Big play at the right time tames Orange
March 02, 2003
By Donna Ditota
Staff writer

It was everything advertised. Even the final goal, a shimmy and low bouncing shot by John Christmas, could have been scripted.

In the end, Virginia simply made the bigger play.

The No. 4 Cavaliers defeated No. 1 Syracuse 16-15 before a robust Carrier Dome crowd of 10,536. The win gained a measure of respect for Virginia's seniors, who had never beaten the Orangemen. It also diminished a Herculean effort by SU's Mike Springer, who had five goals, two assists and exuded a powerful presence all afternoon.

''The game,'' said Virginia coach Dom Starsia, ''provided all the sparks people were looking for.''

It came down to the final 28 seconds.

Virginia's Jack de Villiers, who dominated the faceoff X, won a critical one with 1 minute, 41 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 15. The Cavaliers called timeout with 1:03 left and then went to midfielder Chris Rotelli, who shot wide.

Virginia backed up the play and the ball went to Christmas in the left corner. Christmas, the flashy sophomore, already had three goals in the game. He said he tried all day to move from right to left on SU's Sol Bliss, who had reconstructive surgery on his left knee during the off-season. But this time, he took Bliss right, got his hands free and delivered a low bouncer past SU goalie Jay Pfeifer.

''I was trying to keep him away from the goal and I gave him too much of an open shot,'' Bliss said. ''In that situation, you probably want to give Jay a better shot to look at.''

Pfeifer, though, would not allow Bliss to shoulder the blame.

''I should have saved the ball,'' he said.

The play capped a remarkable afternoon of lacrosse that saw Virginia score five straight goals in the third quarter to turn a 9-6 Syracuse lead into an 11-9 Cavaliers advantage. A.J. Shannon, who finished with four goals, had two during the Virginia run. So did Christmas. When Joe Yevoli scored twice to end the period, Virginia owned its biggest lead of the game at 13-10.

DeVilliers won six-of-nine faceoffs during the period, providing potent Virginia with plenty of chances. Starsia said deVilliers devoted the off-season to the weight room and was voted the team's most improved player from a season ago. For the game, the Cavaliers won 21 of 34 at the X, with deVilliers taking all but one of them.

Despite the disparity, the Orangemen roared back in the final period. Jarett Park swung the momentum almost single-handedly. The sophomore midfielder stripped a Virginia player on the sideline, sprinted to the Cavs cage and deposited the ball past Tillman Johnson, elevating the crowd and his teammates. SU outscored Virginia 5-2 during the next 12 minutes.

And Springer was its most dangerous weapon.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound co-captain has sculpted some serious upper-body muscles these last couple seasons. Known for his blistering shot, Springer has evolved this season into a player who can dodge and carry the ball. Against Virginia, he simply muscled Ned Bowen at will, scoring SU's 13th and 15th goals on pure determination. His final goal came after Dan DiPietro and Donn Vidosh stripped Christmas at the Virginia end and gained possession for the Orangemen.

Usually, this would be time for Mike Powell to strut his stuff. But Virginia's Brett Hughes held the Tewaraaton Trophy winner to two assists Saturday and Powell was never a factor. Instead, Springer took over, backing down Bowen on the crease and delivering a twisting bouncer that skated past Johnson and tied it a 15 with 1:41 left.

''Mike took it upon himself to go to the goal and make things happen,'' SU coach Desko said.

That, however, was the last chance he or any of his offensive teammates would have.

SU, now 1-1, does not play again until Fairfield visits on March 10.

Men's Lacrosse Loses Home Opener to Virginia, 16-15

Sophomore attackman John Christmas (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) broke a 15-15 tie with a low bounce shot from the left side which proved to be the game-winning goal with 22 seconds remaining as No. 4-ranked Virginia defeated defending men's lacrosse national champion Syracuse, 16-15, at the Carrier Dome. It was Virginia's first win against the Orangemen since 1999, when the Cavaliers posted a 12-10 victory in the NCAA finals.

Syracuse (1-1) led 4-3 after the first quarter. Midfielders Sean Lindsay (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Lakeland-Panas) and Pat Hogan (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) quickly put the Orangemen out in front, 2-0. UVA senior midfielder A.J. Shannon (Whitby, Ontario, Canada/Henry Street) scored the first of his four goals at the 10:25 mark of the first quarter to put the Cavaliers on the scoreboard for the first time. Christmas, who also finished with four goals, tallied for the first time at the 9:19 mark and tied the game at 2-2. SU senior attackman Michael Springer (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) had a goal and two assists in the first quarter. He gave the Orangemen a 3-2 advantage at 8:08 and then assisted junior attackman Brian Nee (Cockeysville, Md./Boys' Latin) on a man-up goal at 6:37 for a 4-2 SU lead. Virginia sophomore attackman Joe Yevoli (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) notched the first of his four goals with 5:46 remaining in the first quarter and Syracuse went into the second period with a 4-3 lead.

The two teams traded goals throughout the second quarter. Virginia senior midfielder Chris Rotelli (Rumford, R.I./Moses Brown) tied the game at 4-4 with a man-down goal at the 13:46 mark. SU senior middie Mike Smith (Greenport, N.Y./Baldwin) converted a pass from Michael Powell (Carthage, N.Y./Carthage) 38 seconds later, but UVA's Matt Ward (Oakton, Va./Landon) tied the game at 5-5 at 10:39. Springer and Yevoli each recorded goals for a 6-6 tie with 8:21 remaining in the second quarter. Lindsay netted his third man-up goal of the season with 4:57 left and Powell found Nee with 1:14 remaining as SU headed to the lockerroom with an 8-6 halftime lead.

The Orangemen led by as many as three goals (9-6) after Powell found Springer on an extra-man opportunity at 11:12 of the third quarter. That is when Virginia went on a 7-1 scoring run. Shannon ignited the UVA offense with back-to-back goals which pulled the Cavs within a goal (9-8) at the 9:24 mark. Ward tied the game 21 seconds later with a seven-yard shot that found the back of the net. Next, it was Christmas' turn to get into the action. He registered back-to-back goals which gave the Cavaliers an 11-9 lead with six minutes remaining in the period. Virginia would never trail again.

SU freshman midfielder Greg Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) broke the Orangemen's scoring drought with his first collegiate goal with 4:10 remaining in the third period. That pulled Syracuse within one goal (11-10), but Yevoli increased UVA's margin to three (13-10) with two goals in the final three minutes of the quarter. With one second remaining, Yevoli caught a length-of-the-field pass from defenseman Brett Hughes (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and safely deposited the ball past SU goaltender Jay Pfeifer (Towson, Md./Gilman).

The Orangemen battled back to within one goal at the start of the fourth quarter. Sophomore midfielder Jarett Park (Otisco, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) stole the ball from a Virginia player at the top of the box and ran up the right side uncontested for SU's 11th goal of the game at 12:44. Less than a minute later, Smith recorded his second goal of the contest when he recovered a rebound in front of the Virginia crease. With 12:08 remaining in the final period, UVA led, 13-12. Shannon ripped a 12-yard shot on an extra-man situation to push Virginia's lead back up to two (14-12) with 10:26 left. Springer worked his man around the back of the cage and scored from the right side to keep it close (14-13) with 8:15 remaining.

Shannon found Ward for another two-goal Virginia lead (15-13) with 4:37 remaining. Syracuse freshman attackman/midfielder Brian Crockett (Yorktown, N.Y./Yorktown) netted his first goal of the game at the 3:42 mark. Springer tied the game at 15-15 with a bounce shot at the 1:41 mark. It was his fifth goal of the day.

Springer finished with a team-high seven points (five goals, two assists). It tied his career high for points in a game.

Pfeifer recorded 14 saves in 60 minutes of aciton. UVA goaltender Tillman Johnson (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's) played the entire game and finished with 11 saves.

The attendance for the game was 10,536, the 10th-highest regular-season attendance figure in Carrier Dome lacrosse history.

Virginia improved to 2-0 on the season and will next be in action at Princeton on March 8.

 

Coach Quotes - Syracuse vs. Virginia
Syracuse head coach John Desko:
"We felt going into the game that the team that controlled the faceoffs obviously was going to have more offensive opportunities, and that would be key. Virginia did a tremendous job on its wings. They really did a good job of getting after loose balls and coming up with them to give them those possessions. That kind of slowed our momentum down a little bit."

Coach Desko on SU's success in the first half:
"I really thought Jay Pfeifer was playing a very good game and I thought we were shooting the ball very well. So I think between the saves that Jay was making and us shooting the ball well in the first half, that is what gave us the lead going in at halftime. Then [Virginia] had that run in the third quarter where they generated quite a bit of offense, and we couldn't get the ball back, and when we did we forced it a little bit. We tried to create a little bit too quickly and got caught up in it."

Coach Desko on what makes Virginia/Syracuse such a good rivalry:
"I think it's the style that both teams like to play and that no matter who has the lead or by how much, you feel like you can get back into the game and it's never over until that final whistle goes off. Of all the games played during the year, it's two teams that will go after each other a little bit and push the ball up the field, and if you go a little too quickly and you score something, you're not worried about it because you know they might do the same thing at the other end, as opposed to a game like last week where obviously if the ball was at West Point's end of the field it was going to be there for a long time. Army wasn't going to force the issue where I think these two teams will do that, they'll go to the ball and not worry about it because they are going to get it back."

Coach Desko on whether this loss will be a tough one to bounce back from:
"There is a lot of lacrosse left to play here in March. We have Fairfield coming in next Monday, and then we have Hopkins and Princeton coming up. How can you not get up for teams like that? One thing about coming off a loss is you want to get right back in the saddle and play again to get a "W" under your belt. I hate when a lot of time goes by if there is a loss because I just want to get back out there and play again."

Virginia head coach Dom Starsia on the rivalry:
"There have been so many of them since 1994, you can take your pick in terms of which one has been the best. You almost feel an obligation to play a game like that. I look forward to the day that John (Desko) and I might sit up in the stands and watch Virginia and Syracuse play. I think it would be more fun from that vantage point. I'm anxious before the game. I don't think I've cracked a smile all week. It's such an exciting event to be a part of. You know that the kids are going to get after each other the whole time. I'm really not the slightest bit embarrassed or hesitant to say that it's really a player's game, especially this early one. The coaches don't interfere very much. I think we set the table a little bit and then these two teams just love to play this game against each other. I think it's a good day for college lacrosse when Virginia and Syracuse faceoff against each other."
 

Powell reduced from the Best to nothing

With a minute left and Syracuse down by a goal, 10,536 fans and two benches focused their eyes on the Best College Lacrosse Player in America and wondered what he'd do next.

Some expected him to juke. Others anticipated a spin move. Everyone, though, agreed that he'd grab the ball and somehow create a heroic opportunity for himself or one of his teammates.

That's when Mike Powell surprised them again: He did nothing.

With the score 15-14 Virginia, the Best College Lacrosse Player in America turned into the Carrier Dome's most athletic spectator, standing 30 yards from the goal and never touching the ball.

"It might have been a surprise to people," Powell said, "but I can't really take over a game anymore like I used to. I get shut off and I can't really do anything."

On Saturday, Powell's absence lasted longer than the waning few minutes. The Syracuse attackman — who last year led the nation with 84 points — contributed no goals and just two assists in No. 1 Syracuse's 16-15 loss to No. 4 Virginia. Through two games, Powell has one goal. In SU's first two games last year, he had nine.

Powell blames his lack of production on a change in opponents' defensive strategies. Against Virginia, Powell often faced double-teams. In the closing minutes, Virginia devoted one defender entirely to Powell, whether he had possession of the ball or not. It's a strategy similar to basketball's box-and-one defense, when one defender covers a man while the rest of the team plays zone.

"That's the difference right there," Powell said. "It's real frustrating. It takes the fun out of the game for me. They should make it illegal, but I know that's not going to happen. I just have to find some way to deal with it."

On the lacrosse field, Powell plans to cope by changing from a scorer to a distributor. Instead of dodging and heading toward the goal, he'll dodge and look for open teammates. A deft passer who had 42 assists last year, Powell will easily make the change.

He may have more trouble adjusting mentally. He's used to putting up gaudy numbers. When he doesn't, he likes to leave the stadium quickly and quietly, often with his head down.

"It's tough because I'm used to scoring a lot of goals," Powell said. "When you've got so many guys on you that you have to just stand around and not do anything, it's frustrating. I'm getting really sick of it."

He better get used to it.

"I don't think Michael's a secret to anybody," SU head coach John Desko said. "Defenses are going to focus on him every game."

"We shut off Michael today," UVa head coach Dom Starsia said. "We played him hard and we played him smart. That was our plan. This wasn't one of his days."

Powell wonders when — and if — he'll have one of those days again. Nobody's going to change the rules, and defenses will continue to employ the same strategy. So how, then, will the Best College Lacrosse Player in America maintain such a title if he's relegated to doing nothing at the end of games?

"Good question," Powell said. "I don't know. I guess I've just got to work on it."

Gillen bemoans lack of character
"It wasn't my fault we was late," Travis Watson says Saturday after Virginia's sixth straight defeat.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The perception of Virginia as a men's basketball team in disarray gained support from the top Saturday.
Fifth-year head coach Pete Gillen was uncommonly stinging in his postgame comments after the latest in a series of violations of team rules.

Gillen reduced the playing time for two of his top four scorers, Travis Watson and Elton Brown, after they were late for an 8:30 a.m. team breakfast Saturday. Brown was pulled from the starting lineup and played only four minutes - without scoring - in Saturday's 73-59 loss at Florida State. Watson didn't enter until 6:52 remained in the first half.

A third player, Jermaine Harper, also arrived late for breakfast, but his 13 minutes in Saturday's game were consistent with the playing time he normally receives.

"It's lack of character," Gillen said after the team had suffered its sixth straight loss, the Cavaliers' longest losing streak of the Gillen era. "It's disappointing. We don't have a lack of talent. We have a lack of character.

"If you're late for a meeting or late for a gathering, you're going to be late to set a pick or be late to know what defense, so there's a correlation. We don't have a lot of rules: Be on time, go to class, do the right thing. It would be nice to have the veterans doing that - leading."

The prime offender over the last 10 days has been Watson, a senior co-captain who lost his starting job Feb.23 after he missed a class, then skipped a disciplinary workout the next morning.

Watson did not start in last Wednesday's loss at Ohio University for what Gillen termed a "coach's decision" and did not know if he would have started Saturday prior to his late arrival at breakfast.

"It wasn't my fault we was late," Watson said after the game. "We had a team meeting [Friday] night and had to get up at 8 o'clock. I didn't answer the phone. I'm a hard sleeper anyway. I think my roommate answered the phone and fell back to sleep.

"By the time we heard the second call, I was like, 'What time is it?' He was like, 'It's 8:30.' I was like, 'Dang, we're late.' I don't know if people think I'm doing stuff on purpose or whatever. Stuff happens. Why am I going to be a bad egg when we're losing?"

Brown had started UVa's five previous games and had posted four straight double-figure scoring efforts before going scoreless in four minutes Saturday.

"Honestly, I believe I shouldn't have started," Brown said. "It was the right thing. I shouldn't have started but, as far as me playing five minutes, I don't agree with that.

"I don't think people intentionally go out and say, 'I'm going to get Coach Gillen mad,' or, 'I'm going to be late,' or 'I'm going to do this so I can get in the newspaper for doing something bad.'

"We're human. We're not perfect. People make mistakes and we've got to learn from the mistakes we've made. Next week, I won't be late."

Brown was praised last week by Gillen for his loyalty and leadership potential.

"That's what I want to be," Brown said. "That's how I always was in high school and everything. I've been a leader. Like I told my teammates this morning, I was sorry that I was late. I apologized if I had hurt anybody.

"Everybody understood where I came from. They understood that I didn't intentionally try to be late. I was two minutes late, but late is late. It's like Coach Gillen said, he's getting us ready for the real world and, in the real world, you can't be late for appointments."

For Harper, it was the latest in a series of incidents that started when he was held out of a preseason game for what Gillen later described as academic reasons. Shortly thereafter, Harper was arrested for driving under the influence and was suspended for the first five games of the season.

Fellow sophomore Keith Jenifer also was held out of the preseason game and has been on indefinite suspension since a Feb.2 arrest for misdemeanor assault and battery. Charges were dropped late last week, but Jenifer did not make the trip to Florida State and has missed eight games.

"The last thing we want to be is Inspector Clouseau," Gillen said. "They're good people, but they're making some bad decisions. We're going to stick by our standards. Nobody's bigger than the program."

 

Gillen's horses marked by stretch stumbling
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Mar 03, 2003
Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or e-mail blipper@timesdispatch.com

The Coach for Life doesn't look like such a hot investment these days. The basketball team he baby-sits is tanking. The roster he put together has more disciplinary problems than Dean Wormer at Faber College. Pete Gillen has migrated from standup to comedown - his canned one-liners replaced by lame excuses for another game gone wrong. He's sweating blood and accelerating discontent. His star is plummeting fast.

Gillen's weekend visit to Tallahassee coincided with the opening of the annual boat show. The difference is Gillen's hulk is the one that's run aground. Remember the Exxon Valdez? That's Virginia Cavaliers basketball. Going nowhere fast and belching out sludge at a rate too alarming to contain.

The Cavs lost to Florida State 73-59 Saturday. It was their sixth straight setback, and seldom during this dismal stretch have they been what you'd call competitive. They're one game over .500 now. Their coach is more and more under the gun - and should be.

FSU is the lowliest of ACC outposts. The 'Noles had dropped five of their past six starts. They hadn't whipped a league opponent by as many as 14 points in more than four years. They're an annual entry in the ACC tournament's play-in game. So Virginia comes to town and - presto! - instant blowout. Somehow, I don't think this is what U.Va. honchos had in mind when they laid that Krzyzewski contract on Gillen.

Hindsight is 14-27. That's Gillen's record after Jan. 31 over the past four seasons. A common complaint about Gillen is players don't improve much on his watch. The record would suggest his teams don't exactly come on like gangbusters down the stretch either.

This latest stumble held to form. Shabby defense plus turnovers plus disjointed offense plus send-the-other-guys-to-the-line (see: shabby defense) equals another numbing setback. This time, the Cavs were ahead at halftime and behind by 16 with eight minutes to go. The 'Noles then went scoreless for 5½ minutes. And U.Va. could do no more with that opening than shave four points from FSU's advantage.

Gillen later claimed a vewy hard week had taken a lot out of his delicate crew and that it didn't have any legs. I'm no doctor or exercise physiologist, but I'd prefer to see what an examination of this outfit's backbone might reveal. That and a brain scan that could explain how a team that wins at Maryland can lose at Ohio U. 20 days later.

The Maryland victory hovers now as aberration - as impossible to explain as the disappearance of dinosaurs from the Earth or Yanni's career. The Cavs followed that improbable success by beating N.C. State. They haven't won since. They're having trouble finding rival shooters (three have rung up 30-plus points over the past four games, and Wake Forest's Josh Howard stopped at 28). Locating appointment calendars also seems to be a problem for some of the guys.

The quagmire can largely be explained by the collection of mismatched body types and personalities Gillen has assembled. Listen to one of U.Va.'s radio broadcasts, for example, and you'll invariably hear color man Jim Hobgood say in the late going the Cavs need a defensive stop. Thing is, U.Va. has barely made a stop in three years, and the current gang - slower and more heavy-legged than previous editions - is even less adept in that department.

As for personal responsibility, let's just say it's not a shared trait with these Cavs. Two of them have been suspended at one time or another. Senior tri-captain Travis Watson lost his starting spot three games ago after blowing off a run that was punishment for missing a class. He was late for breakfast Saturday and relegated to backup duty again. Elton Brown and Jermaine Harper also were tardy for the meal and spent most of the afternoon nailed to the pine.

"We don't have a lack of talent, we have a lack of character," Gillen said.

Thing is, Gillen didn't inherit this crowd. These are his players. He selected them, signed them, tossed them together, hoped the mix would work. So far, it hasn't.

"We're capable of playing with anyone if we come to play," Watson said after the FSU clunker.

Now there's an inspiring thought.

 

Hoops Program Unacceptable At Present
By Chris Wallace
Date: Mar 2, 2003

Well, March has finally arrived and for college basketball fans across the nation it's just about time for March Madness. If you're a Virginia fan, however, that term is taking on a completely different meaning these days. The Cavaliers are mired in a six-game losing streak and experiencing a late-season meltdown for the second year in a row.

In fact, this season is over. There may be games left on the schedule, but it's over. Pete Gillen may say it's not, his players may say it's not. But I'm telling you it is. This group doesn't have the heart, the desire, the character or the talent to pull off any late season miracles. Thanks guys, it's been a lot of fun.
I have followed Virginia basketball as a fan and a reporter for better than 25 years. Tonight, I'm writing as a fan, and without question I would say this season has easily been the most disappointing of all the ones I've witnessed. This is a team that is not fun to watch, and it's a team that in all honesty has some players that for various reasons are tough to cheer for. I'm not sure in all my years of following college hoops that I've ever seen a team that did not have one single thing it could rely on. But this team doesn't. I challenge anyone to find me something positive that this edition of the Cavaliers can count on each and every night. Well, I'm waiting. And I'll keep on waiting.

What is most disappointing is that there are some pretty good players on this team. But for whatever reason, right now, this group will battle Georgia Tech on Wednesday night for the title of worst team at present in the ACC. The Cavaliers are an undisciplined group that have not been pushed to reach their potential by the coaching staff. And off-court situations have been as troubling as the on-court performance. In the Daily Progress today Pete Gillen questioned the "character" of some of his players. Well guess what Pete, you recruited these guys and they are your responsibility.

The fact is that this team has underachieved in a massive way, maybe second only to UCLA nationally. That responsibility falls on the coaching staff. The team efforts have been inconsistent at best and usually poor, while the intensity level has been downright pathetic. And the players have just skated right on through the season. Is there any player on the roster right now that you can point to and say, "Wow, he really got better over the course of the year." I know the guys on the coaching staff work hard, but their collective efforts this year result in a failing grade.

It's truly been a sad display, especially after Gillen promised everybody that this season would be better than last. Truth be told, last year's team -- which itself ended the season in embarrassing fashion -- would hammer this year's group. What's even sadder is that most of us believed that this year would be better. But since -- as I stated earlier -- this season is over, let's look ahead to next year. Is there any reason to get excited about these guys. There is no doubt in my mind that Virginia will be picked eighth in the league only ahead of Clemson.

That's no problem apparently for Al Groh, by the way, anyone else ready for football season? But let's look at Pete Gillen, who is now 17-23 in his last 40 games. Can he get the job done at Virginia? I always thought so, but in all honesty at this point I have serious doubts. His squad did not look like a well-coached basketball team this year. Sloppy passing and poor defense were standard we all had to live with on most nights, and player substitutions and rotations, as well as timeout usage, bordered on the absurd.

There's also the question of whether or not Gillen is capable of motivating his players. It certainly didn't seem that he could motivate these guys -- I'm sure thank you cards from Virginia Tech and Ohio have already arrived -- and it was evident that the players simply weren't responding to their coach. One also has to wonder why Gillen has scrapped the style of play he has used throughout his career. I sat and listened at his introductory press conference five years ago as he stated numerous times that his teams would play fast and press and run. That's the way kids want to play, and that's what the fans want to see, he said.

But we didn't see it this year and the argument could be made that the personnel did not fit that particular style of play. However, it was Gillen who recruited these guys. So what gives? What are we going to see out of this bunch next year? Does anybody have a reasonably solid idea about what to expect next season? I know I don't and I'm worried that Gillen doesn't either.

So what's to be done? Well, I'm glad that Craig Littlepage has to make the ultimate call. But these things I do know. This program has no clear direction and has players who simply are not winners. And Keith Jenifer has got to go. Don't make that kid your Waterloo Pete, or the end truly is inevitable. Fans are embarrassed that the kid ever got to put on a Virginia uniform. In fact, it's pathetic that he hasn't been permanently dismissed already.

But there are other problems. Regardless of the length of his contract or what he wants to believe, Pete Gillen is on the proverbial hot seat. And that will make recruiting difficult at best. Fan support and interest for Virginia basketball may also reach an all-time low by the end of this season. I wouldn't look for a lot of folks to show up at University Hall on Wednesday night.

So here's the deal. As a college basketball fan, what's happening in Charlottesville these days is pretty sad. As a Virginia fan, what's happening is unacceptable. At this point I can honestly say that I have absolutely no interest in what the Cavaliers do in the next couple of weeks. They haven't earned my interest. But after that, I expect major changes. And they need to start with Pete Gillen. I like Pete, but he is leading this program into college basketball's abyss. Every player and staff member needs to be evaluated, a direction for the program needs to be identified and the necessary changes need to be made. And if Gillen can't take the needed measures, then let's get somebody in here who can.

I would like nothing more than to see Pete Gillen succeed. I would also like a team of players who are fun to watch and easy to cheer for. And a few more wins would be nice as well. And it's not a mistake that the wins were last on that wish list. But if Pete is running the show next season and we have to endure another year of this mess, I'll be personally leading the movement for a new basketball coach at Virginia.