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Ga. Tech may go winless on ACC road
By Jerry Ratcliffe  / Daily Progress sports editor
March 5, 2003
 

Scattershooting around the ACC, while noting that something has to give tonight in UVa’s home showdown against Georgia Tech ... The Yellow Jackets are winless on the road in the ACC (0-7) and 0-10 on the road overall this season. Tonight is their last road trip and if they lose, it will be the first time Tech has gone O-For on the ACC road since Bobby Cremins’ last season (1999-2000). Virginia has lost only twice at home this season, the last coming on a less-than-inspiring effort against Clemson on Feb. 18. The Cavaliers are in the midst of a six-game losing streak, the longest in Pete Gillen’s five years at UVa. Tech coach Paul Hewitt hasn’t tried to hide from the distractions that accompany such a strange losing streak on the road. “We’re just talking about using this experience to make us better down the road,” said Hewitt on Tuesday. “You can’t ignore the fact that we haven’t won a road game. I have told the kids that I have no explanation of what’s going on, but that if we don’t buckle from this and try to come back strong, it’s going to help us in the long run.” Tech has lost five straight games by an average of 8.2 points, including a one-point defeat at North Carolina last Saturday. The Jackets have shot an average of only 40.3 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from 3-point range during that five-game losing streak, averaging 12 points lower than their seasonal average. Terps get rest Maryland coach Gary Williams doesn’t know whether he likes or dislikes the scheduling quirk that gave his Terps only one game this week, Sunday night’s regular season finale at Virginia. “It’s the league’s schedule and this was our week not to play,” said Williams. “I have some reservations but we can work on some things that we haven’t been doing particularly well. And with the upcoming postseason schedule, you can make sure your players go to all their classes because they will miss some once the postseason begins.” His Terps will be well-rested coming to Charlottesville. Williams could have played a nonconference game this week but said that’s almost impossible. “You can’t get a mid-week game. Nobody wants to travel mid-week at this time of year and we’re certainly not going to go anywhere mid-week this time of year,” said Williams. Guess Virginia didn’t get that memo, i.e., “Do not travel to Ohio University for a mid-week game in late February.” Cremins Court Georgia Tech is doing a classy thing this weekend when the school names the basketball floor at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, “Cremins Court.” There will be two logos, one in front of the Tech bench and one diagonally across the floor, which will be unveiled in Saturday’s home game. The school is honoring Cremins, who rebuilt the Yellow Jackets into a national power. Cremins was fired by the school after the 1999-2000 season and is now a TV color commentator and remains one of the league’s most popular figures. Cremins’ replacement, Coach Paul Hewitt, is all for the gesture. “From Day One, Bobby has been very supportive [of Hewitt’s program],” said the current Georgia Tech coach. “He has called me privately and told me to keep my chin up. Dave Braine [Tech’s AD] told me when I first came to Tech that he wanted to put Bobby’s name on the court.” Hewitt said that Cremins was one of those guys, who that when he showed up in a gym to look at prospects, “you just hoped he wasn’t coming to look at the kid you were recruiting.” Cremins was always regarded as one of the nation’s best recruiting head coaches. Best of the worst. Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton didn’t quite know what to say when a writer asked him during Tuesday’s ACC teleconference call if his Seminoles were the best ninth-place team in the country. “I haven’t thought about it,” said Hamilton. “I haven’t looked at other team’s records. I do know that we’re getting better. I don’t know if we’re close to reaching our potential but we play hard and defend fairly well and we’re coachable. But if you’re a good basketball team, you win games.” FSU is one of the few teams in the country this season to have beaten Duke. The ‘Noles have also beaten Miami and Iowa. Speaking of Duke. The Blue Devils may have cost themselves a No. 1 regional seeding with their loss at St. John’s last Sunday when Duke played without intensity. St. John’s scored the last 12 points of the game to pull off the upset. “I don’t think you take huge steps forward or backward at this time of the season,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “I don’t think anything that happened Sunday was X’s and O’s. You get out of conference and you tend to think you’re better than what you are and you don’t pay attention to detail. “We played a team that the game was a huge deal to them,” said Coach K. “We didn’t treat the game with the respect that we needed to. I think that was a good lesson to learn. You do that in the ACC or NCAA tournaments and you’re gone. We were fortunate to learn that when we still have games to play.” Limping home. Wake Forest and N.C. State could be without some of their top players in this last week of regular season play. Deacon star Josh Howard has an ankle sprain that could limit him in the showdown against Carolina. Howard didn’t practice Monday and is getting almost around-the-clock treatment. “It I was still at Xavier, we could throw a little holy water on it and it would be OK,” joked Wake coach Skip Prosser, the leading candidate for ACC Coach of the Year honors. “It’ll probably be a game-time decision.” Meanwhile, both Cliff Crawford and Levy Watkins could miss N.C. State’s games. Rating the classes. While Virginia’s football class wasn’t rated as highly as last year’s effort when the Cavaliers finished as a consensus Top 10 nationally, the latest effort was still pretty good according to the services who rate such things. SuperPrep gave UVa the highest rating, 12th-best in the country. Here are the others: G&W Recruiting, 18th; Rivals 100, 20th; Tom Lemming, 22nd; Bill Hodge/CollegeSports.com, 22nd. Mike Farrell, the east coast analyst for Rivals points out that if you rank UVa’s class entirely on its average stars (Rivals uses a one through five star rating system for individual players), that Virginia has the 12th-best star average in the country, with one 5-star recruit, seven 4-stars, and 11 3-stars. No other ACC school finished ahead of Virginia in that rating system. However, in the other rankings, N.C. State was the only ACC school to get a consensus Top 10 ranking on its most recent recruiting class. Free throws ... Borrowing a phrase from Jennifer Lopez, also known as J-Lo, Wake Forest is now referring to Josh Howard as J-HO as the school campaigns for him as the ACC Player of the Year, ...If Wake wins out, the Deacs will become the outright ACC regular season champion for the first time since 1962. ...After official Duke Edsall called a technical foul on Clemson coach Larry Shyatt in last weekend’s 80-68 loss at Wake Forest (the Tigers were called for 49 fouls), Shyatt yelled at Edsall, reminding him that people were watching. “Hey Duke, you know what?” Shyatt shouted. “It’s on TV.” ...If you’re a Tar Heel fan, forget about Sean May riding to UNC’s rescue this season. Carolina doctors have decided that his broken foot has not mended to the point where he should return to the team until next season. ...For those readers who have inquired about where they can purchase copies of the ACC’s 50th anniversary book reviewed in this column recently, there are selected Borders and selected Barnes and Nobles stores that have the books (don’t know if there are any in Charlottesville, but that’s what the ACC office tells me), or you can order them by calling the following toll-free number: 1-877-ACC-5011. ...By the way, the book’s author, Barry Jacobs, will be signing copies at the ACC men’s tournament in Fanfest on Friday, March 14, from 5 to 6 p.m. ...14,386 fans showed up for the Wake home game against Clemson on Sunday, many of them leaving homes without power due to last week’s ice storms in the area.

 

 

One of the streaking teams will emerge a winner
By Andrew Joyner  / Daily Progress staff writer
March 5, 2003
 

Georgia Tech and Virginia have combined to lose 11 straight games entering tonight’s game at University Hall. While that statistic makes one wonder why ESPN is choosing to nationally televise this game, such numbers also frequently produces a competitive contest. Both teams stand at 5-9 in the ACC and are currently in a five-way tie for fifth place in the ACC. It’s conceivable that the winner of tonight’s game will have the better shot at the fifth seed in next week’s ACC tournament but with a five-way tie the possibilities are boundless at the moment. So, about the only certainty from tonight’s game is that one team will end its season-breaking losing streak while the other’s tailspin will continue. Well, that’s the simple and obvious analysis of the contest. Georgia Tech enters the game 0-10 on the road this season but will come to the visiting arena where it has had the most luck of late. The Yellow Jackets have won the past two contests at University Hall and four of their last five. The Jackets almost notched their first road win at North Carolina on Saturday but blew a 10-point, second-half lead as the Tar Heels rallied for a 67-66 win. “The thing now is not to drop our heads. After Saturday, we had some bad luck, and we’ve made some of our own bad luck, but we have to prepare for Virginia on Wednesday,” said Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt. “These guys are searching for their own identity in terms of playing a full 40-minute game. The fact that we’ve won at Virginia the last couple of time might give some confidence for some of the guys.” Confidence of any kind is likely an issue for both teams. Virginia is coming off a 74-59 loss at Florida State on Saturday and likely needs at least one win in its final two regular season games in order to receive a NIT bid. Virginia coach Pete Gillen said Tuesday that motivating his team at this point is among his chief concerns. “It’s tough when you lose some games in a row and get beat up emotionally and physically. It takes a lot out of you and drains you,” Gillen said. “The only thing that you can do is try to be positive with them, which we are. You try to be upbeat and talk about the good things. We’ve had some good victories. We’ve had 14 wins against some good teams. We’re 14-13 and that’s not where we want to be and it’s frustrating but we have to be positive.” Gillen added that he doesn’t feel that his players have completely given up on the season just yet. “I don’t think anybody has quit. I’m sure they’re down and their confidence is down. They’re still working at it and we’re still working at it. We’ve tried to be positive with them and just keep swinging.” If confidence is one of Gillen’s concerns, the play and attitude of senior Travis Watson is another. Watson has not started the last three games and for two of those games was facing in-game suspensions for missing two team commitments. “Hopefully, his career will end of a good note. He’s a senior and we’d like to see that. He’s a great player and a terrific young man,” Gillen said. “It’s a team game and it’s not Travis Watson causing the wins or losses. Hopefully, he’ll end up on a good note and people will remember the good four-year career he’s had.”

 

 

Character counts at U.Va.
Cavs coach addresses troublesome issues
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 05, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Pete Gillen was upset when three of his players, including two of his top four scorers, showed up late for a team breakfast Saturday morning in Tallahassee, Fla. Virginia's fifth-year basketball coach wasn't any happier that afternoon after Florida State, the ACC's last-place team, rallied to hand the Cavaliers their sixth straight loss.

In addition to senior captain Travis Watson, sophomores Elton Brown and Jermaine Harper were tardy Saturday. Gillen had planned to start the 6-9 Brown against FSU but played him only four minutes. Watson, a two-time all-conference performer who'd been benched two games earlier after another transgression, played 22 minutes.

"It's disappointing," Gillen told reporters afterward. "We don't have a lack of talent. We have a lack of character."

Yesterday, Gillen acknowledged he'd spoken out of frustration Saturday.

"Our character is not that way all the time," said Gillen, who recruited all the players on his roster. "We don't have bad kids, we have good kids, but at times our character has to be stronger."

Since the start of practice, numerous Cavaliers, among them Watson, sophomore guards Harper and Keith Jenifer and sophomore post players Brown and Jason Clark, have been disciplined for various infractions.

"Unfortunately, we've slipped up some times," Gillen said. "Have we shot the mayor? No. But we've got to do what's right."

After being charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, Jenifer was suspended from the team early last month for what the school called "conduct detrimental to the team." His case was dismissed last week, but Jenifer, who has started 29 games in his two seasons, hasn't been reinstated, and his future at U.Va. is uncertain.

In November, Harper was suspended from the team after being charged with driving under the influence. His arrest came after he, Clark and Jenifer had to serve a one-game suspension - they missed U.Va.'s first exhibition - for an unspecified violation of team rules that Gillen later said was related to academics. Harper, a reserve, rejoined the team in mid December.

"I don't think it's a bad group of kids," Gillen said yesterday, "but some of them are making bad decisions."

Virginia plays host to another strug- gling ACC team, Georgia Tech, tonight at University Hall. Once seemingly bound for the NCAA tournament, the Cavaliers (5-9, 14-13) are now in danger of missing the NIT. Worse, they seem to be unraveling as a team.

"When you lose, people kind of put their heads down and say, 'The hell with it,'" Gillen said. "I don't think it's purposeful, but it's a microcosm of the problem. If you're late for a meeting, you're going to be late to set a pick."

Elsewhere in the ACC, seniors such as Wake Forest's Josh Howard, Clemson's Edward Scott and Maryland's Drew Nicholas and Steve Blake have sparkled as leaders this season. Watson, the only senior in U.Va.'s rotation, hasn't set such a sterling example for his teammates.

After missing a class last month, Watson was assigned an early-morning run as punishment. He slept through that run, however, and so Gillen didn't start the 6-8 forward against then-No. 10 Wake Forest on Feb. 23. Watson, once touted as an ACC-player-of-the-year candidate, had three points in 19 minutes against Wake.

"He's a great player and he's a good person," Gillen said yesterday, but "you want your senior to be a leader. I'm not blaming him for everything - it's a team effort - but we need him to step up down the stretch."

After the FSU game, Watson blamed his tardiness on his roommate, an unnamed teammate. Brown was more repentant.

"We're human. We're not perfect," said Brown, who apologized to his teammates Saturday morning. "People make mistakes, and we've got to learn from the mistakes we've made. Next week, I won't be late."

Gillen said he's always considered the character of players he's recruited. He vowed to study it more closely in the future. Two players signed with U.Va. in November: 6-2 J.R. Reynolds and 6-5 Gary Forbes.

"They're character people, No. 1, and great players, No. 2," Gillen said.

Some have criticized Gillen for not being strict enough with his players. He said yesterday that he's dismissed good players from other teams he's coached - he was at Xavier and Providence before coming to U.Va. - and will "do it again if I have to."

"We don't have a million rules," Gillen said. "The rules are simple: Go to class, be on time, be respectful. If you don't do that, you don't belong at the University of Virginia."
 

 

 

Streaking Cougars are team to beat
College of Charleston to have comforts of home in SC Tournament

By Tommy Bowman
JOURNAL REPORTER
 

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.

For all that College of Charleston has done since joining the Southern Conference in 1998-99 - finishing first in the North Division all five seasons and compiling a 63-17 conference record - it has only one title to show for it.

The Cougars would like a second and rank as a favorite to get it heading into this year's Southern Conference Tournament, which will begin today at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The Cougars are 23-6 and come in on a roll, having won 11 of their past 12 games (with the only loss in that span by a point in overtime). They have the Southern Conference's player of the year in Troy Wheless, a 6-3 senior guard. And they're playing at home.

"I would have to think they would be thought of as the tournament favorite based on what they've done," Coach Houston Fancher of Appalachian State said. "But, then again, you go back to the fact that, in a tournament situation, what happened in the regular season is pretty much irrelevant because everybody has a chance to realize a dream."

Tom Herrion, the Cougars' first-year coach, echoed that sentiment. He said: "You can't live on memories. It's a survive-and-advance mentality now."

Or, as Fancher put it: "If you lose, you're in moth balls."

Fancher's team, whose contender status took a hit when it failed to wrap up one of the tournament's first-round byes, is banking on the fact that the tournament offers a fresh start.

The Mountaineers face the task of winning four games in four days to keep their season alive and win an NCAA Tournament berth, but Fancher said his team doesn't mind being an underdog, again.

"Nobody thought we'd do what we did in the regular season," said Fancher, whose team was picked to finish last but wound up with a share of first place in the North Division. "Nobody expected us to finish first, and we're sure not going to go to Charleston thinking that there's no way we can win it. I'll guarantee that."

The Mountaineers will begin play at about 8:30 tonight, against the other hometown team, The Citadel. The Mountaineers (18-9) beat the Bulldogs 75-65 on Feb. 1 at Boone in the only regular-season meeting between the teams.

"I don't know if (playing in North Charleston) gives us that much of an advantage," said Coach Pat Dennis, whose Bulldogs (8-19) finished last in the South Division. "It helps getting some more fans, but we haven't played any games in the Coliseum."

The Bulldogs used a zone defense and kept the Mountaineers' high-scoring offense at bay in the regular-season meeting. The Mountaineers committed a season-high 27 turnovers in that game.

Neither team comes in on a roll. The Bulldogs have lost seven straight games. And, for all that the Mountaineers accomplished during the regular season, they're 5-5 in their past 10 games. A loss to East Tennessee State last Saturday dropped them into a three-way tie for first and knocked them out of a first-round bye.

Forward Johnathan Mitchell said that the Mountaineers, saddled with an extra game, can't afford to pace themselves.

"The thing we can't do is hold back in any game," Mitchell said. "You can't do that when any game could be your last one."

The winner of tonight's Appalachian-Citadel game will face Chattanooga (19-8) Thursday night in the quarterfinals. Chattanooga, which has won more Southern Conference titles (eight) than any other current member, swept two games from Charleston in the regular season.

Davidson (17-9) is the defending conference champion and won the No. 1 seed in the North Division. The Wildcats snapped a string of six different winners in six years when it won the tournament last season.

The Wildcats feature a potent 3-point attack, averaging 10 a game that helped the conference set a record for most 3-pointers in a season (2,035).

The hottest team heading into the tournament is Furman, which has won five straight. The Paladins (14-16) went on a late-season charge last year and became the first team to survive for four games since the tournament resumed a four-day format in 1993.

A win tonight over VMI (8-19) would send the Paladins into a game against Davidson in a rematch of last year's finalists.

VMI is playing in the tournament for the final time. The Keydets will move to the Big South Conference next season.

In first-round games this afternoon, Western Carolina (9-18) will face Georgia Southern (15-12) and UNC Greensboro (7-21) will take on Wofford (13-14).

 

 

McPherson charged with sports betting
Former QB reportedly gambled on FSU football games
By James L. Rosica
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
 

Former Florida State University quarterback Adrian McPherson faces a misdemeanor gambling charge after investigators alleged he placed sports bets - including bets on FSU football games - over the Internet and through a local bookie, according to investigative reports released Tuesday.

Investigators also said McPherson, 19, racked up about $8,000 in gambling debts and had bets placed in other people's names to avoid trouble with the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The university should not face sanctions from the NCAA regarding McPherson's case, according to school officials.

Police also charged the alleged bookie, 23-year-old Dereck Delach, and Jeffrey Inderhees, a 21-year-old FSU football team student equipment manager, with third-degree felony bookmaking. Inderhees was dismissed from his duties, athletics officials said.

Inderhees turned himself in at the Leon County Jail on Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance, records show. Delach and McPherson still had not been booked as of late Tuesday. No further arrests are expected, FSU police said.

The gambling charge, the fruit of a three-month investigation, is the latest in a string of legal trouble involving McPherson.

He was first arrested in November on charges he stole a blank check from R&R Truck & Auto Accessories on West Tennessee Street during a visit to find rims for his sport utility vehicle. Tallahassee police said the check allegedly was later cashed at Capital City Bank for $3,500 by McPherson's friend Melvin Capers.

Head coach Bobby Bowden kicked McPherson off the team. Rumors of his gambling then provoked a probe by local and state police. In the meantime, prosecutors charged him last month with passing bad checks at local Publix supermarkets last year.

McPherson, one of the most decorated high school athletes in Florida history, still faces criminal charges of forgery and passing bad checks, both third-degree felonies, and felony grand theft and misdemeanor petty theft charges. His next court date is set for Thursday. There are now two arrest warrants against him - one for the bad checks charge and one for the gambling charge.

Jon Glogau, special counsel for the Attorney General's Office, said gambling is "flat out illegal" whether bettors use bookies or the Internet: "If you log on and gamble at a casino site, the person doing the gambling and the site are both violating Florida law."

McPherson's lawyer, Grady C. Irvin Jr. of St. Petersburg, did not return two phone calls for comment. Irvin has previously said McPherson never gambled.

No formal charges have been filed against Capers. His lawyer, Ethan Way, declined comment Tuesday. Capers, however, told investigators he and McPherson began gambling over the Internet last August, wiring money through a Western Union at the Ocala Road Publix, according to reports.

Bets in friend's name

That money was used to open an account with SBG Global, a casino and sports gambling site. A disclaimer on its Web site reads, "Please check with your local authorities to see if gaming is legal within your jurisdiction."

Capers said McPherson wanted to "keep everything in Capers' name so that he (McPherson) would not get in trouble with the NCAA," according to the reports.

Eventually, McPherson's gambling grew to $500 and $1,000 bets, according to reports. To gamble online, Capers and McPherson allegedly used a laptop computer in Capers' Melanie Drive apartment; that computer was later confiscated, and an analysis showed accounts in Capers' name, according to reports.

A friend, who is not being named, said McPherson had bet on all of FSU's 2002 football games, adding that he "always bet on FSU to win," reports said.

McPherson also gambled through Delach, according to investigators, beginning last January until Delach cut him off in March because McPherson's debt grew to about $8,000. Delach often used Ken's Tavern, a West Tennessee Street bar where he worked, as a "collection and payment drop for his gambling operation," reports said. Ken's Tavern is not implicated in the court documents.

He also allegedly bet through Inderhees; in one example, a football player told investigators he heard McPherson tell Inderhees, "Give me a hundred on Duke," referring to a bet on a basketball game. Inderhees himself told investigators McPherson would place bets with Delach using Inderhees' mobile phone.

'Very sad' case

When police tried to interview Delach this December about McPherson, he asked for a lawyer, saying he was afraid he might say something incriminating, according to reports.

Mike Futrell, a former FSU baseball player and Delach's former roommate, told investigators he saw Delach taking bets over the phone and that Delach mentioned McPherson owed him money. Futrell added that Delach burned his betting records in a backyard container after news of McPherson's November arrest, reports said.

And Delach's former girlfriend said she overheard him arguing with McPherson over an unpaid gambling debt, according to reports.

FSU Director of Athletics Dave Hart called McPherson's latest charges "very sad."

"We will continue our ongoing campuswide effort to educate students about gambling," Hart said. "It is disappointing, but true, that sometimes it takes something like this to truly heighten attention and awareness among the student population. I hope that Adrian will seek and accept help to get his life in order."

McPherson enrolled, then dropped out of Murray State in Kentucky, after that school prohibited him from playing until his cases are resolved.

If McPherson was still a member of the team, he might be ineligible to compete under NCAA Bylaw 10.3 prohibiting sports gambling, including Internet gambling on sporting events. A student-athlete who violates the rule will be declared ineligible to participate in intercollegiate competition, it states.

 

Hewitt trying new faces off bench
John Hollis - Staff
Wednesday, March 5, 2003
Charlottesville, Va. --- It's late in the season, but not too late for Paul Hewitt to mix things up in search of a spark from the Georgia Tech bench.

The Yellow Jackets coach has revamped his rotation, with the seldom-used tandem of Robert Brooks and Jim Nystrom as the main beneficiaries. Both played well in Saturday's loss at North Carolina, and Hewitt is hoping they can make a difference tonight when the Jackets (12-13, 5-9 ACC) visit Virginia (14-13, 5-9).

Tech is winless in 10 road games heading into its road finale. Hewitt's bench has been outscored 92-28 over the past five games.

"I'll always give somebody an opportunity," Hewitt said of Brooks and Nystrom. "They both have worked hard in practice, and I felt like trying something different to see what we could get."

Brooks, a 6-foot-8 junior power forward, played a season-high 15 minutes in the loss to the Tar Heels, with four points, three rebounds and a blocked shot. More time for Brooks meant less for slumping center Luke Schenscher, who played two minutes in Chapel Hill.

Brooks had not played in six of Tech's previous 11 games and had played no more than nine minutes in a game all season. He had scored a total of six points before the North Carolina game.

"I wanted to give Robert a chance," Hewitt said. "He's been here for three years, and he's been a guy who's come to practice and played hard every day. I felt like he did a great job."

Brooks, who started 12 games a year ago, said he was "somewhat surprised" by Hewitt's change of heart.

"It felt pretty good," he said, "I always play with energy, and [Hewitt] knows that. That was the main thing, to give the team some energy."

Nystrom, a freshman swingman, went scoreless after missing both field goal attempts in 10 minutes --- his second-highest total this season. However, he played solid defense and did an excellent job of feeding the post. His added playing time came at the expense of Anthony McHenry, who did not play against North Carolina. It was the first time all season he did not play.

 

 

Gillen, Cavaliers on brink
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published March 5, 2003

On Saturday afternoon, frustrated by his team's sixth consecutive loss and the circumstances surrounding it, Virginia coach Pete Gillen finally lashed out. He questioned his team's character, an obvious reference to co-captain and heavy sleeper Travis Watson.

But with the final week of the regular season here, and the Cavaliers on the brink of not even qualifying for the NIT, Gillen is doing his best to stress the positive.

"It's tough when you lose some games in a row and get beat up emotionally and physically in each one," said Gillen, whose team hosts Georgia Tech tonight. "All I can try to do is be positive with them, try to be upbeat and talk about the good things. We've had 14 wins against some good people, but 14-13 is nowhere near where we want to be.

"We're frustrated (and) we're upset. I feel worse than anybody, but I've got to be positive. The kids have been good so far. I don't think anybody has quit. I'm sure they're down and their confidence is down, but they're still working at it."

This season has been a toothache for Gillen, and not just on the floor. Five players have been either suspended or benched for disciplinary reasons. Starting point guard Keith Jenifer has missed the last eight games after a Feb. 3 arrest on assault and battery charges. Those charges were dropped last week, but it's unclear when - or if - Jenifer will return.

The latest problem child is Watson. The week before a critical game at Wake Forest on Feb. 23, he skipped a class. Given a running session as punishment, he blew it off. So Gillen benched his top scorer and rebounder, not inserting him until midway through the first half. Watson responded with a lethargic night: 19 minutes, three points, four rebounds.

On Saturday morning at Florida State, Watson was late for the 8:30 a.m. team breakfast. Deeper in Gillen's doghouse, he didn't enter until 6:42 remained in the first half. Later, he deflected blame, saying he never heard the wake-up call.

Following the 73-59 loss, a clearly irked Gillen told reporters, "We don't have a lack of talent, we have a lack of character." On Tuesday, he sounded more fatherly.

"He's frustrated, as we all are, about losing," Gillen said. "But we've discussed things, and hopefully he'll do the things we want him to do."

Time is running out. The only way Virginia (14-13, 5-9) will make the NCAA field is to win next week's ACC tournament - where it hasn't won a game since 1995. The Cavs still need another win to guarantee a .500 finish and qualify for the NIT, where they played last year.

Virginia's ACC tournament possibilities range from being the fifth seed and playing No. 4 N.C. State in Friday's quarterfinals to facing Florida State in Thursday night's dreaded play-in game.
 

 

Struggling Virginia Faces Another Silent Spring
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, March 5, 2003; Page D06

CHARLOTTESVILLE, March 4 -- To the chagrin and consternation of Virginia Coach Pete Gillen, his players and their fans, the Cavaliers are stumbling down the stretch for the second straight season. Though they haven't yet matched last year's 3-10 finish -- which capped a collapse from a No. 4 ranking -- the Cavaliers appear to have killed their NCAA tournament hopes by losing seven of nine games since the end of January.

Even if it beats Georgia Tech and Maryland in its final regular season games, Virginia (14-13, 5-9 ACC) has ensured a losing conference record, which likely means its only shot at an NCAA postseason berth is grabbing the automatic bid awarded to the winner of the ACC tournament.

"A sub-.500 [conference] record I don't think is necessarily a death notice, but it would certainly make it very difficult unless that team showed something in the second half of the season," said Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, a first-year member of the NCAA selection committee. "Maybe in terms of the last 10 games of the year, maybe in terms of what they did in their respective tournament."

The Cavaliers, who are 4-7 in the second half of the season, could miss the National Invitation Tournament as well if they finish with a losing record overall.

Yet in the midst of another disheartening finish, Gillen said his team has not given up hope of ending what is now a six-game losing streak and salvaging its season.

"At 14-13, which is nowhere near where we want to be, we're very frustrated, we're upset," Gillen said. "I feel worse than anybody, but I've got to be positive. Our kids have been good so far. I don't think anybody has quit. I'm sure they're down, their confidence is down. But they're still working at it. We're still working at it."

Virginia has received inconsistent productivity from a variety of players, including senior power forward Travis Watson, who has come under fire in recent weeks for not providing the leadership or the scoring punch expected from a preseason conference player of the year candidate. After averaging 14.9 points through the end of January, Watson has scored 9.9 in the Cavaliers' subsequent nine-game slide. Though he continues to lead the ACC with 10.3 rebounds per game, his shooting percentages from the field and the free throw line are down noticeably and his turnovers have increased by more than 50 percent.

Watson also has been one of a handful of Cavaliers disciplined this season for off-the-court transgressions. He came off the bench and played less than 30 minutes in each of the past three games after missing a class and then a disciplinary workout before the Feb. 23 game at Wake Forest. Then Watson and two other players arrived late to a team breakfast before Saturday's game at Florida State.

Like Virginia, Georgia Tech (12-13, 5-9) is part of a four-way tie for fifth place in the ACC, three games behind fourth-place North Carolina State. The Yellow Jackets are stuck in a five-game losing streak of their own and have just one win in 12 games away from home: a Dec. 7 win against Marist on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden.

Georgia Tech has won once on the road since it beat Virginia at University Hall last season on Marvin Lewis's last-second three-pointer.

"I have no good explanation of why this has been going on, because it's been different things in different games," said Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt, whose team started the Cavaliers' current nine-game slide by beating them on Feb. 1 in Atlanta, 80-60. "The one thing I do know is if we don't buckle from this and just try to come back strong, it's going to help us in the long run."