Tennis Team Savors Latest ITA Crown
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/17/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On the road, against a favored opponent that rarely loses the doubles point, fifth-seeded Tennessee needed only 45 minutes to take a 1-0 lead in the final of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national indoor team championships Monday.

In front of a disbelieving crowd at the Boar's Head Sports Club, UVa's Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz lost their match 8-1. Another Virginia duo, Houston Barrick and Jarmere Jenkins, lost 8-2.

"We didn't get beat," Barrick said Tuesday. "We got destroyed."

And so it was a shaken UVa team that trudged back to its locker room to try to regroup before the singles matches.

"It was pretty quiet, just because [doubles] went by so quick," senior Lee Singer said. "Everybody was a little stunned."

Enter Brian Boland, who let his players know, in no uncertain terms, that their effort displeased him. If the Volunteers maintained their momentum, Boland said, the second-seeded Wahoos would have no chance of winning a third straight ITA indoor title.

"I'm not one of those coaches that does a lot of yelling," Boland said, so his outburst made an impression on his players.

"I think he really got us fired up," Singer said. "We normally don't see that side of him."

Barrick said: "I don't think I'd seen him like that in a couple years. He was a little fiery, but that's what we needed. He gave us a spark."

Back on the Boyd Tinsley Courts, the 'Hoos torched Tenneessee, winning five of the six first sets in singles.

"All the work [the Vols had] done in doubles, we cancelled out early in the singles," Barrick said. "That just kind of neutralized them."

The Cavaliers' intensity never wavered. Barrick, a senior, was the first to finish, winning 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 singles. Then came Singer, who won 6-2, 7-5 at No. 6.

At No. 1, Shabaz whipped John-Patrick Smith, who came in ranked second nationally, 6-4, 6-4.

At No. 4, Courtney secured the national championship for the 'Hoos. The 6-5 sophomore from Northern Virginia closed out his opponent in three sets, giving UVa a 4-1 victory and triggering a wild celebration.

"The most exciting part is when you get to rush your teammate after he clinches," Barrick said. "These last two years it's been Drew. There's no greater moment than that."

UVa won its first ITA indoor title in 2008. That was in Seattle. A year later, the 'Hoos won in Chicago. Virginia is only the second school to capture the tournament three consecutive times.

To do so at home made the feat that much more satisfying for the Cavaliers.

The first two years "we've had to travel afterward," Barrick said, "and you get back and you're tired. It's fun, but it's not just the same thing as when you play at home."

Singer said: "That's probably the best thing about this one. Especially Saturday night against Georgia. That was unbelievable. I've never played before a crowd like that."

A Boar's Head-record crowd of 1,250 saw Virginia crush longtime nemesis Georgia 4-0 in the quarterfinals.

"Every day was great, but Saturday, I think [the overflow crowd] just added to the whole spectacle of playing Georgia," Barrick said.

The Bulldogs have dominated the series, so "it wasn't a rivalry before," Barrick said. "But we're doing our best to turn it into one."

Another raucous crowd turned out Sunday to watch UVa eliminate third-seeded Ohio State 4-1 in the semifinals.

"We just have great fans, and they provide so much energy. I've always believed we have the best fans in college tennis," Boland said.

"And even on Monday at noon, we had a packed house. To think that a noon championship on a Monday would have a packed house is amazing, and I think it's a testament to how great our fans are and how dedicated and loyal they are to our program and how much they believe in the kids and love watching them."

Sixteen teams competed in the ITA indoor championships. The No. 13 seed was Kentucky, which lost to fourth-seeded UCLA in the first round. That's the same Kentucky team that upset UVa 4-3 on Feb. 6.

Boland wasn't sure how his players would respond to that setback. Consider him impressed.

"I think they were tested in terms of their ability to deal with adversity and get back up after getting knocked down, and that says a lot about their character and their resilience and their ability to get back at it and work hard and be successful," Boland said.

UVa's only senior starters are Barrick and Singer, whom Boland called "unbelievable leaders."

The team's juniors, Shabaz and Sanam Singh, have never been to an ITA national indoor tournament that UVa didn't win.

"They're 3 for 3, and they can go for the 4-peat next year," Barrick noted with a laugh. "But I'll take 3 for 4. That's not terrible."

FSU Adds to Cavaliers' Misery
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/18/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Its 5-2 start included an overtime loss to Virginia Tech, so UVa easily could have been 6-1 in conference play after beating N.C. State on Feb. 3.

Only two weeks ago, the Cavaliers, picked to finish 11th in the ACC, had the college basketball world buzzing about their unexpected success under first-year coach Tony Bennett. Now they're in freefall.

Two nights after losing 85-66 to Maryland in College Park, UVa put up little resistance Wednesday against FSU. The Seminoles romped 69-50 before a subdued crowd of 10,365 at John Paul Jones Arena.

"We looked like a physically and mentally tired team out there," Bennett said. "But being young, you gotta be able to battle.

"You gotta be an underdog and fight like crazy. I worry when we get down or get behind, we don't handle that adversity well."

The loss was the fourth straight for the Wahoos (5-6, 14-10), who were playing for the third time in five days. For the Seminoles (7-5, 19-7), by contrast, the game was their third in eight days.

Not since a 60-45 loss to North Carolina at University Hall on Feb. 11, 1998, had the 'Hoos scored so few points at home.

"I thought we yielded on the physical end and on the mental end against a physical team that had a little more prep time," Bennett said. "I can line those things up and say, 'Hey, that hurt us.' Whether it did or it didn't, we have to be better than we showed."

After the debacle in College Park -- Maryland led by 29 late in the second half -- Bennett shook up his backcourt, hoping the changes would spark his team.

They had no significant effect. Junior Jeff Jones, who replaced sophomore Sammy Zeglinski at shooting guard, contributed a team-high 13 points in his first start since Nov. 24. But senior Calvin Baker, who took freshman Jontel Evans' place at the point, was ineffective, totaling no assists and 3 turnovers in 20 minutes.

Virginia's other guards -- Zeglinski, Evans and Mustapha Farrakhan -- were a combined 3 for 12 from the floor.

As a team, the offensively challenged 'Hoos shot 37.5 percent from the floor (and 27.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc). They had one fast-break basket.

"We looked like we were stuck in mud out there," Bennett said.

As ineffective as they were on offense, the Cavaliers were worse on defense.

The only place the 'Noles struggled was at the free-throw line, where they were 6 for 12. They hit 7 of 14 attempts from 3-point range. On shots inside the arc, they were 21 for 42.

Radio analyst Cory Alexander, a former UVa great, opened the postgame press conference by asking Bennett which concerned him more, his team's offense or its defense.

"I told our guys I can handle losses, but the manner in which we lost the last couple games has been frustrating," Bennett said. "Our limitations are there. You can see that. We struggle to score. But I don't think it's one or the other. I think when we get down, or adversity strikes, we aren't able to muster up enough to rally from it. That's a concern. The mental toughness was lacking today. Fatigue maybe was there, but the mental toughness was not there. Take your pick tonight. It was tough."

UVa sophomore Sylven Landesberg, a 6-6 swingman, entered as the ACC's fourth-leading scorer (17.8 ppg). Matched against FSU's Chris Singleton, a 6-9 sophomore with the wingspan of a 7-footer, Landesberg found himself smothered for most of the game.

Landesberg finished with a season-low 4 points.

"He looked sluggish tonight, as did everybody," Bennett said.

FSU is one of the tallest and most athletic teams in the ACC, and its length bothered the Cavaliers. At center, the Seminoles start 7-1 Solomon Alabi, who figures to be an NBA lottery pick one day. Singleton was a McDonald's All-American in high school, and Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton has the luxury of bringing 6-11, 240-pound Xavier Gibson off the bench.

"They make you earn everything, Florida State does," Bennett said. "They did that to Boston College. I watched that game and realized, 'This is going to be a grind.' And it was for us."

Alabi leads the ACC in blocked shots. Singleton is third.

"Against length like that, we have to move fast, we have to move the ball fast to try to get the movement, so the length doesn't affect us so much," said Jerome Meyinsse, a 6-9 senior who starts at center for Virginia. "That didn't happen today, and I think that's the main reason we struggled on offense."

The Seminoles' size "made it hard," Bennett said. "All the looks were contested if you got in the lane. It was hard to get inside touches and score inside. Against teams like that, you're going to have to knock down some outside shots to at least stretch them. But we weren't doing that, that's for sure."

It's no secret around the ACC that UVa struggles when Landesberg can't shake loose on offense, and that "was one of our focuses for the game, to shut him down," FSU guard Luke Loucks said.

"When you slow down a player like that, it kind of deflates the rest of the other team. He had a tough game tonight, but he's a great player."

Hamilton said: "We just told Chris that he had to be solid, because Landesberg has a whole lot of stuff to his game. He has the hesitation dribble, he has the perimeter shot, and he drives by you and lays it up. [Singleton] had to play solid and make [Landesberg] make some plays over him, as opposed to trying to reach and going for head fakes."

The final score notwithstanding, this was not a blowout from the start. UVa actually led 9-6 after a free throw by Farrakhan with 10:51 left in the first half.

Even so, Meyinsse said, there were ominous signs early for Virginia on offense.

"We didn't get the movement we needed to be successful," he said. "We didn't move the ball, we didn't cut hard, and eventually their length and their good defense caught up with us."

FSU pulled to 9-9 on a three-point play by Gibson, then took the lead for good on another three-point play, this one by Loucks, at the 10:11 mark.

In all, the Seminoles went to the line six times after being fouled on a made field goal. FSU converted only the first two of those three-point opportunities.

So dominant were the 'Noles in every other area, those misses didn't matter. FSU scored 14 fast-break points and 38 in the paint.

"We just didn't play together," said Virginia forward Mike Scott, who had 10 points and 6 rebounds. "We didn't play hard. We didn't play smart. We were just selfish."

And now come two more tests: road games at Clemson and Miami. By the time they return to Charlottesville in the middle of next week, the 'Hoos will have played five games in 11 days.

"They call these the dog days of the season, and that's where you gotta fight," Bennett said.

"It's a challenge. But we'll see where we're at after this. I told them we'll find out. I said this was a gut-check game, and obviously the manner in which we lost was poor. We've got to find other ways to try to get some looks and can't lose our heart. And I thought that was taken -- again -- tonight."



 

Postgame Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 02/17/2010

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

On whether he is more concerned with the offensive or defensive performance tonight…
“I told our guys I can handle losses, but the manner in which we lost the last couple games has been frustrating. Our limitations are there, you can see that we struggle to score, but I do not think it is one or the other. I think when we get down, or adversity strikes, we are not able to muster up enough to rally from it. That is a concern. The mental toughness was lacking today – fatigue maybe was there, but the mental toughness was not there. Take your pick. Tonight it was tough.”

On Florida State shutting Sylven Landesberg out of UVa scoring…
“A lot of teams have, they have really stacked the deck against him. Certainly other guys have to step up, but like I said, if you are struggling to score hopefully defensively you can hang in there, but even the looks we got were just really off. It is a challenge, but we will see where we are after this. I told [the team] that this was a gut check game, and the manner in which we lost was poor. We have to find other ways to try and get some looks. You cannot lose your heart, and I think that was taken again tonight.”

On what Virginia will do to try and turn around the offensive game…
“We have to go back to the drawing board. You fight to get good shots, I thought we were pretty stagnant and that we had some silly turnovers. We tried to change up the line-up a little bit to see if we could get a scoring punch from Jeff [Jones] and to use Calvin [Baker’s] experience. Certainly Florida State is a good defensive team, and they make it hard. It is a grind, and I wish we could get a few more transition baskets. We looked like we were stuck in mud out there.”

On whether practice and shoot-around today and yesterday were consistent with this performance…
“We practiced briefly but intensely yesterday, and tried to get the Maryland game out of our system. I thought they hurt us in a lot of ways similarly to the way Florida State [did tonight]. We tried to prepare to the best of our abilities today at the shoot-around, we tried to get them some shots and to get ready. You have to be an underdog and fight like crazy – I worry that when we get behind or get down we do not handle that adversity very well.”

On Florida State’s defense and keeping Sylven Landesberg on the bench in the second half…
“We did not have any answers. I said let’s get some guys with some fresh legs and see if we can get the ball attacking a little more. [Sylven Landesberg] looked sluggish tonight, as did everybody. He goes against a set defense, and they make it hard for you to score. They do that to a lot of teams. Their points in the paint were astronomical, 38 points, and then our turnovers cost us, fast break, too.”

On Jeff Jones and his ability to score in the last few games…
“He has obviously knocked down some shots. Again, he is another perimeter scorer. The last few games he has scored some and has worked hard, that is why I have tried to give him some more minutes, to say, personnel wise, can we find another scoring threat on the floor? I said we will take a look at Jeff and see – he hit a few early and got us going, and then he got some late at the end. He is a threat, at least to stretch the defense.”
________________________________________

Virginia Forward Mike Scott

On the loss
“We did not play hard. We did not play smart. We played selfishly.”

On playing three games in five days
“I do not think we were fatigued. Our minds were fatigued. We just did not play smart.”

On struggling team offense
“I think we are just not moving on offense. We are not executing.”

Virginia Forward Jerome Meyinsse

On the loss
“I think we really struggled on offense. We did not move the play like we need to and we did not execute offensively. They are a good defensive team and they made us struggle.”

On the losing streak
“You come into every game starting fresh and focusing on the task at hand. We tried to do that tonight, we were not successful, and we will have to do that on Saturday.”

On what to say to the team as a captain
“We have to stay together. In rough times it is easy for a team to fall apart, but we have to make sure everyone sticks together to fix the problems we have.”

________________________________________

Florida State Coach Leonard Hamilton

Opening statement
“Obviously this was a very important game for our basketball team, and I think we played with a very high level of focus. I think that the reason that we were able to do that for the whole entire game was because as we watched tapes of Virginia, we thought that they did an outstanding job of defending. We knew that if we did not defend them, that they would score points, because they have good shooters. Mike Scott was kind of a tough match up for us because he’s a pick and pop kind of guy. As we watched their system, the way they move the ball and reverse the ball, they always seem to get their guys open looks. I think that as a result of that our players really heightened their focus and their defensive execution and we were able to play a very sound, fundamental, defensive game for the entire game and I think that really made the big difference in the game.”

On Florida State’s balanced scoring…
“We don’t necessarily have a go-to guy. The go-to guy on the team is the guy with the best opportunity; it’s the open guy, that’s the go-to guy on our team right now. We haven’t had anybody emerge. It seems as though the guys kind of like playing that way. They move the ball, everyone plays within themselves, and gets the shots that are best suited for their abilities. That’s who we are right now.”

On what adjustments they made for Virginia…
“The only thing we were concerned about, the adjustment that we made, was that we knew they were going to double the post, and they did a very good job of getting behind you, pushing our center out. In the ACC, they allow you to lay your chest on them in the inside and walk your big guys out on the lane, and we knew that would be tough because our guys are not big, strong guys in the post. We’re tall, long, lanky guys. And plus, doubling them and pushing them off the block, we knew it would be difficult for us to handle. But I thought our guys moved the ball enough where it made it difficult to trap as easy as we thought that it would be.”

On preparing defensively for Sylven Landesberg…
“We didn’t do anything differently than we normally do from a defensive scheme of things. We just told Chris [Singleton] that he had to be solid because Landesberg has a whole lot of stuff to his game. He has the hesitation dribble, he has the perimeter shot, and he drives by you and lays it up. He had to play solid and make him make some plays over him as opposed to trying to reach and going for head fakes. They do such a good job when they catch the ball of moving the ball and shot faking, and we did go for some and got ourselves in trouble.”

On preparing for ACC games…
“We try not to approach any game any different than another. We’ve got respect for all of our opponents. I think that every game that you play in the ACC, if you are not mentally ready to play your very best, something bad can happen. We have run into that, there were a couple of games this year that we had our hat handed to us. We didn’t think that we were as focused as we should have been and I think that’s one reason why our guys have played as well as they have the last couple of games because those things we can control. We are really trying to make sure that the things we can control that we do control.”

On their defensive strategy coming into this game…
“We feel that our defense can be consistent, our offense kind of comes and goes. Tonight we shot 50% from the 3-point line, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen that…We are probably farther along with our defense than with our offense. We try not to let our offense affect our defense and that’s what has happened a couple of times, we weren’t executing, we weren’t scoring and that kind of took our energy away from us. Now the guys understand that one thing we can control is our focus on the defensive end and our offense will take care of itself.”
________________________________________

Florida State Guard Derwin Kitchen

On Florida State’s defense in the first half…
“When your defense is playing that well, your offense will start clicking eventually. We took control and never let go.”

On playing with a lead…
“We wanted to play smart and not force anything, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. We kept moving the ball around and getting open shots.”

On Florida State’s balanced scoring…
“That’s been the way our team has played all year. We have had so many different players lead our team in scoring throughout the year.”

Florida State Forward Chris Singleton

On Florida State’s defense…
“We have to go back to what we know, and good defense is what we are known for. We do everything we can to keep the other team off the scoreboard.”

On early foul trouble…
“I thought I let my team down a little, but they picked it up. I just need to stay out of foul trouble so that I can stay out on the court.”

On getting a first half lead…
“It was big. Virginia has had a lot of success this year. We knew they would play a tough game. We just tried to play good defense throughout the game.”

Florida State Guard Luke Loucks

On Florida State’s defense…
“Our defense has been solid over the past two games. If we haven’t set any records, we got pretty close. We knew what kind of defensive team we could be, and it just took the effort and intensity that Coach [Leonard Hamilton] wanted to get there.”

On Florida State’s early foul trouble…
“One of the keys to our team is that we are a very deep team. When [Chris] Singleton and [Michael] Snaer were in foul trouble, other guys had to pick it up. I thought our bench did that. It was a team effort.”

On the team slowing down Sylven Landesberg…
“Landesberg this entire season has been unbelievable. That was one of our focuses for the game, to shut him down. When you slow down a player like that, it kind of deflates the rest of the other team. He had a tough game tonight, but he’s a great player.”
 

Postgame Notes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 02/17/2010

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Notes
Florida State 69, Virginia 50

Team Notes
• Virginia changed its starting lineup after starting the same lineup for nine consecutive games (Jones and Baker starting in place of Evans and Zeglinski)

Individual Notes
• Jeff Jones (13 pts) scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and the 20th time in his career
• Mike Scott (10 pts) scored in double figures for the 18th time this season and the 38th time in his career

John Paul Jones Arena Records
• The Cavaliers’ 50 points were the lowest they have scored in a game at JPJA (previous low was 51 vs. Clemson on 2/7/08)
 

U.Va. continues slide in loss to Florida State
By Michael Phillips
Published: February 18, 2010
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CHARLOTTESVILLE -- This year's feel-good story had a brush with the harsh reality of the ACC in the past week.

The Cavaliers lost their fourth consecutive game last night, logging their lowest point total since moving into John Paul Jones Arena as they fell 69-50 to the Florida State Seminoles.

Virginia's offense has regressed during a stretch of three games in five days. For coach Tony Bennett, last night brought further frustration as his team missed open looks and failed to ignite even with a new, offensive-minded starting lineup.

"We looked like we were stuck in mud out there," he said. "We've got to go back to the drawing board. You fight to get good shots. We were pretty stagnant, and I thought we had some silly turnovers."

During the ACC schedule, the team leaned on its defense to surge to a 5-2 start in conference play and a share of the lead. But even Bennett's pack-line defense has been unable to make up for an offense that has lost its shooting touch.

Given that he's essentially working with the same team that went 4-12 under Dave Leitao last year, it was perhaps inevitable that the hot streak had to end, and a series of four games against potentially tournament-bound teams didn't help.

"Our limitations are there -- you can see that," Bennett said. "We struggle to score . . . But I think that when we get down or when adversity strikes, we aren't able to muster up enough to rally from it."

Opposing teams have taken to keying on the Cavs' two scoring threats, Sylven Landesberg and Mike Scott. By daring the other players to shoot, they've found success.

Last night's lineup was designed to avoid that, with Calvin Baker and Jeff Jones subbing for Jontel Evans and Sammy Zeglinski. Instead, Landesberg finished with four points, and he was not made available to reporters after the game. Jones led the team with 13 but said the problems go deeper than shooting.

"We've got to be the aggressor out there," he said. "We've got to be scrapping. You've got to be the one on the floor diving after balls."

The lack of effort was reflected in a subdued crowd, listed at 10,365. The fans gave tepid applause during a brief comeback but also offered the first scattered boos of the Bennett era early in the second half as it became clear the offense was not going to be leading a comeback.

Midway through the first half, it was a two-point game, with things about to turn around, when the Seminoles again went on a roll, including a transition basket from Ryan Reid -- the kind of play that Bennett's team had shut down all season.

"We were playing like blah out there," Baker said, referring to a perceived lack of effort. "That's what leads them to get transition baskets and rebounds. I feel like when we're alert, everybody is doing better."

That was Bennett's message to the team, and has been all season, that even though the Cavs are almost always outsized in ACC play, he'd be satisfied with progress every game as the team adjusted to his new system.

The next few games don't get easier for the Cavaliers as they travel to Clemson and Miami before playing host to Duke. Barring a sudden infusion of offense, the Cavs could find themselves in a tough situation going into March.

For Baker, it's about getting back to fundamentals. He said the seniors would call a team meeting sometime in the next few days to clear the air and reset expectations.

"It's basketball, and you're not going to win every game," he said. "But if the effort is there, and you know you left your heart out on the court, you can't be mad at the result."

Another lopsided loss for Cavaliers
Visiting Florida State builds a 23-point lead and hands Virginia its fourth straight defeat.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With their periodic boos and early exodus, the spectators at John Paul Jones Arena seemed to be making a statement Wednesday night.

The honeymoon period for this year's Virginia men's basketball team, and maybe even its first-year coach, has come to an end.

Briefly tied for first place in the ACC after their first seven conference games, the Cavaliers suffered their fourth consecutive loss Wednesday night and were beaten in ignominious fashion for the second time in three days.

Visiting Florida State led by as many as 23 points and coasted to a 69-50 victory, its fifth in a row over the Cavaliers.

Virginia (14-10 overall, 5-6 ACC) was coming off an 85-66 loss Monday night at Maryland, where the Cavaliers trailed by as many as 29.

"You can't lose your heart," Bennett said, "and I think that was taken from us again tonight."

Virginia shot 37.5 percent from the field, marking its fourth consecutive game under 38 percent, and could not keep Florida State under 50 percent (28-of-56).

Maryland had shot 56.3 percent against the Cavaliers.

"Florida State's points in the paint [38] were astronomical," Bennett said.

The Seminoles (19-7, 7-5) feature 7-foot sophomore Solomon Alabi, whom Virginia was trying to guard with 6-8 Jerome Meyinsse, but it wasn't Alabi who victimized the Cavaliers. Alabi registered three of FSU's five blocks but finished with only six points and one rebound in 18 minutes.

Virginia would have taken those numbers from Alabi before the game and it wasn't any single Seminole who picked up the slack. Sophomore Chris Singleton led Florida State with 12 points but was only 4-of-13 from the field.

The Seminoles had a potent inside-outside game that included six players contributing at least one 3-pointer to a 7-for-14 night from behind the arc. And, if Florida State had converted its free throws, it could have had as many as six "old-fashioned" three-point plays.

Bennett went with a new starting lineup that included junior Jeff Jones, who had 16 points off the bench at Maryland and contributed a game-high 13 points Wednesday. The other new starter was senior Calvin Baker, who made both of his shots from the field, but had zero assists and three turnovers while serving as point guard.

After Florida State took a 33-24 halftime lead, Baker scored the first basket of the second half to cut the deficit to seven but had a turnover -- his second in three possessions -- on UVa's next trip down the floor.

When the Cavaliers dropped a 61-55 decision Saturday at Virginia Tech, Bennett said the Cavaliers were "searching" for a third scorer to support Mike Scott and Sylven Landesberg, who combined for 39 points against the Hokies.

But, as soon as Jones started making some shots, Landesberg went cold. He was 2-for-8 from the field Wednesday night and finished with a season-low four points.

"We'd been hearing a lot about that third scorer," Jones said, "but it's definitely deeper than that."

Athletic-department spokesman Rich Murray said he would not entertain media requests to speak to Landesberg.

Bennett substituted for Landesberg with 14:27 remaining in the second half, at which point the Cavaliers trailed 46-30. Landesberg returned with 7:40 left and the Seminoles ahead 54-35.

The only time he had sat for that length of time was when he picked up two first-half fouls at Wake Forest.

"We didn't have any answers," Bennett said. "I said, 'Let's get some guys with some fresh legs.' He looked sluggish tonight, as did everybody. It looked like we were stuck in mud."

The Cavaliers, who entered Wednesday night's game as a one-point favorite, lost for the third time in their last four home games and fourth time overall at JPJ. The first three losses had all gone down to the wire.

"The schedule set up favorably in the early part of the ACC [schedule] and now, with the postponement of the Maryland game, it's been more challenging," said Bennett, whose team was playing for the third time in five days.

"Being in there at Virginia Tech and against Wake at home and not coming away with those wins, I don't know what that does to the psyche. If you can battle against those teams, that's got to be the mentality every time out."

Cavaliers finally hit dog days of winter
David Teel
February 18, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE

Virginia's four-game basketball losing streak isn't surprising. What's surprising is that the skid didn't occur until mid-February.

Yes, Tony Bennett's Cavaliers are that limited — athletically, offensively and vertically.

Florida State, middle-of-the-ACC Florida State, exposed those flaws and others in a 69-50 rout Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

"Our limitations are there," Bennett said. "You can see that."

But Bennett is more concerned with toughness and heart, which he believes the Cavaliers lacked in Monday's 19-point, snow-delayed defeat at Maryland and again Wednesday.

"The manner in which we lost was poor," Bennett said.

Indeed, Virginia (14-10, 5-6 ACC) offered minimal resistance after halftime. The Cavaliers defended meekly, and their 50 points mark their lowest home output since a 60-45 loss to No. 1 North Carolina in 1998.

By the first television timeout of the second half, the Seminoles had widened the gap to 16, prompting some in the sparse crowd of 10,365 to exit and others to boo.

A month ago today, Virginia defeated UNC Wilmington for its eighth consecutive victory. But it was only a matter of time before the Cavs faded, and chances are Bennett knew as much.

This is what happens when an undermanned roster adjusting to a first-year coach hits the dog days.

This is what happens when historic snowfalls sentence that team to three games in five days, four in eight.

This is what happens when a team is too dependent on 3-point shooting and, as inevitably occurs, the jumpers start rimming out.

This is what happens when your best long-range shooter misses 20-of-25 from beyond the arc.

That is Virginia's plight. The Cavaliers missed 13 of 18 long-range shots Wednesday, and Sammy Zeglinski, their top deep threat, was 1-for-5 to prolong his recent slump.

Moreover, Virginia's best player, Sylven Landesberg, scored a season-low four points and was clearly unsettled by the defense of 6-9 Chris Singleton.

FSU's superior size and athleticism were most evident in two first-half sequences.

On the first, Seminoles forward Ryan Reid caught the ball in the paint with only the 6-2 Calvin Baker between him and the bucket. But rather than simply turning and dunking, the 6-9 Reid passed to Derwin Kitchen, alone on the left wing for a 3-pointer that extended FSU's margin to 20-12.

The Seminoles led 28-22 late in the period when the Cavaliers ran an inbounds play for center Mike Scott. His power move would have produced two points against most, but 6-11 reserve Xavier Gibson rotated from the weak side and pinned Scott's shot, starting a fast break that Reid finished for a layup.

Bennett switched his starting backcourt, replacing Jontel Evans at the point with Calvin Baker, and Zeglinski on the wing with Jeff Jones. The latter change paid some dividends with Jones scoring a game-high 13 points.

For numbers geeks, Florida State's defense presents a truly remarkable streak. Dating to the 2007-08 season, the Seminoles have limited 62 consecutive opponents to less than 50-percent shooting.

The NCAA doesn't log such streaks, but if FSU's isn't a national record, it must be close.

Basketball's whims virtually mandate that some opponent, on some random evening will, regardless of your defense, make enough heaves, prayers and excuse-me banks to break 50 percent.

But luck and a bevy of tall, long athletic players such as 7-foot-1 Solomon Alabi have allowed the Seminoles (19-7, 7-5) to defy the norm. They second nationally behind Kansas in field-goal percentage defense.

Only three FSU opponents — Florida, North Carolina State and Maryland — have shot 45 percent. The Terps were best at 46.8, and the Seminoles dropped all three games.

Virginia certainly was an unlikely candidate to end FSU's 50-percent run. The Cavaliers stand 11th among conference teams in field goal accuracy, and Wednesday (37.5 percent) was their fourth straight sub-40 game.

The issue for the Cavaliers, and one that will define their season, is whether they can rediscover the form and karma of their eight-game, December-January winning streak. Or, is the current slide irreversible?

Up next is Saturday's game at Clemson, where the Tigers are 5-1 in conference and where the Cavaliers lost last season by 18.

Virginia long ago bested last season's victory total of 10. But now is the time to get more.

Five regular-season contests remain, and all appear daunting.

"You can't lose your heart," Bennett said, "and I thought that was taken again tonight."
 

Frustration mounts for U.Va. in 69-50 loss to Florida State
By Dave Fairbank | 247-4637
February 18, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Fatigue, inattentiveness, lackluster offense, superior opponents. No matter the reason, the results for Virginia's basketball team are the same.

Florida State came to town and added to the Cavaliers' misery, pulling away for a 69-50 win Wednesday at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia (14-10, 5-6 ACC) lost its fourth consecutive game, offering only token resistance for the second time in three days and scoring the fewest points at home in 12 years.

"I told our guys (that) I can handle losses," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said, "but the manner in which we lost the last couple of games has been frustrating."

On Monday, Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez controlled the proceedings in an 85-66 win at College Park that was essentially over at halftime.

Florida State's size and balance ruled Wednesday as the Cavaliers wilted in their third game in five days.

Leading scorer Sylven Landesberg was held to a season-low four points on 2-for-8 shooting. Guard Jeff Jones, getting a rare start as Bennett sought to shake up his lineup, led all scorers with 13 points.

But Virginia had little to recommend on offense. The Cavs shot 37.5 percent from the field (18-for-48) as they scored the fewest points in a game at JPJ and the fewest at home since a 60-45 loss to No. 1 North Carolina in 1998.

"Our limitations are there, you can see that," Bennett said. "We struggle to score ... but I think when we get down or adversity strikes, we aren't able to muster up enough to rally from it, and that's a concern.

"The mental toughness was lacking today. Fatigue maybe was there, but the mental toughness was not there. Take your pick tonight. It was tough."

Mike Scott added 10 points but found it tough maneuvering inside against Florida State's immense front line that includes 7-foot-1 Solomon Alabi, 6-9 Ryan Reid and 6-11 Xavier Gibson.

Even Landesberg found himself guarded for portions of the game by 6-9 forward Chris Singleton, the ACC's leader in steals.

"All the looks that he got in the lane, they were contested," Bennett said. "It was hard to get inside touches and score inside. Against teams like that, you're going to have to knock down some outside shots to at least stretch them, and we weren't doing that — that's for sure."

Singleton led a balanced attack with 12 points as Florida State (19-7, 7-5 ACC) won consecutive conference games for the first time since Jan. 24.

Seven different players scored at least six points as Florida State, in a peculiar statistical coincidence, shot 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 50 percent from the foul line.

Most important, FSU limited the Cavaliers to 50 points.

"As we watched their system," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said, "they always seem to be getting their guys open looks. I think as a result of that, our players really heightened their focus. We were able to play a very sound, fundamental defensive game for the entire game, and I thought that made a big difference in the game."

The Cavaliers' upcoming schedule offers no breaks. On Saturday, they face a Clemson team that will have had a week between games and has some work remaining in order to secure an NCAA berth.

Next Tuesday, they travel to Miami, which sits in the bottom half of the conference, but has lost only twice at home. The Cavs then close home against Duke, at Boston College and home versus Maryland.

"I do not think we were fatigued," Scott said. "Our minds were fatigued. We just did not play smart."

'Noles defense stifles Cavaliers
By Ira Schoffel • DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER • February 18, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991, Florida State had never held a conference opponent to 50 or fewer points until last Sunday against Boston College.

Now, the Seminoles have done it twice in back-to-back games.

After limiting BC to 47 points in a blowout home victory last Sunday, the Seminoles held host Virginia to just three more in a 69-50 victory on Wednesday.

"They make you earn everything," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "When I watched that (Boston College) game, I realized this was going to be a grind. And it was for us."

FSU held Virginia to 37.5 percent shooting from the field and almost completely shut down the Cavaliers' leading scorer, Sylven Landesberg.

Though he entered the game as the ACC's fourth-leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, Landesberg could muster just four points on 2-of-8 shooting against FSU. He was so ineffective that Bennett even benched him for large portions of the second half.

"We did not have any answers," said Bennett, whose team was playing its third game in five days. "I said let's get some guys with some fresh legs and see if we can get the ball attacking a little more. He looked sluggish tonight, as did everybody."

Kitchen hits boards

Junior point guard Derwin Kitchen tied for the game high with eight rebounds, but all he could think about after Wednesday's game was the one that got away.

"I tried man," Kitchen said before pointing at teammate Chris Singleton in mock anger. "He took my last rebound. I wanted to lead the team in rebounds, but we tied — we had eight apiece."

With Singleton and Kitchen leading the way, FSU edged Virginia in rebounds, 34-31.

Helping the big man

FSU's guards knew they would have to step up against Virginia, given the Cavaliers' tendency to devote extra attention to defending the post, and they did just that.

While Virginia limited sophomore center Solomon Alabi to six points, which tied for his lowest production of the season, his teammates made them pay by connecting on 7-of-14 shots from 3-point range.

"We kept moving the ball, and we got open shots," Kitchen said. "And we knocked them down tonight."

Alabi suffered a scare early in the game when he appeared to be sidelined with an arm injury, but he returned and never seemed to be hampered in any way.

Seminoles trounce Virginia at home
During third game in five days, fatigued Cavaliers drop fourth straight in disheartening 69-50 loss
Aaron Perryman, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Featured / Men's Basketball / Sports
February 18, 2010 0

The Virginia men’s basketball team lost its fourth consecutive game last night, falling 69-50 at home against Florida State.

The Seminoles’ defense — which surrenders, on average, an ACC-lowest 61.2 points per game this season — suffocated a tired Virginia (14-10, 5-6 ACC) team, which was playing its third game in five days. Virginia managed only 24 points during the first half, and things did not get any easier in the second, as the team only cracked the 50-point mark with just a few seconds remaining in the game.

“The manner in which we lost was frustrating,” coach Tony Bennett said. “Our limitations are there — you can see that. We struggle to score … But when we get down or adversity strikes, we aren’t able to muster up enough to rally from it, and that’s a concern.”

Bennett altered the team’s starting lineup yesterday night, adding junior guard Jeff Jones and senior guard Calvin Baker in an attempt to jump-start a worn-out team.

“We tried to change the lineup a little bit and see if we could get a scoring punch from Jeff and use Calvin’s experience,” Bennett said.

The Cavaliers shot 3-for-8 from behind the arc during the first half, which effectively kept them in the game. With Florida State (19-7, 7-5 ACC) up 22-12 at the 6:16 mark, Jones — who led all scorers with 13 points — made two consecutive threes to cut the margin to four. After Jones stole the ball on Florida State’s next possession, sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg made a jumper to cut the lead to two.

“I always have confidence in my game,” Jones said. “So whenever I’m in there, I just stay aggressive and try to keep my team in the game however I can.”

But Virginia never got any closer after that. The Seminoles ended the half on an 11-4 run and went into the locker room with a comfortable nine-point lead.

Although Virginia was able to hang on in the first half — providing a crowd of 10,365 with an incentive to stick around — it did not give the fans much of a reason stay in their seats for the second, as the game quickly became one-sided.

Florida State opened the second frame on an 11-4 run, going up 44-28 at the 15:46 mark, which prompted Bennett to call a timeout.

But nothing could slow the Seminole onslaught. Florida State worked the lead to 23 points, and even though Virginia had the game’s highest scorer, Florida State sported a more balanced attack with four players in double figures.

Sophomore forward Chris Singleton led the way for the Seminoles, scoring 12 points and shutting down Landesberg, who only managed four points on the night.

“[Singleton] made it hard,” Bennett said. “All the looks were contested, and it was hard to get inside touches.”

Bennett sat Landesberg for an unusually large stretch during the second half, sensing his fatigue and frustration.

“We didn’t have any answers so I thought we should get some fresh legs in there and see if we can attack a little more and create a little more movement [on offense],” Bennett said. “He looked sluggish tonight like everybody.”

The Seminoles limited the Cavaliers to 37.5 percent shooting from the field and scored nearly twice as much as the Cavaliers’ total in the paint — 38-20 — despite only nabbing three more rebounds.
But when Florida State made it to the line, it often stumbled, sinking only 6-of-12 shots from the charity stripe. Most of these free throws, however, came after a made basket, as the Seminoles connected on several and-one plays, showing that perhaps Virginia was a step behind on defense.

Players, though, were skeptical to attribute the loss to physical fatigue.

“It’s not that hard [to play three games in five days],” junior forward Mike Scott said. “I don’t think it was [physical] fatigue. Our minds were fatigued.”

As the game was ending, Bennett slipped freshman forward Tristan Spurlock into the game for the final five minutes. Spurlock converted an impressive and-one and tallied five points.

“I thought I played good,” Spurlock said. “I thought I played good defense against Singleton. I thought my rotation in the pack was good. I just feel like the more reps I get on the court, the better I’ll be, so helpfully that’ll continue.”

The Cavaliers will have two full days’ rest before facing Clemson on the road, their fourth game in eight days.

Cavaliers’ slide continues
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 18, 2010
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New lineup. Same result.

Trying to snap his team’s three-game losing streak, Virginia coach Tony Bennett removed guards Sammy Zeglinski and Jontel Evans from his lineup for Wednesday night’s game against Florida State. Bennett replaced the duo with Calvin Baker and Jeff Jones.

The shuffling didn’t make much of a difference.

Chris Singleton scored 12 points and added seven rebounds to lead Florida State to a 69-50 victory over Virginia in front of a crowd of 10,365 at John Paul Jones Arena.

FSU (19-7, 7-5), which also got 11 points from Luke Loucks and 10 points from Xavier Gibson, held Virginia to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Cavaliers’ 50 points were the fewest in their three-plus seasons at JPJ.

For the first time this season, Bennett didn’t seem as optimistic about the team’s immediate future.

“You can’t lose your heart,” he said, “and I thought that was taken again tonight.”

After storming out of the ACC gates with a 5-2 record, UVa has dropped four in a row. With games against Clemson, Duke and Miami on the horizon, things aren’t about to get any easier for the Wahoos.

Against FSU, Virginia (14-10, 5-6) looked like a team playing its third game in five days.

“I told our guys I can handle losses, but the manner in which we’ve lost the last couple of games has been frustrating,” said Bennett, whose team will try and break its slide at Clemson on Saturday.

“When we get down or adversity strikes, we aren’t able to muster up enough to rally from it. That’s a concern. The mental toughness was lacking today. Fatigue was there, but the mental toughness was not there.”

Jones led Virginia with 13 points. Sylven Landesberg, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, was held to a season low of four points, more than 13 below his season average.

“He looked sluggish tonight,” Bennett said, “as did everybody.”

The Cavaliers (14-10, 5-6 ACC) shot just 38 percent, while allowing the Seminoles to shoot 50 percent.

FSU (19-7, 7-5) led by just nine at the break, but went on an 11-2 run to start the second half.

“The last two games our intensity has fallen,” said Virginia senior Jerome Meyinsse, who was a non-factor against Seminoles 7-footer Solomon Alabi. “If we’re not playing at our best as far as effort and winning the ‘X’ factor, then we’re going to struggle.”

In the first half, FSU shot 54 percent from the field. The Seminoles first seven baskets were either 3-pointers or conventional 3-point play opportunities, of which they missed just one free throw.

Meanwhile, Virginia looked overmatched by the Seminoles’ size, although Mike Scott disputed that notion.

“I think we just didn’t move hard enough on offense,” said Scott (10 points, six rebounds). “Their length didn’t have [anything] to do with it.”

Alabi, who came out of the game after just 1 minute and 16 seconds because of an arm injury, returned to score six first-half points, including a jump hook in the lane to put FSU up 28-22 with just over two minutes left.

“We looked like we were stuck in mud out there,” Bennett said.

But Florida State, despite completely outplaying Virginia, led just 33-24 at the break. The Seminoles, at times, hardly looked like any kind of ACC juggernaut themselves.

“This was a very important game for our basketball team, and I think we played with very high level of focus,” said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton. “I think the reason we were able to do that for the whole entire game was because, as we watched tapes of Virginia, we thought they did a very outstanding job defending.

“We knew if we did not defend them, then they would score points because they have good shooters and [Mike] Scott was a tough matchup for us.”
 

Cavs left searching for answers
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: February 18, 2010
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Florida State expected a basketball war when it came to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday night. What the Seminoles got was more like a tea party.

Coach Leonard Hamilton had been impressed with his film study of Virginia’s defensive prowess and had cautioned his Seminoles that anything less than total focus could prove a disaster for his team, which has aspirations of making the NCAA tournament.

What FSU found was a Cavalier team that seemed to have lost its way. Once 5-2 and vying for the lead in the ACC standings, Virginia played more like its preseason prediction of 11th in the league.

After Monday night’s lopsided loss at Maryland, UVa coach Tony Bennett said that the Florida State game would be a gut check.

Florida State 69, Virginia 50.

Ouch!

The Seminoles splattered the lifeless Cavaliers’ guts all over the place and ripped their hearts out in the process.

‘D’ didn’t show up

For the second straight outing, the defense Hamilton had watched on tape had abandoned ship. Without much firepower to rely on when that happens, Bennett’s Wahoos were adrift, particularly with star Sylven Landesberg completely out of sync, finishing with a season-low four points.

“Sylven looked sluggish,” Bennett commented afterward. “We looked like we were stuck in mud out there.”

Landesberg took just eight shots and made only two of ’em in 28 minutes. He sat for nearly seven minutes in the second half, looking winded in his seat on the sidelines.

Sizing Sylven up

Hamilton didn’t give away any secrets on shutting down Landesberg, who averages 17.8 points per game, other than the obvious, that he had assigned a taller Chris Singleton (6-foot-9) to defend Landesberg (6-6).

“I just told Chris he had to be solid because Landesberg had a whole lot of stuff to his game,” Hamilton said. “I said, ‘Make [Landesberg] make some plays over you.’”

With Landesberg clearly off his game, Virginia floundered around but still managed to stay within reach of FSU at the half, trailing only 33-24. However, that didn’t last long as the Seminoles pounced all over the Cavaliers early in the second with an 11-2 run, pushing the lead to 44-28.

Just like at College Park two nights hence, it was all over but the crying.

Landesberg took only one shot the second half and missed. He had a lot of company in the missed department as Virginia shot 37.5 percent (18 of 48) for the game.

Part of that was good FSU defense. The Seminoles, regarded as the best field goal percentage defense in the ACC, held its opponent to less than 50 percent shooting for the 62nd consecutive game.

Virginia’s 50 points, the lowest by a Cavalier team in John Paul Jones Arena in the building’s four-year history, was also the second-fewest points allowed by Florida State to an ACC opponent since joining the conference in 1991.

Who would have ever imagined then that FSU, once the league’s football powerhouse, would have UVa’s number in basketball? The Seminoles have now won four straight against the Cavaliers for the first time since joining the league.

Things got so bad that with five minutes left in the game, fans began scurrying for the exit like rats abandoning a sinking ship.

Perhaps ACC teams have figured out how to beat Virginia. Considered a coach’s league, once any team unveils a weakness, it’s Xeroxed from Beantown to South Beach.

“Lots of teams have stacked the deck against Sylven,” Bennett said. “Other guys have to step up.”

What other guys?

That was a problem during the Dave Leitao era. No third scorer. It remains a problem that perhaps only recruiting will fix.

Bennett admitted the second half of the ACC schedule has been tougher than the first, especially when teams know how to beat you.

While UVa’s defense may have been stale, perhaps its predictability has aided opponents as well. Little changes from game to game.

No zones. No junk defenses. Just the same stuff.

The only thing Florida State had to adjust to was Virginia’s doubling the FSU post.

“They do a very good job of getting behind you and pushing our center out,” Hamilton said. “In the ACC, they allow you to lay your chest on the inside of the big guys in the lane. Our guys are not big, strong guys. We knew doubling [FSU’s post] and pushing them off the block would be tough for us.”

Well, not too tough. FSU ravaged Virginia inside with a staggering 38 points in the paint.

Now that UVa has lost four in a row and looked bad in the last two, and gut check time has come and gone with little results, what is in store for this Cavalier team?

Over the last five games, they’ve averaged 54 points per game, which isn’t going to win many games in the ACC, no matter how well you play defense.

The scenario doesn’t get any better. A hungry Clemson team awaits, with a week off to get ready for its next victim.

Tiger bait?
 

Virginia's NCAA tournament hopes fading fast

Virginia gets Florida State at home tonight, the final game during the stretch that has included three games in five days. Let’s look at the resume.

Virginia (14-9, 5-5 ACC)

Best wins: Georgia Tech (29), Alabama-Birmingham (36)
Worst losses: Auburn (154), Stanford (168), Penn State (228)
RPI: 96
Strength of schedule: 95
Nonconference strength of schedule: 295
Record vs. top 50: 2-5
Record vs. top 200: 9-8
Road/neutral court record: 3-6
As of today: Out of the field

Pros: It is getting tough to come up with reasons why Virginia should remain in the tournament discussion. The biggest positive is two top 50 victories, the same number as Maryland and Virginia Tech, two teams in the field at the moment. The other thing Virginia has going for it is that the pool of bubble teams is particularly weak this season, so as some of the middling Big East teams knock one another out, there will be room for other teams from other conferences to fill the void.

Cons: Where do we start? The Cavaliers were noncompetitive at Maryland the other night. They have lost three straight games. The Alabama-Birmingham victory looks less impressive now because UAB is a bubble team. The overall schedule ranks 95th nationally and is one of the worst for any bubble team. And then there are the bad losses, three of them, in fact. The RPI is also in the 90s; when it reaches the high 50s, Virginia will have a chance.

Outlook: I’ve said this on a few radio shows and on television: Virginia resembles Virginia Tech in that both have soft overall schedules. The difference is that Virginia has lost to three of the weak opponents on its nonconference resume. The other difference – and a big one – is that Tech has performed very well in ACC play, and the Cavaliers are running out of steam. They need to string together several victories in a row, starting tonight, but that is unlikely. An NIT appearance would mean a successful season under first-year Coach Tony Bennett, whose team was predicted to finish 11th in the conference. But an at-large NCAA tournament invitation is very much a long shot.

By Eric Prisbell

Florida State routs Virginia at home
By Zach Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 18, 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Whether the Tony Bennett Era at Virginia lasts a few years or a few decades, Wednesday night could be remembered for the first boos from the home crowd since Bennett became coach.

It might have marked the end of a new coach's honeymoon period or just another dose of a reality for a team rapidly plunging into ACC irrelevance, but the fans voiced their disdain throughout the Cavaliers' 69-50 loss to Florida State at John Paul Jones Arena. It was Virginia's fourth consecutive loss, including the second defeat by 19 points in three days.

"I can handle losses, but the manner in which we lost the last couple games has been frustrating," Bennett said, repeating a criticism he had of his team following Monday's 85-66 loss to Maryland. "Our limitations are there. You can see that. We struggle to score. But I don't think it's one or the other. I think when we get down, or adversity strikes, we aren't able to muster enough to rally from it. That's a concern. The mental toughness was lacking today."

Minutes after the Terrapins embarrassed Virginia (14-10, 5-6), Bennett declared Wednesday's game a "gut-check." The team practiced "briefly but intensely" on Tuesday, but the preparations did little to intensify the Cavaliers while the Seminoles' lead swelled to as great as 23 in the second half.

Their hot start from the beginning of the ACC schedule is now a footnote in a season almost unsalvageable. Aspirations of postseason play, much less an NCAA tournament appearance, are beginning to appear unrealistic.

"Through these rough times, it's easy for a team to fall apart," senior captain Jerome Meyinsse said. "We have to make sure everyone stays together, try to fix the problems we have."

Bennett made the first changes to the starting lineup in 10 games, swapping guards Calvin Baker and Jeff Jones in for Jontel Evans and Sammy Zeglinski. The move was intended to provide an injection of offense, but Virginia needed a last-minute push just to reach 50 points, which is the program's lowest scoring total in the history of John Paul Jones Arena.

While Florida State extended its second-half lead, Virginia star Sylven Landesberg remained on the bench for nearly seven minutes. The Cavaliers' top scorer was blanketed all night, and Bennett sought "fresh legs." Landesberg, who scored a season-low four points, was not made available for comment by a Virginia official.

Virginia's inability to consistently score makes it difficult to win unless Landesberg produces because opponents focus almost the entirety of their defensive efforts on stopping the Cavaliers' sophomore. Understanding this entering the season, Bennett said the Virginia needed to excel on defense and win with intangibles that have recently been lost.

"I don't think we brought the same effort the last two games that we have for the majority of the season," Meyinsse said. "The intensity has fallen, and when we're not playing our best as far as effort and winning the X-factor, we're going to struggle."

Baker, another senior captain, plans on calling a players' meeting to discuss whatever issues plague the team. He said basketball is meant to be played with a "free spirit," and that the team has recently been playing "blah."

"Someone's going to have to take the initiative to speak on it. That's where I come in at," Baker said. "We've had meetings throughout the year, but I don't think we've had a meeting like the one we're going to have."

Virginia can only hope a meeting works. At the beginning of the month, the Cavaliers were near the top of the ACC standings. The team crept into NCAA tournament discussions and Bennett was considered a front-runner for ACC coach of the year.

Bennett admitted that the early schedule worked to the Cavaliers' favor, but the difference in the past two games has gone beyond difficult opponents. Virginia has appeared flawed and lacking effort. With two road games preceding a visit from Duke, recovery must happen immediately if internal pride will be restored.
 

An emotional trip for McMullan
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 18, 2010
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Just six months after his oldest daughter was born, Kevin McMullan was pushed out of Greenville, N.C.

This weekend, the associate head coach for the Virginia baseball team will take his eldest child, Maggie, back to East Carolina, where her life started.

It will be her first trip back.

The reason that the McMullan family left Greenville is a rather twisted tale, one that eventually landed an enormous home-run hire for the Virginia baseball program.

Kevin McMullan, currently the Cavaliers’ associate head coach, was named acting head coach at ECU in 2002 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis forced head coach Keith LeClair to step down.

The Pirates went 43-20-1 under McMullan and secured a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Mike Hamrick, the athletics director at ECU prior to Virginia icon Terry Holland, snubbed McMullan and hired Randy Mazey because he had led Tennessee to the College World Series.

After Holland took over at ECU, Mazey was eventually suspended and fired after compiling a 120-66-1 mark.

On the heels of being named the national assistant coach of the year, McMullan prefers that the subplots of his return to ECU remain out of the spotlight.

The players and the future of the Virginia program are all that truly matter, he urges.

But it will be an emotional challenge for McMullan to fight off memories this weekend during the Cavaliers’ three-game set at ECU inside a stadium that is named after LeClair, his former boss and close friend who lost his battle with ALS on July 17, 2006.

“Keith gave everybody the benefit of the doubt,” McMullan said. “He was a guy that whether you were the first guy on the roster or the 35th guy on the roster, if you went about your business the right way, he would love you the same.

“He didn’t treat anybody different. I think those guys that we coached there, all of them to a man, would say the same thing. If you did your part and you respected the game and the team environment, Keith treated you like his son.”

After his exit from ECU, McMullan worked a year for the Atlanta Braves until Brian O’Connor landed the Virginia job and offered him a position.

“I know to this day that two greatest moves that I made were to work alongside coach McMullan and coach [Karl] Kuhn,” O’Connor said.

“What coach McMullan has done with our hitters over the past seven years, as the stats prove, has been simply amazing.”

Working for O’Connor has been just as refreshing for McMullan, reminding him of his time at ECU and his previous tenure at St. John’s.

“I have been blessed to coach under three guys that are very similar,” McMullan said. “They let you do your job, they are passionate family men and they care about the kids in the program.

“I really have been blessed to be with some pretty good people.”
 

Cavaliers Win Both Relays on Day One of ACC Championships
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 02/17/2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Virginia women's swimming team opened the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference championships in record-setting fashion, winning both the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay Wednesday at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
After a long delay on the official results of the 800 free relay, it was determined by conference representatives that the Cavaliers had indeed won the race. Jen Narum, Kelly Flynn, Jenna Harris and Lauren Perdue clocked a time of 7:04.74, to set a conference, meet and pool record. The mark is also an NCAA 'B' standard.

That time broke Virginia's old record of 7:05.72 set at the 2009 ACC Championships. Megan Evo, Liz Shaw, Kristen Wallace and Harris held the previous mark. The previous Koury Natatorium record of 7:14.38 was set by North Carolina in 2007.
The 200 medley relay team of Mei Christensen, Katherine McDonnell, Lauren Smart and Hannah Davis began the evening setting a conference, meet and pool record with an NCAA 'A' cut of 1:37.33. That broke UVa's previous record in the event, set at the league meet a year ago, when Christensen, McDonnell, Shaw and Wallace finished in 1:37.50. The previous pool mark of 1:39.20 was set by Florida State in 2007.
"It was awesome," head coach Mark Bernardino said. "Each of the women had wonderful splits. We came here to win all five relays and we got off to a great start. We came here to make some NCAA cuts and we did that too. That set the tone for what hopefully will be a great meet for us."
The second day of the women's swimming and diving championships continues Thursday with the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 200 free relay. Men's 3-meter diving and women's 1-meter diving will also take place. Prelims are slated for 11 a.m. with finals at 7 p.m. on ACC Select.

2010 Women's ACC Championships
Through Event 2
1. Virginia 80
2. North Carolina 64
3. Maryland 60
3. Florida State 60
5. Virginia Tech 56
6. Clemson 54
7. NC StAte 46
8. Georgia Tech 44
8. Duke 44
10. Miami 28
11. Boston College 12

 

Q&A with Al Groh
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Columnist
Sports
February 18, 2010 0

For three-and-a-half years — in accordance with Cavalier Daily style guidelines — I have been typing, “Virginia coach Al Groh.” Striking any other keys prior to that name is truly an odd experience.
Here goes: A week ago, I had the opportunity to catch up with new Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Al Groh. For those of you that haven’t been keeping up, Groh was hired by Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson Jan. 14 — 46 days after Groh was fired from his post at Virginia.

Though Groh is already at retirement age (he’s 65) and certainly has plenty of money (Virginia owes him a severance package of $4.33 million), he hinted even when he was fired that he was far from done coaching. In an e-mail that was sent to reporters the day he was let go, Groh said, “I have every confidence that this will be a positive change for the Groh family and I look forward to my next game.”

So, Groh wasn’t done coaching — but he wasn’t going just anywhere. During my conversation with Groh, he confirmed four criteria that he had already revealed for his next coaching post:
1. A commitment to winning
2. A high level of integrity
3. Full collaboration on all levels toward the objectives
4. The personnel already in place such that there was a good chance to smile at the end of the game

The Yellow Jackets — the reigning ACC champions — clearly meet all of these criteria. And, though Georgia Tech scored more than 30 points per game, it also gave up nearly 25. A seasoned defensive coordinator like Groh was exactly what the team was looking for; it’s hard to argue that he isn’t a solid coach on that side of the ball.

What was your thinking process after Virginia? Was retirement ever an option?
The plan was always to continue to be active in doing this. I can explain that by a statement that Tom Moore — who’s the offensive coordinator with the Colts — made last week. There was a lengthy article on the front page of USA Today, kind of about the relationship between Tom Moore and Peyton Manning — not just the personal relationship, but how they go about trusting each other, and the calling of plays, and the running of the game. Tom has been aligned with highly productive offenses for a long time — he’s 71. The writer posed a question as to his retirement. He said, “I don’t have any plans to retire. I guess at some point, I’ll get into a stage where nobody will ask me to work for him, so I guess that means I’ll be retired.” So I read that and I said, “Well, I think that explains things pretty well.”
And how did I assess that? Well, I have all the energy that I’ve ever had. I have all the ambition to accomplish things that I’ve ever had. I really like the whole process of competition, and helping players improve. And I still feel like I have a lot of things to accomplish and to prove. This is an environment which I’ve operated for a long time, and which I feel comfortable in, so we’re going to keep on going.

Was there any college-over-pro choice in coming to Georgia Tech, or was it just wherever your criteria fit best?
It was strictly that criteria, where I could find the best combination. Definitely part of that criteria was to be involved with a veteran coach rather than a rookie coach, somebody who really had his plan in place. That plan didn’t necessarily have to be the same as my plan, but one where I knew he had a proven way of doing things. And then it would be up to me to fit in, not for them to accommodate me.
But I didn’t think it would be fair to either party to be in some circumstance where some fellow was just trying to figure it out. I could relate to it, like I had to a long time ago, and now be sitting there thinking, there’s a better way to do this than that, but it’s not my place to say. I didn’t think that would be fair to any party.
I wanted to get it with a proven guy, and obviously coach Paul Johnson has won big at three places — he won big at Georgia Southern, he won big at Navy and he’s won here. Clearly they have a very defined plan of doing things that has proven successful on a number of different fronts.

I understand that Paul Johnson called you first — describe how that process went to the point when you were hired.
Shortly after I left Virginia, Paul called to, one, just say, “I respect everything you guys did there, I thought you guys did a great job,” — clearly we probably were as competitive against Georgia Tech over the two years that he’s been here as any team in the conference with our two games — and, “By the way, what are your plans?” So I told him really what you and I just discussed [in the previous question], and he said, “Would you be interested in doing it here?” Frankly, coming from the coach who had just won the conference championship, that he would think that we could do something to help them out, we were flattered by that and immediately interested.

You’re running the 3-4, as you always have. What do you expect your role to be in the overall scheme of things and how your system will fit in with Paul Johnson’s overall system?
Coach Johnson’s very involved with the offense — it’s his offense, he’s run it highly successfully at a number of different places, he calls all the plays during the course of the game. But as the head coach, he also knows how he wants every phase of the program to look — recruiting, special teams, offense, defense.
But during the course of a game-week preparation, and certainly during a game, he’s got to give a lot of focus to the responsibility of getting ready to call the game. So as any head coach would, he knows what he wants his defense to look like, but he really wants it to look that way without the necessity of his giving substantial time to it because clearly he can only be in so many places at once.
So that’s what he’s asked us to do, is make this defense look the way it needs to, make this defense play at a championship level as he would expect it to, without his having to devote a major amount of time to it.

You’ve been an assistant many times in your career, but what is the adjustment for you going from running a program to being an assistant coach?
It’s very easy to do. Again, I’m very appreciative that he would think to us because there are many people who, just on principle, wouldn’t be interested in somebody who had been a head coach for 16 years. Like, “not going to fit in,” or, “there’s a way we do things,” or, “intimidated by it,” or whatever it might be. Obviously as a result of his accomplishments, he’s secure and confident enough that, all he wants to do is what’s necessary to keep his team moving forward, and I think I have, in being in charge, a pretty good appreciation of how a good, valuable assistant coach operates.
For a time frame there, I worked as hard as I could at being the best head coach that I could be. Now I’m going to work equally hard at being the best assistant coach that I can be. That’s my role, and I just want to accomplish within that role. There’s a way that has been successful here, and now it’s my job to find out how those things go. If I’m asked an opinion on something, give it; otherwise, keep my eyes and ears open, and make the transition.

Looking back now, what were some of the highs and lows of your time at Virginia?
It was a time of accomplishment. We had some very, very good teams there, and some very good seasons, and some teams that accomplished some things that had never before been accomplished there. So that’s gratifying to do that.
But what we remember the most is the players … That’s really what you remember more than the games themselves, is the players. And on that line, a really fun thing here recently was to put on the TV and see [former Cavaliers] Matt Schaub, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Heath Miller all in the huddle together in their very first Pro Bowl. Obviously they’re very distinguishable because each one had their individual team helmet on.
And there they were. To think about when those guys were in the huddle together when they were playing in college, and now here’s the first time they’ve been back in the same huddle, and they’re all in their first Pro Bowl, that’s pretty neat.

Is there one thing that you can pick out that you took from your time at Virginia?
Not necessarily a new thing but confirmation of a principle that we got exposed to early, and we have seen the plus side of it and the negative side of it, and many coaches are aware of it. In the totality of the organization — that is, everybody in it — the collaboration and the communication creates long-term success. When that’s in place, you see those organizations — whether it’s the San Antonio Spurs or the New England Patriots or the Indianapolis Colts or the Los Angeles Lakers or Alabama football or whatever — those places that stay in a long-term cycle of success, that’s usually in place. I think our time there [at Virginia] confirmed that.

What do you think it will be like when you see orange and blue on the other sideline this coming season?
There’ll be a lot of players there who mean a good deal to me, a number of which have stayed in touch with me here. But I’ve been asked that question a few other times, and what I’ve said was I’ve been in enough situations where a team I was currently coaching for was playing against a team I had previously coached for, that, if I got overly sentimental at that prospect, I’d be coaching with tears in my eyes the whole season.
For example, one year, in ‘96 when we were with the Patriots, we went to the Super Bowl, and five days later, Bill Parcells left to go to the Jets, and we all left, and four games later, we were coaching against the Patriots. So it doesn’t get much more extreme than that.
But on any team that you coach for, what the players deserve is your unrequited efforts toward their performance. And that’s what a professional does: He gives his very best to the circumstance that he’s in. That’s why our perspective on this is all forward-thinking. Maybe at some point in time we’ll spend more time looking at the pictures and thinking about those things, but what we’re really focusing on and enjoying is getting ready for the 12 games that are coming up, and not really thinking about the 12 games that just got played.

How much will you remain involved with the University community, even just as an alum?
We’re maintaining our house in Charlottesville … The University of Virginia, as a student and an employee, was very good to me. I profited from it, so it will always be part of our history and our family history. Between all of us, three of us have degrees from Virginia. It’s been part of our history, and we’ve been part of it’s history, so we’re appreciative of that, and we’re very proud of that.
Now that I’m no longer associated with the program, since I’m just an alumnus, I guess I’m free to have all sorts of opinions as to what the coach should do.

That leads me into my next question: Having seen Mike London develop under you as your former assistant, what are your thoughts about him inheriting the Virginia program?
Haven’t given any thought to it at all. All I’m thinking about is how I can get this defense to play well.