Cavaliers enjoy swift start
By Jeff White
Published: February 15, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Is the University of Virginia men's lacrosse team worthy of the No.1 ranking it received in several preseason polls?

Check back after U.Va.'s Feb. 27 clash with defending NCAA champion Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. Yesterday, though, the Cavaliers showed why they're on the short list of contenders for the national title.

In the opener for both teams, Virginia whipped Drexel 13-7 before a crowd of 2,347 on a pleasant afternoon at Klockner Stadium. The Cavaliers led 7-0 before the Dragons scored, 3:47 before halftime.

U.Va.'s Garrett Billings, a senior attackman, matched his career high with seven points (five goals and two assists). Not bad for a guy who was sidelined most of the past three weeks with a bad back.

"I'm never going to say he doesn't need to practice, but he knows the game," Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia said.

Virginia's attack dominated. Heralded freshman Steele Stanwick contributed two goals and two assists, and senior Danny Glading added a goal and two assists.

Stanwick, the nation's top high school player in 2008, needed less than two minutes to collect his first college point. The first time he touched the ball, Stanwick fed midfielder Brian Carroll for the game's first goal.

"You might not have been able to tell, but I was definitely a little nervous coming into today's game," Stanwick said.

Stanwick inherited the No. 6 jersey that All-America attackman Ben Rubeor wore from 2005 to '08. Rubeor, who was on the U.Va. sideline yesterday, also preceded Stanwick at Loyola Blakefield High in Towson, Md.

"Ben was a great player, and I'm just trying to fill his shoes," Stanwick said.

Virginia's top four midfielders - Carroll, Steve Giannone and twins Shamel and Rhamel Bratton - combined for three goals and one assist against Drexel. Of U.Va.'s 59 shots, 24 flew out of the sticks of the Brattons and Giannone.

His middies' accuracy must improve, but Starsia said he was pleased they were "generating those opportunities. Those were quality opportunities, I think, for the most part. You're going to gang up on our attack, hopefully, at your peril as the season goes on."

Virginia hosts Division I newcomer Bryant University tomorrow at 4 p.m. Bryant is led by former Duke coach Mike Pressler. The Bulldogs' top player is attackman Zack Greer, a transfer from Duke who has scored the most goals (206) in NCAA history.

 

Billings’ five goals ignite Virginia
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 15, 2009

The last time Virginia found itself on the lacrosse field with a big lead came during the NCAA Final Four in Foxboro, Mass. last spring. UVa blew a five-goal advantage in the second half before losing to Syracuse.
The stakes weren’t nearly as high and the stage was certainly much smaller on a sunny Saturday afternoon in February at Klockner Stadium — but this time Virginia didn’t let things slip away.
UVa jumped out to a seven-goal lead and led by as many as eight in the second half en route to an impressive 13-7 season-opening victory over Drexel in front of a crowd of 2,347.
“I never thought we gave the play away,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia, when asked about playing with a big lead. “I thought our discipline broke down a little bit when we took some fouls we didn’t need to. At the end of the day, we might have rushed a couple of shots, but I thought we were always carrying the play.
“They’re a good offensive lacrosse team … I assumed they would claw back into the game a little bit, so I was pleased we were able to get goals when we needed it and I did feel like we could defend it if we had to.”
Seven Virginia players scored goals. Senior Garrett Billings led the way with five while freshman Steele Stanwick added two.
Drexel (0-1) was led by Kevin Stockel’s hat trick.
Virginia (1-0), which hosts Bryant University on Monday, won 13 of 24 faceoffs, and held a 43-37 edge in ground balls.
“I would have thought it was more than that, actually,” Starsia said. “I thought we were all over the ground balls, especially in the first half.
“It’s a point that we have really been emphasizing since the season started and in our two scrimmages to date. I thought in this game today we were really after the ball when it was on the ground. If we can get those repossessions and faceoffs, we’re going to create more opportunities for ourselves and that makes us even more dangerous.”
Virginia fith-year senior Chad Gaudet, a graduate student who previously played at Dartmouth, won 12 of 21 faceoffs.
Five players accounted for UVa’s first five goals. Stanwick, the highly touted freshman who attended the same high school as former Cavalier star Ben Rubeor, scored his first college goal early in the second quarter to put UVa up 4-0.
“George Huguely made a great dodge and drew the man,” Stanwick said, “and I just kind of slipped into the open spot and was lucky enough to hit the shot.”
Stanwick’s strong debut was certainly a good sign for Virginia. The first-year is replacing Rubeor on the right side of Virginia’s attack.
“It was definitely pretty special playing at Klockner for the first time and a great way to start my career,” Stanwick said. “I’m looking forward to the rest of it.”
Virginia led 7-1 at the half before Drexel scored two straight goals — one by Stockel, one by Scott Perri — to start the third quarter.
“I thought we let it slip a little in the second [half],” said Virginia junior defender Ken Clausen, “but overall I thought we did well and got off on the right foot.
“I think for a first game, people were pretty pleased about it.”
Added Billings: “Syracuse didn’t cross my mind today, but I can’t lie and say it didn’t cross my mind over the offseason a whole bunch of times.”
 

Virginia Opens Season with 13-7 Win Over Drexel
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/14/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Senior Garrett Billings tied his career high with five goals to lead Virginia to a 13-7 season-opening win over Drexel before a crowd of 2347 fans on a gloriously sunny afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers’ win is their second in a row over Drexel after getting upset in the season opener two years ago in Charlottesville.

Virginia dominated from the start and pounded Drexel goalie Mark Manos, making his collegiate debut, with 30 shots in the first half. Six different players scored as Virginia built a 7-0 lead after 22 minutes of play. Midfielder Brian Carroll opened the scoring by taking a pass in front from freshman Steele Stanwick and beating Manos for the goal. Stanwick’s assist came on the first offensive touch of his career.

Shamel Bratton scored from 12 yards a short time later and Danny Glading closed the first quarter scoring with a nifty dodge from X that beat Manos and gave the Cavaliers a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes of action.

The onslaught continued with quick goals by Stanwick and Gavin Gill early in the second quarter. Billings scored back-to-back goals six seconds apart as Virginia’s lead grew to 7-0 at the 8:27 mark of the second quarter. His second goal came on a fastbreak feed from faceoff man Chad Gaudet, a Dartmouth transfer using his final year of eligibility with the Cavaliers. For the game Gaudet won 12 of 21 faceoffs and finished with a game-high eight ground balls.

Sophomore midfielder Kevin Stockel scored Drexel’s first goal with three minutes and 47 seconds left in the half as Virginia held a 7-1 lead at the break. With Virginia maintaining a huge advantage in possession time Drexel was able to take just five shots in the first half.

“I never thought we gave the play away,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia about his team’s performance after building the early bulge. “I thought our discipline broke down a little bit. I thought we took some fouls we didn’t need to. At the end of the day we might have rushed a couple of shots, but I thought that we were always carrying the play.”

Stockel scored in the opening minute of the second half and was followed a short time later by Scott Perri’s goal as the Dragons drew within four at 7-3 but were unable to get any closer.

“That’s a good offensive lacrosse team,” Starsia said regarding Drexel’s ability to score. “They’ve got six experienced guys all back there on offense and given some opportunities they’re going to get a couple. I assumed they were going to claw back into the game a little bit. I was pleased that we were able to get goals when we needed it, and I did feel like we could defend them if we had to.”

Midfielder George Huguely and Billings answered Drexel’s goals as the Cavaliers scored five of the next six to extend the lead to 12-4 in the opening minute of the final quarter. Two of Drexel’s final three goals were on extra-man as the Cavaliers were penalized seven times in the game.

Adam Ghitelman returned to the starting line-up in goal and made six saves before being replaced late by Mark Wade.

Ken Clausen shut down Colin Ambler, Drexel’s leading returning scorer, limiting him to just one assist and 0-for-3 shooting.

The Cavaliers have a quick turnaround and face Bryant University Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium. The Bulldogs, coached by former Duke head coach Mike Pressler, are making their Division I debut in the game.

Drexel 0-1-3-3—7 record: 0-1
Virginia 3-4-3-3—13 record: 1-0
att—2347

Scoring (G-A)— D: Kevin Stockel 3-0, Kyle Bergman 1-1, Scott Perri 1-1, Greg Casey 1-0, Dana Wilber 1-0, Colin Ambler 0-1, Adam Dennis 0-1, Joe Wojciechowski 0-1. V: Garrett Billings 5-2, Steele Stanwick 2-2, Danny Glading 1-2, Brian Carroll 1-1, George Huguely 1-1, Shamel Bratton 1-0, Steve Giannone 1-0, Gavin Gill 1-0, Chad Gaudet 0-1.

Goalie Summary—D: Mark Manos 60 mins., 17 saves, 13 goals allowed. V: Adam Ghitelman 50:35 mins., 6 saves, 5 goals allowed; Mark Wade 9:03, 1 save, 2 goals allowed; Rob Eimer 0:22, 0 saves, 0 goals allowed.

Shots: D—23, V—59
Ground Balls: D—37, V—43
Clearing: D—19x23, V—19x21
Faceoffs: D—11, V—13
Penalties: D—4-3:30, V—7-5:30
EMO: D—3x5, V—0x3


 

Jones finding his groove
By Jeff White
Published: February 15, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE Jeff Jones feels as if he's back in high school.

And that's a good thing for the University of Virginia men's basketball team. Jones' shots aren't dropping as regularly as they did when he starred at Monsignor Bonner High, where he set the Philadelphia Catholic League record with 1,923 career points.

Still, the U.Va. sophomore has settled into a role with which he's comfortable and seems to have earned his coach's confidence again.

After playing the entire second half against Boston College on Feb. 4, Jones started three days later at North Carolina and had a season-high 19 points and a career-best five assists. He played 31 minutes Tuesday night against Florida State and scored eight points.

Today against 12th-ranked Clemson, the 6-4 shooting guard is expected to make his third consecutive start. Versus BC, UNC and FSU, Jones was 5 for 16 from 3-point range and 12 for 34 overall.

That's not good enough, he knows, but he contributed in other ways. He played aggressive defense, went 8 for 9 from the line and totaled 13 rebounds, six assists, four steals and only two turnovers.

"I think the good thing about the last three games, I never felt this good," Jones said Friday evening at John Paul Jones Arena. "I never felt this comfortable. I never felt this confident. It reminds me of high school days, my comfort level out there."

As a freshman in 2007-08, Jones started 25 games. He produced a few highlights along the way, hitting five treys in U.Va.'s early-season win at Arizona and scoring 26 points against Bradley in the College Basketball Invitational, but the Chester, Pa., native made no one in Charlottesville forget J.R. Reynolds, his predecessor at shooting guard.

Nonetheless, Jones was expected to play a prominent role for the Cavaliers this season. For whatever reason, though, he didn't make his first start until the team's 19th game. Virginia coach Dave Leitao tried sophomore Mustapha Farrakhan, junior Calvin Baker and freshman Sylven Landesberg at shooting guard before finally turning to Jones.

He dealt with his reduced role by practicing harder. Jones, Baker and senior Mamadi Diane compete to see who can be first in the gym every day. His philosophy, Jones said, is simple.

"Just work hard at practice, every single day," he said. "I try to give it my all and give it extra hours in the gym, so when your opportunity comes, you can take advantage of it."

In high school, Jones shot 50-percent from 3-point range in each of his final two seasons, said Brian Daly, his coach at Bonner. Daly is confident Jones' percentages will rise at U.Va. if Leitao remains committed to him.

"I think the more he plays, the more comfortable he's going to be with his shot," said Daly, a former Bonner star who played at Saint Joseph's.

In practice, his coaches and teammates say, Jones rarely misses. "Somehow getting that translated to game action is what all of our fans, the coaches, myself and especially Jeff want to see happen," Leitao said.

The Joneses take basketball seriously. Jeff's father played at Lenoir-Rhyne and then professionally in Australia. His brother, Deon, is a promising sophomore guard at Paul VI Catholic High in Fairfax. His cousin Alyssa Frye lives in Chester and stars for the Thomas Dale High girls basketball team.

If his experience at U.Va. has frustrated Jones, he doesn't let on publicly. He hasn't seriously considered transferring, Jones said, and never has lost hope.

"You got to stay positive, because in everybody's life there's going to be adversity," he said. "There are definitely going to be some down days, but when you're down, you get into the gym and keep working out. It's like medicine. It's like basketball is medicine."

. . .

Note: At halftime of today's game at John Paul Jones Arena, Sean Singletary will join an elite group at U.Va. The school will retire his number - 44 - making him the seventh player to be so honored. Previously retired at Virginia were Jeff Lamp's No. 3, Buzzy Wilkinson's No. 14, Bryant Stith's No. 20, Barry Parkhill's No. 40, Wally Walker's No. 41 and Ralph Sampson's No. 50.

 

Purnell on right road
UVa once considered hiring the current Clemson coach, but fate led him on a different path.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

More than 10 years have passed since Virginia chose Pete Gillen from a pool of coaching candidates that included Oliver Purnell.

UVa fans can be forgiven if they want to ask, "What if?"

Gillen has been out of coaching since 2005. Purnell is in his sixth season at Clemson, where his last three teams have gone 69-24, including a 12th-ranked Tigers squad (20-3, 6-3 ACC) that visits Virginia (7-13, 1-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Purnell hasn't given much thought to how Virginia fortunes or his fortunes might have changed if he had gotten the UVa job in 1998. "Not really," he said. "I just felt like that process was pretty much done before I ever got involved."

The Cavaliers, looking for a replacement for Jeff Jones following an 11-19 season in 1998, quickly turned their attention to Gillen, then at Providence.

Gillen was only one year removed from having taken the Friars to the final eight of the 1997 NCAA tournament and had a national reputation.

Virginia already had interviewed Gillen when it asked permission to speak to Purnell, who was 44 at the time and had completed his fourth season at Dayton.

"I didn't hesitate to go visit," said Purnell, who had been the head coach at two Virginia schools, Radford and Old Dominion, his alma mater. "I knew Terry [Holland] and I knew Craig [Littlepage] and I just looked at it as a very good experience."

Holland, then the athletic director at Virginia and now the AD at East Carolina, said it was not a case of doing due diligence by interviewing a minority.

The Cavaliers already had interviewed then-George Washington coach Mike Jarvis, who, like Purnell, is black.

Holland knew Purnell from his days as a Maryland assistant, "but I didn't think we had played any of his teams when he was a head coach," Holland said Friday.

"Tell you what, he and his wife impressed everybody that met them. I think we had just gotten too far down the road with Pete.

"He was sort of hanging out there. If we hadn't taken [Gillen], we would have damaged him. That's the way I remember it."

There were few complaints with Gillen's early teams, even the 1998-99 squad that finished 14-16 with a lineup that included Raleigh Harbour, a walk-on bartender recruited from the Biltmore Grill in Charlottesville.

Gillen came close to taking Virginia to the NCAA tournament in his second year, when the Cavaliers had a 9-7 record in 1999-2000, and he won 20 games with a team that received an NCAA bid in 2000-01.

"I think, at the time, we needed to create a buzz about our basketball program and I think that's what we got with Pete," Holland said. "We thought it would make a bigger splash."

Holland liked Purnell's upside but felt Gillen would be better in the short term.

"As good as Oliver was, he might not have been able to overcome all [the negativity] surrounding the program at that time," Holland said.

Purnell certainly harbors no ill feelings. It seems like such a long time ago now, but if you want to talk about an eternity, remind Purnell that it's been 20 years since his first season at Radford, where he was 15-13 in 1988-89.

"Has it been 20 years?" Purnell said Friday. "It shocks me to hear that. I often times look back at that first year and not being able to sleep at night and thinking, 'Something's got to change or I'm not going to survive my first season.' "

Something did change. Actually, Purnell's ability to change has been a key to his success.

"I've played several styles since then," he said. "At Dayton, we were a power team. We just set up a wall on defense. Before that, we played up-tempo at Old Dominion. When we were Radford, we were just a general all-purpose squad."

Some things haven't changed. His top aide at Clemson for the past six years has been Ron Bradley, who worked with Purnell at Maryland and Radford and succeeded him as coach of the Highlanders.

If Purnell had chosen a different path at any stage of his career, chances are that it might have affected Bradley, too, but you won't hear either of them complaining.

Cavs try to end slide
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 15, 2009

With just a minute or so left in Tuesday’s night’s game versus Florida State and Virginia headed toward its eighth straight loss, UVa freshman Sylven Landesberg came down with an offensive rebound right underneath the FSU basket.
As Landesberg jumped in the air, he seemed to have an easy layup — until teammate Solomon Tat, out of nowhere, slapped the ball out of his hands.
“He was just in the way when I was going up,” Landesberg explained. “I think I just caught his hand more than anything.”
The play was inconsequential to the game’s outcome, yet emblematic of Virginia’s woes this season. UVa (7-13, 1-8) has won just once in 2009, and it has become painfully clear that if something has the chance to go wrong, it usually does.
This afternoon, the Cavaliers play host to No. 12 Clemson (20-3, 6-3), a squad that utterly embarrassed them at John Paul Jones Arena last season. Playing with star Sean Singletary, the Cavs lost by 31.
Today, Singletary will be back in the house. The school is retiring his number and the powers that be are probably hoping that some of the good karma from the festivities will rub off on the team.
If the Cavs have any hopes of stopping their slide, it’s pretty obvious that they’re going to have to play infinitely better than they have at any point in the last two months.
After his team’s loss to Florida State, Virginia coach Dave Leitao almost seemed to be speaking to frustrated Wahoo fans when he compared his program’s plight to that of FSU’s.
“They’ve been waiting,” said Leitao, referring to FSU fans. “It’s been six years. Everyone’s been patient and knew that it was a development. That’s kind of what we’ve been talking about. We’ve got to do it in the same kind of way. This league is unforgiving.”
A ninth straight loss today would match the program’s longest streak since the 1961-62 season. Virginia would still have six league games remaining, but with Miami, Wake Forest and Clemson (on the road) left, among others, it would be a minor miracle if Virginia found a way to win more than three conference games.
UVa is coming off a performance in which it showed some rare passion to start the game. The Cavaliers played some of their best defense of the season in the first half against the Seminoles when they held them to 26-percent shooting. However, after the break, they allowed FSU to shoot 71 percent from the floor.
Virginia sophomore Mike Scott, following an ineffective outing versus North Carolina, showed a little life, notching eight points and nine rebounds.
“I was able to finish around the rim better and draw contact,” Scott said, “but we still didn’t win, so it didn’t really matter.”
Clemson, on the other hand, has won four of its last five games. That includes an 87-77 win at Boston College on Tuesday and a 27-point clubbing of Duke on Feb. 4.
The Tigers are everything the Cavaliers aren’t — tough, defensive-minded, well-balanced. They are led by big man Trevor Booker (15.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG) on the inside and by veterans K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby on the perimeter. Everyone seems to know their roles.
So far, in 2009 ACC play, being on the losing side is about the only role Virginia has been familiar with.
Dunks
Virginia leads the all-time series, 65-48, including a 38-16 edge in Charlottesville. … The last time UVa lost four straight home games came during the 1976-77 season. … Clemson has five ACC wins by double digits this year, including the 27-point win over Duke.
The Clemson record for double-digit ACC wins in a season is six.


 

Men’s Tennis Rallies for 4-3 Win Over UCLA
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/14/2009

CHICAGO – The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team used a comeback in singles to score a 4-3 win over No. 4 UCLA in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at the Midtown Tennis Club. The Cavaliers lost the doubles point and four of six first sets in singles, but rallied for a win that sent them into the tournament’s semifinals for the fourth time in the past five years.

“This match says a lot about the character of the guys on this team,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “To lose the doubles point for the first time this year and then to get down in four singles matches was a big obstacle. But the guys kept their focus throughout, worked hard and found a way to win against a great UCLA team.”

Virginia, the reigning ITA National Indoor Champions, fell behind 1-0 as it lost the doubles point for the first time this season. Nick Meister and Michael Look defeated Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) 8-5 at No. 3 doubles and Matt Brooklyn and Harel Srugo topped Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, UCLA continued its strong play by winning four of the six first sets. However the Cavaliers won in straight sets the first two matches off the courts to begin the comeback. They tied the dual match at 1-1 as Inglot scored a 6-2, 7-5 win over Haythem Abid at the No. 1 spot. Virginia took a 2-1 lead as Courtney downed Amit Inbar 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6 singles. The Bruins answered to tie the match with Meister’s 6-2, 7-5 win over Steven Eelkman Rooda (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) at No. 5 singles. Virginia retook the lead, 3-2, when Shabaz rallied from losing the first set to post a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Srugo at No. 3 singles. UCLA tied the match once again, at 3-3, as Look defeated Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) 7-5, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. The match came down to the battle at No. 2 singles, where Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) lost the first set 6-2 against Brooklyn, but rallied to take the second set 6-4. In the third set, Singh continued his momentum and took the set 6-1 to record the win for Virginia.

“We never backed down and kept fighting in every match,” said Boland. “I am so proud of this team. We now have to get ready for a tough Tennessee team tomorrow afternoon.”

The Cavaliers will meet No. 8 Tennessee in the semifinals at 3 p.m. (CT). The Volunteers upset top-ranked Ohio State 4-3 in the quarterfinals. No. 3 Georgia and No. 11 Stanford will meet in the other semifinal.

No. 5 Virginia 4, No. 4 UCLA 3

Doubles
1. #3 Singh/Barrick (UVa) vs. Abid/Inbar (UCLA) 7-7 DNF
2. Brooklyn/Srugo (UCLA) def. #27 Inglot/Shabaz (UVa) 8-4
3. Meister/Look (UCLA) def. Courtney/Singer (UVa) 8-5

Singles
1. #43 Dominic Inglot (UVa) def. Haythem Abid (UCLA) 6-2, 7-5
2. #24 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. #67 Matt Brooklyn (UCLA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. #11 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. Harel Srugo (UCLA) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Michael Look (UCLA) def. #68 Houston Barrick (UVa) 7-5, 6-3
5. #78 Nick Meister (UCLA) def. Steven Eelkman Rooda (UVa) 6-2, 7-5
6. #108 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Amit Inbar (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4

Order of Finish
Doubles: 3,2
Singles: 1,6,5,3,4,2

 

Cleaning out the notebook
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: February 15, 2009

Leftovers from a sports editor’s notebook for your Sunday morning breakfast ...
As Virginia attempts to break an eight-game losing streak this afternoon against a quality Clemson team, we wonder if the Cavaliers’ coaching staff missed the boat on Ralph Sampson III, the 6-foot-11, son of a Wahoo legend.
Sampson was interested in coming to UVa, where his father led the Cavaliers to their greatest days on the basketball court. But there was no interest from Virginia’s staff.
Instead, the youngster ended up at Minnesota playing for Tubby Smith, who is one win away from his 16th consecutive 20-win season, the third-longest streak in NCAA history behind only Dean Smith and Lute Olson.
Sampson III — by the way — is averaging 6.4 points (154 points) and 4.2 rebounds (102) per game, has blocked 37 shots, has hit 49.6 percent of his field goal attempts, 82.1 percent (32 of 39) of his free throws, and has 21 assists. Not bad for a freshman who is only going to get better.
So, what did Tubby see that other coaches failed to notice?
“I just think he was shy and needed to mature and grow, and needed his own world to grow up in,” Smith said in a conversation with this columnist the other day. “I noticed he had been a winner everywhere he had been. He was on a state championship team in Alabama as a ninth grader, and we’re looking to win championships.”
Smith noted that young Sampson was a worldly kid, who had traveled, and appeared to be a very coachable kid.
“He played on the same AAU team as the two kids that committed to Wake Forest (6-8 Al-Farouq Aminu, and 6-10 Tony Woods) and so he didn’t get a lot of minutes,” Smith said. “After Skip Prosser passed away and those two kids were really upset and not playing so much, we stuck with Ralph, who began to do things that we hadn’t seen him do before.”
Being in a new program that needed big men, Smith saw an immediate opportunity.
“We figured we could develop him and he could grow with the program,” Smith said.
Tubby is glad he stuck with Sampson III, who has helped the Golden Gophers win this season.
“Ralph is very intelligent, he has a high basketball IQ and he has great hands,” Smith said. “He’s a good decision maker with the ball and he’s probably one of our best passers on the team. He needs to get stronger, but that will come.”
Dave TV
In case you missed it, former coach Dave Odom, one of the most beloved figures in Wahoo basketball history, made his TV debut Saturday as Raycom’s color analyst for its broadcast of the Virginia Tech at Maryland game.
Odom, who was Terry Holland’s assistant coach during some of the Cavaliers’ most illustrious days on the hardwood, went on to become head coach at Wake Forest and South Carolina before retiring last season.
Odom seemed to take to the job easily. Heck, for those of us who know Odom, talking comes naturally for the former coach.
One of my favorite stories about Odom was when he was at Wake and participated in the weekly ACC Coaches teleconference. Each coach would get 10 minutes with media during these sessions. Some coaches would make a brief opening statement and then open it for questions.
Odom spent the entire 10 minutes on his opening statement. There was no time left open for questions. And that happened more than once.
If Raycom wants him to talk, it made a good investment.
Sideshow Bob
Ever wonder why Bob Pruett, who just announced his retirement from a long, successful football career, was so popular with everyone?
His sense of humor didn’t hurt.
“Heck, when the sign on my street read ‘Slow Children at Play,’ it had nothing to do with traffic,” Pruett deadpanned.
We asked him for one of his favorite stories from his coaching career, at least ones that he could share.
“I had a player at Marshall, who was from the state of Virginia and one day he called my house and asked for me. I was gone and my wife answered the phone,” Pruett said. “He said, ‘This is Nate, and I really need to talk to coach.’ My wife said, would you like him to call you when he gets back?’”
Nate said he would.
“My wife said, OK, well what’s your number Nate?”
There was a short pause before Nate answered.
“Three.”
We had to twist Pruett’s arm to get an Al Groh story out of him. He reluctantly gave in, saying that “Al is going to kill me for this.”
Still, he succumbed to the pressure.
“When I was at Marshall, I went on the same Nike trip with Al to Aruba. We went on a sightseeing tour to what they call ‘The Natural Bridge,’ a big rock, hollowed out, and waves come through it. It’s just beautiful.
“Anne (Groh) and Al wanted to get their picture with the Natural Bridge in the background, so they gave their camera to a Nike rep to take the photo,” Pruett said. “They’re standing in front of the Natural Bridge and the guy from Nike shouts, ‘Wave.’
“So, Al and Anne waved.
“The Nike guy, shouted again, ‘No ... wave.’
“Well, Al waves harder and about that time a huge wave comes up from behind and knocks him and Anne down, and they’re soaked from head to toe. Everybody’s laughing.”
That’s where Pruett stopped.
“Al knows many more stories on me than I do on him, so we can’t get into a contest because I’ll lose,” Pruett said.
Quoting Clint Eastwood, a guy’s got to know his limitations. We’re going to miss Pruett for a lot of reasons, including his wit.