Cavs' mystery man
Reynolds has his secrets, but skills are all on display
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 28, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE In the University of Virginia's basketball media guide, the middle names of most players are included with their biographical information.

Not so in J.R. Reynolds' case. His full name, he was reminded recently, is listed simply as James R. Reynolds.

"Good," he said.

Come on, James. What's the R stand for?

"I can't tell you," Reynolds responded with a smile.

His middle name shall remain a closely held secret, then, at least outside his family. But it's no mystery what Reynolds means to the Cavaliers.

Off the court, U.Va. coach Dave Leitao doesn't yell or scream or stomp his feet. In his soft-spoken way, though, Leitao has been lobbying to try to make sure Reynolds' contributions aren't overlooked when postseason honors are handed out.

A season ago, Reynolds made the all-ACC third team, and teammate Sean Singletary was a first-team pick. Leitao doesn't want to slight Singletary, the ACC's fourth-leading scorer, but he wants Reynolds, who's fifth, to get his due, too.

Because Singletary and Reynolds, Virginia's co-captains for the second straight year, are "grouped so much together," Leitao said, "in some people's eyes, I would imagine, it becomes a little bit difficult to talk about who's had a greater impact on our team."

Singletary, a 6-0 junior, averages 18.6 points, 4.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds, and he's made 70 3-pointers. Reynolds, a 6-2 senior, averages 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He's made 50 treys.

"J.R. started off the season a little slow but arguably could be up there with Sean or maybe [Virginia Tech senior Zabian] Dowdell as the best player or the best guard in this league," Leitao said.

Reynolds doesn't have Singletary's national reputation, but if "you look at the statistics, especially over the second half of the league, it would be challenging to find another guy that has been as consistent and as good as he has been," Leitao said.

Reynolds scored 40 points -- the most by an ACC player this season -- in a Jan. 21 win over Wake Forest. He had 29 three nights later in a victory at N.C. State. He's scored 20 or more points seven times against ACC foes this season, most recently on Saturday, when he rang up 25 in a win over Georgia Tech.

"I just play my game," Reynolds said. "I don't try to worry about being under the radar or whatever."

U.Va. (10-4, 19-8) is thought to be a lock for the NCAA tournament, which means the final home game for Leitao's seniors, Reynolds and Jason Cain, is almost at hand. No. 21 Virginia Tech (10-4, 20-8) visits John Paul Jones Arena tomorrow night. The state rivals are tied for first in the ACC.

"It'll probably be the biggest game of my career," Reynolds said. "Not only because it's my last game, but because of what we're playing for and how we put ourselves in a position to do well."

This is heady stuff for Reynolds, 22, a four-year starter whose postseason résumé consists of two trips to the NIT. He's played for two coaches: Pete Gillen, who resigned under pressure after Reynolds' sophomore season, and Leitao.

"I guess you could divide it into two halves," Reynolds said of his college career.

He wishes he'd won more games, of course, but it "was a great learning experience," Reynolds said. "It made me better as a person, both on and off the court. I don't regret anything that happened."

Reynolds was a junior at Roanoke Catholic when he committed to U.Va. in December 2001. Tom Herrion, then Gillen's top assistant, led the Cavaliers' pursuit of Reynolds, who spent his senior year at national power Oak Hill Academy.

"We were lucky with him in a lot of regards," Herrion recalled this week, "because we were fortunate to get him to commit before he gained his national exposure."

As a freshman, Reynolds made 48 treys. But his game was one-dimensional, and he inevitably drew comparisons to his mentor, former U.Va. sharpshooter Curtis Staples, another Roanoke product. Staples and others urged Reynolds to expand his game.

He's succeeded. A solid 188-pounder, Reynolds now drives often and finishes well in the lane. He had two three-point plays against Georgia Tech.

"He clearly has evolved into as complete a player as he could possibly be," Herrion said.

Even if we don't know his complete name.

 

Tough calls in the ACC
Caulton Tudor, Staff Writer

As the voting deadline for ACC basketball honors approaches, the races are too close to call on several fronts.
Members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association have until Sunday night to make their decisions. As one of those voters, I intend to wait as long as possible.

It has not been a great year for the league -- far from it -- but it has been extremely competitive among the six teams likely to finish the regular season in the first division of the standings.

Entering the final games, here are a few races to watch:

J.R. Reynolds or Sean Singletary?

One of these two seemingly cloned Virginia guards has to join Zabian Dowdell (Virginia Tech), Jared Dudley (Boston College), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) and Al Thornton (Florida State) on my first-team all-conference list.

But which Cavaliers star do you pick? Reynolds is a senior and had a 40-point game against Wake Forest. Singletary, a junior, has the higher scoring average (18.6 to 18.5) and ranks among the league leaders in assists.

For now, it's Singletary's spot by a hair, but two big games by Reynolds could change the verdict.

Dave Leitao or Seth Greenberg?

Leitao's second Virginia team is 10-4 in the league and 19-8 overall, with games to go against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

The Hokies' Greenberg, in his fourth season at the school, was ACC coach of the year in 2005. His team went 8-8 and 16-14 that season. With games left against Virginia and Clemson, Greenberg's current team is 10-4 and 20-8.

Virginia Tech won the first regular-season game handily on Feb. 10, but that was in Blacksburg. If Greenberg can make it a sweep, he likely will win the vote.

Outside the ACC, neither coach has accomplished much of substance. The Cavaliers opened the season with an upset win over Arizona but then lost to Appalachian State only a few weeks later.

Overall, no one among the 12 coaches has had a spectacular season. If you had to pass letter grades to date, no one would deserve an "A."

Dowdell, Dudley or Hansbrough?

Don't discount the possibility that there'll be a tie in the voting for player of the year.

It's occurred only once in league history -- Duke's Shane Battier and North Carolina's Joseph Forte in 2001.

Dowdell, Dudley and Hansbrough are the likely leaders, but there's no clear front-runner. Dudley, for now, is my leader, but he's in no position to mail it in during the final two games against Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Lawson or Wright?

The freshman class has exceeded most expectations. In fact, picking the five-man all-frosh team is more difficult than settling on best for all-conference.

For rookie of the year, I think it's basically a race between North Carolina playmaker Ty Lawson and Tar Heels big man Brandan Wright.

Wright has superstar talent and probably will be the first ACC player selected if he enters the NBA Draft, but Lawson is the one player the team can't live without.

When he's on the court, the offense works well most of the time. When Lawson is on the bench, the offense struggles.

On my current rookie team, the two Heels are joined by Duke's Jon Scheyer, N.C. State's Brandon Costner and Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton.

But how's this for a second-team all-rookie group -- Thaddeus Young (Georgia Tech), Wayne Ellington (UNC), Ish Smith (Wake Forest), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland) and Trevor Booker (Clemson)? Not bad, that's what.

 

Staying at UVa was the right decision for Cain
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
February 28, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - A gaggle of cameras and reporters stood stationed in one corner of the John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday, awaiting the arrival of one of Virginia's de facto team spokesmen, senior guard J.R. Reynolds.
Instead, Jason Cain was the first to emerge from the Cavaliers' practice court.

"I'd like to apologize," he yelled loudly, throwing his hands in the air and flashing a smile. "Sorry guys, it's not J.R."

No, it was the on-again, off-again, 6-foot-10 forward, who, along with Reynolds, is the other player from UVa's five-man recruiting class of 2003 to finish his career at Virginia. Cain, who will play his final home game on Thursday against Virginia Tech, soaked in the attention.

He beamed with pride knowing that he will soon be the first person in his immediate family to graduate from college. He pondered a professional future in basketball somewhere ("I feel like I'm a little too tall to have a regular job standing around," he joked). And he reminisced about past teammates who just as easily could have been slumped in his chair, answering the exact same questions and enjoying UVa's success.

There was Gary Forbes, who bolted for Massachusetts shortly after Dave Leitao's hiring. Donte Minter waited until midseason to leave for Appalachian State. And T.J. Bannister is currently sitting out for a year before he begins play at Liberty next season.

"Honestly, you get disappointed that they left, but I probably wouldn't be here playing as well as I am right now if they were here," said Cain, who has started 55 games in his career. "It opened up things for me.

"Someone else's loss is my gain."

Truth be told, Cain almost joined the mass exodus. For the first two years of his career, the Philadelphia product was better known for his mustache (and resultant likeness to Cav Man) than anything he'd done on the court, averaging scarcely 12 minutes a game in Pete Gillen's final season and scoring just 2.6 points a game.

Then Gillen was gone in April of 2005. Leitao came in and Cain had his doubts. Why stick around if it's just going to be more of the same?

He sought advice, calling Derrick Byars, who transferred from UVa to Vanderbilt after the 2003-04 season. Leitao had recruited Byars when he was an assistant at UConn. Byars assured Cain that Leitao was up front.

"I really needed somebody I could trust," Cain said.

He might not have known what he was bargaining for. Cain became the target of many of Leitao's very public, very biting tirades in his first year. When his work ethic waned, he'd hear about it. When he didn't box out, he'd hear about it. When he wasn't playing to his potential, he'd hear about it.

It was all new to Cain. It was also effective.

Before Virginia traveled to play at Georgia Tech in December of 2005, Cain kicked a chair out of frustration during practice.

Leitao snidely told him to never kick a chair again. Only real players kick chairs, he said.

Cain responded with 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Yellow Jackets, his first career double-double.

"As much as I say I didn't (need it), I really did," Cain said of Leitao's tough-love tactics. "I didn't know what work ethic was until he got here."

While he's made strides, dedicating himself to conditioning and lifting weights when he chose to stay in Charlottesville last summer, Cain's game still comes and goes. His stats (6.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg) are down from last year (7.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and he still has lapses in his play.

In UVa's most recent win against Georgia Tech, it took an irate Leitao personally challenging the senior before he turned around what had been a lackadaisical 35 minutes of play into five minutes of energy and desire, filled with the defensive stops and offensive rebounds he seems capable of getting on a nightly basis.

"We saw a little bit of him," Reynolds said. "I'm still waiting to see the double-double guy. Time is running out, hopefully we'll see it soon."

Cain hopes so too. During a press function before the season, Leitao called Cain a highly intelligent guy, a rare compliment the coach is reticent to dole out.

"He'll throw out a couple (compliments) here and there during the season," Cain said. "You won't get more than three."

Did Cain remember the other two?

"Naw," he said. "I think he's saving the other two coming up."


 

Falcons face losing more than an end
By Jeff Schultz | Tuesday, February 27, 2007, 08:07 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jeff Schultz The NFL’s Nip/Tuck season begins Friday with the opening of free agency. Potential Super Bowl teams will try to add a player and subtract a chin. The Falcons shouldn’t be so deluded. Their issues extend far beyond the need for implants and liposuction.

When Patrick Kerney voided the final two years of his contract to become a free agent, the Falcons potentially lost far more than just a defensive end. They lost one of the few ticking heartbeats in the locker room.

What happened to the Falcons last season — another second-half collapse, punctuated by getting slapped by Philadelphia’s backups to close the season — wasn’t the mere residual of flawed schemes and a distracted head coach. They had a locker room with issues — issues that remain today, issues beyond a dead dog and a trick water bottle.

Players didn’t seem to care about each other. Or about their head coach. Or about anything of substance that generally goes with direct deposit. That became clear to most of us who watched the team. It’s logical to assume it also became clear to Kerney.

Kerney is too classy an individual to publicly ridicule anybody. But it’s worth noting that he said his decision on where to sign will be based on more than just guaranteed dollars.

“I look at the whole picture,” he said Tuesday. “Your performance on the field on Sunday is just a byproduct of a year-round commitment. How do you treat your body? How do you handle yourself in the offseason? What’s your devotion to your teammates, even away from the locker room? When you talk about team chemistry, that’s how it’s developed. You pull for that guy next to you.”

This is the poster boy for what Falcons coach Bobby Petrino — or any head coach — should want. But Kerney reaffirmed he likely will be elsewhere. While Petrino publicly maintains that the team could re-sign Kerney, the numbers don’t add up. More importantly, neither does the logic.

Kerney wants to win a Super Bowl. If he looked around and believed that could happen soon in Flowery Branch, don’t you think this would be playing out differently?

Tell me if this sounds like a player who really wants to stay here: “I’m looking forward to free agency. It’s a whole new experience. I’m excited to explore my options. I want to see the way other clubs operate.”

The Falcons are only $10 million under the salary cap. That space probably won’t satisfy Kerney’s market value. On Monday, Buffalo re-signed end Chris Kelsay for $23 million over four years ($14.5 million guaranteed). Last year in free agency, Philadelphia signed end Darren Howard for $30 million over six years ($10.5 million guaranteed).

From the business side, it’s understandable why the Falcons would balk at jumping into a bidding war (with potentially Tampa Bay, Seattle, Denver and others). Kerney is 30. He missed the final seven games last season with a torn pectoral muscle. The Falcons have too many other needs to risk a huge financial commitment. That’s the way they will spin it.

But please note that Kerney began bench-pressing almost two weeks ago. That’s two months ahead of his rehab schedule. His arm hasn’t fallen off. He can still play. And think, and feel, and try.

Anybody who knows Kerney, the pride he has and the passion he plays with, knows how the Falcons’ pathetic finish must have grated on him.

But when Kerney was asked about the season-ending 24-17 loss to the Eagles — who rested their starters after learning their playoff-seeding was secure — this was as close as he came to passing judgment: “That was disappointing. That was the hardest game to watch. It was clear as day who was on the other side of the ball [for Philadelphia]. I didn’t study the game film. Watching that game and the Baltimore game [an earlier 24-10 loss] on TV, it’s hard to get a true evaluation. But all the evidence you needed was the final score. It was tough to swallow.”

Two months later, and Kerney just showed more emotion about a loss than any present-day Falcon did after that game.

That should tell you something.

 

New arena quite hospitable to the Cavs
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
February 27, 2007

Scattershooting around the ACC, while wondering if Virginia will show up for this Thursday’s game against Virginia Tech or just mail it in like the Cavs did last time ...
The one thing on UVa’s side will be home court, which has been a distinct advantage for the Cavaliers during coach Dave Leitao’s first two seasons, though spread over two arenas.
Virginia is 15-1 at home at the new John Paul Jones Arena, the most home wins by any team in UVa men’s basketball history. Last year, the Cavs were 11-3 at home in University Hall.
“I think one of the things you want is to be respected at home,” said Leitao. “From the day [JPJ] opened up, it was a comfortable place.
“The guys never felt any adjustment. When you add the crowd and the comfort level of support, it became a very difficult place to hear, think, and ultimately, to play.”
It may require all that Virginia can muster to hold off the Hokies, who embarrassed the Cavaliers in Blacksburg, and have walked out of both Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Dean Dome this season with wins.

Foul him
If you’re locked in a close battle with North Carolina, it’s not hard to figure out who you should foul: freshman Brandan Wright.
The 6-foot-9 rookie forward, whose missed free throw cost the Tar Heels a chance to put Sunday night’s game into overtime, has not been solid from the line this season even though he may be the ACC Rookie of the Year.
He is shooting 56 percent from the free throw line, well below his 65 percent from the field, which ironically leads the ACC.
Push him 10 feet away from the basket and it’s a different story even though coaches have worked with him on technique.

On the bubble
Clemson, Florida State and Georgia Tech are flirting dangerously with a chance to make the NCAA Tournament field.
Once 17-0 and the story of college basketball, Clemson lost for the ninth time in its last 11 games on Saturday to Boston College. It appears the Tigers are destined to play in the NIT for a third straight year.
“We’ve got a dagger in our hearts, it seems like,” said junior forward James Mays.
While Florida State’s strength of schedule and RPI remain high, the Seminoles have struggled without starting point guard Toney Douglas, who is out with a broken wrist on his shooting hand. FSU is 1-4 without him.
Georgia Tech is 18-10, but only 6-8 in the ACC and still has to play North Carolina and Boston College this week. Thankfully for the Jackets, both games are in Atlanta. They have struggled mightily on the road, having lost 19 of their last 20 road trips (not neutral court games).
Coach Paul Hewitt is a little touchy about that subject, though. After the Jackets’ loss at Virginia on Saturday, Hewitt was asked about blowing a chance to win only Tech’s second road game this season.
“People are making too much of this road business,” Hewitt snapped back. Neutral games now count as home games (huh?), and we’ve won our share away from Alexander [Memorial Coliseum].”
Alrighty, then. Let’s see if the NCAA Selection Committee looks at it that way.

Red-hot Terps
Gary Williams has done a tremendous job in turning his Maryland team around in the second half of the season.
The Terps have won five in a row and seven of their last nine games after knocking off fifth-ranked North Carolina on Sunday night. Maryland’s winning spree has allowed Williams’ team to jump 21 spots in the RPI (35 to 14) the last two weeks.
Even though the Terps have not been a strong rebounding team this season, they dominated the Tar Heels on the boards.
“I think statistics are funny sometimes,” Williams said Monday. “We’ve gradually gotten better [at rebounding]. We’ve also asked our guards to rebound and tried to stress team rebounding instead of asking one guy to get 10. That has taken some pressure off some guys.”
In the meantime, D.J. Strawberry has come on strong, scoring in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games.
“He has done what you want your senior leaders to do, step up when things get hard for us,” Williams said.

Stat of the Week
Florida State’s Al Thornton has scored 20 or more points in 10 of his last 14 games.

Quote of the Week
“It’s definitely time to expand the [NCAA] Tournament. I’d love to see us add three or seven teams to the tournament.” -Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt.

Bye bye Barakat
The ACC is saying so long to one of its long-time associate directors, Fred Barakat, who is retiring at the end of the season.
Barakat was supervisor of basketball officiating for most of his career until handing over those duties last season. He also has been the director of the ACC Tournament.
Several observers have noticed a drop-off in officiating since Barakat gave up the responsibilities, but that’s another story.
“Fred’s been one of the giants in the history of ACC basketball,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “He has done an amazing job over the years. He established the best officiating group in the country, and what he has done for the tournament has kept it No. 1, by far. You feel like you’re in a Final Four atmosphere.
“I don’t know how to replace him, honestly. Maybe they ought to try to keep him on as an advisor of some capacity. He is an ambassador. He just gets things done and has kept our conference the best basketball conference in the country.”

Demon Deacons
Think Virginia’s season finale at Wake Forest is going to be a walk in the park on Saturday? Think again.
The Deacons may show the demon part of their nickname as they will be fighting to stay out of last place in the league. Currently, they are in a three-way tie with Miami and N.C. State in the cellar.
Wake is trying to avoid finishing dead last in the ACC for the second straight season. The Deacs, who are 13-14 and still play N.C. State and UVa, have not suffered a losing season since 1990.

Injury report
FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said Tuesday that he expects point guard Toney Douglas to be back for the ACC Tournament, but doesn’t know if the NCAA will give the Seminoles a break in terms of a bid to the tournament by noting that his team is 1-4 without the injured guard.
Douglas has been sidelined since suffering a fractured shooting hand on Feb. 7.
“He’s going to have to make a tremendous improvement this week before the Miami game for him to be able to play in and be able to contribute,” Hamilton said of the Noles’ season finale on Saturday. “He has not had any contact and he has not been involved in any drills.”

Carolina Blue
What’s wrong with the Tar Heels? Anointed as the team with far and away the most talent of any ACC team this season, the Heels find themselves locked in a three-way tie with UVa and Virginia Tech for first place.
Most critics of the team point to one factor - the team has no leader.
“Every time we come up against a team that’s got that mean streak to them, we always face problems - always,” said Carolina guard Marcus Ginyard. “Like this team is too finesse.”

Free throws
FSU honored Bob Sura’s (1992-95) No. 3 jersey prior to Saturday’s game against N.C. State, the third former Seminole so honored this season along with Dave Cowens and Hugh Durham. ... BC’s Jared Dudley is attempting to become the first player since UNC’s Antwan Jamison to lead the ACC in both scoring and rebounding. ... Home teams have a 55-30 record in league play this season. ... N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe returned to the sidelines this past weekend after having been hospitalized during the Wolfpack’s game at rival UNC last Wednesday night. Lowe was suffering from dehydration but was released from UNC Hospital the following morning and was back to work Friday. ... Duke has won three of its last four games heading into this week’s finales, a home game against Maryland and a trip to nearby Carolina. ... Florida State (6-9) will finish this season with a losing conference record for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons. ... The ACC is the only league in the country with nine teams ranked in the RPI top 55. ... Virginia Tech’s overall strength of schedule is 18th in the nation, UVa’s is 46th. ... By the way, the Hokies’ ACC record of 10-4 matches their non-conference record of 10-4.
 

Cavs gain 2nd commitment for 2008 class
From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
February 27, 2007

Virginia football coach Al Groh received his second commitment for the class of 2008.

Aaron VanKuiken, a junior offensive tackle from Turpin High School in Cincinnati, gave a verbal commitment to the UVa coaching staff while he was in town for a junior day, according to TheSabre.com.

"I did commit to Virginia," VanKuiken said. "I committed at the junior day."

VanKuiken is the second '08 commitment for the Cavs, following fellow Ohioan Matt Mihalik, an offensive lineman from Gilmour Academy in Middlefield.

"Virginia was a school I had always considered," VanKuiken told The Sabre. "I know Virginia is not the most popular school in Ohio, but over the past two or three years I followed them more. I really liked the academics and the tradition.

 

Va. Tech vandals hit JPJ
Small 'VT' insignia etched into arena's playing surface
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 28, 2007

Two of the top teams in the conference. In-state rivals. Senior Night on ESPN.

Did Thursday’s battle for first place in the ACC between Virginia and Virginia Tech really need any more spice?

Well, now it has it.

On Tuesday afternoon, J.W. Stehle, a television reporter for WVAW in Charlottesville, made a startling discovery.

While preparing for a press conference with other members of the media, Stehle noticed that the letters “VT” had been carved into the corner of the court on the north end of John Paul Jones Arena.

The letters are extremely small, and can only be seen at a certain angle where the light catches them just right, but they are there - clear as day.

“Wow, I don’t really know what to say,” said Virginia freshman Will Harris, smiling “Somebody should be reported for that. There should be some charges drawn up or something.”

“For real?” said Virginia senior co-captain J.R. Reynolds, when informed of the act of vandalism. “Man, that’s crazy.”

Ever see the “Seinfeld” episode where Elaine’s boss stares and stares at the 3-D art painting, but can never see what everybody else does?

That was Virginia junior Tunji Soroye.

The Nigerian looked intently at the court for a few minutes, but could not make out the letters. Then, just as he was about to walk away, they came into view.

Teammate Ryan Pettinella noticed them immediately.

“That’s insulting,” said Pettinella, half-jokingly. “That adds more fuel to the fire I guess.”

It isn’t the first time that something like this has happened. During the 2005 football season, some Virginia Tech fans broke into Scott Stadium and painted a “T” next to Virginia’s “V” logo at midfield. It was removed prior to kickoff, but remained somewhat visible.

What is interesting about this incident is the fact that the letters - which are underneath a varnish - appear to have been there for some time, perhaps even before the start of the season.

If that’s the case, does Virginia really want to remove them? After all, UVa is 15-1 this season in JPJ.

“It’s a coincidence that this would come up now,” Harris said, “so I guess after Thursday we can try and decide what to do with it.”

Virginia Tech won the first meeting of the season between the schools, 84-57, on Feb. 10 in Blacksburg.

Rich Murray, Virginia’s Associate Director of Athletics for Public Relations, had no comment.

 

Everybody knows Andy
Cav teammates can't explain reserve Burns' stardom
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 28, 2007

If the Virginia men’s basketball team - which is currently in a first-place tie with North Carolina and Virginia Tech atop the ACC - held a popularity contest, who would win?

It would have to be Sean Singletary, right? After all, he was first-team all-conference last season.

If not Singletary, surely it would be J.R. Reynolds? The senior is the league’s second-leading scorer this season.

Actually, Virginia’s most popular player is not on scholarship, has played just 19 minutes and has a huge red afro.

He is Andy Burns.

“Andy has got more fans than anyone on the team,” said Reynolds, laughing. “That’s the truth. I’ve got girls coming up to me saying, ‘I want to meet Andy!’ I’m like, ‘Dang! What is this?’

“It’s crazy. I don’t know what it is.”

Burns, a freshman forward, is listed at 6-foot-8 - but factor in the ’fro and he’s at least 6-10.

Coincidentally, Burns’ given first name is Fletcher. Teammates call him “Fletch,” just like the Chevy Chase movie character who sported a large afro in his fantasy pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“In high school, they had a rule where you had to keep your hair at like ear level, but I never really followed that,” said Burns, who attended Bishop Ireton in Alexandria. “I tried to avoid the Dean of Students as much as I could.

“I get it bad [at road games]. They call me Carrot Top and things like that, but I think the home crowd supports me even more because the opposing crowd taunts me so much.”

Some of the loudest cheers in John Paul Jones Arena this season have come when Burns checks into the game. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Virginia is usually pummeling its opponent.

Case in point: UVa’s recent rout of Longwood. Burns, to the crowd’s delight, entered the contest with just 2:31 left and the Cavaliers up by 38.

The walk-on did not disappoint.

First, he blocked the shot of Longwood’s Joel Rowe. Then, a little over a minute later, Burns received the ball on the wing and knocked down a 3-pointer - the first of his career.

The crowd went nuts. Virginia players jumped up and down on the sidelines. Even UVa coaches could be seen grinning.

“We were very happy that he was able to get on the board,” Singletary said. “He puts in a lot of hard work and we were excited for him.”

Burns was pretty stoked, too.

“I hadn’t scored for a really long time and the crowd wanted me to score, so it felt good to get that release,” he said.

Burns said the crowd always gives him a big boost.

“I don’t want to let them down or make a bad mistake so that I wouldn’t be able to play,” he said. “Each time I come in, I just try and make a play so that people will respect me, guys on other teams will respect me, and the crowd will respect me to know that I can play.”

That’s one of the biggest misnomers about Burns - that he can’t play. Typically, there is a wide discrepancy in talent between walk-ons and scholarship players. However, Burns turned downed Division I scholarship offers from Vermont and American for the chance to play at Virginia.

“You can always count on him for the hustle plays,” said fellow freshman Will Harris. “He always goes hard. Every day in practice he’s the guy diving on the floor for the loose balls and pumping everybody up.

“I think he should be getting some [playing] time, personally, because he hustles and every time he gets in the game everyone can see it. He’s bound to get a rebound or get the crowd into the game. There are days in practice when Andy just goes off. He definitely can play.”

Virginia coach Dave Leitao says Burns, who played for current Maryland assistant coach Chuck Driesell in high school, is developing nicely.

“He’s gotten better individually, and I think he understands the game a whole lot more,” Leitao said. “I think as he continues to grow physically, as well as mentally, his role will increase.”

So what is it about Burns - other than the hair - that makes him so popular?

“Andy is just Andy,” said Singletary, smiling.

What does that mean exactly?

“Andy’s the quiet guy,” Harris explained, “and then all of a sudden he has a moment where he says something funny and everybody will just die laughing because you don’t expect it from him.”

Reynolds is still trying to get a handle on why Burns is stealing all his thunder.

“I don’t know,” he said, chuckling. “It’s something you can’t explain.”

Burns says he hasn’t put too much thought into his popularity. He’s just glad he’s at Virginia.

“The main job that I have on this team is just try and make it better any way I can,” he said. “I’ll try and make sacrifices for other people, so that it can be easier for them - just do anything I can to help out.”

 

Cavaliers top Keydets for 9th straight win
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 28, 2007

After pushing Virginia into the national forefront in baseball, Brian O’Connor is not shocked to see an opposing team send its No. 1 pitcher to the mound in a mid-week game.

The Cavaliers’ coach, however, does not typically plan on seeing a foe trot out their top three starters. He did on Wednesday against the Virginia Military Institute.

In the end, the tactic merely made the announced crowd of 1,156 nervous longer than expected.

It took an RBI single from Brandon Guyer in the fifth and a solo homer from Sean Doolittle in the seventh to defeat the Keydets, 5-3.

The Cavaliers, ranked seventh in the country, improved to 11-1 overall and remained perfect at Davenport Field.

“In some cases you are going to face another teams’ No. 1 pitcher because we are the ranked team and a state school and they are gunning for you,” O’Connor said. “It’s a big feather in their cap to come in here and win, but that is the expectation on our players when they come here to play. They know that they are going to get a team’s best.

“That is a great part of playing in this program.”

VMI (5-3) was in a unique situation.

Due to weather complications that hindered their early schedule, the Keydets’ decision came as no surprise to Virginia’s coaching staff.

“[VMI] pitched their No. 1 and No. 2 guys last Monday and Tuesday because they were snowed out over the [previous] weekend and they didn’t pitch against Niagara on Friday and Saturday, so I knew that we were going to see all of them today and that they were going to kind of chop the game up to get their rotation in line,” O’Connor said. “It was a smart move on their coach’s part and I would have done the same thing.”

The strategy employed by VMI coach Frank Leoni was altered somewhat in the first inning.

Keydets’ starting pitcher, Travis Swink, left the game after facing just three batters with an apparent injury to his pitching elbow.

Virginia, which struck out 13 in the game, took advantage of the early call to the bullpen - VMI brought in weekend starter Michael Bowman with two runners on - by plating a pair in the bottom of the opening inning on a two-out, two-run single by David Adams.

The Cavaliers, who registered 10 hits, tacked on

another against Bowman, albeit unearned, in the third on an RBI ground out by Brandon Marsh.

Virginia starter Neal Davis, who was on cruise control through his first three innings, ran into trouble in the fourth. VMI tied the game at 3-3 and chased Davis after three consecutive hits and a costly error by Doolittle at first.

O’Connor turned the game over to his well-rested bullpen, a group that allowed just two hits over the final six innings.

“I didn’t think Neal Davis was going to give us six innings … but that just shows how strong that bullpen is,” O’Connor said. “You go to [Andrew] Carraway and he shuts them down, you go to [Michael] Schwimer for two innings and then Casey Lambert - that is a pretty good combination.”

Carraway might have been the best of all.

The sophomore, who entered for Davis in the fourth, pitched until the seventh and fanned seven Keydets, including six in a row.

Being thrust into a close game did not bother the right-hander.

“I love those situations. If it were up to me I would make every game a tie game,” said Carraway, who earned the win on the mound. “You are going in there and it’s just you and the batter. Both of you are giving everything you can and may the best guy win.”

Virginia returns to action on Friday as it opens a three-game set with Delaware.