Longwood defeat proves remedy for UVa's ills
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com
February 14, 2007

If you sprain your ankle, it's usually best to ice it.

If you have the flu, chicken noodle soup and drinking lots of fluids is always a good bet.

But what if you're coming off a 27-point loss to your in-state rival?

The answer is easy: Play a non-conference game against a school that is not yet Division I-certified.

And play that school on your own home court where you have lost just once.

That proved to be the perfect remedy for the Virginia men's basketball team on a snowy Tuesday night in Charlottesville.

UVa, which was coming off one of its worst losses of the season at Virginia Tech on Saturday, obliterated Longwood, 90-49, in front of an announced crowd of 11,666 (it was really only about half that).

The Cavaliers (17-7, 8-3), who were led by Sean Singletary's 19 points and seven assists, had five players score in double digits. Virginia held Longwood to just 26-percent shooting.

"Based on what happened this past Saturday, we wanted to try and get back to playing basketball the way we have all year long," said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. "The most difficult part of the game was having the guys not watch the scoreboard and still find motivation to play defense the way we're capable of and those kinds of things."

That was a tough task after Leitao's squad -- on the strength of four Sean Singletary 3-pointers -- stormed out to a 22-2 lead.

Longwood (8-19), which was led by Maurice Sumter's 15 points, didn't make a field goal until nearly seven minutes into the contest.

"I don't think it was a matter of us playing poorly," said Lancers coach Mike Gillian. "It was a matter of that team being much, much better."

Singletary, who was coming off a poor performance against the Hokies, was on fire early. He cooled down in the second half, but by then the damage had already been done.

"We came out with a lot of energy," Singletary said. "We slipped up a little in the second half, but then we picked it up and Coach really liked that.

"Even though Longwood is not that talented of a team, they are a team, and they try. We were able to force our will upon them and do the right things for the most part."

That afforded Leitao the chance to empty his bench. Fifteen players, including walk-ons Andy Burns, Bob McCormick and Damin Altizer, saw action.

Burns, to the crowd's delight, drilled a 3-pointer with about a minute left in the game.

After the game, there were plenty of smiles.

"I think more than anything we needed to be able to come out and run our stuff -- execute and get down on defense," said Virginia sophomore Mamadi Diane, "and just try and do a lot of the little things that we didn't do Saturday."

Leitao said the win was good for his team's psyche.

"If you look up and you win by 40 points, and you still have a lot of things to work on -- I think it's a step in the right direction," he said. "Our challenge today was more mental, and how good teams have to play -- regardless of the day, regardless of the opponent. It's a different kind of challenge; sometimes it's more mental than physical."

Leitao was particularly pleased with the way his team finished off Longwood. The Lancers, after trimming the deficit to 25, scored just five points in the last 12-plus minutes.

"We still have some work to do," Leitao said, "but right now I think we need some time out of the gym to rest our minds and our bodies for Florida State [on Saturday]."

 

Cavs deliver routine rout of Lancers
Virginia doesn't look past Longwood after loss to Virginia Tech
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 14, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia was expected to rout Longwood in men's basketball last night, and the game went as expected at John Paul Jones Arena.

Bad weather kept all but the U.VA. 90 LONGWOOD 49most devoted fans away -- the crowd was generously announced at 11,666 -- but those who braved the elements saw the Cavaliers improve their home record to 13-1 with a 90-49 victory.

Had U.Va. (17-7) looked past the Lancers (8-19), the game might have been closer. But the Wahoos, coming off a 27-point loss at Virginia Tech, were determined to make a strong effort before returning to ACC play against Florida State this weekend.

"Based on what happened this past Saturday," second-year coach Dave Leitao said, "the theme that I wanted to try to get back to was playing basketball the way that we've tried to play it all year long."

Leitao had no complaints about his team's intensity early. With junior point guard Sean Singletary hitting his first four shots -- all 3-pointers -- the Cavs bolted to a 22-2 lead.

After that, Leitao said, the challenge facing his players was to "not watch the scoreboard, to not know that they were going to win and still find motivation enough to play defense the way we're capable of."

There was little doubt that U.Va., which is bigger, stronger and more talented than Longwood, would prevail in its final nonconference game.

"It's a different kind of challenge," Leitao said, "and sometimes that challenge is more mental than physical."

Singletary's efficiency dipped after intermission -- he was 2 for 9 in the second half -- but he finished with 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Sophomore swingman Mamadi Diane, ineffective against the Hokies, bounced back to score 13 points last night, and senior guard J.R. Reynolds added 11.

Laurynas Mikalauskas, who had started the previous 12 games, was on the bench at the opening tip last night. The 6-8, 250-pound Lithuanian's play against Tech hadn't pleased Leitao, who started 6-11 junior Tunji Soroye against Longwood.

Soroye played well, totaling seven rebounds and three blocks in 13 minutes, and the demotion had the desired effect on Mikalauskas. In only 10 minutes, he scored a season-high 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting -- and grabbed six boards.

"Coach told me to go in there and bring some energy," Mikalauskas said.

The Lancers scored only five points in the final 12 minutes. Three nights after being torched by Virginia Tech, the Cavs held Longwood to 25.8-percent accuracy from the floor.

The transition from Division II is nearly complete for the Lancers, who'll become full-fledged Division I members next season. It hasn't been easy, but fourth-year coach Mike Gillian said he's "pleased for all of our guys in what they've done to put Longwood basketball on the map."

The best of those players is senior forward Maurice Sumpter, who paced the Lancers with 15 points, five rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists last night.

"The guy's had a great career," Gillian said. "He is to us what Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds are to Virginia."

 

No hangover for Cavs
Virginia takes a 22-2 lead in the first 5 12 minutes behind Sean Singletary's 3-point shooting.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Longwood's hope Tuesday night was that Virginia wouldn't be able to get past a crushing loss Saturday at Virginia Tech.

Everybody would like the kind of hangover that the Cavaliers had.

Virginia built a 20-point lead in the first 5 12 minutes and coasted to a 90-49 victory before a weather-reduced crowd at John Paul Jones Arena.

The 41-point margin matched the Cavaliers' largest of the season, which had come in a 104-63 triumph over Maryland-Eastern Shore, and raised Virginia's record to 13-1 at its new home.

Junior point guard Sean Singletary was 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in helping the Cavaliers (17-7) take a 22-2 lead into a timeout with 14:32 left in the first half.

"I did notice the score," Singletary said. "Then, I came out."

UVa coach Dave Leitao used 11 players in the first 10 minutes, but that group did not include sophomore postman Lauris Mikalauskas, a starter in 12 straight games, including a seven-game winning streak that ended with an 84-57 loss at Tech.

Mikalauskas did not make his first appearance Tuesday until 3:37 remained in the first half, at which point UVa led 43-24.

It took only 18 seconds for Mikalauskas to score his first basket and he finished with a season-high 12 points and six rebounds in 10 minutes.

"As of late, he hadn't been playing well," Leitao said. "Tunji [Soroye] had given us more of a spark and Ryan [Pettinella] has been coming along."

While most of Mikalauskas' scoring came on half hooks and tips, he did have a first-half dunk, one of the few plays this year in which he has demonstrated some of the explosiveness he had as a freshman last season.

Mikalauskas might have thought his athleticism would return once he finished rehabilitating two ankles sprained during the preseason, but there was another consideration.

"I lost a little bit of weight," said Mikalauskas, who said he weighs 250 pounds now after playing at 240 last year. "I feel a lot better. I feel I can jump again, like I could back in the day."

At one point during the offseason, he was up around 265 or 268.

"I don't know if they wanted me to gain weight," Mikalauskas said, "but I was just lifting a lot of weights during the summer, pretty much the same as Tunji did, but I guess I didn't need that much weight."

There had been talk during Mikalauskas' freshman year about how difficult he would be to handle at 255-260, "but, I don't think it's about weight," he said.

"It's about strength. Whatever I weigh now, I had more body fat last year. I feel a lot better this year. Maybe we just play a different game."

Leitao was able to get some rest for ironman guards Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, who played 27 and 25 minutes, respectively. Singletary finished with 19 points and seven assists, although he missed 10 of his last 12 shots.

"He needed today to play well because he was coming off a [game] where he was very disappointed," said Leitao, referring to Singletary's 13-point, five-turnover performance against the Hokies.

"I think he was trying to distribute the ball more than he would normally if we were playing a high-level opponent. I thought he was pretty decent today. If 19 points and seven assists is a bad day for him, I'll take it."

Longwood, in the final year of Division I probationary status, fell to 8-19 with its ninth loss in the past 11 games. The Lancers missed their first 11 shots and their last 10 shots and shot 25.8 percent for the game.

"We finished the game the right way and it still means we have to get in the gym and really lock into what makes us good," said Leitao, whose team ends the regular season with five straight ACC games, starting with Florida State here Saturday afternoon.

 

UVa rebounds from a difficult defeat
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
February 14, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Non-conference games in the middle of February are usually a nuisance, but Tuesday's game against Longwood turned out to be just what Virginia needed.
The Cavaliers erased the memory of their debacle at Virginia Tech last weekend with a 90-49 win over Longwood in a mostly empty John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia (17-7) led 22-2 after 5? minutes and the 41-point margin of victory matched its largest this season, but it was the way the Cavaliers played coming off a 27-point drubbing in Blacksburg that had them feeling as though they made positive steps in their one tune-up before Florida State visits Charlottesville on Saturday.

"I think tonight just being able to come out and get into a flow (was important)," said forward Mamadi Diane, who scored 13 points. "We didn't really do it at Virginia Tech or get into a comfort zone."

Sean Singletary scored 19 points, hitting his first four 3-point attempts, and handed out seven assists. He was one of five UVa players in double figures, along with Lars Mikalauskas (12 points), J.R. Reynolds (11) and Adrian Joseph (11).

Virginia showed no signs of a hangover from Virginia Tech, scoring on nine of its first 11 possessions and racing to a 20-point lead by the first media timeout. That was a mixed blessing.

"We got up 22-2 and the most difficult part of the game was to have the guys not watch the scoreboard, to know that they're going to win and still find motivation enough to play defense the way we're capable of," Virginia head coach Dave Leitao said.

"We did a decent job of that."

The Cavaliers, who led 53-29 at the half, held Longwood (8-19) to 25.8 percent shooting. They buckled down near the end of the game. The Lancers scored just five points in the last 12:36.

The margin allowed Leitao to limit the minutes of his two standout guards (Singletary played 27 minutes, Reynolds 25) and rebuild the confidence of some other players.

After combining for two points on 1 of 11 shooting at Virginia Tech, Diane and Joseph combined for 24 points Tuesday.

Tunji Soroye, another no-show in Blacksburg, had seven rebounds and three of Virginia's season-high 12 blocks.

Mikalauskas, who was invisible at Virginia Tech, playing five minutes and missing his only shot, also bounced back, despite losing his starting spot to Soroye. The sophomore forward scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench Tuesday, going 6-for-7 from the floor and showing the most jumping ability he has all season, dunking the ball at one point.

After bulking up to 265 pounds in the offseason, Mikalauskas has slimmed down to 250. He's also over the ankle problems that limited his minutes earlier in the season.

"I feel better, like I used to back in the day," Mikalauskas said.

The Lancers were led by Maurice Sumter, who missed last year's UVa game with a rib injury. He had 15 points, five rebounds, five blocks and three assists on Tuesday. Clayton Morgan added 11 points and seven rebounds, but was 2 of 10 from the floor.

Longwood, which is in the fourth and final year of its Division I reclassification process, has played four teams from major conferences this season - Southern California, Providence, Oklahoma and now Virginia - and lost by an average of 37.5 points.

It's necessary for the exposure, though.

"This is a grind for us," Longwood head coach Mike Gillian said. "We have used a lot of different terms to describe what our season and our journey through the past four years has been. ? It has been a total team effort for us. I'm pleased for all of our guys and what they've done to put Longwood basketball on the map."
 

Cavaliers levelLancers for non-conference win
Virginia shot a dominating .500 from the field as Singletary bucketed 19 points to lead the team to a 41 point win
Anders Sleight, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Sometimes a little home cooking is just the trick you need -- that proved to be exactly the case last night for the Virginia men's basketball team. The Cavaliers got back to their winning ways with an easy victory over the Longwood Lancers, 90-49. The Cavaliers opened up with 22 points in the first six minutesand then switched on cruise control for the rest of the game.

Virginia blew away Longwood in front of a sparse crowd at John Paul Jones Arena. Junior guard Sean Singletary led the way for the Cavaliers. The star point guard had no trouble finding his groove early on, as he drained four three-pointers within the first eight minutes of the game. He finished with 19 points and 7 assists. Senior guard J.R. Reynolds continued his great play as he added 11 points in 25 minutes of action.

"Coming off that game they [Virginia] played Saturday down at Virginia Tech, and there's no surprise that Singletary and Reynolds set the tone for the whole game," Longwood coach Mike Gillian said.

The Cavaliers led by at least 20 points for most of the game and received big contributions from just about every player. Five different Cavaliers scored in double figures- including sophomore forward Laurynas Mikalauskas who added 12 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Mamadi Diane erased his shooting woes from Saturday and scored 13 points on 62 percent shooting from the field. Additionally, senior forward Jason Cain, junior center Tunji Soroye and Mikalauskas established a marquee low post presence that frustrated the Lancers defensively and allowed for many easy baskets.

"Based on what happened last Saturday I wanted to get back to playing basketball the way we have wanted to all along," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "The most difficult thing was to get the guys to not watch the scoreboard and to concentrate on the game."

The first half went just about as well as Virginia could have hoped for. Singletary and Reynolds pushed the pace and helped Virginia jump out to an early 12-0 lead in the first two minutes. The backcourt duo kept up the pressure on the offensive end as the Cavaliers maintained a 20 point lead for much of the first half. Mikalauskas added a fitting end to the first half as he slammed down a wide open dunk with one minute to go. Seconds later, Mikalauskas tipped in a three point attempt from Singletary that barely missed. The first half ended with a score of 53-29, a 24-point lead in favor of Virginia. Singletary and Diane led the way with 14 and 11 points respectively.

The second half started in much the same way, with a number of easy Virginia baskets.In the second half Longwood was able to keep pace with Virginia, at least to start with. The Lancers were able to get a number of quick points and had 44 points with almost 10 minutes left, but Virginia cut off the Lancers' run and held them to five points for the rest of the game.

With eight minutes left in the game Virginia increased its lead to 31 points and coasted to an easy victory from there. Freshman forward Andy Burns, a fan favorite, put the exclamation point on the night at the tail end of the game. Burns sent the crowd at JPJ to its feet as he knocked down his first collegiate three-pointer with one minute left in the game.

 

Cavs aim to net another national title
Despite losing five key players to graduation, Virginia still has high hopes for 2007 season
Margaret Sessa-Hawkins, Cavalier Daily Senior Staff Writer

Last year the men's lacrosse team defined every aspect of what success can be. They went a perfect 17-0 for the season (the first team in NCAA Division I history to do so) and won the national championship.

That, however, was last year, and at the end of the season, after the winning streak was done and the national championship won, the team graduated five key players.

"There are lots of holes," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "You don't graduate Matt Ward, Kyle Dixon, Mike Culver, J.J. Morrissey and Matt Poskay and not feel it. We've got a lot of holes and a lot of work to do."

The biggest gap will probably be felt from the absence of Ward. Ward, an attackman, started all 17 games for the Cavaliers and led the team in goals. At the end of the year he took home men's college lacrosse's highest award, the Tewaaraton trophy, in recognition of all he had done.

Trying to fill the places of the graduated seniors are 14 freshmen, four of whom will probably make starts with the team.

"We have some freshmen with a lot of potential," junior attackman Ben Rubeor said. "They do have to figure outtheir role but I think the scrimmages help. We could have a goodamount of freshmen playing this year."

Headlining the new recruits is defenseman Ken Clausen. Clausen was the No. 1 defenseman according to Inside Lacrosse, and was listed as the No. 10 recruit in the country overall.

Brian Carroll, who is expected to play at midfield, has been looking strong so far in scrimmages and is expected to start for the team. Carroll was a two-time All-American in high school, and was twice listed as the Baltimore Sun City Player of the year.

Fellow freshman Mike Thompson, whose grandfather was a lacrosse captain for the Cavaliers back in 1947 and '48, is another two-time All-American who has proven to be very strong in the preseason. Thompson will most likely receive playing time as a starting defensive midfieldman.

Ryan Nizolek, another All-American, can be expected to start at defense for the team.

Yet despite the all-star credits, the freshmen are still fairly young and inexperienced, something that showed in the pre-season scrimmage against Georgetown this past Saturday.

"I got great kids -- my young guys are terrific," Starsia said. "But I do not accept guys not being smart and not making good plays. Like I toldthem after, 'You know,' I said, 'I love you all but we have a game in a week and we have to start being a little smarter right now.'"

Fortunately the team is also returning six starters, who not only will hopefully help lead the freshman, but also give the team a little extra help as the freshmen are gaining their footing.

Perhaps the most crucial of these returning players is Kip Turner. The senior goalie was eighth in the country last season and second in the ACC, starting all 17 games for the Cavaliers.

With a talented crew of freshmen and six strong returning players, only time will tell if Virginia can match its performance last year and live up to its No. 1 preseason ranking.

 

Duke within rules to decide coach to credit
KEN TYSIAC

Gary Johnson gets frustrated when he hears Duke criticized for placing four wins and 15 losses from 1994 to '95 on then-interim coach Pete Gaudet's record.

Johnson, the NCAA's associate director of statistics, said Duke followed NCAA protocol for coach Mike Krzyzewski's leave of absence in January 1995. Johnson talked to Duke officials before assistant coach Gaudet directed the team while Krzyzewski had back surgery and recovered from exhaustion.

Before Gaudet's interim debut, then Duke sports information director Mike Cragg told Johnson that the remainder of the season should go on Gaudet's record.

NCAA procedures allow the school to decide which coach gets credit when a leave of absence is taken.

"I remember it very well, too," Johnson said, "because I was almost surprised they wanted it to go to Gaudet, because I knew Krzyzewski over time would be going for some all-time records."

The decision is relevant again with Duke on a four-game losing streak, its longest since 1996. The Blue Devils, who play Wednesday at Boston College, have never lost more than four in a row under Krzyzewski.

But Duke did lose six in a row under Gaudet. TV analyst Billy Packer of Charlotte said the NCAA shouldn't allow schools to decide who gets credit for coaching victories.

"They've got rules for whether your shirt should be hanging out," Packer said, "but they don't have rules for who should get credit for a coaching win. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Schools' reactions to interim situations have varied. Oklahoma State gave credit to coach Eddie Sutton (medical leave of absence) rather than interim coach Sean Sutton for games at the end of last season.

In 1989, Missouri's Norm Stewart was credited for games coached by assistant Rich Daly while Stewart was hospitalized late in the season.

Arizona made a decision similar to Duke's after Lute Olson took a leave of absence after his wife's death in 2001. Interim coach Jim Rosborough was credited with a 3-2 record for the games Olson missed.

Krzyzewski said Monday that he would rather have the losses.

"I should have been credited with all the losses," he said. "... Overall, the bottom line is, I'm responsible, even though I'm not there."

Duke out of poll

Duke's ACC record string of 200 consecutive appearances in The Associated Press' poll ended Monday when it received 150 votes, eight fewer than No. 25 Alabama.

Duke had been ranked since the 1996-97 preseason poll.

 

Barker steps into dispute
School president calls for review of university’s admissions process for recruits
By PAUL STRELOW

CLEMSON — School president James Barker called for a cease-fire Tuesday between Clemson’s football staff and academic officials, authorizing a review of the admissions process to determine whether changes should be made.

In two statements released Tuesday evening, Barker, athletics director Terry Don Phillips and coach Tommy Bowden all spoke favorably of a review, which Barker said would include input from faculty, admissions and athletic department members.

For Phillips and Bowden, the releases were their first public comments since Bowden’s displeasure with the process surfaced last Wednesday.

“I have confidence that the university administration understands the importance of recruiting on a level playing field and that we will be able to recruit on a level playing field in the future,” Bowden said.

Bowden and his staff were upset with the process that forced them to stop recruiting players who signed with competitors such as North Carolina, Notre Dame and Georgia last week.

Coaches informed receiver Dwight Jones of Burlington, N.C., last Tuesday they would have to pass on him.

Phillips said one case this year, the withdrawal of a scholarship offer at the last minute, would not have occurred if the Athletic Advisory Review Committee had received more timely information from the athletics department. Phillips said the athletics department takes the blame.

While Phillips commended the AARC and other decision-makers involved in the process, he also referred twice to the ongoing “differences.”

“There is no university conspiracy to devalue the football program in favor of an academic ranking,” Phillips said. “To suggest so is simply not true. If I believed that, I would not remain at Clemson.

“We appreciate this opportunity because there are clearly different perspectives about some aspects of the admissions process.”

Barker provided no details about when, how or for how long the review will occur. He noted the school might decide to keep its process, make minor modifications or create a new system.

“We are in danger of becoming deeply divided because of questions and misconceptions about our process for admitting student-athletes,” Barker said.

“There is evidence our system works. ... There is also evidence that the process may need to be evaluated and revised. The bottom line is that our process is not perfect, but it also is not a barrier to competitiveness as some have suggested.

“This is not a competition between academics and athletics: It’s between Clemson and all the institutions who are recruiting the same students.”