buy him out for anything less than $3 million. He’s not going to take $1 million.”

Of course, it’s probably going to be moot. What would it take for Virginia to make the NCAA field? Home wins over Maryland and N.C. State, plus a road win at Florida State? That might not get it done. OK, let’s say the Cavaliers win those three and add one win in the ACC Tournament? That would put them 17-12 overall and 7-9 in the ACC (8-10 counting the tournament). Yes, that would probably be good enough.

I just don’t see it happening. Given the Cavaliers’ victory two weeks ago in Raleigh, N.C., the Wolfpack looked like the most likely victim, but now State has won at Georgia Tech and beaten Maryland by 19 on Wednesday in Raleigh. Virginia is going to have a hard time winning every single one of the four games in question, much less all of them.

IN AN EFFORT to be fair to Gillen, I’m not sure that the article that appeared in last Saturday’s edition of The Roanoke Times, “Just Killing Time,” reflected just how bizarre some of his timeouts are.

Gillen seemed more agitated than usual Wednesday night at North Carolina, where he repeatedly was restrained by assistant coach Walt Fuller and twice had to be warned by official Larry Rose about coming out of the coaches’ box.

Virginia had gotten off to a decent start, certainly in comparison to its most recent game against the Tar Heels, when Gillen called his first timeout with 17:12 remaining in the first half and the score 6-6. UVa was having trouble getting the ball in bounds, but probably had two seconds remaining before it would have been called for a five-second violation.

Gillen’s second timeout came with 7:10 remaining in the first half -- a mere 37 seconds after a television or “media” timeout. UVa had missed two shots during that time, including a Jason Cain air ball, but had been outscored only 2-0.

Gillen’s third timeout was with 16:09 remaining in the second half, when he probably would have gotten a free one with the next dead ball. There was a little more justification for that one because the Tar Heels were on a 6-0 run.

Certainly, Gillen’s timeouts did not affect that game and, statistics show, have had a negligible affect on the outcome of most UVa games. But, they defy all basketball convention. His fifth one came with 4:54 left and followed a familiar pattern; Gillen was subbing two players into the game, a multiple substitution that he frequently accompanies with a timeout.

IF AND WHEN Virginia makes a coaching change, it will be interesting to see what becomes of sophomore point guard T.J. Bannister, who has been something of a personal good-luck charm for Gillen.

UVa’s three-game winning streak coincided with Bannister’s insertion into the starting lineup at North Carolina State, and the Cavaliers are 9-6 over the past two seasons with Bannister as a starter, including 6-4 in ACC games.

It might be unfair to judge Bannister on his six-turnover night at Chapel Hill. After all, he ranked third in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio at 1.83-to-1 before Wednesday’s games (and a league-high 2.72-to-1 in ACC games), but he simply has no shooting range.

Even Gillen got upset Wednesday when Bannister pulled up on a fast break and launched a 3-pointer with UVa trailing 29-20 in the first half. UVa had trailed 24-20 before Carolina went on a 14-0 run.

Bannister missed that shot and is now 0-for-11 on 3-pointers since the opening game. He is shooting 26.1 percent from the field (18-of-69) overall, but what doesn’t make sense is that he is shooting 85.1 percent from the free-throw line this year and has hit exactly 80 percent of his130 free throws over two seasons.

Granted, there is a difference between shooting an unguarded free throw and taking a jump shot, especially when you’re 5 foot 10, but some of Bannister’s shots from the field have been unchallenged and the ball almost never looks like it’s going to go in.

EARLY VIRGINIA SIGNEE Mamadi Diane, who scored in double figures only five times in DeMatha’s first eight games, has averaged more than 15 points per game during a 16-game winning streak that has the Stags at 23-1 and ranked No. 1 in the Washington, D.C., metro area heading into weekend play. Diane twice has made four 3-point field goals in a game and has 22 made 3-pointers for the season.

Tar Heels decades ahead of Cavs
UVa slowdown offense can't stop UNC attack on retro night
RON GREEN JR.
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL - The idea was to go retro, 1980s style.

There were throwback jerseys, gaudy sport coats and music that was popular when Sean May and Raymond Felton were babies.

Yet even with former Virginia coach Terry Holland back in the Smith Center as a spectator, it was impossible to escape the contemporary reality of fourth-ranked North Carolina's 85-61 victory against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Though it wasn't as witheringly one-sided as the Tar Heels' 34-point win in Charlottesville last month, it was another reminder of how far apart the two men's basketball programs are.

North Carolina (21-3, 9-2 ACC) waited out the Cavaliers' new patient offensive approach, answered with Rashad McCants and May and rolled along without freshman Marvin Williams, who sat out with a tender toe.

"We wanted to prove we can win a game when it's nasty and ugly and in the 50s," said McCants, who again showed his versatility with a 23-point, six-assist performance.

Virginia's deliberate approach throttled the Tar Heels' running game, but it gave North Carolina a chance to play more halfcourt basketball with an eye cast toward March, when the pace of postseason play slows.

What hasn't slowed is May's performance. He had 17 points and 16 rebounds against the Cavaliers and, despite eight turnovers, he gave North Carolina much of its spark.

The Tar Heels finally pulled free of Virginia with a 21-4 run late in the first half.

"You have to know every time they're going to work (the clock) down for 35 seconds," McCants said. "You have 25 seconds just to sit there and watch them."

From the standpoint of Virginia (13-10, 4-8), it was better than a month ago, when the Tar Heels scored 62 first-half points and hastened the change to a clock-bleeding style that had led to three straight victories before Wednesday.

While Clemson's 0-50 futility in Chapel Hill will be the focus when the Tigers visit Saturday, the Cavaliers haven't been much better, having won five times in 65 visits.

Weakened by illness that limited practice this week, the Tar Heels were coming off a stretch in which they had gone 6-2 with six road games, including trips to Wake Forest, Duke and Connecticut.

"You're never satisfied, but it would take a really, really good team to do better than we did," coach Roy Williams said. "I like our toughness."

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Feb 18, 2005

PLAY BALL: After four games on the road, Virginia's baseball team finally gets to play at Davenport Field.

At 3 p.m. today, the Cavaliers (2-2) open a three-game series with Bucknell. The teams also meet tomorrow at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

U.Va., which went 44-15 and made the NCAA tournament in 2004, opened its second season under coach Brian O'Connor by winning two of three games at UNC Wilmington last weekend. The Cavaliers traveled to Norfolk on Wednesday and blew a five-run lead in a 9-6 loss to Old Dominion.

"You'd sure like to be 3-1, but we just didn't play our best baseball last night," O'Connor said yesterday, "and that's what it takes to win on the road."

Even so, O'Connor said, he likes what he's seen of his team, especially its play against the Seahawks.

"That was a big weekend for us, right out of the gate," he said. "They have an NCAA tournament-caliber team, and I was really excited about the way we played down there."

Freshman Sean Doolittle (7 for 11) leads U.Va. with a .636 batting average, and junior third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, an All-America candidate, is hitting .385.

Virginia's next seven games are at Davenport Field. The Cavs entertain ODU on Wednesday and then Fordham on Feb. 25, 26 and 27.

QB OR NOT QB? Virginia's starting quarterback, Marques Hagans, is only 5-10 at most, and his lack of height has hindered him at times in the pocket. Given that, many who follow the Cavaliers' program wonder where Vicqual Hall will end up in college.

Hall, the record-setting quarterback from Gretna High, was listed at 5-9, 168 pounds on U.Va.'s signing-day release. There's been speculation that Hall could move to wideout or defensive back, but if that's in the Cavaliers' plans, fifth-year coach Al Groh hasn't said so publicly.

"Our feeling on quarterbacks is that they come in all shapes, sizes and forms," Groh said. "What every team is searching for in a good quarterback is a guy who can move the ball down the field and make the team better than it otherwise would have been."

Hall led Gretna to back-to-back state Group AA, Division 3 titles. U.Va.'s incoming class also includes Hermitage High's Jameel Sewell, a dropback quarterback who stands about 6-3.

SLIM MARGIN FOR ERROR: Despite the fact that it has dropped into ninth place in the ACC, Pete Gillen's basketball team hasn't ditched its dream of making the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers (4-8, 13-10) must win at least three of their four remaining regular-season games, as well as one or more in the ACC tournament, to merit consideration for an at-large bid.

U.Va. plays host to Maryland (6-6, 15-8) tomorrow afternoon. Virginia visits Wake Forest on Feb.27, entertains N.C. State on March 2 and then closes the regular season at Florida State on March 6.

"We gotta move on," sophomore swingman Gary Forbes said Wednesday night after scoring a career-high 23 points in a loss at North Carolina. "We still have a shot to make the NCAA tournament . . . The best we can finish is 8-8, and I think that'd be good [enough] to get us in the NCAA tournament."

OFF THE MARK: Of the guards who have played for Virginia over the years, few have struggled with their outside shooting as much as T.J. Bannister. The sophomore point guard from Jacksonville, Fla., is 1 for 12 from 3-point range this season and 5 for 33 (15.2 percent) for his career.

EXTRA INCENTIVE: The first 1,000 fans at University Hall tomorrow afternoon will each receive an Orange Centennial T-shirt (courtesy of Wachovia). U.Va officials are billing tomorrow as "Paint The Hall Orange" Day. Gates will open at 2:30 p.m. for the 3:30 game.

IN THE CREASE: The preseason list of candidates for the Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the top player in college men's lacrosse, includes three Cavaliers: long-stick midfielder Rob Bateman and attackmen Matt Ward and John Christmas. Bateman, who's a transfer from Penn State, and Christmas are seniors. Ward is a junior.

As a senior in 2003, midfielder Chris Rotelli won the Tewaaraton after leading U.Va. to the NCAA title.

Virginia opens the season Sunday (1 p.m.) against Drexel at the University Hall Turf Field. Conspicuous by his absence from U.Va. coach Dom Starsia's lineup will be Joe Yevoli, a three-year starter on attack.

Yevoli, who was slowed by a stress fracture in his back in 2004, will redshirt this season while rehabilitating his injury. He hopes to play again in 2006.

Starting in Yevoli's place is freshman Ben Rubeor, the leading scorer in Virginia's scrimmages this month. Rubeor's father, Bob, played lacrosse with Starsia at Brown. - Jeff White

ACC men's hoops plan 'just doesn't work'
Model fails; rework may be less balanced
Barakat says everyone was 'anxious' for schedule.
By ROBBI PICKERAL, Staff Writer

An hour after releasing the next three years' worth of conference matchups in men's basketball Thursday, the ACC acknowledged the schedules were wrong and now must rethink its format for 12 members.

The consequence may be a schedule that is less equitable than the ACC had hoped.

"We have to go back to the drawing board and try to make it work," said associate commissioner Fred Barakat, who is in charge of men's basketball. "... Right now, it just doesn't work."

In May 2004, ACC schools approved a 16-game concept for each team in anticipation of Boston College's arrival. The idea was that each team would have two "primary partners" to play home and away every season. For example, North Carolina always would be guaranteed of facing Duke and N.C. State twice every season.

As for the other nine league teams, UNC would play three of them home and away in a given season, three only at home and three only on the road.

Those nine opponents -- the non-primary partners -- would be rotated over three years to ensure the best balance possible in lieu of the traditional round-robin schedule that disappeared when the ACC expanded.

Except the model doesn't work.

Moments after the league office released the schedule, a reporter alerted officials that games for the second and third seasons did not line up correctly. For instance, the schedule showed Wake Forest playing UNC twice in 2006-07 but UNC playing Wake only once, at home.

"I only laid [the schedule] out for one year, and I just assumed -- and it was a bad assumption -- that we could rotate it for three years," said Barakat, adding that he rushed to get the schedule out because "everyone was anxious" to see it. "I was wrong."

Barakat, who planned to start tinkering with the model Thursday night, said he didn't know whether he could make the concept of two primary partners work without changing the partnerships -- and without producing an unequal home-and-away rotation.

"I'm afraid the rotation would not be a balanced, equitable schedule that everyone wants," he said.

Another option, he said, might be to change the number of primary partners, which would require the approval of the faculty representatives for each school.

ACC women's basketball teams have three primary partners apiece but only a 14-game conference schedule. The women's matchups were released Wednesday without errors.

One possibility for the men, first discussed before the schools adopted the two-primary-partner model, would be to designate five primary partners for each school to play home and away, leaving single games against six other schools.

"That might be what we have to go back to," Barakat said.

For scheduling purposes, the Big 12 Conference operates with two unofficial divisions -- Northern and Southern sectors. A team plays the other teams in its sector twice, and each team in the other sector once. There's no rotating of opponents.

The ACC initially rejected a divisional system for basketball. The league will use divisions in football.

The league's biggest problem in any new scenario is the fairness factor, which wasn't an issue in the round-robin format that had each team playing every other conference team home and away.

Schools have rejected continuing to play each league team twice because expansion has added too many conference games.

Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, when told of the scheduling errors, said he didn't blame the ACC because "it would take Euclid to figure it out."

"Because of expansion, and because of the fact there are only 16 games, the schedules are going to be unequal," Prosser said. "The symmetry of our schedule before expansion was unique and terrific, and it will never, ever be like that again. When the schedule comes out, there will be degrees of inequity."

Now the question is, how many degrees?

"I actually thought that the decisions made on the new schedule were good decisions," Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said when told about the scheduling errors. "That's unfortunate [if there was a mistake] because what I really believe is what we as ADs have seen is about as fair as you can get not playing a double-round robin.

"I hope what was released is a mistake that can be fixed."

Barakat plans to try, but he said he had no immediate timetable for when the basketball schedule will be completed.

"I thought I had come up with a terrific concept here, and that's what hurts me so much, that it just doesn't work," he said.

Last years for U Hall
On the Front Row
Chris Graham
chris@augustafreepress.com

You think it's tough trying to raise the money to build an athletics arena - try getting the money to tear one down.

"That's way down the road," said Barry Parkhill, the associate athletics director for development at the University of Virginia, talking about the school's plans for University Hall, the aging relic that is about to be put out of service with the pending opening of the 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena in 2006.

"U Hall, when you stop and think about it, it's going to cost a whole lot of money to make U Hall disappear," said Parkhill, a Cavaliers' basketball star in the early 1970s, referring to the long-range plans that have University Hall on the road to being demolished, eventually.

With emphasis on the part about eventually.

"We're talking about a period of five to 10 years before we can get that going. That's a very big project," Parkhill told The Augusta Free Press.

Parkhill didn't cite a dollar figure for the demolition project - in part because UVa. officials are interested in doing something else at the site when it comes time to get the jackhammers in action.

The idea is to replace University Hall with an athletics fieldhouse, Parkhill said.

"It's all talk right now. But when I say fieldhouse, I mean an indoor-practice facility for all our field sports. Football, lacrosse, soccer, track. It's something that we need, and we don't have anything close to that," Parkhill said.

The Cage, which is located next door to U Hall, currently serves as a sort of field house for the university's athletics teams, though the facility is woefully inadequate for what the athletics department needs.

But it will have to suit for the interim - a long interim.

"We are going to tear down U Hall, but it will be several years after the John Paul Jones Arena is done," Parkhill said. "We've got a lot of locker-room space being used. We've got a lot of office space being used. We've got a lot of people to move out of U Hall before we can tear it down.

"We know what we want to do with U Hall, but that's several years down the road," Parkhill said.

Hardwork culminates in season opener
Mix of experience, youth provides fresh lineup for Cavs in first game against Drexel
Walker Freer, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

After months of early morning workouts, endless practices, and three unofficial scrimmages, the Virginia men's lacrosse team finally will take the field for its season-opening tilt against Drexel Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Turf Field.

With all the buildup finally coming to a head, the Cavalier players and coaches are ready to go.

"I think we've had a very good preseason," head coach Dom Starsia said. "I've been pleased with how we've played. We haven't played perfectly in any instance, but we can get sharper yet. I think we're ready to face it off."

While Starsia cautiously sized up the start of the season, senior face-off specialist Jack deVilliers had a more frank reaction.

"We're pretty excited for the season to begin," deVilliers said. "Everyone's enjoying themselves. We're ready to rock."

Virginia opened the season against Drexel last year and won easily, 15-4, in Philadelphia.

"Drexel returns a lot of the players who played against us last year," Starsia said. "It's really a quality opponent for us."

Following last year's victory, the Cavaliers proceeded to lose four straight games. This year, the team is looking to avoid putting themselves into another hole to start the season.

One of the biggest questions during the preseason has been the play of sophomore Kip Turner and red-shirt freshman Michael Petit, the two goalies fighting for the starting position. Starsia has said throughout the past few weeks that neither candidate has the upper hand and that he has been using a rotational system for playing time, starting one in goal and switching the other in at halftime.

"I told them that we're going to continue the rotation that we've used to date," Starsia said. "We're going to split time with them. Two kids that are shaped so differently, one short and blonde and stocky and the other tall and dark and lean and long, you'd think that the team would respond differently to one, but I haven't noticed any of that."

For the team, it is a great problem to have, but one that has not been made any easier as the beginning of the season approaches.

"Either one of the goalies is a top goalie in Division I," deVilliers said. "With regard to goalies, we're going to be just fine. They're two amazing kids."

Another preseason question mark, junior attackman Matt Ward, played in Virginia's scrimmage Sunday against Georgetown. Ward, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury for most of the preseason, will start this weekend although he is not reported to be at 100 percent. The status of senior attackman Joe Yevoli, who is still out with an injured back, currently is unknown.

Thursday, Virginia players Ward, John Christmas and Rob Bateman were named to the Tewaaraton Award Watchlist, lacrosse's version of the Heisman Trophy. Bateman, the only defender on the Watchlist for the Cavaliers, is a fifth-year senior who transferred to Virginia from Penn State and is widely regarded as one of the best defensemen in the country.

At least Cavs know how to lose in style
Bayless Parsley, Columnist

So we got embarrassed, again. And we lost to UNC by more than 23 points, again. Then we failed to cover the spread against the Tar Heels, again. But guess what? I'm not mad this time. And you shouldn't be, either.

Here are a few reasons why:

1) We looked good on Wednesday night, damn good.

I don't mean our actual play. I mean those orange jerseys –- all I could think of was The Boss' "Glory Days" when I looked at them.

"Throwback Night" probably caused me to get a 70 on my French dictée. In my rush to get out of Clemons and into my living room, I ended up writing down a bunch of unintelligible French mumblings rather than spending another hour wearing those library-issued air traffic controller headphones.

And my gratitude goes out to ESPN announcer Mike Patrick for his 37 reminders that basketball shorts used to run higher than the boxers I wear today. We know Mike, we know.

I wanted to explain to him that what are "throwbacks" to a man his age are "thow-backs" to the players on the court.

The difference in pronunciation seems trivial, but it's actually huge. The gulf is as wide as that four-inch area of thigh that today remains uncovered only on a Bobby Knight team.

2) UNC does not lose at home.

They haven't done it yet, and they're certainly not going to give their "W-card" up to a sub-par team.

With this reasoning, then, draw a big black 'X' through Clemson (Feb. 19) and FSU (March 3) on the UNC schedule.

Don't even bother looking for the cap to your Sharpie until Duke moseys down Tobacco Road to spoil Senior Night (or Senior Afternoon, since it's a Saturday CBS game) on March 6.

Before Wednesday night, Carolina was 4-4 in home games against the ACC. Their margins of victory against Maryland, Georgia Tech, Miami, and N.C. State were 34, 22, 20, and 24, respectively.

Hey, we only lost by 24, too!

Bright side: that's ten points better than our last time.

3) The spread was 23 points.

That means we basically performed as expected. Thank God my fellow columnist Joe Lemire was as foolishly optimistic as I was and didn't bet me on my assurances that we'd definitely cover.

But young buck Walker Freer knows a good deal when he sees it: he's a richer man today after taking Carolina minus 22.

The simplest reason not to fret over dropping to 4-8 is straightforward.

4) We're not that good at basketball, and North Carolina is -- very much so.

Feel better at all?

Come on, brighten up. There are plenty of Carolina blue skies on the horizon.

No, no, no, don't do that. Shhh, you're making a scene! I didn't mean we have to play them again. Calm down, it's all right. I didn't mean that. We probably won't see them again until next year.

What I meant to say is...

5) There actually still is a prayer for this team –- the fifth and final reason to smile after the "throwback game."

Follow this scenario:

We slow down the pace of the game so much tomorrow that even the Terrapins feel like hares. Maryland goes home under .500 in conference. We're 5-8.

But we get smacked at Wake the next weekend. That's 5-9.

Devin Smith then carries the team on his back in a must-win home game versus the Wolfpack three days later. We're up to 6-9. Sound like last year? Only this time, Virginia wins its final road game –- this time in Tallahassee -– to end the conference season at 7-9. After that, it's onto the ACC Tournament in the District.

You're telling me that a Team Halloween road trip to the MCI Center won't be inspiration enough to carry our boys to the Big Dance?

Fine, then I can't wait for Devin & Co. to prove you wrong.

Forbes ignites Virginia
Despite improved team play on offense, streaky guard personifies team
Mike Speight, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

After last Wednesday's game against North Carolina, it was the same story just a different month for Virginia coach Pete Gillen and the Cavaliers as their new offense was dramatically shut down by a highly talented Tarheel squad.

However, Virginia fans have reason to remain hopeful as the Cavs have shown some signs of life, evidenced by the play of sophomore guard Gary Forbes, who scored in double figures for the second consecutive game.

Although Forbes has provided a crucial spark for the Cavaliers the past two games, one has to wonder how long the team can stay afloat with a shooting stroke that has been less then consistent throughout the year. In particular, Forbes' lack of consistency on both ends of the court could be a possible explanation for why he has yet to crack the starting lineup despite his recent stellar play.

"Gary Forbes is a very emotional player," Gillen said. "Sometimes he's a roller coaster --- when he's good, he's great, but when he gets out of sync, he's not."

Although Forbes has had a hot hand lately, the Tarheels made it abundantly clear that against the perennial powers of the ACC, Virginia cannot rely on one player to succeed.

"He's getting an opportunity to shine, and he's doing his part," freshman point guard Sean Singletary said. "We all have to step up and play like him. That's when we'll win."

To many basketball fans, this weekend's game may be viewed as a battle of guard play, especially between two of the ACC's top young point guards in Virginia's Singletary and Maryland's Jon Gilchrist, as well as the resurgent Forbes. The question still looms, however, if Virginia can continue to win with Forbes as the leading scorer.

"One guy shot it well -- that was Gary Forbes [at UNC]," Gillen said. "That's not Gary's main role. Gary's main role is to defend, penetrate and set up other guys. He did a real good job, but we need our scorers to score."

If Virginia is planning to beat the Terps this weekend and avenge its loss late last month in College Park, many may argue that the inside play of one Elton Brown will be the key.

Without an inside game, Virginia's three-guard offense lacks the room necessary to operate out on the floor. Sophomore J.R. Reynolds, as with any spot up shooter, has difficulty getting a clean shot off with a hand in his face. Virginia can solve this problem by giving teams a reason to respect their inside game. The Cavaliers have found a majority of their success when they've had an inside as well as an outside threat.

Understanding that they have had problems at times passing inside, the Cavaliers will no doubt try to once again slow down this weekend's ACC foe with a balanced attack. As was evident in the Virginia Tech game, when Forbes plays his game and Virginia receives additional strong inside play, the Cavaliers can find themselves with an opportunity to win.