UVa tabs Pruett to run defense
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 15, 2008

Before playing Wake Forest this season, Al Groh stood on the sidelines at Scott Stadium chatting with a close friend.

At that point, Virginia’s football coach was unaware he was talking with the man that would become his next defensive coordinator.

That became a reality Thursday - Bob Pruett was offered and accepted the vacant position as Virginia’s defensive coordinator.

Pruett, 64, will be announced officially as the successor to coach Mike London today, and he will reportedly be paid $250,000 annually. London left in January to become the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Richmond.

After serving as the head coach at Marshall during a nine-year stint that started with a NCAA Division I-AA title run in 1996, Pruett shocked many by retiring in March 2005, five years before his contract expired.

When he initially walked away from the game, Pruett said publicly that he wanted to spend time with his grandchildren, and he remained out of football until the offer from Groh and the opportunity to work again in the commonwealth sparked his interest.

“It’s sort of like coming home because I lived in Virginia for 14 years when I got out of college and was a high school coach there,” Pruett told The Daily Progress. “I got to coach in the state all-star game a couple or three times and we were state championship runner-up ... and then I recruited the state when I was an assistant and a head coach for 39 years of coaching, so it’s great to be back.”

Pruett’s coaching career started in Virginia in 1965 when he served as an assistant coach and head wrestling coach at Falls Church High. After stops at Washington & Lee High in Arlington and Hayfield High in Alexandria, Pruett became the head football coach at Groveton High, which later merged with Fort Hunt to become West Potomac High.

While Pruett was at Groveton in 1971 and 1972, he developed a close relationship with Groh, who was working as Virginia’s defensive line coach.

The two routinely enjoyed sandwiches over lunch, Groh said, when their paths crossed.

Pruett also coached seven years at Gar-Field High in Woodbridge before heading to the college ranks as an assistant coach at Marshall, his alma mater, in 1979.

Four years later, Groh hired Pruett for his staff at Wake Forest and later named him the Demon Deacons’ defensive coordinator.

Pruett remained in that role from 1985 to 1989, including two years on coach Bill Dooley’s staff, before working on staffs at Mississippi, Tulane and as the defensive coordinator under coach Steve Spurrier at Florida.

At Marshall, Pruett compiled a 94-23 record and took the Thundering Herd to seven bowl games after their promotion to Division I-A prior to the 1997 season.

With quarterback Chad Pennington running the offense in 1999, Marshall finished 13-0 and ranked No. 10 in the country.

During his time at Marshall, and even before, Pruett left a lasting impression on Fork Union coach John Shuman while recruiting countless players from the local military school.

“Everywhere Bob Pruett has been, he has recruited Fork Union guys,” Shuman said. “Bob is a pretty dynamic guy. He is aggressive. He is one of those high-energy, high-intensity guys. He kind of reminds me of Ron Zook up there at Illinois. He gets a lot out of his players.

“That’s a great hire right there. I think that is a home run right there.”

Pruett hopes his connections in Virginia will help with in-state recruiting. Earlier this month, the Cavaliers announced a signing class that featured only three players from inside the commonwealth.

“Hopefully, I can contribute and help in whatever way to make the University of Virginia continue the great success it has had,” he said.

Given his numerous trips to watch UVa play since his retirement and with his lasting friendship with Groh, Pruett will not enter blindly.

“I know a lot about it. And, it’s good to be back with a close personal friend in Al Groh,” Pruett said. “It’s an honor to be coaching at the University of Virginia. It’s such a proud university and I’m looking forward to being back in the ACC.

“I was at Wake Forest for seven years and it’s a great league and I’m excited to be back.”

Groh added: “He’s been over to games the last couple of years. He and I have talked football continously over the years. Clearly, he understands the things that occur in a head coach’s office in every phase including the tactical phase.”

It is unclear how long Pruett envisions working at Virginia - he needs to work just one more season as a head coach to become eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

 

Groh calls on an old accomplice
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
February 15, 2008

After retiring as head football coach at Marshall University in 2004, Bob Pruett began feeling the itch last spring when he observed a practice session while visiting his son, a high school coach in Mississippi.

When Pruett took another southern excursion to spend a week with his son last fall, he had an epiphany.

“I realized the Good Lord had called me to be a football coach and I wasn’t doing what I was called to do, so I felt like I needed to get back into it if the opportunity arose,” Pruett said Thursday night from his home in Sarasota, Fla. “We had two or three different deals going on and none of them seemed to be right, and then this happened.”

Then came a phone call from one of his oldest and dearest friends, Virginia coach Al Groh, who was looking for a defensive coordinator. Pruett was his man.

Forty-year friendship

The two had first met nearly 40 years ago when Groh was a fledgling defensive line coach at Virginia and Pruett was head coach at Groveton High School in Alexandria. They hit it off immediately and have been close friends ever since.

“When I first started coaching here, Northern Virginia was my recruiting area at that time,” Groh said. “When I went to coach at North Carolina, I kept that same recruiting area, so Bob was in my territory for eight years before I left to join [Bill] Parcells at Air Force.”

Over that span, Groh said he always structured his recruiting days so that Pruett’s school was his last stop of the afternoon because he knew that he and Pruett would sit and talk football for hours on end. They haven’t stopped talking ball over all these years, particularly for four years when Groh was head coach at Wake Forest, where Pruett joined him as an assistant and worked his way into the defensive coordinator post.

When Groh called, Pruett couldn’t resist bringing the conversation to Charlottesville where he will replace, Mike London, who resigned last month to become head coach at Richmond.

Born to coach football

“When you do something for 39 years, you know you miss it,” said the 64-year-old Pruett, who rose to fame during a nine-year stretch at Marshall, where he led the Thundering Herd to its most glorious moments on the gridiron. “I felt like my heath is good and my energy is good. I had been doing some consulting with a couple of teams, so when I got back in with my son I just realized that working with kids is what I’ve done all my life and what I wanted to do was be a football coach and I wasn’t coaching ball.”

Groh, who was clearly excited to have Pruett on the Virginia staff, chuckled when asked about his friend’s three-year retirement.

“Bob hasn’t been retired,” Groh said. “He just hasn’t been coaching.”

Pruett was equally excited not only to be back in the business, but to rejoin forces with Groh.

“Al and I have been very, very close and shared advice, and cried on each other’s shoulder, and hugged each other, too, for a long, long time,” Pruett said. “So it’s great to be back with him.”

Virginia fans should be excited about the wealth of knowledge that Pruett brings to the coaching staff and his extensive recruiting background in the state. In fact, Pruett pointed out that while leading Marshall to a 94-23 record during his nine seasons in Huntington (1996-2004), that he recruited “a lot of good Virginia players there, several of which went on to play in the NFL.”

After serving as a defensive coordinator for Groh, Bill Dooley and Steve Spurrier at Florida, Pruett worked miracles at Marshall, leading the Herd to a 15-0 record and the Division I-AA national championship in his first season.

The next year, Pruett’s Marshall team became the first I-AA team ever to jump to I-A and win at least 10 games and go to a bowl game. That team finished 10-3 and lost 34-31 to Mississippi in the Motor City Bowl. It was the first of seven bowl trips for the Herd (they won five), six conference championships to go along with two undefeated seasons (13-0 in 1999).

“Not many people know it, but a lot of the things we did at Marshall and the success we had there were patterned after the ideas and things that Al did at Wake Forest,” Pruett said. “I felt very fortunate to have had the privilege to have worked for him and with him.”

Over the years, Pruett said that he learned to admire Groh’s passion for the game.

“He’s a workaholic and that doesn’t scare me,” Pruett said. “But his passion for the game has always impressed me. And he really cares about his players. He just works at it all the time.”

Groh said that having Pruett as a sounding board will be a good thing for the program.

“With Bob’s obvious success, anyone would be foolish not to take to heart anything he has to offer,” Groh said.

And while Pruett will be Virginia’s defensive coordinator, he was known for coaching some of the country’s most prolific offenses during his time at Marshall.

“So, don’t think we’re going to take that part of his brain and lock it away in some dark closet,” Groh chuckled. “We will take full advantage of both sides of Bob’s brain.”


 

Groh hires old friend
Former Marshall coach Bob Pruett named an assistant
Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 - 06:45 PM Updated: 07:08 PM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- To fill the position vacated by Mike London, Al Groh has turned to one of his closest friends in the coaching profession.

Bob Pruett, who spent four seasons on Groh's staff at Wake Forest in the 1980s, will succeed London as defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia. An official announcement from U.Va. is expected soon.

"It's a great opportunity to work with an old friend," Pruett told the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail. "It was just too good of an offer to pass up."

London headed up I-64 last month to become the coach at the University of Richmond.

Pruett, 64, has been out of coaching for nearly three years. He retired in March 2005 after compiling a 94-23 record in nine seasons at Marshall University, which moved from Division I-AA to I-A during his tenure.

In 1996, Pruett guided the Thundering Herd, whose receivers included Randy Moss, to a 15-0 record and the I-AA national title. Marshall finished 13-0 in 1999.

Before moving into college coaching, Pruett was a successful coach at two Northern Virginia high schools: Groveton and Gar-Field. He also recruited many players from this state when he was at Marshall. One of them, former L.C. Bird High star Doug Chapman, rushed for 4,293 yards in four seasons under Pruett at Marshall.

"His résumé and his reputation in the state of Virginia as a recruiter is great," Liberty University coach Danny Rocco said yesterday. "I see him bringing a lot. He's got a really, really sharp defensive mind."

Rocco, a former U.Va. assistant, graduated from Wake Forest. When Rocco played there, Groh's assistants included Pruett. As a graduate assistant and then a full-time assistant, Rocco later worked with Pruett, who was the Demon Deacons' defensive coordinator in 1985 and'86.

"Bob was a very good motivator," Rocco said. "He always seemed to be able to do the right thing, say the right thing, in terms of motivating a group of guys. I think he did a great job of building trust with his players."

A native of Beckley, W.Va., Pruett was defensive coordinator at Tulane in 1992 and'93, and at Florida, under Steve Spurrier, in 1994 and'95.

"I think Bob is going to be as well-respected as any assistant football coach in the state of Virginia," Rocco said, "and that includes the guys that have been down with Coach [Frank] Beamer at Virginia Tech for a long time."

 

Ex-Herd coach rejoins Al Groh
Former Marshall head coach Bob Pruett was on Al Groh's coaching staff at Wake Forest.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Virginia's new defensive coordinator and assistant head coach won't need a road map when he arrives in Charlottesville.

"I've been in every nook and cranny of that state," said 64-year-old Bob Pruett, who came out of retirement Thursday to join former coaching colleague Al Groh at UVa. "I've been from Clintwood to the Eastern Shore."

Pruett was the head coach at Marshall from 1996-2004, compiling a 94-23 record and leading the Thundering Herd to the Division I-AA national championship in 1996.

Marshall also won five bowl games during his tenure, which included a jump to Division I-A.

Pruett said Thursday that an ulcer contributed to his decision to retire in March 2005, but he and Groh had spoken on several occasions about reuniting in Charlottesville.

Pruett, originally from Beckley, W.Va., served on Groh's staff at Wake Forest and also worked as an assistant at Marshall, Tulane and Florida.

Before that, Pruett was the head coach or an assistant at five high schools in the Northern Virginia area.

"I can remember coming to Charlottesville and sleeping on Al's floor when he was an assistant," Pruett said.

"Then, he went to North Carolina, I got to move up in the world and slept on his couch."

Pruett, who will be paid $250,000, will take the defensive coordinator's post that Mike London held for two seasons before he was named head coach at Richmond, London's alma mater.

Although Pruett has been a defensive coordinator at several of his stops, Virginia's defense is Groh's baby.

As for his familiarity with the 3-4 scheme that Groh favors, Pruett took a deep breath and said,

"My background in the 3-4 is my background with Al Groh. He and I have sort of been joined at the hip."

If Groh wants to continue to call defensive signals, that's fine with Pruett.

"I don't have an issue with anything," he said.

In his younger years, Pruett was known as a dogged recruiter and he does not think his twin duties will limit his time on the road.

"I've got all the energy I need," he said.

Since his retirement, Pruett has divided time between homes in Huntington, W.Va., and Sarasota, Fla., where he recently watched the Super Bowl in the company of ex-Thundering Herd quarterback Chad Pennington.

While he was at Marshall, Pruett made a habit of stopping by Charlottesville regularly and comes to town with considerable knowledge of the operation.

"I've been up and observed them since I retired, too," said Pruett, who said his coaching juices were revived this fall when he helped his son, Stephen, who is the football coach at McLaurin High School in Florence, Miss.
 

Bobby Pruett returns to coaching
By Chuck Landon
Daily Mail sportswriter
Bobby Pruett is back in coaching.

The 64-year-old former Marshall University head football coach has accepted an offer to join the University of Virginia coaching staff.

Pruett will serve as the Cavaliers' assistant head coach and defensive coordinator and be paid $250,000.

"It's a great opportunity to work with an old friend," said Pruett, who previously coached with Virginia Coach Al Groh and has maintained a close friendship with him through the years. "It was just too good of an offer to pass up."

Pruett stepped down as Marshall's coach nearly four years ago, citing health problems.

"I had a lot of stuff going on in my life at that time," said Pruett.

But three years of rest and relaxation at his homes in Huntington and Sarasota, Fla., have restored Pruett's vigor, vitality and urge to coach.

"I found out that I wasn't ready to quit coaching," he said with a laugh.

Pruett was the winningest coach in Marshall history, compiling a record of 94-23 from 1996-2004. He led the Herd to an NCAA I-AA national championship in 1996, five Mid-American Conference championships (1997-98-99-2000-2002) and five bowl wins.

"The good part is Charlottesville (where UVA is located) isn't very far from home," said Pruett, a Beckley native. "We won't sell our home in Huntington. We'll be close enough that I can maintain my ties to the state and the Huntington community and, of course, Marshall."
 

Mikell Simpson's coach hopes Cavaliers will step up
Potts' You Tube video just the start
By Doug Doughty

Nothing has captured the fancy of Virginia football fans in recent days like the highlights video of Harrisburg (Pa.) High School football player Josh Potts.

“Are you talking about the You Tube video?” Harrisburg coach George Chaump said Thursday. “That’s not his best. He’s got another one out there.”

But, get this! Potts is a senior, an uncommitted senior who ranks No. 1 in his class academically.

Potts, a 6-foot, 175-pound defensive back and wide receiver, is a nationally ranked sprinter whose You Tube video shows him running past people and scoring on receptions, interceptions, blocked kicks and shotgun snaps.

“They say that he’s one of the two of the most electrifying players in the state,” said Chaump, once the head coach at Marshall and Navy.

Who’s they?

“Pundits say it,” Chaump said. “You know, scribes like yourself, I guess. What do I know? I just coach the game.”

Glad we got that squared up.

Few people will accept my word on anything, but try to find Potts’ video and see for yourself. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ZiC-kI7qY

UVa coach Al Groh said in his signing day news conference last week that he didn’t anticipate the Cavaliers taking any more seniors, but there has been some consideration of Potts.

“Frankly, I was hoping Virginia would get involved,” said Chaump, who coached 2007 UVa standout Mikell Simpson when he was at Harrisburg High School. “It’s a good academic school and he’s a good academic student.

“I’d love to see Virginia get involved and have him down, like him and take him. Mikell likes it down there and is doing well. It would be nice to have two guys from one school on the team.

“I don’t care where they go as long as they go and get an education and they’re happy. That’s my only concern.”

It was the Pittsburgh Sports Insider that referred to Potts and Jeanette, Pa., quarterback Terrelle Pryor as “maybe the two most exciting players in the state.” The same publication rated Potts as the No. 27 prospect in the state and other publications haven’t had him that high.

“He’s got great speed but he’s also a heckuva football player,” Chaump said.

Then, how is a player like Potts still available one week after the signing day?

“It’s a funny one,” Chaump said. “I don’t know. I can’t answer that. Why he hasn’t signed yet, I don’t know.”

Chaump downplayed the idea that Potts hasn’t been receptive to recruiters.

“He’s listened and talked and visited,” Chaump said. “He’s been as active as he could, I guess.

“Everybody who watches his film just loves him. They say he’s a player, but he hasn’t signed or hasn’t been offered. Whatever it is, I don’t know, but that’s his business.”

Potts has a long, bushy ponytail reminiscent of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, a player he admittedly emulates. Potts plays with a flair that is evident on the You Tube video, but what team couldn’t use some flair?

“I’ve done everything I can to expedite the process,” Chaump said, “but when it comes to getting into the details, I don’t do it. He’s going to go somewhere and get something. It’s just a matter of time.

“Stanford is hoping to do something with him but they have such intricate admissions. You have to apply before a certain date. As for Virginia, I think that Al [Groh] is familiar with him.

“Bobby Price recruits our area for Virginia and Bobby called and said they saw the film and [were struck by] how good he looked.”

CHAUMP FOLLOWED Simpson’s on-field progress this year but was unaware of the academic issues that jeopardized Simpson’s availability for the Gator Bowl and delayed his arrival.

“It’s a common disease; they can get fat and happy when they meet with success,” Chaump said. “He’s a nice-hearted kid; he’s not malicious. He’s got the right mentality. He’s a likable young man, but he does get careless now.

“Al needs to sit on him and keep him humble.”

Simpson basically played in six games and led the Cavaliers in receptions and nearly led the team in rushing. He had 247 all-purpose yards in the Gator Bowl, where he carried 20 times for a season-high 170 yards, including a Gator Bowl-record 96-yard touchdown run.

“He got a break and they can’t get him out of there now,” Chaump said. “He was that kind of kid in high school. Out of nowhere, he’d make a great, great play. Somehow, he’s been doing it all his life.”

Simpson, who was a red-shirt sophomore, had done nothing at UVa for 2 ½ seasons.

“ I didn’t know what to think,” Chaump said. “I knew he was young. I knew he had other kids in front of him. You’re playing with kids who have some ability. You’re not just going to step in and do it.

“I saw the bowl game. He just breaks loose. He’s done that here. He’s had plenty of 90-, 95-, 85-yard runs. He just has that unique, big-play ability.”
 

Groh hires ex-Marshall coach Pruett
By David Teel | Daily Press 247-4636
8:40 PM EST, February 14, 2008
 

Virginia football coach Al Groh has hired a former colleague and long-time friend as the Cavaliers' defensive coordinator -- ex-Marshall coach Bob Pruett.

"It was just too good of an offer to pass up," Pruett told the Daily Mail newspaper of Charleston, W.Va.

Pruett, 64, has not worked since 2004, when he resigned after nine wildly successful years as Marshall's head coach. The Thundering Herd went 93-24 under Pruett, winning the 1996 Division I-AA national championship in his debut season.

Marshall then upgraded to Division I-A and earned bowl bids in seven of Pruett's final eight years, winning five. In 1999, the season Virginia Tech and Florida State played for the national title, Pruett's Herd went 13-0 and was ranked 10th in the final Associated Press media poll.

After a 6-6 finish in 2004, his worst season, Pruett resigned.

"I had a lot of stuff going on in my life at that time," he told the Daily Mail on Thursday.

Among the players Pruett coached at Marshall: Byron Leftwich, Randy Moss and Denbigh High graduate Max Yates. Virginia is expected to officially announce Pruett's appointment today.

Groh first hired Pruett in 1983 as part of his Wake Forest staff. At Wake, Pruett served under Groh for four seasons and Bill Dooley for three.

Following assistant stints at Mississippi, Tulane and Florida -- he was Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator in 1994 and '95 -- Pruett landed the head-coaching position at Marshall, his alma mater.

Pruett replaces Mike London, who resigned as the Cavaliers' defensive coordinator to become head coach at his alma mater, the University of Richmond. London, a Bethel High graduate, was arguably Virginia's best recruiter, responsible for hotbeds such as the Peninsula and Washington, D.C.

A West Virginia native, Pruett earned his master's degree from Virginia Tech in 1972. He began his career as a high school head coach in Northern Virginia.

 

Cavaliers in search of another conference win
Virginia hopes to turn around record against team it previously defeated this season; Singletary seeks to repeat passionate effort against UNC
Anders Sleight, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

The Virginia men's basketball team will face another tough test Sunday, traveling to Chestnut Hills, Mass. in the hopes of reviving its 11-12 (1-9 ACC) record against Boston College.

The Cavs are currently in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and have endured tough losses to Wake Forest and North Carolina, among others and unfortunately for Virginia, this season seems to be a lost cause. Sunday's game, however, provides a chance for the Cavaliers to right the ship and salvage some pride.

"When you play excellent basketball teams, the margin of error is razor-thin," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "You try as best you can, but you can't play a perfect game; any mistake that you make leads to something positive on the other end for a good team."

In the face of this small margin of error, Virginia seemed to be getting back on track during Tuesday's loss to North Carolina. The Cavs held a lead for periods of the game and were even with the Tar Heels late in the game. Moreover, senior guard Sean Singletaryput up a huge game with very little support and contribution from his teammates. Although North Carolina centered its defense on the star guard, Singletary was firing and hitting on all cylinders. He finished the game with 27 points and seven assists. Only one other Cavalier scored in double figures ­-- sophomore Calvin Baker, who finished with 10 points.

"We're a team that has to make perimeter shots, and we have not done that," Leitao said. "I wish it wasn't that way, because I'm a believer that you live by the jump shot, you die by the jump shot. It has not been good for us recently."

Virginia has already played Boston College once this season. The teams first met last month in Charlottesville when the Cavs came away with their most recent victory, 84-66.

In the first matchup, Virginia excelled because it was able to hold the Eagles to 39-percentshooting from the field. Furthermore, the Cavaliers forced Boston College to commit 14 turnovers, which paved the way for four Cavaliers to score more than 15 points. Singletary, Baker, senior forward Adrian Joseph and junior forward Mamadi Diane all enjoyed excellent shooting nights against Boston College, as each player shot at least 40 percent from the field.

Boston College, like Virginia, has fallen on hard times recently. The Eagles have lost six straight games dating back to their loss to Virginia. Despite their troubles, however, the Eagles are led by one of the most dynamic players in the ACC. Junior guard Tyrese Rice is the ACC's second leading scorer and averages 19.9 points per game. The guard can score from anywhere on the court, can create for other players and will present significant match-up problems yet again for Virginia. If Virginia is to escape from Boston College with a victory, it will need to limit Rice and reverse the unlucky streak it has been riding.

"We don't really take any of the moral victories like that, because losers do that, and I don't feel as though we're a loser," Singletary said. "Even though we have a losing record right now, I just know that we can turn it around."

 

Keepin' the faith
Aaron Perryman

Man that was one heck of a game Tuesday night, wasn't it?

Virginia gave North Carolina all it could handle and then some. I think the 'Hoos gave everyone a little surprise. All I heard in the days leading up to the game was how Virginia was going to get smashed by the Tar Heels. I don't think anyone gave them a chance, here at U.Va. or elsewhere. Everyone seemed to be expecting a repeat of the Clemson game, or worse.

I sure am glad the players on the team believed in themselves more than their fans, because they gave everyone in attendance and everyone watching on TV one whale of a game to witness. I mean, sure, our hearts were broken once again for like the millionth time this men's basketball season, but wasn't it a fun game to be at compared to the game last Thursday? At least we had something to cheer for the entire game and something to be proud of when the final buzzer sounded. Our Cavaliers almost pulled off the upset of the year in college basketball. I could just see Roy Williams' hair getting grayer the closer Virginia inched to taking the lead in the second half.

I was as embarrassed as anybody after the Clemson game to be a Wahoo fan, but c'mon, let's at least back up our boys a little bit. I'm going to brag a little here and point out that I never said we would get destroyed by Carolina. I did not think we would win, sure, but I thought we had a fighter's chance. I thought the Clemson game was an anomaly and the Cavaliers would be able to shake a game like that off, get it out of their system and get back to playing respectable basketball. And they did.

Virginia has one of the most determined players I've ever seen play in Sean Singletary, and I don't see him -- having as big a heart as he does -- letting the Cavaliers get taken behind the woodshed for every game the rest of the season.

In a year when the team is playing sub-par, it won't help the situation if the fans turn their backs on the team -- that would only make the situation worse. If the Cavaliers are to make anything out of this season, they are going to need fans to support them. I'm not talking about the NCAA Tournament. It would take a minor miracle for the 'Hoos to make the Big Dance now. All I'm talking about is the Cavaliers making the most of the games they have left. If that means winning those games, that's great. If that means being in every game and giving the fans something to go bonkers over like Tuesday night, even though they may lose, that's great, too. If anything, Virginia should be able to play looser now because it doesn't have the pressure of being a "bubble" team.

Without trying to make this sound like a repeat of Paul Montana's Wednesday column, I urge fans to not quit on these players. I don't think they will. If they keep giving it their all every night and keep putting forth the effort to be in every game, special things could happen during these last several games.

Two of the games remaining are huge: a nationally televised bout with Duke on ESPN March 5 at home and the seniors' last home game against Maryland March 9.

Yes, I know, some of you will not be here for the Duke game because of Spring Break, but if you will be here, you should definitely come, because the 'Hoos will need lots of back up from the JPJ crowd to pull off the monumental upset.

I don't think I have to say much about the senior night game against the Terrapins. Singletary's last home performance of his career should be electric, and the game itself should be a barn-burner. Singletary won't be going down without a fight in that one. Greivis Vasquez will have his hands full, I can promise you that.

The fans can put the rest of this season to use however they want. They can quit on the team and be miserable for the rest of the season or they can put the losses behind them, forget about the team's record and make JPJ intimidating for the remaining visiting teams.

I think an interesting note to end on is to draw a parallel between this men's basketball season and the football season. Whereas the football team was getting all the breaks and winning the close games for most of the season, the basketball team has endured the opposite fate, losing the close games and not getting the bounces or breaks it needs at the right time. But what happened to the football team? It finally faltered in failing to win a close game with its loss in the Gator Bowl. I don't think this basketball season can progress the way it has for the rest of the season. Eventually, the team will have a breakthrough game, and you won't want to miss it.

 

Virginia out for revenge in regular-season opener
Cavaliers blew lead, lost to Drexel Dragons in final game last year
Megan McDonald, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

The final seconds of the 2007 Virginia men's lacrosse season opener versus Drexel are planted firmly in the back of the Cavaliers' minds as they prepare to take on the Dragons once more Sunday. Last year, Virginia blew a one-goal lead with 10 seconds left, Drexel attackman Colin Ambler scored twice before the final buzzer and propelled the Dragons to a 11-10 upset victory.

While No. 3 Virginia is determined to start the 2008 season on a different note, the Cavaliers are not looking to exact revenge but rather to prove that they are the better team.

"Everyone is aware of what happened last year and I think it helps to get everyone's attention going into the game this year," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "Our job is to be ready to play -- no one is going to hand us anything, and if we are going to turn around and beat Drexel on their field this year then we have to be ready and we have to be playing our best lacrosse."

Having learned their lesson, the Cavaliers are not taking Sunday's game lightly and nor should they. The Dragons are ranked No. 19 in the nation, and Inside Lacrosse ranked their man-down defense the second-best nationwide behind Ohio State's. What's more, their clearing abilities rank third, while their defensive unit and face-off unit were both ranked sixth nationally by the publication.

Going into the season opener, the Cavaliers ended the preseason undefeated. They knocked off Navy 10-6 two weeks ago and Georgetown 7-5 this past weekend. Nevertheless, Starsia indicated he was not entirely pleased with Virginia's performance in those matchups and feels that his team can, and will, improve.

"We aren't where we had hoped to be when we looked at us back in the fall, when we had Ben [Rubeor] healthy and we had a bunch of the middies healthy," Starsia said. "We have been a bit of a work in progress on offense these first couple of weeks but we have to find a way to be effective and successful while we try and work some people back into the fold. We aren't making any excuses -- we have the pieces we need to get this done, and I think I have seen some of our best lacrosse to date during practice this past week."

Up until Tuesday, the question of who would start in the Virginia net remained undecided. Senior Bud Petit, sophomore Mark Wade and freshman Adam Ghitelman each gave strong performances during the preseason, but ultimately Ghitelman earned the regular season start.

"My heart started pumping as Dom walked over to where the goalies warm up, the side of the field he doesn't usually come to," Ghitelman said. "He kind of said nonchalantly 'You are going to be in goal on Sunday,' and I said 'thank you' and just shook his hand. Since I was a little kid I have dreamed of playing here, so this really is a dream come true."

Touted the top goalie and overall No. 9 among incoming freshmen in the country by Inside Lacrosse magazine, Ghitelman has lived up to the accolades that preceded his arrival at Virginia. Starsia, usually wary of leaning too hard on his newest players, said he is confident he made the right choice.

"I think he won the job over a period of six months because he has been the most consistent," Starsia said. "The choice was always a close call, but I thought it was a clear choice at the very end because he gives us the best chance to be successful right now. He has uncommon poise for a first-year and he is our best chance to win."

Sunday's match will be shown on CN8, a Philadephia station broadcast in Charlottesville.

 

Men's tennis heads to National Team Indoor Championships

The top-seeded Virginia men's tennis team will head to the National Team Indoor Championships this weekend at the University of Washington in Seattle, opening the tournament against Penn State today.

The winner of that match will take on the winner of the UCLA/Notre Dame matchup in the second round. The Cavaliers are led by all-world senior Somdev Devvarman, who continues his dominance of the singles and doubles fields. Senior Treat Huey will also look to extend his recent winning trend as well. Other nationally ranked Virginia players include sophomore Houston Barrick, and the doubles team of senior Teddy Angelinos and sophomore Lee Singer.

Also headlining the event will be the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs, who are seeded second in the tournament. The Bulldogs also won the tournament in 2006, and are led by sophomore Nate Schnugg, who has compiled a 25-4 record in singles matches so far this year. Schnugg teams with sophomore Jamie Hunt to form Georgia's top doubles team, which has an 8-4 record this year.