Cavs hold off Noles' charge
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 18, 2007

One of the marks of a good basketball team, as Virginia coach Dave Leitao aptly noted following his team’s win over Duke earlier this month, is the ability to get a victory without having played your best game.

That was once again the case on Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia shot just 37 percent from the floor and was out-rebounded for just the third time in the last 10 games. However, stingy defense, coupled with some timely shooting from Adrian Joseph, made up for it.

UVa, behind 19 points from Sean Singletary and 17 apiece from Joseph and J.R. Reynolds, defeated Florida State in front of a crowd of 14,619.

“I don’t think we played our best basketball, particularly offensively,” Leitao said. “I think we left a number of points out on the floor … but you find different ways to get things done.”

The victory, coupled with North Carolina’s win over Boston College on Saturday night, moved Virginia into a first-place tie in the ACC with the Tar Heels. The win also assured UVa (18-7, 9-3) of its first winning season in ACC play since 2001. That year, UVa made it to the NCAA Tournament - a destination that now seems like a lock for the Cavs.

FSU (17-10, 5-8), on the other hand, will most likely have to do some damage in the ACC Tournament for any shot at the Big Dance.

The Seminoles didn’t go down without a fight. All-America candidate Al Thornton nearly willed the team to victory.

The senior had 30 points - including 23 in the second half - and 16 rebounds. But he received little help from his teammates. Isaiah Swann was the Seminoles’ next-highest scorer with 13.

FSU cut the Virginia lead to 58-57 with 6:32 left after a Thornton put-back in the lane.

Joseph answered with a 3-pointer from the wing. Then, with UVa clinging to a 62-60 lead, Joseph, after a beautifully executed pump fake, drilled another 3 to make it a 65-60 game.

“The lift fake for the 3 was huge - the timing of it and the confidence he took it with,” Leitao said.

The ever calm, cool and collected Joseph was 5 of 7 from behind the arc.

“I just try and do what I always do - try and make shots and do what I’m capable of doing,” Joseph said. “I’m just confident about those kinds of shots. I feel good about them.”

After Joseph’s second triple, FSU was never able to get within striking distance the rest of way. Singletary knocked down six free throws in the final 1:03.

“It’s definitely a good win - anytime you get an ACC win,” said Singletary, who was just 6 of 21 from the field but had six rebounds and six assists. “They were in desperate need of a win and they played us until the end.”

Thornton hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the final score seem closer than it actually was.

“I don’t know if he’ll get the [ACC] Player of the Year,” Leitao said, “but with Toney Douglas out, he’s carrying the load. I think he’s a special, special player.”

In the first half, both teams looked like they had been partying on The Corner all night. Virginia shot 34 percent from the field. FSU shot just 31 percent.

The teams combined for eight airballs.

Virginia led 34-28 at the break thanks to a 26-18 edge on the glass.

But the Cavaliers, on the strength of three Singletary baskets and a Ryan Pettinella layup, came out strong in the second half, extending their lead to 44-32 - their largest of the game.

“We made a couple miscues,” Thornton said. “It was an uphill battle the whole day. It’s tough to come in and beat someone on their own home court.”

Especially when players not named Singletary and Reynolds start lighting it up. Joseph finished the game 6 for 9 from the field.

“Any time teams are double- and triple-teaming me, I’m pretty sure Adrian is gonna be the guy that’s open no matter what,” Singletary said. “He makes 90 percent of his open shots. When I’m breaking down the defense and controlling the tempo, I’m sure he’ll knock them down.”

Much to FSU coach Leonard Hamilton’s chagrin.

“We have always had tremendous respect for him,” Hamilton said. “If you give him those looks, he’s going to knock them down.”

Dunks

Virginia snapped a three-game losing streak to FSU. UVa now leads the all-time series, 17-14. … With three 3-pointers, Reynolds moved into first place in career 3-point field goal leaders among active ACC players. He has 205. Virginia Tech’s Zabian Dowdell has 204. … Reynolds also moved past Richard Morgan (1986-89) into 12th place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,556 points. … Singletary tied his single-season record for assists with 121. … Virginia plays at Miami on Wednesday night.

 

Tourney talk about to heat up
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
February 18, 2007

Ever since March 2001, it’s like Charlottesville has been the land that postseason basketball forgot. We’re talking the real postseason here, not any of that NIT (Not Important Tournament) stuff.
Coach Dave Leitao’s Virginia team took a giant step toward the real thing, the NCAA Tournament, on Saturday when the Cavaliers knocked off a desperate visiting Florida State team, 73-70.
The victory propelled UVa to 18-7 overall.
But more importantly The Cavs improved their league mark to 9-3, and they now sit tied atop the ACC with North Carolina, which defeated Boston College on Saturday night.
Party like it’s 2001
While talking about getting their tickets punched to The Dance may be strictly taboo around the Cavaliers’ locker room, it would be reasonable to think Virginia is sitting in the catbird’s seat when the topic of the NCAA Tournament pops up today during all the chatter on TV about who’s in - or should we say “Hoos in” - and who’s out.
With four regular-season conference games remaining, the Cavs would have to practically fall on their faces to be omitted from the field as they were back in 2000, when a 9-7 UVa team was bypassed.
A snub-worthy past
Florida State, which has to be sweating after losing its fourth straight conference game Saturday, could relate.
The Seminoles are currently 17-9, but only 5-8 in the ACC with not-so-distant memories of last year’s NCAA snub when they were 9-7 in the league.
It should be noted here that the 2000 Virginia team and the ’06 FSU squad were the only two in ACC history to not make the NCAA Tournament with 9-7 league records.
But there was a reason.
Virginia finished in a tie with North Carolina for third-place in the ACC that year and had beaten the Tar Heels in both meetings. What killed the Cavaliers was an RPI of 76 and a non-conference strength of schedule ranked No. 252 in the country - two factoids the NCAA Tournament selection committee couldn’t ignore.
Similarly, Florida State’s RPI a year ago was No. 63 and its non-conference strength of schedule was No. 316.
Scheduling smart
Neither will sweat those kinds of hurdles this time around.
Virginia’s RPI, which was No. 38 nationally coming into the weekend, will probably rise after beating a Florida State team that had a better RPI (No. 33) than the Cavaliers.
UVa’s non-conference strength of schedule is No. 150, but it didn’t hurt that it picked up its sixth win over a top-50 RPI on Saturday.
“At this time of year, winning games is paramount,” said Leitao, whose team improved to 14-1 within the friendly confines of John Paul Jones Arena. “One of our focuses coming into the game was to not lose two league games in a row. You don’t want to do that, particularly at this time of year.”
Oh, yeah, that’s another thing the committee inspects leading up to Selection Sunday: the last 10 games. Not so much how successful a team is during that stretch, but more about how it may have stumbled.
Fresh from getting bludgeoned at Virginia Tech last weekend, UVa senior guard J.R. Reynolds said he and his teammates were just as desperate to win Saturday as were the visiting Seminoles.
Well, maybe not quite as desperate. Virginia didn’t own a three-game losing streak coming in as did its visitors from Tallahassee.
“Yeah, but we just got our butts whipped at Virginia Tech,” Reynolds reminded anyone within an earshot.
Winning the ninth with four to go was a good thing. In fact, it would be tempting for the Cavaliers to start thinking about winning the ACC regular season, something they haven’t done since 1994-95 when they tied for the honor with a 12-4 league mark.
“I told the guys after the game that 9 is a good number,” Leitao said. “Our goal right now is to get to 13. We don’t want to lose another game. Nine is only special if you can get to 10. [Nine wins] pale in comparison to where we’re really trying to head in terms of what we want to do in this league.”
Like any coach worth his salt, Leitao has brainwashed the “take it one day, one game at a time” philosophy into his players’ minds.
“The table’s set,” said Reynolds, who recited the one-day-at-a-time line.
Singletary talked about how special it would be to not only win the league but to make it to the NCAA Tournament, where only one of the present Cavaliers has ever been (transfer Ryan Pettinella was on the 2005 Penn team that participated).
“We’re finally part of a winning program and something special,” Singletary said. “We expect to win every game and, other than Virginia Tech, every game we lost this year we pretty much beat ourselves.”
Things haven’t always been so rosy around here for Singletary, a junior, or for the team’s two seniors, Reynolds and Jason Cain, who have suffered through two seasons of NIT and one losing campaign.
“We’ve been through so many situations during our career,” Singletary said. “We definitely want to send J.R. and Jason to the tournament, and it would be special for me, too, because when I came here I had heard how the program was before. The first year I got here it was kind of tough. If we just focus on winning, all that stuff will take care of itself.”
Remembering Leitao’s caution toward looking ahead, Singletary said he wouldn’t even permit himself to sneak a look at all the “bracketology” on the Internet and television.
“I have before, earlier in the season, but when you do things like that and look toward the future too soon, you tend to lose focus,” Singletary said.
But you can’t blame Wahoo fans in what had been a postseason wasteland for getting excited. Virginia’s basketball program has played in exactly one NCAA Tournament game in the last nine seasons.
Ouch.
If Leitao has his way, that will quickly change - one day at a time.

 

Cavs hot in cold opener vs. GW
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 18, 2007

Shortly after Virginia had secured a three-point win over Florida State in men’s basketball, a large contingent of fans strolled from John Paul Jones Arena over to Davenport Field for a free peek at college baseball.

What they witnessed upon arrival was the massive video screen attached to the stadium’s new scoreboard in right-center field and a three-run third inning that helped propel Virginia to an 11-0 win over George Washington.

Virginia coach Brian O’Connor and his players admitted they noticed the quick boost in attendance, which helped cope, at least temporarily, with the near-freezing temperatures.

“It was nice to see, in tough weather, fans coming out after the basketball game,” O’Connor said. “The addition of the video board … man, does it change things out here. It makes it exciting for a fan, and it was nice to see us get that spillover from the basketball game.

“We have practiced on this field for six months and it was nice to get a chance to play at home for the first time and to get a win. I thought those fans got to see us play a pretty good ball game.”

O’Connor pointed out another fact, as well.

“It was even nicer to see that they won in basketball,” he joked.

It was easier to share the laughter after watching an 18-hit offensive explosion and his ace, Sean Doolittle, improve to 2-0 on the mound. The southpaw went six innings and struck out five, while weaseling his way out a couple jams created by six Colonial base hits and two Virginia miscues.

“Doolittle was in control from the start,” O’Connor said.

Cognizant of the impact the weather would have on his defense, Doolittle said he tried to be more aggressive than normal - 67 of his 95 pitches were for strikes.

“Obviously on a day like today, they can get cold and get tight out there,” Doolittle said. “I was just trying to throw strikes so I could keep them involved and keep them warm.

“You just have to pound the zone and keep your confidence up because on a day like today that is all you can control.”

As Doolittle, who finished 2 for 3, pushed his current scoreless streak to 10 innings, he and his teammates produced at the plate.

The Cavaliers roughed up GW starter Pat Lehman (4 IP, 12 H, 6 ER), scoring twice in the first, once in the second and three times in the third.

The Colonials' bullpen did not fair much better - two relievers gave up six hits and five runs (three earned) as Virginia registered its third double-digit scoring day of the young season.

Offensively, shortstop Greg Miclat (4 for 5, 3 RBI), left fielder Brandon Guyer (3 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI) and center fielder Mike Mitchell (3 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI) led the charge.

“I am going to say this all year long, there are going to be different guys in our lineup that are going to be the heroes of that game,” O’Connor said. “Today it was Miclat, Guyer and Mitchell, who stepped up and had big days.”

Virginia plays GW again today at 1 p.m. in the second game in its lengthy homestand - in all, the Cavaliers play eight games in nine days.

“This is going to be an interesting stretch for us,” O’Connor said. “In my coaching career here, we have never played five games in five days. How our guys handle their business each and every day is going to be important.

“Those guys that want to play professional baseball, well, here it is.”

The Cavaliers plan to start Jacob Thompson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on the mound today.

 

'Noles can't stop Joseph's stroke
Five 3-pointers by junior Adrian Joseph helps UVa earn its ninth ACC win and a share of first place.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao isn't exactly sure what makes Adrian Joseph tick and, on days like Saturday, he doesn't want to know.

One week after going scoreless in a demoralizing loss at Virginia Tech, Joseph hit five 3-pointers in a 73-70 victory over Florida State.

The Seminoles had trimmed a 12-point UVa lead to 58-57 before Joseph nailed a 3-pointer with 6:15 left; then, with 4:03 left, Joseph used a pump fake before making another 3-pointer with the Cavaliers clinging to a 62-60 lead.

"Not a whole lot fazes him," Leitao said. "He can go on the road in front of 20,000 and not have it be a big deal for him. Him making shots is working on it and being a terrific shooter, but it's even more.

"He's got a shooter's mentality where missing shots doesn't really bother him."

In the past six games, Joseph has scored in double figures three times, failed to score twice and added a single 3-pointer in the other game. He was 0-for-6 from the field in the ugly 84-57 loss to the Hokies.

Sometimes, the Cavaliers (18-7, 9-3 ACC) have been able to get by with their backcourt scoring threats, Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, but it often takes a third scorer against the toughest opposition.

With Boston College losing Saturday, UVa and North Carolina moved into a first-place tie in the ACC.

"One of our focuses coming into the game was not to lose two league games in a row," Leitao said.

Florida State (17-10, 5-8) has lost four straight games, but the Seminoles still have ACC player of the year candidate Al Thornton.

"As I told the staff, I know I don't want to play against him when we get to Tampa," said Leitao, referring to the ACC Tournament next month. "He's a terrific, terrific player."

Thornton finished with game highs of 30 points and 16 rebounds, and he scored 10 points in the final 1:54, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

UVa had taken a 69-62 lead on a pair of Reynolds free throws with 1:03 left; then, after a missed Isaiah Swann 3-point attempt with 55 seconds left, the Seminoles let 21 seconds go off the clock before fouling Tunji Soroye.

Soroye missed both of his free-throw attempts, but even Thornton's heroics couldn't make up for lost time.

"It looked like they were confused," Singletary said. "That's why we've been having such a good year. We've been on the same page for the better part of the season."

Singletary was 6-for-21 from the field on an afternoon when the Cavaliers shot 37.3 percent from the field, but he was 4-for-4 from the line in the final 20 seconds and finished with a team-high 19 points, six assists and four steals.

Reynolds also had six assists to go with 17 points. Aside from the 17 points that Joseph contributed in 23 minutes off the bench, no other Virginia player had more than five.

"When we can control the tempo and I'm doing things at my pace, then I'll commit two or three people to me," Singletary said. "I can't be sure J.R. will be open, sometimes Mamadi [Diane] may be open but 90 percent of the time Adrian's going to be open, and 90 percent of the time he'll make that shot."

Actually, Joseph entered Saturday's game as a career 33.8-percent 3-point shooter, "but, after making a few shots, I was so confident that I thought any shot I took was going in," Joseph said.

A third scorer becomes even more critical at this stage of the season, Leitao said, because Singletary and Reynolds are the focus of every opponent's scouting report.

"We have always had tremendous respect for [Joseph]," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton. "He hit two [3-pointers] after pump fakes and that's difficult to do -- to catch the ball while a guy runs at you, pump fake and then knock it down."

 

Ten and in for the Cavaliers?
Aaron McFarling

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Gray skies hovered over John Paul Jones Arena early Saturday afternoon as a good chunk of the sellout crowd began a late entry.

Students tried to start a few chants in the first half, but most fizzled quickly. Others endured, but at far lower decibels than usual.

Basically, the atmosphere stunk. Dreary. Hung over. Certainly uncharacteristic of this normally upbeat building, and not at all what you'd expect when the home team has a chance to move into a tie for first place in the ACC.

"Yeah, I know," UVa center Tunji Soroye said of the environment. "I don't know what happened today."

What happened was this: The Cavaliers rose above it. On a day that could have been so miserable, so damaging, so regrettable, the Cavs did just enough to defeat Florida State 73-70 and grab the all-important ninth ACC win that usually unlocks the door to the NCAA tournament.

Their shooting was poor, their defense still a few notches below what coach Dave Leitao wants. But the Cavs won.

Florida State forward Al Thornton had a monster performance -- 30 points and 16 rebounds. But the Cavs won.

UVa's star perimeter duo of J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary combined to shoot 32 percent of the field. But the Cavs won.

See where we're going with this? In the past, there would be no buts. If the surroundings were dead, so was the team. If an opposing player exploded, the Cavs couldn't escape the shrapnel. If Reynolds and Singletary struggled, UVa was toast.

Not on Saturday. On Saturday, the Cavaliers found a third option in Adrian Joseph, who scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and tapped enough energy within themselves to prevail.

"I don't think it was our greatest game of the year, obviously," Leitao said. "But again, you find different ways to get things done."

What this team has already gotten done is pretty rare around here. This is only the sixth time in 24 years that UVa has won at least nine ACC games. Only once during that span have the Cavs won more than nine -- in 1994-95, when they went 12-4.

Oh, and UVa still has four conference games to play.

"Since I've been here we haven't been winning like this," said Singletary, the junior point guard. "So it's good, no matter what the stats look like.

"We definitely protect our home court better than most people in the country. We expected a win today. We couldn't ask for a better ending to the season in terms of the games scheduled. We have two of the worst teams in the league [Miami and Wake Forest] away and two good teams at home" in Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Which is all one way of saying that nine wins is not enough for this team. The Cavaliers know all too well that a 9-7 team can get left out of the NCAA bracket, because it happened to them in the 1999-2000 season. It's still rare -- the only other time it happened was last year, when FSU was left out -- but the Cavs would be a strong candidate to be the third in the unlikely event they finish on a four-game losing streak.

"I told the guys after the game: Nine is a good number," Leitao said. "Our goal right now is to get to 13. That means that we don't want to lose another game. Nine is only special if you get to 10."

Maybe that's why the place was so blah -- there's still some work to do. But as the fans filed back out into the gray afternoon, they had to be feeling pretty good about what they'd just seen. Somehow, despite everything, their team got to nine.

Ten and in seems a foregone conclusion.
 

Assured of winning ACC record, Cavaliers focus on bigger goals
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 18, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia won its ninth ACC game Saturday, beating Florida State 73-70. It assures the Cavaliers of their first winning conference season since 2001 and all but guarantees that they'll receive an NCAA tournament bid that would also be their first since 2001.

In previous seasons, that might have been cause for celebration. But this Virginia team, which improved to 18-7 overall and remained tied for first in the conference in the loss column at 9-3, has bigger things in mind.

"Nine is a good number," coach Dave Leitao said. "Our goal right now is to get to 13. We don't want to lose another game. Nine is only special if you get to 10."

Virginia had to overcome 37 percent shooting - its worst at home this season - as well as 30 points and 16 rebounds from Florida State's Al Thornton. The Cavaliers did it by slowing Thornton enough, and getting bailed out offensively by junior forward Adrian Joseph.

On an afternoon in which starting guards J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary combined to shoot 11 of 34, Joseph made 5 of 7 3 -point tries off the bench, finishing with 17 points in 23 minutes.

Joseph's biggest baskets came in the second half, when two 3-pointers stemmed Florida State runs. His trey with 6:17 left pushed a one-point Virginia lead to four. Another with 4:01 left stretched a two-point lead to five.

With much defensive attention devoted to stopping Singletary and Reynolds, the 6-foot-7 Joseph was able to drift to the wings and await passes from the penetrating guards.

"If I throw it to him and he's got his feet set, I just run back down the court," Reynolds said. "That's how good a shooter he is. I know it's going to go in."

With his feet set and his confidence high, Joseph let the shots fly, looking like a different player than the one who went 0 for 6 against Virginia Tech last Saturday.

"After making a few shots, I was so confident I thought any shots I took were going to go in," he said.

If Joseph had a hot hand, so did Thornton, an ACC Player of the Year candidate who had to work considerably harder for his 30 points, 23 of which came in the second half.

Jason Cain and Will Harris took turns guarding the 6-8 Thornton. Despite his numbers, each did a decent job.

"He's big, he's quick and he has a lot of energy," Harris said. "It seems like he never gets tired out there."

Not in the second half, when Thornton almost single-handedly kept the Seminoles close with drives, post-up moves, pull-up jumpers, and two 3-pointers.

Still, as he said, "It was an uphill battle the whole day."

Florida State (17-10, 5-8) played with the urgency you'd expect from a team that had dropped three straight to see its NCAA tournament hopes fade. And Virginia was not the free-flowing unit that it has been at home, where the Cavaliers have not lost an ACC game this year.

"We left a couple of points, I think, out there on the floor," Leitao said.

More than a couple. But the Cavaliers, led by Joseph, answered when they needed to, and picked up a win that set them up nicely for the rest of the season.

A season in which nine conference wins won't suffice.

"You're going to have a positive record in this league, which is an accomplishment," Leitao said. "But it pales in comparison to where we really are trying to head in terms of what we want to do in this league."

 

Cavs fend off Thornton, Florida State
Virginia’s Will Harris and Jason Cain do just enough against Florida State’s Al Thornton as the Cavaliers beat the desperate Seminoles.
BY DARRYL SLATER
dslater@dailypress.com | 247-4641
February 17, 2007, 6:08 PM EST

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- All the Virginia players locked their eyes on the image flickering across the screen: Florida State forward Al Thornton cut into the paint and missed a 5-foot jump shot. But as soon as his feet hit the floor, he soared above a lane full of players, snatched the ball and dunked it.

The Cavaliers' faces went blank and their jaws dropped. It was Friday, and in less than 24 hours, some of them would try to stop Thornton -- a task that seemed impossible as they watched game footage that made them wonder of Thornton's dunk, "How do you do that?"

"Wow, I'm in for it tomorrow," Harris thought.

Harris and senior Jason Cain defended Thornton just well enough Saturday, often forcing him to take difficult shots. Thornton, one of the nation's best players, scored 30 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, but the Cavaliers won 73-70 at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia (18-7, 9-3) remains the only Atlantic Coast Conference team yet to lose a conference game at home (6-0) and has nine league wins for the first time since 2001. Florida State (17-10, 5-8) still must claw to make its first NCAA tournament since 1998.

If the Seminoles miss the tourney, never let it be said that Thornton failed to do his part. He scored 17 of Florida State's 19 points in the final 7:53. His fallaway 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer perfectly captured his day: spectacular, but not quite enough.

Credit Virginia swingman Adrian Joseph for his 17 points, including 5-of-7 on 3-pointers. Note that the Seminoles were without point guard and second-leading scorer Toney Douglas (broken right hand) for the third consecutive game.

But remember the Friday film session, and know that, without Harris' and Cain's efforts, Thornton could have carved up the Cavaliers even worse. Their defense was more than just convenient; Virginia needed it, because it shot 37.3 percent -- its lowest clip in a win this season.

With 15:31 left in the first half, Thornton got the ball near the free-throw line, but Harris harassed him into a turnover that Virginia converted into a J.R. Reynolds 3-pointer.

Eight minutes later, Thornton leaped for a layup, but Cain blocked it with two hands. The big-screen replay drew "ooohs" from the crowd, and maybe a "how do you do that?" or two.

Down by as many as 10 points in the second half, Florida State trailed 65-60 when Thornton handled the ball at the top of the key with 2:35 left. Harris charged toward him as the shot clock ticked down and forced him to heave a 25-footer that never stood a chance of falling.

"They did an admirable job," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "We knew he was going to score some points. … In preparation for them, we talked about, 'Defend without fouling.' I thought we did do a good job of not fouling them and making sure they settled for shots that were contested."

Indeed, the Seminoles average 20 free-throw attempts in ACC play. They attempted just 13 Saturday. Harris didn't need statistics to tell him he played like a pest. Thornton told him that.

"Good D, big man," Harris remembered Thornton saying as they ran down the court.

"And for me being a freshman and that coming from him," Harris said, "that makes me feel good, like, 'Wow, this defense stuff is paying off.' "

Harris, who stands 6-feet-6 to Thornton's 6-7, pooh-poohed defense in high school. He stood no chance of doing that at Virginia, where Leitao invests more in defense than Don Rumsfeld. Thornton's versatility -- size coupled with perimeter quickness -- is enough to make Leitao pray to avoid Florida State in the ACC tournament.

"I tried to use my size and give him a step for his drive, because I know he's quick," Harris said. "And I know I'm long enough to get there if he pulls up.

"I just wanted to show people that I could play defense. There's no better person to guard to show people you can play defense than Al Thornton."
 

Virginia's Joseph calmly delivers
David Teel
February 18 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Isaiah Swann knew he'd screwed up big-time. In the closing minutes of a taut ACC basketball game, the Florida State guard had left Virginia reserve Adrian Joseph alone in the right corner.

Joseph's about as one-dimensional as it gets. Doesn't rebound or defend much. Isn't a creative passer or ballhandler. Rarely gets to the free-throw line.

But give him an uncontested jumper, especially from beyond the 3-point arc, and Joseph thrives. Half of his field goals this season are 3s, and he hasn't attempted a free throw in 11 ACC games.

The key word is uncontested. Get a hand in his face or force him to dribble, and you render Joseph irrelevant and/or ineffective. He missed all six of his shots against Virginia Tech, five of his six attempts against Miami.

But as Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said, "Not a whole lot fazes him."

No surprise there. Shooters are that way. Moreover, Joseph hails from Trinidad, and part of the tropics' charm is the natives' laissez-faire ways.

"You can't really tell when he's mad," teammate Tunji Soroye said. "We've been living together two years and we've never had a fight or nothing. He plays good, he plays bad, you don't know."

Saturday Joseph was good. Very good. He scored a season-high 17 points and was Virginia's only reliable shooter in a 73-70 victory.

Five of Joseph's six field goals were 3-pointers, and the biggest was the last. The Cavaliers were nursing a 62-60 lead, and the clock was approaching four minutes when Joseph spotted up in the right corner.

As Joseph gathered a pass, Swann sprinted toward him. Joseph faked a shot, sending Swann flying past, darn near into the laps of spectators. Joseph paused and let fly.

"If I throw it to him and he's got his feet set, I just run down to the other end," guard J.R. Reynolds said. "That's how good a shooter he is."

Joseph's feet were set, and the shot was true. Virginia (18-7, 9-3) led 65-60 and never was threatened again, assuring itself a winning conference season and enhancing its NCAA tournament credentials.

"The lift fake for the 3 was huge," Leitao said. "The timing of it, the confidence he took it with."

True to his nature, Joseph, a 6-foot-7 junior, showed no emotion. Not when he made the dagger 3. Not when he made a 3, also from the right corner, to goose the lead to 61-57. Not when he met reporters in the locker room.

"After making a few shots, I was so confident," he said.

The 17 points are Joseph's second-best in ACC play, topped only by last season's 19-point effort against Clemson. Most critical to Virginia, they came on an afternoon when the team's top three scorers struggled.

Reynolds, Sean Singletary and Mamadi Diane shot a combined 12-of-42 from the field. But they did team for 14 assists, many to Joseph.

"Defenses try to double-team Sean and J.R., so you just read the defense and go to the open spot," Joseph said.

Florida State (17-10, 5-8) did just that and paid with its fourth consecutive defeat. The last three have come without guard Toney Douglas (broken right hand), the Seminoles' No. 2 scorer, who as an Auburn freshman two years ago torched Virginia for 33 points.

Think Florida State could have used Douglas on Saturday? Think the Seminoles would like a scorer other than Al Thornton (30 points and 16 rebounds Saturday)?

That's what makes Joseph so important. If he and/or Diane can emerge as dependable options, the Cavaliers will be a difficult postseason out.

"As long as he's set and his legs are underneath him, Adrian can make a lot of shots," Leitao said.

And how to explain the 0-for at Virginia Tech?

"It happens to all players," Joseph said. "That was just one of my bad games."

Mellow as always. Now if he'd just be consistent.
 

Swings of fate
Ryan Zimmerman has learned the hard way to focus on what really matters because of his mom's battle with multiple sclerosis.
BY MELINDA WALDROP
247-4634
February 18 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH -- Ryan Zimmerman doesn't get too upset if he misses a 90 mph fastball.

He learned the place of such minor disappointments a lot earlier than most.

Zimmerman, 22, didn't face many setbacks in a rookie season that saw him hit 20 home runs and drive in a team-best 110 runs for the Washington Nationals, who made him the fourth pick in the amateur draft in 2005 out of the University of Virginia. His success in his first full season in the big leagues nearly netted him the National League rookie of the year title.

This from a guy who was told coming out of spring training just to do what he was known for - expertly wielding his glove at third base - and see what happened at the plate.

"It was a good situation for me to come into," Zimmerman says. "There was absolutely no pressure."

There are few expectations this season for the Nationals, whose position players report to spring training Tuesday. Speedy leadoff man Alfonso Soriano is now in Chicago, and Washington's starting pitching rotation is full of question marks.

But those facts don't concern Zimmerman, who spent a chunk of his childhood steps away from the ocean in Virginia Beach - and learning first-hand how unfair life can be.

TWISTS OF FATE

By just about any measure, the cozy cottage nestled between the Sandbridge Beach dunes must have been an idyllic place to grow up. The ocean peeks in between rows of houses, and large living-room windows frame passing seagulls in flight.

Keith and Cheryl Zimmerman have lived here for nearly 13 years. It's where they raised their two sons, hitting countless baseballs and "sockballs" - old socks bound with duct tape - into the sawgrass in the back yard.

On a table filled with family photographs, one of Ryan - recognizable only by the name on the back of his Nationals jersey, floating in full horizontal stretch as he goes after a ball - is an attention-grabber. There's another of him blowing a bubble as he makes a throw across the infield.

Another, much younger Ryan grasps the wheel of a boat, with his grandfather behind him in a Detroit Tigers cap. And between those snapshots is a story.

When Ryan was 12, Cheryl Zimmerman finally found out what was causing the numbness in her hands and the lethargy in her legs that prevented her from running like she loved to do. In 1995, after countless tests and a diagnosis of, among other things, Lyme disease, doctors told her she had multiple sclerosis.

"At that time, it was more of a weight off your shoulders," she says. "You have all these symptoms and you know something's not right, and they keep coming back with, 'We don't know.' So of course it wasn't a nice thing to hear, but in a way, it was a relief, because you kinda knew what was going on."

For three years, the disease remained at bay. But in 1998, a personal-watercraft accident left Cheryl with a broken vertebra in her back and a sense of foreboding.

Trauma can accelerate the progression of MS, and Cheryl suspects that happened in her case. She began using a wheelchair in 2000 as she lost the use of her legs, and now has only limited movement in her arms.

"I think about that: if I didn't have that incident, would I be like this?" Cheryl says. "But you never know with MS."

Not knowing is the one constant of the chronic disease that damages the body's nerve cells, causing nerve impulses to slow down or become blocked. The approximately 400,000 Americans who suffer from MS may experience weakness, paralysis, loss of vision and muscle spasms, which can last for days, weeks or months, or disappear for short or long periods.

"Some days I can do the phone, answer the phone, and other days, that's not happening," Cheryl says. "The (TV) remote is out of the question. The computer's out of the question ... I don't know which one would be more frustrating. Probably I would say the phone, because then I can't talk to people. I do that very well."

Cheryl, 46, has a caregiver who stays with her for five hours a day and on weekends when Keith, 47, a supervisor at the Princess Anne Recreation Center, has to work.

After Cheryl's diagnosis, she and Keith tried to tell Ryan and their younger son, Shawn, now 19, what was wrong.

"It's not like you can sit them down and say, 'Well, she has cancer. The doctor gave her six months to live,'" Keith says. "You never know what's going to happen. So we kind of explained what was going on, and that we were going to need them to participate in the family a little bit more."

That meant cleaning, cooking and doing laundry - skills that made Shawn, now a sophomore at Radford, very popular when he arrived on campus.

"The first week I had to teach somebody how to do laundry," says Shawn, who also wows his friends with chicken or spaghetti dinners. "It was a girl. It was pretty funny."

But didn't a teenager resent having to help out so much around the house?

"The cleaning aspect, yeah, but nothing else," Shawn says. "I thought it was kind of fun. I enjoyed cooking and stuff."

Cheryl continued to work as a special-education teacher until 2000, when her illness forced her to retire.

"I just couldn't keep up and do the stuff that needed to be done," she says. "The last three years, when I would go to set up my room, the boys and their friends would come and set up the room, do the bulletin boards and all that, carry the boxes. They loved that - right."

The last is said with a heavy dose of sarcasm and an implied eye roll, but both Cheryl and Keith say their boys were always ready to help.

"At first, especially when you're such a young age, you're frightened," Ryan says. "You don't really know what to think. (When) it started to hit her a little bit harder, we kind of got to see how it progressed, and how anything can happen. I think it kind of taught me and my brother some lessons about life that a lot of kids wouldn't get."

In November, the Zimmermans raised $40,000 through a golf tournament that served as the kickoff of Zims Foundation, which aims to help MS sufferers with everyday frustrations and to fund research.

"Our ultimate goal is to find a cure for MS," Keith says. "That's our mission."

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

A conversation with Ryan Zimmerman inspires one to think in hyphens: Laid-back. Even-keel. Easy-going.

"The thing that helps Ryan on the field - he's very calm," says Brian O'Connor, Zimmerman's coach for two seasons at Virginia. "He's got confidence in himself, and he doesn't get fazed by a lot of things."

Ryan says he gets that attitude from his parents - "We don't worry about too much" - and he had to draw on it during his first two weeks of Double-A ball in Harrisburg, Pa., when he says he hit about .220.

"When you get there so quick, at such a young age, a lot of people expect you to be really good, and you try to do something special every single game," Ryan says. But once he began to relax, things began to turn around.

In 233 at-bats in Harrisburg, Zimmerman hit .326, earning a September 2005 call-up. He played 20 games with the Nationals, hitting .397 and providing stability at third base. Coming out of spring training in 2006, he knew the starting job was his, but had no idea how quickly he'd take to it.

"I wasn't really expecting anything offensively," Zimmerman said. " ... I don't think (the Nationals) really knew what to expect offensively, either."

Zimmerman, who hit just six home runs in his final season at U.Va., belted his first big-league homer April 5 off of a 93-mph fastball from Mets closer Billy Wagner. By June 18, he'd hit 10. On Sept. 27, he tied the franchise rookie record with his 20th.

"I did a little bit better than I even thought I was going to do," Zimmerman says.

Zimmerman shrugs off dire 2007 forecasts for his team, which finished last in the NL East at 71-91 last season. He says the Nationals will find enough offense to offset Soriano's departure and enough arms to keep them in games.

And he's excited about playing for first-year manager Manny Acta, who's "a lot younger, probably a little bit more energetic, a little more fiery" than Frank Robinson.

And what of the increased pressure he might feel after his outstanding rookie season?

"If you play sports, you want to be that guy that everyone's looking for, to see if he can do it again or see if he can get better," Zimmerman says. " ... If you don't want to improve or want to be the guy that everyone's looking for, I think you might be in the wrong line of business."

Whatever Ryan does this season, he'll likely do it with his parents looking on. Keith and Cheryl make the 31/2-hour drive to RFK Stadium as often as possible, and both are excited about the Nats' new stadium, slated to open in April 2008.

Ryan got a tour of the stadium construction site in late January on the last stop of the Nationals' Winter Caravan, which also came to Virginia Beach last month. At the recreation center where he works, Keith gave interview after interview about his son, while Cheryl watched with a smile.

"What she's gone through in one day is so much worse than striking out three times in one game," Ryan says. "... If you have a bad day playing baseball, it's not that bad."

'No room for error' for FSU
Virginia lets only Thornton get his points
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By Jack Corcoran
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Three of the ACC's biggest stars delivered. And so did Virginia reserve Adrian Joseph.

Al Thornton racked up 30 points and a career-best 16 rebounds but couldn't prevent Florida State from suffering a 73-70 loss on Saturday. Joseph scored 17 points as the Cavaliers moved into a tie for first place in the league.

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“I've said we have had very little room for error,” said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, whose team's NCAA tournament hopes continue to fade. “Now, we have absolutely no room for error. We just have to make it happen for ourselves.”

Thornton had eight points in the final 30 seconds but couldn't bring FSU (17-10, 5-8 ACC) all the way back against Virginia (18-7, 9-3), which moved even for the moment with Boston College. Sean Singletary was 4 for 4 from the foul line in the last minute.

The game featured three of the ACC's top five scorers. Thornton didn't disappoint, accounting for 12 of FSU's 25 baskets. Singletary finished with 19 points and J.R. Reynolds added 17. Virginia's star guards combined to make only 11 of 34 shots, but each had six assists and helped create room for Joseph, who was 5 of 7 from 3-point range.

A basket by Thornton brought FSU to within 62-60. But Joseph countered with a crucial 3-pointer with just over four minutes remaining.

“He pump-faked and got me,” said Isaiah Swann, who had backed off to help as Singletary penetrated. “He stepped backed and knocked it down.”

Jason Cain took one dribble after accepting a pass from Reynolds and scored in the paint on Virginia's next possession, making it 67-60.

Singletary scored eight points in the first three minutes of the second half as the Cavaliers opened up a 12-point lead. Ralph Mims defended as Singletary knocked down his second 3-pointer in the span of three possessions.

“We came out in the second half kind of lethargic for what reason I don't know,” Thornton said.

 

Arc ace trumps FSU
U.Va.'s arc of triumph Joseph delivers from long range to help Cavs foil Seminoles
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 18, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The best player on the court at John Paul Jones Arena yesterday was Florida State's Al Thornton.

The best shooter was Virginia's Adrian Joseph, and his contribution was immense.

Though the 6-7 junior forward isn't one to fill up a box score, he has one skill that separates him from most other college players: his ability to bury shots from behind the 3-point arc. Joseph has been inconsistent in ACC play this season, but the native of San Fernando, Trinidad, was brilliant yesterday in a victory that moved U.Va. closer to the NCAA tournament.

Seven times Joseph shot from long range; five times the ball dropped through the hoop. He finished with a season-high 17 points as Virginia held off FSU 73-70 before a lethargic crowd of 14,619.

"If I throw it to him, and he's got his feet set, I just run back down the court," senior guard J.R Reynolds said, "because I know it's going to go in."

Not every time, of course. In his previous ACC game, Joseph had gone 0 for 6 from the field in a 27-point loss at Virginia Tech.

Even so, "I never lose confidence," he said yesterday.

"Not a whole lot fazes him," said Dave Leitao, U.Va.'s second-year coach. "Sometimes it gets him in trouble, and sometimes it works to his advantage. . . . He's got a shooter's mentality in that missing shots I don't think really bothers him much."

On an afternoon when Thornton scored 30 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, the Cavaliers (9-3, 18-7) got big games from three players -- Joseph, Reynolds and junior point guard Sean Singletary -- to overcome the 6-8, 220-pound senior's tour de force.

Thornton scored 23 points in the second half, the final three coming on a trey at the buzzer.

"He's big, he's quick and he's got a lot of energy," said U.Va. freshman Will Harris, who along with senior Jason Cain made Thornton earn his points. "It seems like he never gets tired out there."

FSU (5-8, 17-10) got tired of chasing the Cavaliers' superlative guards around the court. Reynolds had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He passed Travis Watson and Richard Morgan yesterday and now ranks 12th on U.Va.'s career scoring list, with 1,556 points.

Singletary made only 6 of 21 field goal attempts but finished with 19 points, six boards, six assists and four steals.

"In my eyes they are pros," Thornton said. "You can't contain both of those guys."

Florida State desperately needed a victory to bolster its prospects of reaching the NCAAs. Instead, the Seminoles dropped their fourth straight. The Wahoos, meanwhile, are assured of finishing above .500 in ACC play for the first time since 2000-01, also the last time they advanced to the NCAA tourney.

"I told the guys after the game, nine is a good number, but our goal right now is to get to 13," Leitao said. "Nine is only special if you get to 10."

Joseph, in particular, helped put U.Va. in position to try to pick up conference win No. 10 at last-place Miami (3-9, 10-16) on Wednesday night. The Cavs led for the final 36 minutes and 59 seconds yesterday, but FSU never let them get comfortable in the second half.

After the'Noles, who trailed by 12 with 16:54 remaining, pulled to 58-57 on a Thornton basket at the 6:31 mark, Joseph caught a pass from Singletary and buried a trey to make it a four-point game.

The Seminoles' surge continued, however, and U.Va.'s lead was only two when Joseph got the ball in the right corner. A head fake sent FSU guard Ralph Sims flying by, and Joseph coolly sank a 3-pointer that made it 65-60 with 4:04 left. One of his earlier treys had come after a similar fake.

"That's a very difficult shot to execute, and he hit two of them," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "That just shows he's an outstanding shooter with a high level of concentration."