Remember Mamadi Diane?
Jeff White
Feb 22, 2009

Here’s the story I wrote on Diane for Monday’s Times-Dispatch:

RALEIGH, N.C. – Through all his tribulations this season, Mamadi Diane has never put himself before his team.

That’s one reason his fellow University of Virginia men’s basketball players respect Diane so much and were so happy for him Saturday afternoon at the RBC Center.

“It means a lot, because I see all the hard work he puts in,” sophomore guard Jeff Jones said. “Even when times are not good for him, he still puts in a lot of hard work, and he’s always ready.”

Diane, a former starter who hadn’t played in the previous four games, came off the bench to score 11 points in the final 8:20 against N.C. State. The Cavaliers’ comeback fell short – the Wolfpack won 72-67 – but Diane’s performance revived hopes that the 6-5 swingman could finish his college career with a flourish.

“A lot of players that would be in Mo’s position, in their senior season, could become a cancer to the team,” U.Va. guard Calvin Baker said. “Because they could feel like they’re not even part of it any more. But Mo, he’s a good attitude ever since Day One.

“He even held a meeting before the Clemson game. Even though he wasn’t playing, he wasn’t talking about his playing time, he was just talking about the team getting better. And for him to be as unselfish as he is, there aren’t a lot of players like Mo.”

U.Va. took an eight-game losing streak into its Feb. 15 date with then-No. 12 Clemson at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers, perhaps inspired by the message Diane delivered at the players-only meeting, stunned the Tigers 85-81 in overtime. Diane, a team captain, sat out the Wahoos’ next game, too, watching as they thumped Virginia Tech 75-61.

Against N.C. State, however, Virginia coach Dave Leitao turned to him in the first half. Diane failed to score before intermission, but his play in the second half helped U.Va., which trailed by 17 points with 10:15 remaining, pull to 68-67 in the final minute. Diane hit 5 of 6 shots during his scoring spree, including his first 3-pointer in six weeks.

“For a while now I’ve been feeling great, I’ve been feeling good,” Diane told reporters. “So I don’t think it comes as a surprise to me or any of my teammates. It’s the way it’s been in practice.”

Still, he acknowledged, it “always feels good to see shots go down, to be in the middle of the comeback and the type of intensity there was in the game. It’s one of the greatest feelings.”

In his first three seasons at U.Va., Diane started 65 games and scored 877 points. He entered his senior year as the Cavaliers’ top returning scorer from 2006-07 . He started the first four games, but his shooting touch disappeared and his playing time dropped. Not until Jan. 3 did Diane, who’d led the Cavaliers with 60 treys in 2007-08, make his first 3-pointer of the season.

Lately, though, Diane has impressed in practice, Leitao said, “playing the game with more energy, being in the middle of everything, defensively, offensively, rebounding. Just being a much better version of himself.”

Diane said: “Honestly, I’ve just been working as hard as I can. Just going as hard as ever, and I know at the end of the day that’s all I can do, and try to push my teammates in practice.”

Virginia (3-9, 9-14), the ACC’s 11th-place team, has four regular-season games left. Three are at John Paul Jones Arena, including a March 7 meeting with Maryland that will be Diane’s final home game.

“One of the things I said to the team in the meeting a week ago was, ‘Just find something that motivates you,’ “ Diane recalled. “Whether it be knocking the top team off the pedestal or going out there and learning how it is to win for next year. Find something that motivates you and finish out the year that way.”

Contact Jeff White at (804) 649-6838

 

Virginia’s Baker toughs it out
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 23, 2009

Many times, when Virginia guard Calvin Baker winds up with the ball in his hands as the shot clock is running down, a collective groan reverberates throughout John Paul Jones Arena.
What some fans tend to forget is that Baker himself has been groaning on the inside this entire season.
From the very first game, Baker has been playing with a stress fracture in his left foot that has hampered him from playing as well as he did last season when he came out of nowhere as a walk-on to finish as the team’s fourth-leading scorer, while ranking second on the team in assists, steals and 3-point field goal percentage.
Sure, the graduation of Sean Singletary — who allowed Baker to play more off the ball as a spot-up shooter — has lessened Baker’s effectiveness, but the bottom line is that Baker hasn’t been 100 percent healthy at any point this season.
Following Virginia’s 72-67 loss at N.C. State on Saturday, Baker – who had 13 points, five assists and three steals — told The Daily Progress that he definitely plans on having surgery as soon as the season is over.
“It’s still a big deal,” said Baker, talking about the severity of his injury. “It’s started to flare up a little bit here toward the end of the season. That’s what they told me it would do, but I treat it every day, twice a day. [Athletic trainer Ethan Saliba] has been doing a good job trying to monitor it.
“Going straight ahead, I’m fine. It’s just cutting — that really bothers me, but it’s a decision that I made before the season. I could have had the surgery before the season, but I wanted to play on. There isn’t anything I can do but keep treating it, and hopefully it will get better by the time the season is over.”
Even with the injury, Baker has managed to be one of the team’s better defensive players. He’s also, arguably, after freshman Sylven Landesberg, the team’s most clutch shooter. Baker’s basket in the final seconds gave Virginia its first ACC win of the season versus Georgia Tech. Baker, a junior co-captain, is also one of the team leaders.
When you add all that up, UVa has certainly gotten a pretty decent return on its investment in the former walk-on transfer from William & Mary — despite his sometimes maddening decision-making at point guard.
“At times, you can tell he’s hurt,” Landesberg said, “but Calvin’s a tough kid. He tries not to show it and just plays throughout everything.
“I respect him a lot for that – just being able to play through his foot injury. It shows his dedication to the team.”
Sidney headed to USC
Renardo Sidney, a five-star basketball prospect who Virginia was highly interested in, committed to hometown USC on Sunday night.
Sidney, who visited UVa in November, is considered one of the top high school players in the country. The 6-foot-11 big man chose the Trojans over Virginia, UCLA, Texas, UNLV and Mississippi State, among others.
“I’m very excited,” Sidney told the Los Angeles’ Times. “It was a hard decision. After I heard my dad and mom had the same school as I had, it was a relief.”
UVa, which was considered a dark horse for Sidney, still has point guard Jontel “Bub” Evans and swingman Tristan Spurlock in its 2009 class.

 

Mason's Big Shots Are on Everyone's Radar
By Michael Wilbon
Sunday, February 22, 2009; Page D03

Roger Mason Jr. wasn't thinking about being part of All-Star Weekend when he was working on his game for hours a day at Run 'N Shoot in District Heights. He wasn't thinking NBA players would start to call him "Big-Shot Rog" when he was diligently working on his conditioning at The Sports Club/LA on 22nd Street NW. He wasn't thinking, when he was trying to impress Washington Wizards coaches during pickup games on the practice court at Verizon Center, that one day a team loaded with NBA champions and Olympians would look to him to take the final shots to beat the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

I'd see Mason at the Sports Club in the months following his 17 games with the Chicago Bulls in 2002-03, or after his 23 games with Toronto in 2003-04, and he'd say all he wanted was a phone call, just a chance to show somebody he could be an asset. "If anybody would just give me a shot," Mason said during a conversation the other night, recalling his thinking back then, "I'd show them . . . I'd take it from there."

Mason returned home to Washington last night very much the local boy who made good. Very, very good, in fact. Mason returned as a heavy contributor to the San Antonio Spurs. He returned as one of the NBA's best three-point shooters, as a player dependable enough that Coach Gregg Popovich, a man wearing four championship rings, is completely confident calling on Mason to take the big shot with the game on the line. Yes, the Wizards, the team he rooted for growing up, gave Mason his initial chance and he made the best of it last season when he played 80 games, averaging 21 minutes, essentially subbing for Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels.

It's one of those inspiring stories, in which a kid who is told he's not quite good enough perseveres and ultimately, through sheer work and intelligence, forces his way into the lineup, then more playing time, then his team's favor. He once took a flight home at the conclusion of a season in Israel and the very next day was in multiple gyms from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., to remind himself that making the NBA was going to be difficult work.

He's exactly what the Spurs crave. Popovich, not an easy coach to please, told USA Today that when Manu Ginóbili and Tony Parker were hurt it was Mason who "kept us afloat. . . . As the year has progressed he has been a quick study on both ends of the court. I didn't realize he was as skilled at the point as he is."

Though the Spurs had tried to get him before, Mason, now 28, so wanted to play for the Wizards he gave them the ultimate "hometown discount" three years ago. He'd gotten an offer from a team in Spain to play for $1.6 million guaranteed. Mason had no aversion to playing overseas; in fact, he loved playing in Greece and in Israel, and did it for a salary that was several times the NBA minimum. Still, he'd put in all that work to try to make it in the NBA. So there he was, he recalled the other night, asking the Wizards, " 'Can you guarantee me something? Anything?' They gave me $43,000."

Mason made the team that fall of 2006, and the kid who attended Sidwell Friends, then Good Counsel and the University of Virginia, played 62 games in a Washington uniform. "Being from here, growing up here, my dream was to play for the hometown team," he said. "I was trying to get back into the league and I was desperate. It was stressful. I went out on a limb financially because I had made some investments in business ventures and needed that income. I really needed to get to January 10 that season" when his contract for the season became fully guaranteed.

He could have gone to San Antonio for the 2007-08 season; his agent and even some of the Wizards thought Mason was nuts for staying here, but with the injuries to Arenas and Daniels, Mason got to showcase an improved all-around game, particularly an increased shooting range.

So, this past summer, when the Spurs came with an offer for the second time, one for $7.3 million for two years, Mason had to pack.

And again, because of injuries, Mason got more minutes than he would have otherwise. In seven games this month, Mason has played 30 or more minutes six times, and he was on the floor 45 minutes at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks last week. For the season he's averaging 30 minutes, 12 points and 3 rebounds per game, but that doesn't come close to measuring the impact he's had with four game-winning shots.

The first was against the Clippers. "It was actually drawn up for me to come off a pick-and-roll and get the ball at the top of the key . . . and I was like: 'This is my chance. . . . Don't blow it." He didn't. A more dramatic shot, at the buzzer to win, came Christmas Day against the Phoenix Suns in a nationally televised game. He hadn't even played much in the fourth quarter when Popovich sent him into the game. A third game-winner beat the Lakers. On the fourth, against the Celtics, Mason grabbed the rebound and was dribbling up the sideline right in front of the Spurs' bench when Popovich said, essentially, "Go ahead, Roger . . . " He called the "quick 2" play, which is Mason's play, and his three-pointer with 20.4 seconds left put San Antonio ahead for good.

Not surprisingly, Mason feels he's a great fit with a coach as intelligent as Popovich, and with teammates as unselfish as Tim Duncan, Parker, Ginóbili, etc. "It starts with Tim," Mason said. "They're all coachable, unselfish, humble . . . even though they're all-stars, three- and four-time champions, and future Hall of Famers."

It seems preposterous to suggest that Mason, so new to this scene, could somehow replace the recently departed Robert Horry, one of the great end-of-game shooters in NBA history, but for all practical purposes it appears that "Big-Shot Rob" (Horry hated Rob, but it stuck) has been succeeded by "Big-Shot Rog." Mason was a little taken aback during his appearance on All-Star Saturday (in the three-point shootout) that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, among others, were coming up to him to congratulate him on having a great season.

The conversation turned to having, at long last, made it, and Mason was having none of it. "This is just my second year getting real playing time . . . I've got a lot of room for improvement, I flew my trainer [Joe Connelly, brother of Wizards Director of Player Personnel Tim Connelly] out to All-Star Weekend. And I told him: 'I'm really going to get to work this summer. I will be a better player next year.' "


 

Spurlock coming to town
Jeff White
Feb 22, 2009

Want an early look at U.Va. basketball recruit Tristan Spurlock? Then stop by storied Memorial Gym at Benedictine High in Richmond on Friday night.

Spurlock, a 6-8 forward who signed with Virginia in November, is a senior at Word of Life Christian Academy in Springfield. Word of Life, hoping to add a game to its schedule, sent an e-mail out to other independent high schools in the state.

Benedictine responded. Cadets coach Sean McAloon said tonight that he liked the idea of his team’s playing again before next week’s state tournament. And so Benedictine (17-9) will host Word of Life at 7 p.m. Friday.

Spurlock, who’s in his first year at Word of Life, had 43 points and 10 rebounds last week in a loss to IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla. He was 23 for 23 from the line in that game.

Jontel Evans, the other player to sign with U.Va. coach Dave Leitao in November, started his senior season slowly but has been dominant recently for Bethel High in Hampton. Evans, a 5-11 point guard, had 20 points and seven steals Friday night in Bethel’s 43-42 win over Hampton in the championship game of the Peninsula District tournament.

Next up for the Bruins is the Eastern Region tournament. Bethel was the state Group AAA runner-up last season.
 

Virginia fails to corral Pack as ACC win-streak comes to end
Wolfpack jumps out to take early lead in first half; Cavaliers close margin in waning moments but falter in finish
Ernie Washington, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Monday, February 23 2009

Senior guard Mamadi Diane scored a season-high 13 points in the Cavs’ loss in Raleigh Saturday, marking his first playing time in the last four games. The Virginia men’s basketball team failed to extend its conference winning streak to three Saturday, falling to N.C. State 72-67 in Raleigh.

Cavalier coach Dave Leitao attributed the loss to Virginia’s lack of enthusiasm — something with which the team has struggled all season — and the strength of N.C. State.

“We got back to digging ourself into holes, specifically in the first half [for] some of the same reasons ... [we] thought we got rid of, in terms of energy and attention to detail,” Leitao said.

The Wolfpack started the game on a 15-2 run, and with 9:59 left in the first half, the N.C. State lead opened up to 21-4. When Virginia finally appeared to wake up and closed the deficit to 33-29 at the break, the Cavaliers lost focus in the opening minutes of the second half. Following a 17-4 Wolfpack run, Virginia again found itself down by 17 with 13:24 left.

“We didn’t come out with the same enthusiasm that we had been playing with over the past couple of weeks,” junior guard Calvin Baker said. “We have to know that success takes hard work, you have to be ready every day and playing in this league you can’t take days off and I feel like that’s what we did.”

Baker said even before the game, he saw signs that the team might not have been ready to play at the level it needed to win.

“I could tell during warm-ups before the game started,” Baker said. “I tried to bring everybody in and tell them that we had to get some more life and energy in us before we went back out there and we tried, but we didn’t try hard enough.”

In addition to a lack of enthusiasm, Leitao noted that the entire Wolfpack proved capable of stepping up and performing well at any point in the game — another main reason for Virginia’s loss, he said.

“They have so many guys they can go to offensively,” Leitao said. “Any one of 11 guys — all of them are pretty skilled — can put you in a little bit of a quandary.”

Leitao’s point was verified by big performances from N.C. State forwards Dennis Horner and C.J. Williams, both of whom started the game on the bench. While Horner came into the game averaging only 6 points per game, the junior managed to contribute 12 points to his team’s offensive effort Saturday, including hitting three critical three-pointers.

Although Williams played only 17 minutes, he made those minutes count. The freshman tallied 16 points, including the game’s last three-pointer, which put the Wolfpack ahead by 10 with 2:13 left. The Cavaliers, however, responded immediately, as freshman guard Sylven Landesberg found an open Baker for a three-pointer to cut the lead to seven. Following a Virginia timeout, Baker converted an N.C. State turnover into an easy layup on the other end, and a put-in by senior guard Mamadi Diane suddenly left the Wolfpack ahead by just three points with 48 seconds to play. A swarming Cavalier defense silenced the N.C. State offense on the ensuing possession, and two free throws by Landesberg with less than ten seconds remaining gave Virginia sudden hope of pulling out the victory. N.C. State senior guard Courtney Fells, though, nailed two free throws, and a crucial miss on the front end of a one-and-one by Landesberg handed the Wolfpack the win.

“We knew this was a winnable game,” said Landesberg, who scored a team-high 16 points. “We had momentum coming into this game, and we could have pulled it out.”

The Cavaliers’ lack of defense during the game also could also have contributed to N.C. State’s win.

“If you’re handling your business with energy, it would be easier for you to rotate and help each other out,” Baker said. “We were just a step behind all game [defensively].”

Diane’s increased playing time came as a surprise for Virginia fans. Diane, who had not seen time in the team’s previous four contests — his last appearance was Feb. 4 against Boston College — entered the game for the first time with 12:20 remaining in the first half. Although he did not make a statistical contribution during the first period, Diane’s presence did not go unnoticed in the second. He notched 11 points in the last 10 minutes — including a clutch jump shot with 0:48 that cut the Wolfpack lead to three and marked the first time the senior has scored in double digits since he dropped 13 against South Florida in the second game of the season.

“With my senior year not going as planned, I could see how it would probably be easier for some guys to falter or fade away,” Diane said. “But it has been the opposite for me. I’ve been working harder than ever.”

Coming off its loss to the Wolfpack, Virginia must regroup for Thursday’s showdown against Miami — another team on the NCAA Tournament bubble — at John Paul Jones Arena.

 

Mo’ time, fewer problems
Paul Montana
Published: Monday, February 23 2009

With 17:29 remaining in the second half of the Virginia men’s basketball team’s Saturday contest against N.C. State, Virginia coach Dave Leitao went for a stroll.

After calling a 30-second timeout, he walked from the bench all the way out past the top of the key, well beyond his huddled assistant coaches, thinking only what could have been murderous thoughts. After cutting an 18-point early first half deficit to four at halftime, Leitao’s starting five began the second half with four misses, five fouls and a turnover as the Wolfpack opened the lead up to nine.

The same starting five Leitao had concocted four games ago for its energy and passion was, this time, sluggish and sloppy.

Then, despite what I’m sure was a lovely conversation on the bench between Leitao and his players, the bleeding didn’t stop. By the 13:24 mark, the Pack extended its lead to 17. It was a sluggish start to the half that was not entirely unforeseen, Leitao said.

“All the time that we spent getting down in the first half, or specifically coming back, I didn’t see a mindset change,” Leitao said. “Although we were coming back, I still thought there were some changes that we needed to make in order to forge ahead, and I thought that cost us in the second half.”

Again, Virginia needed a lift. It got it from senior Mamadi Diane.

At the beginning of the season, Diane was most likely thought of as the best candidate to provide Virginia with a scoring punch when the team needed it most. Coming into Saturday, however, even sophomore walk-on Will Sherrill seemed the better candidate to solve an offensive drought should one arise.

Coming into the year, Diane was the leading returning scorer on a team busting with youth. He was a co-captain, and Leitao was once asked whether Diane could be a premier player in the ACC.

In the four games prior to Saturday, however, it was Sherrill who had received more court time. Diane was listed as DNP for every game since the Cavs’ 76-61 loss at North Carolina; Sherrill had at least grabbed a few seconds of garbage time at the end of Virginia’s 75-61 win against Virginia Tech Wednesday.

But, after appearing for five minutes in the first half and attempting nary a shot, Diane reentered with 9:40 remaining in the second half and his team trailing 52-37. With 8:20 left, he hit his first shot since Jan. 24: a difficult, driving reverse lay-up spun high off the glass — a shot he has made numerous times in his career.

Perhaps a shot close to the rim within his comfort zone provided just the injection of confidence Diane needed; it was the first of four straight Virginia field goals courtesy of the team captain. On Diane’s only miss of the night, freshman Sylven Landesberg snared the rebound and fed the senior for a three. Diane drained it — his first made three-point shot since Jan. 6 against Brown.

“It always helps to get easy baskets in the flow of the game,” Diane said. “I’ve just been working, shooting a lot.”

Naturally, Diane was swarmed by reporters in front of his locker after the game, all of whom asked, in essence, many variations of the same question: Where have you been?

Diane’s a pretty shy guy, and he continued to pack up his things as reporters hounded him with questions about his resurrection. But he did provide a little insight.

“Basketball has always been fun for me — always been a dream, always been a passion and something I love,” Diane said. “So, it wasn’t hard for me to stay in the gym. That’s fun for me.”

Is it a surprise that he continued to work hard? Absolutely not. Diane is, as the sportswriter cliche goes, “a great kid”; since he’s only got a year on me, I’ll just stick with calling him a good guy. He’s personable, thoughtful and — even through the worst slump of his college career — a leader.

“One of the things I said to the team was to find some things that motivate them,” Diane said. “Whether it might be knocking a top team off the pedestal, or going out there and learning how to win for next year.”

Diane’s motivation, most assuredly, was just that — teaching his teammates how to motivate themselves even in the toughest of times. Even if they’re not postseason-bound this year, it sure wouldn’t hurt for the younger guys to pick up a few wins and a few ounces of confidence heading into the 2009-10 campaign.

For Diane, though, there’s more to the story. After putting up 11 points last night, he’s just 37 shy of 1,000 for his career. Putting that number in perspective, Sean Singletary had 2,002 for his career; having half as many of anything as Singletary won’t knock anyone off his or her feet, but it’s certainly nothing to sneeze at.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Diane said. “I’ve been so close [to a thousand points] all year.”

A thousand points doesn’t make up for the lack of a postseason, however, which will almost certainly happen for the first time in Diane’s career. But it would give him something positive for which to remember his final season as a Cavalier. With four games left in the regular season and three at John Paul Jones Arena, that ought to give fans something to cheer about, too.

 

No. 1 Virginia dominates in doubleheader to stay perfect
Despite hiccups by Inglot, Shabaz, team vanquishes No. 29 Broncos, Boston College Saturday at home
Andrew Seidman, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Published: Monday, February 23 2009

Sophomore Sinam Singh has secured a 12-0 record on the season while playing in the No. 2 singles spot for the top-ranked Cavaliers. He and junior Houston Barrick have also dropped only one match thus far this spring.
In its debut as the No. 1 team in the nation, the Virginia men’s tennis team won both matches of a doubleheader Saturday against No. 29 Boise State and Boston College at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

Though Virginia (14-0, 2-0 ACC) prevailed in the first contest against Boise State (5-4) by a 5-2 margin, the victory did not play out as well as the Cavaliers might have liked.

“It’s about the time of the season now where there’ve been a lot of matches, a lot of training,” senior Dominic Inglot said, adding that it was difficult to play on short rest after the National Indoor Championships. “Every match is important, so you don’t have that many days off.”

In his first match since rising from No. 43 to No. 6 in the national rankings, Inglot played a formidable opponent in No. 62 senior Clancy Shields and lost 4-6, 3-6.

“Gotta give credit to Clancy,” Inglot said. “I didn’t serve very well ... It wasn’t a great day for me.”

Coach Brian Boland said he remains confident, however, that Inglot will continue to improve.

“The best is still yet to come with Dom,” Boland said before Saturday’s matches. “He’s healthy — which is the first time in his career that he’s played in the spring 100 percent healthy — but he’s yet to play his best tennis. Dom is going to continue to get better without any question as the spring moves forward.”

Questions, though, may still surround Ignlot’s health. Inglot said he tweaked a muscle during National Indoors but continued to play through the pain. He aggravated the injury again yesterday in doubles against Boise State and did not play in the singles against Boston College (6-2, 0-1 ACC) . After treatment, he expects he will be ready for Friday’s match against Virginia Tech, Inglot said.

Inglot was not the only highly ranked Cavalier to struggle in his first singles match since National Indoors. After taking the first set 6-4, No. 12 sophomore Michael Shabaz relinquished his lead to freshman James Meredith, who earned a point for the Broncos by winning the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4.

Despite the initial upsets of Inglot and Shabaz, Virginia managed to regroup, showing its depth as an overall team. Virginia secured the match with wins from freshman Drew Courtney (6-1, 6-3) and Steven Eelkman Rooda (6-4, 6-4), as well as junior Houston Barrick (6-4, 6-4).

“The younger guys — especially the freshmen — are playing really well,” Inglot said. “It takes a lot of pressure off us older guys because we know they’ll back us up if we have a problem.”

The one constant that has contributed to every Virginia victory this season has been the play of undersized sophomore Sanam Singh. No. 17 Singh, who is listed at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 137 pounds, completed the 5-2 Virginia victory with a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6, 10-5 win against No. 57 Kean Feeder.

Singh has compiled a 12-0 singles record in 2009 — two wins of which came in his performance in the National Indoors tournament. In doubles, Singh and Barrick are ranked No. 2 in the nation and boast an 11-1 record.

“I worked a lot in the fall,” Singh said. “I wanted to focus a lot harder in matches in the fall which I didn’t do. So that’s what I’ve been doing [in the spring]. Everyone’s winning at the bottom — it’s easier to play.”

He didn’t miss a beat in the back-end of the doubleheader, either, leading Virginia to a 7-0 beat-down of Boston College. After grinding through an 8-5 win in No. 1 doubles with Barrick, Singh defeated junior Thomas Nolan in a 6-1, 6-1 singles victory, placing perfectly hit balls in both corners of the court.

“What I try to do now is stay more consistent, because I’m really quick on the court,” Singh said. “I knew [Nolan’s] forehand was a little bit better than his backhand so I was trying to open the court a lot to his backhand.”

With an impressive serve, crisp footwork and a solid return, Singh never lost control of the match. Nolan tried hitting the ball sideways, upward and even into the stands. The only place he could not land it was over the net.

“I served really well [against Boston College], which was a huge plus today,” Singh said. “I needed that quick win today ’cause it had been a long day.”

The weekend doubleheader now behind them, the Cavaliers will try to remain undefeated heading into Spring Break when they resume ACC play Friday against Virginia Tech.

Notes:

Against Boston College, Eelkman Rooda replaced Shabaz as Inglot’s doubles partner. The pair defeated Garber/Skinner, 8-2 ... Singh replaced Inglot in the No. 1 spot in singles against the Eagles. He usually plays No. 2 ... Junior Lee Singer, Courtney, and Singh lost a combined 5 games in six sets against the weekend’s conference foe.

 

Six-Run First Propels UVa to Sunday Win, Series Sweep
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/22/2009

Jarrett Parker went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and home run Sunday vs. Bucknell.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team piled up six runs in the first inning, which was more than enough as the Cavaliers posted an 11-1 win over Bucknell Sunday afternoon at Davenport Field to sweep the four-game series. Virginia’s pitching was stellar all weekend, allowing just two runs and 20 hits while recording a miniscule 0.25 ERA.

Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) had a monster day at the plate, going 3-for-5 while falling just short of the cycle. He had a double, triple and his first career home run. Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) added a home run and three RBI, while Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) had two hits and two RBI.

Jeff Lorick (Jr., Duluth, Ga.) started for Virginia and went five innings, allowing just an earned run, three hits and two walks while striking out three in earning his first win of the season. Robert Morey (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.) combined to shut the Bison out on just three hits over the final four innings.

Bucknell starter Andrew Clarke did not survive Virginia’s six run first. He lasted one-third of an inning and gave up six runs (five earned), four hits and a walk.

Parker led off the Cavaliers’ half of the first inning with a solo home run to right-center. It was Virginia's first home run to lead off a game since Mark Reynolds hit a leadoff home run at Liberty on May 18, 2004. Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) then reached on an error and moved up when Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) walked. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a triple by Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.). One out later, Grovatt scored on a Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) single.

Valdes then ripped a towering blast over the right-center field wall to score Cannon and give the Cavaliers a 6-0 advantage. It was Valdes’ second long ball of the weekend and the Cavaliers’ sixth of the weekend.

Bucknell scored its first earned run of the series in the fourth inning when Andy Brouse led off with a home run over the bleachers in left field. The Bison had gone 30 straight innings without scoring an earned run.

The Cavaliers added a run in the fifth inning on a Cannon single to plate Hultzen, who doubled to lead off the inning.

UVa scored four runs in the seventh inning, with a rarity – three sacrifice flies. Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) started the scoring with a double to score Shane Halley (Fr., Burke, Va.). Proscia finished the weekend with a team-high eight hits and seven RBI.

Pinch-hitter John Bivens (Jr., Disputanta, Va.) then hit a sacrifice fly which was dropped by the center fielder for an error. Valdes followed with a sacrifice fly and one out later, Jared King (Fr., Radford, Va.) hit a sacrifice fly to give UVa an 11-1 advantage.

Virginia continues its 11-game homestand at 4 p.m. Tuesday when it welcomes William and Mary to Davenport Field.

 

Cavaliers close out sweep of Bison
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 23, 2009

For the first time in a span of 256 games, a stretch dating back to 2004, Virginia’s baseball team connected on a leadoff home run.
It was the run that followed, however, that provided enough run support for the Cavaliers to upend Bucknell, 11-1, and claim a four-game series sweep at Davenport Field.
The weekend of power, one that included six homers, continued later in the first inning as catcher Franco Valdes followed Jarrett Parker’s leadoff dinger with a blast that left the stadium.
“I can’t remember the last time that we led off a game with a home run,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “That was great to see and it really set the tone for the afternoon.”
The homer from the first hitter for Virginia came in 2004 at Liberty off the bat of current Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds.
With the win, Virginia improved to 4-0. In the series, the Cavaliers hit .358 with nine doubles, four triples and six homers.
The offensive explosion in the first inning Sunday, which included six runs, four hits and a Bucknell error, gave left-handed starter Jeff Lorick (1-0) plenty of wiggle room on the mound.
The junior worked five innings, allowing three hits and the lone earned run of the weekend.
“Jeff has been throwing the ball very well in our preseason and he’s started a number of games the past two seasons, but he has been pitching especially well of late,” O’Connor said. “To get him off to a good comfortable start was good and I thought he threw the ball really well.”
After Lorick allowed Bucknell’s second run of the series in the fourth inning, Virginia added a lone run in fifth on an RBI single by Tyler Cannon (2 for 2, 2 RBI).
The Cavaliers closed out the scoring in the seventh as with a four-run frame that included three hits and the first run scored in the career of John Bivens, a former linebacker for football coach Al Groh who joined the program in the fall.
The homer for Parker in the opening frame was the first of the sophomore’s career. He also almost connected on an inside-the-parker later in the game but was nailed at the play by a relay throw.
Valdes, who also homered in the second game of the season, now has four career homers.
“It was probably the first time that I have seen a 3-0 green light from [third-base coach Kevin McMullan],” Valdes said. “He is usually a little more conservative than that, but he gave me the green light and I was looking for something up and in and I got it.
“It was a fastball, it was up and in and I just took a hack.”
Virginia returns to action Tuesday at home at 4 p.m. against William & Mary.
 

Senior-led squad rallies in wake of sluggish start to stymy Eagles sluggish start, stymy Eagles
No. 21 Cavaliers close out home schedule with 90-70 victory against Boston College; victory leaves team with impressive 15-2 record in JPJ this season
Nick Eilerson, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer
Published: Monday, February 23 2009

Senior center Aisha Mohammed tallied 10 points on 3 for 5 from the floor in the team’s win against Boston College. Strong finishes are beginning to look like the Virginia women’s basketball team’s specialty these days, as it followed Thursday’s 84-75 overtime win against Miami with a 55-point second half effort to cap off a 90-70 victory against Boston College last night.

The Cavaliers (21-7, 7-5 ACC) outscored the Eagles (18-9, 6-6 ACC) 55-33 in the second half to put an exclamation point on an emotional senior night in John Paul Jones Arena.

Not only was last night’s contest pivotal in terms of being the deciding tiebreaker between two teams locked at fifth place in the ACC standings, but it also marked the final home game for seniors Lyndra Littles, Aisha Mohammed, Britnee Millner and Kristen London. Littles led the impressive senior charge, scoring 27 points on 9-16 shooting.

The win “was huge,” Littles said. “Collectively all five of us, yes, we know it’s senior night, but we’re here to take care of business and we’ll celebrate after and I think that’s what we went out there and did because we know the significance of this game.”

Junior guard Monica Wright also was instrumental to the Cavaliers’ second half surge, scoring 22 of her 27 points in the period. Boston College simply had no answer for the dynamic duo of Wright and Littles, who continually fed off each other’s confidence and gave the Eagle’s defense fits. The two combined for 54 points, five steals and 15 rebounds. Boston College, which had turned the ball over 106 times in the course of its previous five games, committed 10 turnovers in the second half while Virginia committed just one.

“I felt like we stepped up the pressure,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “We kept our turnovers down, and that was the difference in the game.”

After trailing 37-35 at the half, the Cavaliers started to find a rhythm in their transition game, capitalizing off 19 Boston College turnovers. London’s three-pointer four minutes into the second half gave Virginia a 42-41 lead, its first since the 2:02 mark of the first half and one that the Cavaliers would never relinquish. A jumper by Boston College sophomore center Carolyn Swords cut Virginia’s margin to 48-47 at the 12:23 mark, but Wright quickly answered on the other end with a smooth mid-range jump shot that spurred a 9-0 Virginia run over the ensuing two minutes. The game was never close after that, as Virginia held Boston College scoreless for the final 1:52 of the game en route to a 20-point victory, the team’s largest lead of the game.

If there was one bright spot for Boston College, it was the dominating performance of Swords, who put up 31 points on 13-17 shooting along with 10 rebounds. Swords leads the nation in field goal percentage, shooting an impressive 68 percent from the floor this season. She already holds the Boston College record for shooting after averaging 64.2 percent last season.

“That’s a tough assignment for anybody out there,” Ryan said. “She’s just a clinic, she’s a frigin’ clinic out there.”

The Cavaliers controlled the first 15 minutes of the game, taking advantage of nine Boston College turnovers and leading by nine with five minutes to go in the first half. The Eagles, however, led by Swords’ 15 first-half points, refused to quit; Boston College took a 31-30 edge off junior guard Mickel Picco’s three-pointer with 2:02 left in the half, but a buzzer-beating 23-footer by freshman Ariana Moorer cut the Boston College halftime lead to 37-35.

“I think Ari’s gettin’ it,” Littles said. “I don’t consider her a freshman anymore on the basketball court. Going into the postseason, she’s maturing. I think she’s a very important part of this turnaround we’re having.”

After the game, Ryan and the four seniors each gave tear-jerking speeches to the many fans on hand, reflecting on the perseverance needed to devote so much time and effort to the team over the years while also thanking their families, coaches and fans who helped make it all worth it — an appropriate gesture on Fan Appreciation Night at JPJ. Ryan said “they’ve come a long, long way,” emphasizing the remarkable growth of her players on and off the court.

After the speeches, though, the seniors emphasized their ability to put all sentiments aside and simply take care of business on the court.
“When you get out there and the ball tips, you get out there and play basketball,” Littles said. “I think it just shifts from all the emotions to ‘Okay, we’re just out here, we’re just playing, and whatever we do later, we just deal with it later.’”

Virginia now must face a tough ending to its regular season, as the team travels to Florida State (23-5, 11-1 ACC) Tuesday and Georgia Tech (19-8, 6-6 ACC) Sunday. The Cavaliers lost to Florida State 80-75 in their last meeting Jan. 23 at JPJ.

“They’re a good basketball team,” Littles said. “They’re playing together, and when you win games and you get momentum, you also get a lot of confidence. We have to go out there and make sure we do all the things that we did in the game that we played them that were right and eliminate the mistakes that we made.”

 

Cavs’ dominant second half sparks Virginia past B.C.
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 23, 2009

Virginia’s four-member senior class may want to trade in the bouquets of flowers and university-issued plaques that were obtained on Sunday for a more fitting keepsake: the game tape of their final home game.
As the university honored a quarter of players on Senior Night at John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday, the ceremonial activities were quickly overshadowed by one of the most dominant second-half performances of the season.
In fitting fashion, each of the players saying their respective goodbyes to an arena that included 4,171 fans contributed in timely fashion as the Cavaliers jumped into sole possession of fifth place in the ACC with a pivotal 90-70 victory over Boston College.
The seniors — Lyndra Littles, Kristen London, Britnee Millner and Aisha Mohammed — combined to score 34 of Virginia’s 55 second-half points as No. 23 UVa improved to
21-7 overall and 7-5 in the ACC. The Cavaliers also completed their home schedule at 15-2 on the season.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Littles, who scored 27 points and had three steals. “It is hard to explain. I realized it was Senior Night … but once the ball went up it was no longer Senior Night. We were just out here playing basketball.
“It didn’t hit me again that it was my last game [at JPJ] until I had the mic in my hand.”
Each of the players thanked family and friends in a tearful ceremony following the game as they promised to make the most of what lies ahead this season. Those prospects appear better after the Cavaliers snapped a two-game losing streak with a pair of league wins.
“We needed to come out with a big win,” said Millner, who scored six points, “and as our last game in JPJ we wanted to give the fans
exactly the type of win that we feel like they deserve, as well as ourselves.”
Credit Millner’s approach to the second half as she provided stifling backcourt defense. The Eagles, who led
37-35 at halftime, connected on just 11 of 30 shots from the field in after the break and missed all 10 attempts at 3-pointers.
“The second half was just awesome,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “Britnee Millner came out with fire in her eyes.”
However, it was a seldom-used guard, London, who gave the Cavaliers their first lead after halftime. London, averaging 2.1 points per game, drilled a 3-pointer in the corner with 15:58 left to put Virginia up 42-41.
London, who scored nine, did not hesitate.
“You know it,” she joked. “I just like to shoot, but I look over at Debbie first. I am just happy that it goes in.”
London’s first 3-pointer in the second half started a
19-7 run that gave Virginia a commanding 61-48 lead.
“We came out in the second half and stepped the pressure up tremendously and that helped tremendously,” Ryan said. “Keeping our turnovers down [to eight in the game] was a key because we weren’t really rebounding with them. But when you shoot 61 percent in a half you are not going to have as many available rebounds.”
Boston College, which has lost five of its past six games, was unable to get its deficit back to single digits over the final 10 minutes.
Littles, who drew the loudest postgame cheers, was consistent throughout the contest, scoring 14 of her 27 points in the first half. The forward went 9 for 16 from the field and was perfect on eight free throws.
Virginia junior Monica Wright chipped in with 27 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
Boston College center Carolyn Swords, who connected on 13 of 17 shots from the field, scored a game-high 31 points. She added 10 rebounds, helping the Eagles win the rebounding battle 39-31.
Virginia will close out the regular season with road games at Florida State on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and at Georgia Tech on Sunday at
1 p.m.